Author: kfskadmin

A crowd of more than 40 people turned out to show support for Petersburg’s City Manager at Tuesdays meeting of the City Council. It was the first annual evaluation for manager Richard Underkofler, who faced criticism from a slim majority of four members. They acknowledged Underkofler’s competence, knowledge and work ethic. However, they complained that he had treated them with disrespect. They were upset about the way he had publically disagreed with some of their directions and they accused him of pitting city staff and the other councilors against them.
The other three councilors gave Underkofler high marks and emphasized his work product far outweighed any problems with his demeanor. Their stance was backed-up by the audience, many of whom spoke to Underkofler’s talents and extensive experience as an administrator. They urged the council to keep underkofler in the job and many of their comments drew applause from the rest of the crowd.
The testimony ultimately prompted the four-member majority to back-off on a move to fire the manager. Instead, they agreed to seek mediation to try and improve their strained relationship. Matt Lichtenstein has a more detailed look at Tuesday's lengthy discussion.

KFSK has an open airwaves policy which encourages the public expression of opinions, ideas and creative works. The following commentary was submitted to KFSK by City Councilor Lee Corrao.

The Petersburg City Council plans to hire a mediator to try and improve the strained relationship that a slim majority of councilors have with the city manager. That decision came Tuesday night after the manager’s first evaluation drew extensive public testimony from a standing-room-only crowd that wanted him to stay on the job. Matt Lichtenstein has this brief version of our story:

A couple hundred young swimmers gathered at Petersburg’s Aquatic center last weekend for the biggest club event if the year – The Southeast Regional Championships. Some of the highlights for Petersburg included Preston Marsh, who took first place in individual points among 13 and 14 year-old boys and set a regional record wwhile taking first in the 100 yard freestyle. His brother Evan took first in the 100 backstroke, setting a regional record as well. He also tied for first in high points among 11 and 12-year olds. Petersburg’s Tessa Hasbrouck tied for second place in overall points for 15 and over girls. For high points in eight and under girls, Maddy Parker took second place while Elisa Larson and Gillian Wittstock tied for 3rd. Petersburg’s 11-12 year old boys also took 1st in the 400 free relay. The relay team included Evan Marsh, Ian Fleming, Vince Kowalski and Abel Aulbach. As a team, the Viking Swim Club achieved 74 percent best times which was the top “best-time” performance at the meet. In overall team points, VSC took third place. Juneau and Ketchikan took first and second. It was the first time Petersburg has hosted Southeast Champs since completion of the new Aquatic Center. Matt Lichtenstein stopped by on the first day of the event to talk with competitors, fans and coaches from around the region:

Legislation that would increase Alaska’s minimum wage got a hearing before the state senate’s labor and commerce committee Thursday. The measure would require Alaskan employers pay a higher wage that’s adjusted for inflation each year. Opponents, mainly in the hospitality industry, testified it would hurt their businesses and force them to eliminate jobs.