Petersburg’s Borough Assembly tonight will consider a resolution allowing limited small-scale seafood processing at the town’s Community Cold Storage facility. The change would be made in an updated version of its lease, which has long prohibited using the premises “for the primary processing of seafood.”
The Petersburg Economic Development Council is a nonprofit formed in 2001 that leads economic development activity in the borough. It rents the Community Cold Storage property, near the drive down dock, from the Borough for $1.00 a year. The Assembly has renewed the 2006 lease agreement in five-year increments for the past two decades. Now, the lease is up for another five-year extension — but there’s a change this time.
The Development Council wants to expand how the facility can be used by including certain seafood processing in the to-be-renewed lease agreement. That’s because fishermen getting blast freezing services from a local high-volume processor is “no longer a viable option,” according to the resolution’s language.
It states that, in order to remain open and give the general public access to its services, the Community Cold Storage facility requires an “anchor tenant” that can reliably provide income. Its “anchor tenant” is Coastal Cold Storage, a small-scale seafood processor.
The Assembly will decide whether or not to renew this updated version of the five-year lease during tonight’s regular meeting.
Also tonight, the Assembly will decide if the Borough should extend its contract with Republic Services, which removes the municipality’s garbage from Mitkof Island. The Borough’s 2023 two-year agreement with Republic ends this fall, but it can be extended for another year. The one-year contract is valued between $510,000 and $550,000, or about $207.20 per ton of waste. In a memo to the Assembly, Public Works Director Aaron Marohl recommended renewing the contract partly because finding a lower price is unlikely — and partly because comprehensive information about managing solid waste may be on the horizon.
Southeast Alaska Solid Waste Authority is a public agency, made up of several member communities across the region, aiming to reduce or stabilize the cost of solid waste management and disposal. It’s been looking into the issue and potential solutions, and expects to wrap up a large-scale regional study later this year. That study could give Petersburg a better understanding of its options for handling garbage, and the Borough could consider possible alternatives for when the Republic contract ends.
Extending the Borough’s contract with Republic Services now would continue it through the end of August 2027. The Assembly will consider the recommendation tonight.
There are several other matters on the agenda for when the Petersburg Borough Assembly meets tonight at 6:00 in the Assembly Chambers. KFSK will broadcast that meeting live.
