Author: kfskadmin

Construction of a new fire department and emergency medical services building in Petersburg continues on budget and on schedule. Workers have completed the roof on the 18-thousand-square foot facility and poured the interior concrete slab this spring. In addition, the exterior walls are complete and ready for insulation. Later this month, metal siding will start going up and work on electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation systems will start. City officials urged the city council this week to continue a contract for construction oversight. In other news, the city has yet to reach agreement on a new labor contract with the bulk of its employees.

Petersburg’s city council last night passed a city budget for the upcoming year with only one change to the spending plan. The council voted to reduce a one-time grant to the Petersburg Childrens Center but left other community service funding at levels recommended by the city manager.

The short list of candidates for the Petersburg city manager’s job is even shorter this week.
Petersburg’s city council Friday decided to give out questionnaires to eight of the 39 people who have applied for the job and two of those applicants have since withdrawn their names from consideration. Stephen Giesbrecht, a manager in Electra, Texas and William Way of St. George, Utah have both dropped out of the running.
That leaves six applicants who will be receiving the council’s questionnaires, including Petersburg’s public works director Karl Hagerman and former city councilor John Havrilek.
In addition to the two local candidates also receiving questionnaires are:
Carlo Pilgrim of Boothbay Harbor, Maine who worked as a manager in Holbrooke Arizona.
Mark Hoppen, a former city administrator in Gig Harbor Washington.
Richard Hampton of Jefferson Georgia, who was a county manager in Jackson Georgia.
And Howard Davis of Cedar Grove Wisconsin. He was formerly the manager in Seldovia.
Petersburg’s council plans to review the returned questionnaires and choose candidates for interviews by the end of the month, with the first round of interviews in early July.

The company seeking to develop a hydro-electric power plant in Thomas Bay north of Petersburg this month is fielding comments and complaints from federal, state and local government agencies about its study work and a lack of communication about the project. Cascade Creek LLC is seeking its third preliminary federal permit to study a proposed plant on Swan Lake and Cascade Creek about 15 miles from Petersburg.

The U.S. Forest Service has upheld its plan for timber harvest, road reconstruction and culvert replacement on the road system of Kupreanof Island south of Kake. Two separate appeals were filed on the Central Kupreanof Timber Harvest, one by the state of Alaska and one by environmental groups along with several local residents.