Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 5583
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously during Monday's meeting to accept a proposal from Alaska Public Entity Insurance (APEI) to perform a review of the borough's hiring practices and safety programs. APEI, which is also the borough's insurance carrier, will conduct the review free of charge and will report its findings back to the assembly in 60 days. The move comes after community members pushed for a third-party investigation into the borough's policies in an effort to prevent...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly will hold the third and final readings of two ordinances that could affect local harbor operations at its meeting next Monday. Ordinance #2023-07 would limit the amount of moorage space than can be used by live-aboards and increase fines for wake violations while Ordinance #2023-09 would codify harbor parking enforcement. Both ordinances were unanimously approved by the assembly during their first and second readings last month. The Harbor and Ports Advisory...
The Petersburg Medical Center is planning to hold free youth mental health first aid classes, teaching adult community members how to look for warning signs and help young people experiencing mental health problems. The classes are being made possible through a $10,000 grant awarded by the Petersburg Community Foundation. The grant will be used to get two hospital staff members-Katie Holmlund and Becky Turland-certified as youth mental health first aid facilitators so they can put on free...
Last week’s article “Petersburg Community Foundation awards $28,000 to local organizations” incorrectly stated that PMC’s grant funding would go to support establishing free of charge youth mental health services in town. As clarified in the story this week on page 3, the grant funding awarded to PMC will not establish direct mental health services, but is designed to provide training and tools to community members to be able to best respond to youth experiencing mental health issues....
Petersburg Parks & Recreation closed the doors to the community center Monday to begin their annual summer maintenance, which will last until June 12. The fitness court and aquatic center are both receiving several important tune-ups during the two-week period, breathing new life into the facilities and ensuring that everything runs smoothly for another year. Parks & Recreation Director Stephanie Payne said, "We have a few surprises for the weight room...that way when people come in, they do...
The Petersburg Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation, presented eight grants last Saturday supporting community nonprofits. Hosted by Sue Paulsen, the event brought together volunteers, community members, and representatives from local organizations to award over $28,000 in grants. Before the grants were announced, Jeanette Ness was named as this year's recipient of the foundation's Volunteer of the Year award. Glo Wollen, who presented the award, said, "When...
The Petersburg Borough is rolling out a survey this week that asks community members what their housing needs are now and in the future. The survey was created by Agnew::Beck Consulting, which has experience administering similar surveys in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, and reviewed by the Housing Task Force and the Petersburg Borough Assembly. "They're trying to find out from us what we need in housing ... one of the main sources of data they're going to have is what we tell them,"...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved the borough's FY24 budget in its second reading during Monday's meeting with three amendments added. The first amendment, proposed by Assembly Member Jeff Meucci, increased funding for Mountain View food service from $25,000 to $42,800 using general fund reserves. The increase was requested by the program to help meet the rising costs of food, inflation, and an increase in deliveries to five days a week, which started during the COVID-19...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its second reading Monday that could allow federally recognized tribes to purchase borough-owned land for less than their assessed value. Currently, if the assembly determines it to be in the borough's best interest, borough property may be sold below assessed value to state and federal agencies, nonprofit entities, and for purposes of economic development. If the ordinance passes, it would add federally recognized tribes,...
Over 50 people and 25 more over the phone attended a hearing last week in Petersburg hosted by the National Marine Fisheries Service on a proposal to list the sunflower sea star as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The hearing allowed NMFS to share details on the proposed ruling as well as gather input from the public ahead of their final determination. Over 20 public comments were heard at the meeting, with much of the community's concern resting on how listing the species as...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly adopted the millage rate for the next year at its meeting on Monday. The assembly resolution, which was unanimously approved, set the millage rate for Service Area 1 at 10.84 mills-down from the last three years at 11.5 mills. Outside of Service Area 1, the millage rate will remain at 4.2 mills. According to Finance Director Jody Tow, the lower millage rate will help offset the increases to assessed residential property values, which rose by about 15% in...
Over five years of preparation is set to finally pay off at the Blind Slough Hydroelectric Plant as site work for the refurbishment project nears. The project aims to keep Blind Slough, which provides approximately 25% of Petersburg's power, operational and possibly increase generation while keeping utility costs low for local customers. "It's a great project for Petersburg and the longevity of this little hydro project is amazing," Utility Director Karl Hagerman said. "We're approaching 100...
With education funding undecided, Director of Finance Karen Morrison reported to the Petersburg School District Board during its meeting on Tuesday about possible budget scenarios for the next school year. The need for an increase in funding both at the state and local levels has been driven by inflation, rising utility costs, and the implementation of the Alaska Reads Act as well as the end of the district's hold harmless provision and COVID-19 funding going away. Earlier this month, the...
The Petersburg Arts Council recently installed a new wireless sound mixer at the Wright Auditorium that will make productions easier and improve sound quality according to Dave Berg. The upgrade was made possible by a $1,000 grant given by the Petersburg Community Foundation during the Little Norway Festival last year. The Mackie Wireless Mixer will be used for concerts, plays, dance recitals, and other events put on by the Petersburg School District and local organizations. The previous sound s...
Since last September, the Elks Lodge has provided $25,000 in meals to support local youth fundraisers, $26,000 to locals in need, and $20,000 in volunteer time and other associated costs of running their kitchen and dining hall. That all started with a $7,500 grant from the State Elks Association. When that grant ran out, all the costs shifted to being absorbed by the local lodge. "We expect to get another grant, but until then we can just absorb the cost, since all of this falls under our...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved a fuel adjustment charge for the annual Southeast Alaska Power Agency shutdown during its meeting last week. SEAPA is scheduled to shut down its hydroelectric power supply to perform maintenance to Tyee and Swan Lakes from May 31 to June 9. During those 10 days, the borough will run its diesel plant, which the fuel adjustment charge looks to offset the high cost of doing. According to Utility Director Karl Hagerman, the adjustment will take...
The Petersburg School District announced last Friday that it has hired Gustavus High School Principal Brad King as the new principal of Petersburg High School and Mitkof Middle School starting next year. According to the school's announcement, King has over 30 years of experience in education ranging from teaching, administration, curriculum development, budgeting, coaching, and more. "Mr. King will bring a calm, steady hand to our school, and a wealth of educational experience," the district...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly discussed potentially hiring an independent specialist to review the borough's current hiring practices and safety policies during Tuesday's meeting. Over a dozen people spoke and even more crowded the assembly chambers, filling it so much that some had to stand along the perimeter, to show support for a review. The assembly ultimately voted to direct borough staff to contact Alaska Public Entity Insurance-the borough's liability carrier-along with The Safety...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously during Tuesday's meeting to approve the borough's FY24 budget in its first reading. No amendments were made to the budget, though some are expected to be introduced in successive readings. During the meeting, Assembly Member Dave Kensinger proposed an amendment to increase the funding for Mountain View Food Services to $43,000, though it failed in a 3-4 vote with Assembly Members Kensinger, Jeff Meucci, and Scott Newman in support. The proposed...
A press release this week announced that Petersburg Medical Center Youth Programs will offer expanded summer programming to better meet the community's needs by providing additional options for childcare. Kinder Skog, the popular outdoor forest school, will expand to include a "Forest Kindy" program designed specifically for five and six year olds. Following a recommendation from the State of Alaska Childcare Program, Kinder Skog will transition from a licensed childcare program to a recreationa...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an extensive resolution during its last meeting that will move the Petersburg Medical Center new facility project one step closer to shovel-ready status. The resolution, passed in a 6-1 vote with Assembly Member Donna Marsh against, approved the North Haugen site as the location of the future hospital and authorized the PMC board to proceed with a preconstruction services contract with Dawson Construction. The new facility project was made the borough's...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed a supplemental budget during its April 17 meeting that includes spending for dredge projects, attorney fees, and more. The FY23 budget revision was amended in its final reading to increase the South Harbor dredge project budget by $1 million, bringing the borough's total budgeted amount up to $2.1 million. The project, which has removed approximately 29,351 cubic yards of material so far, has faced difficulties removing hard blue clay from the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly held a work session on Monday to review the borough's FY24 draft budget ahead of its first reading. Finance Director Jody Tow walked through the presentation, along with Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht and other borough department heads, which gave assembly members an overview of what next year's budget may look like. Giesbrecht said this upcoming budget was a bit of a challenge to put together due to increased costs of insurance, inflation, uncertainties in...
The Alaska Press Club held its annual conference in Anchorage last weekend where Petersburg-based journalists representing the Petersburg Pilot, KFSK, and CoastAlaska received awards for their work over the last year. The three-day conference was the first held in-person in four years and featured speakers, breakout sessions, and professional development opportunities with reporters from across Alaska. The Petersburg Pilot was awarded a third-place prize for Best Weekly Newspaper in the state....
Brad King, the current principal at the K-12 school in Gustavus, visited Petersburg over the weekend as a candidate for secondary school principal. He's lived in Southeast Alaska ten years, serving as principal in Hydaburg and then Gustavus. Before that he was the district curriculum coordinator in the Fairbanks school district. A teacher for 14 years before turning to administration for the last 19, King still tries to teach a class at every school he works at. He's taught social studies, Germa...
