Sorted by date Results 26 - 44 of 44
JUNEAU (AP) - Carole Triem heard an unusual sound when she left an indoor swimming pool in downtown Juneau after her Friday morning workout. She thought she heard thunder, “which is strange because we don’t get thunder here in Juneau.” Instead, what she heard was an avalanche beginning its cascade down Mount Juneau. An avalanche in Alaska’s capital city isn’t an unusual event after several this year. But what was different for Triem, she said, was that she was able to pull her phone out and capture most of it on a 70-second video. “I looked...
The Petersburg Borough is responding to accusations that it made an illegal search of Karen Ellingstad's Wrangell Avenue home on Jan. 9 and 13, 2014 to seek and retrieve asbestos samples prior to the scheduled demolition that had been upheld by the Superior Court. Furthermore, Ellingstad states that entry to her home by Public Works Director Karl Hagerman violated her right to privacy and required a search warrant based on the Fourth Amendment and Art. 1, Sec. 14 of the Alaska Constitution....
Though a ruling was made Jan.16 in the case of Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad versus the Borough, the matter is still not settled. After having the case under advisement for several months, Superior Court Judge Philip M. Pallenberg affirmed the Borough’s determination that Triem and Ellingstad’s property on Wrangell Ave. was a “dangerous building” according to municipal code. Though this brought some sense of closure to the matter, which has been ongoing since summer 2013 when the Borough first sent notice to the homeowners to repair or demo... Full story
On Jan. 16, Superior Court Judge Philip M. Pallenberg issued his decision affirming the Borough’s determination that a Wrangell Ave. home owned by Karen Ellingstad and Fred Triem is a “dangerous building” according to municipal code. The ruling comes after more than two years of back-and-forth about the structure’s fate between the owners and the Borough culminating in the homeowner’s filing a notice of appeal in Superior Court on Jan. 2, 2014. The appeal was in response to a non-compliance hearing held Dec. 2, 2013 in which the Borough A... Full story
January More than 600 Petersburg residents signed up for the borough's recycling program. The Petersburg Land Selection Committee requested the borough pursue legislative action regarding the State's calculation of land entitlement for the Petersburg Borough after the committee's determination that the State's selection of land was inadequate. The Petersburg School Board approved a $2.3 million exterior wall renovation project for the Rae C. Stedman Elementary School. Petersburg School District... Full story
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report to the Assembly at Monday's regular meeting: The library landscaping request for proposals is planned for mid-December through January. The North Harbor project letter of completion was received on Oct. 29 and a final payment was made. Last week the abutment was poured and Tamico is currently securing the last girders on the Drive Down Facility Approach Dock. Rock-N-Road Construction has trenched the uplands and is working with...
Though the case is still under advisement with a judge, the building at 1011 Wrangell Avenue owned by Karen Ellingstad and Fred Triem has been taken down. “The building is down. We’re still in the process of cleaning up,” Ellingstad said in a phone interview this week. “We’re not done cleaning up everything. It’s not done done, but the house is down.” She added that work on dismantling the building has been done in stages since late August of this year. “It’s a long process,” she said. The owner’s have salvaged many of the materials from th... Full story
Borough Manager Steve Geisbrecht presented the following report to the assembly at Monday’s regular meeting: Medicaid recertification for the Mountain View Manor is approved. We’re good for two more years. Final touches are being put on the ten recently installed windows at Elderly Housing. Liz Cabrera met with Bob Weinstein from Senator Begich’s office on federal issues of interest and arranged for a tour of the Police Department. There was some progress on the dismantling of the Ellingstad/Triem house at 1011 Wrangell Avenue. The roof and a...
Attorneys in the Superior Court in Juneau recently argued over the fate of a collapsed house in Petersburg. The borough wants the house demolished, citing it is a dangerous structure, but the homeowners are fighting for more time to improve the property. The house at 1011 Wrangell Avenue is owned by Fred Triem and Karen E. Ellingstad and has been the subject of some controversy since last December when the borough ordered the house to be demolished within 30 days. Triem appealed to borough... Full story
The Superior Court Judge’s ruling to grant a stay on the demolition of a Petersburg home, which the borough deemed as a dangerous building, left a few unanswered questions. The court was silent on the, “elephant in the room,” fact that the home has been sitting on the ground after falling off its foundation for nearly five years. The homeowners Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad have had plenty of time to repair the foundation and restore their home to a stable footing on their Wrangell Avenue property. Efforts by the borough to push the proce...
A Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the owners of the house on 1011 Wrangell Ave. Tuesday morning granting a stay of demolition after the Petersburg Borough issued a demolition order against the structure. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. During June 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad, homeowners, that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building. Luczak sent written requests to the homeowners asking for a plan to bring the structure up to code. Because n... Full story
Petersburg Public Works staff is delaying the demolition of the building owned by Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad on 1011 Wrangell Ave., pending a recommendation from the borough attorney. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. In June of 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Karen Ellingstad that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building—a designation the borough assembly agreed with after a non-compliance hearing and subsequently December 2 issued a 30-day order mandating the owners repair the...
Homeowners of the collapsed structure at 1010 Wrangell Ave. have filed an appeal in Superior Court against the Petersburg Borough Assembly's 30-day order to demolish or repair the home at the owner's expense after borough building officials determined the structure to be a 'dangerous building.' The building's foundation failed in September 2009. During June 2012, Community Development Director Leo Luczak sent notice to Karen Ellingstad that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building. Sin... Full story
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht presented the following report to the Assembly on Monday night. Joe Nelson and power and light staff are working on incorporating a thorough capital project plan into the electric rate study to better outline the needs of our electric system. Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs officials are drafting a letter to the Alaska Department of Transportation in an effort to partner with Alaska Marine Highway to curb illegal controlled substances being transported on state ferries. Postal interdiction efforts...
The Petersburg borough assembly ordered Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad to repair or demolish their property at 1011 Wrangell Avenue after a non-compliance hearing last Monday and colorful testimony given by Triem, which included a threat to engage in litigation with the borough. The building’s foundation failed in September 2009. On June 21, 2012 Leo Luczak, Community Development Director, sent notice to Ellingstad that the structure had been deemed a dangerous building. Since then, Luczak has requested a plan for how the structure would be r... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly is moving ahead with design work to remodel the police station and the municipal building. Prior grant funds cover $65,444 of the estimated $91,560 design cost. The rest will be taken from a borough contingency fund. Both the police station and the municipal building have been on the borough's capital projects list for two years. The municipal building was recently bumped up after it received a structural analysis late last summer, which detailed load-bearing...
The Petersburg Borough assembly will conduct a non-compliance hearing regarding a structure at 1011 Wrangell Avenue at its December 2 meeting. The hearing comes after Leo Luczak, Director of Community Development, deemed the structure a 'dangerous building' according to municipal code. In June, Luczak wrote in a letter notifying owners Fred Triem and Karen Ellingstad, "Exclusive of the piling foundation, which has failed, the building suffers thirty-three percent or more of damage or...
Fourth of July activities brought out visitors and residents alike. Semi-clear skies and no rain made for great times for all. Festivities began in earnest Tuesday, with competitors hitting the water for the Blindfold Row Boat Races, the two person Tote Race, the four person Tote Race and the Herring Toss. After several boats got hung up in the pilings, the winners of the Blindfold Row Boat Race were Brian Pike with child navigator Kobuk VanHouten. As the Tote Races began, the tide ran stronger... Full story
Dec. 20, 2011: The court entered a default judgment against Nicole Webster. She received a $500 fine, a $10 surcharge and had 6 points assessed against her license. Dec. 21: Marvin D. Lee entered a no contest plea to charges of reckless driving, driving without valid license and failure to give immediate notice of accident. Magistrate Burrell fined the defendant $1,000 with $500 suspended, 120 days in jail were suspended, two $50 surcharges and restitution were to be paid and he was placed on probation for two years with conditions. On the...
