Author: kfskadmin

Petersburg’s city council Monday approved new five-year contracts with two city department heads, postponed a vote on another contract and voted down yet another. The council will try again at their next meeting to approve contracts for the city’s parks and recreation director and harbormaster.

A partially finished shelter at Sandy Beach Park has used up a little more than half of the federal grant money that the city secured for the project and should be completed this year, according to the city’s parks and recreation director. The Sandy Beach shelter number 2 received a grant of just over $49,000 from the federal Secure Rural Schools program. The money was awarded to the project by a joint committee of Wrangell and Petersburg residents called the Resource Advisory Committee, or RAC, and it was intended to fund half of the cost of rebuilding the shelter. The city undertook a rebuild of the entire structure and has spent around $31,000 of the grant money with plans to complete the structure in the next three months. Joe Viechnicki spoke with parks and rec director Ryan McFarland about the project.

Supporters of an effort to recall two Petersburg City Council members are trying again. Local residents have resubmitted applications for recall of councilors Lee Corrao and Sara Stoner, with more detailed allegations of Open Meetings Act violations.

A former Petersburg resident and author is speaking tonight at the Petersburg Public Library about her new book and efforts to raise awareness about Tourette Syndrome. Mandy Ostheller, formerly Mandy Fleming, graduated Petersburg High School in 1999 and went on to Eastern Washington University. Her first book “Rise of the Sun” was published in March and she expects the second book of a trilogy “The Sun Will Fall” to be out this October. Ostheller is married with three children, one of whom was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. She is donating profits from her book to an organization that studies the disorder. Joe Viechnicki spoke with her and started off by asking about her first book.

The city of Petersburg will not be releasing documents written by two city councilors about former city manager Rich Underkofler. The documents were given out to the mayor, council members and Underkofler at the council’s June 15th meeting and according to council members detail some of the reasons the council voted to end Underkofler’s employment.