Southeast Alaska longliners will see a deep cut in the amount of halibut they are allowed to catch next year under recommendations from fishery scientists. The staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission released its annual catch limit numbers last week, which include a 27 percent cut for the region.
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Petersburg’s Utility Advisory Board decided last week to stick with its October recommendation for a water rate increase and did not support a city council proposal that would allow a smaller rate hike. At the same time, the board is recommending a six percent decrease in electrical rates.
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Municipal leaders from Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake are reaffirming their support for a powerline connecting Petersburg and Kake. City councilors from all three communities met in Petersburg late last month to talk about Kake’s power needs as well as the merits of shrinking the power agency that owns two of the region’s hydro-electric plants.
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Top managers with the Alaska mental health trust and the forest service have been discussing a land swap in southeast Alaska. The details are still in the works, but it could result in some protections for thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive trust land in Petersburg and other communities around the region. In exchange, trust officials want some previously-logged federal lands where the agency could harvest second-growth timber.
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Petersburg officials will address questions and concerns over the town’s borough petition in a public forum tonight (4/16). The borough would incorporate 43 hundred square miles of land and water. Supporters say the plan would broaden the tax base for local education, maintain or increase several sources of state and federal funding, and help ensure more local control over planning and development in the area. Borough opponents have raised concerns that outlying residences and communities will have to pay taxes for services they don’t receive….and they worry about losing their local autonomy under a new layer of government. The city council finalized the proposal in February after two years of work by consultants, staff and a commission of area residents. However, it’s still short of the signatures the city needs for submission to the state’s local boundary commission. Tonight’s forum will be the city’s first effort to discuss the finished proposal with the public…..many of the questions will go to Jim Brennan, who serves as the borough attorney in both Petersburg and Wrangell. Matt Lichtenstein asked Brennan about tonight’s forum and a couple of the issues that are likely to come up.
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