Author: Joe Viechnicki, KFSK

Governor Bill Walker’s proposed capital budget would fund one and half million dollars of upgrades at the state-owned king and coho salmon hatchery at Crystal Lake, about 17 miles south of Petersburg.

Petersburg’s borough assembly this month joined the call for measures to slow a growing population of sea otters in Southeast, as the marine mammals are impacting shellfish stocks. The assembly passed a resolution at its March 5th calling for the federal government to work with the State of Alaska and Alaska Native tribes to establish strategies for an ecological balance of shellfish resources and the reintroduced sea otters.

Petersburg’s borough assembly Monday voted to approve a new three-year contract covering most employees working for the borough. The agreement with the Petersburg Municipal Employees Association is retroactive to last July and would run through June of 2020.

A controversial reorganization of Petersburg’s public utilities is complete. The borough assembly Monday approved the third and final reading of ordinances to create the new position of utility director and give that person oversight of Petersburg Municipal Power and Light. The assembly also approved the hiring of public works director Karl Hagerman as the new utility director and the promotion of his assistant, Chris Cotta to the public works director’s job. Opposition to the change continues.