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The Petersburg Borough Assembly approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone 43 undeveloped lots located at the planned site of the new hospital during its meeting on Monday. The assembly voted 5-1 in favor with Assembly Member Donna Marsh opposed and Mayor Mark Jensen excused from the meeting. The 43 lots are currently zoned as single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, and open space-recreational, but would have to be rezoned to public use ahead of the...
The Petersburg School Board approved the district's FY24 budget at its last meeting of the school year on Tuesday. The uncertainties surrounding education funding in Alaska as well as rising inflation and utility costs have made the budget's development a long and winding road, but advocacy efforts by school officials on both the local and state level have helped ensure stability in the district for another year. "Honestly this is a much better scenario than what I had...predicted, so I mean...
The day after Petersburg Middle School let out for summer, 7th grader Ari Warmack boarded a plane bound for New York City to perform with his guitar at the invitation of Kids Rock For Kids (KRFK), a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that raises money for kid-related charities by producing rock benefit shows featuring outstanding teen musicians from around the world. In March, Ari received a direct message on Instagram from KRFK inviting him to a zoom interview. He discussed it with his parents, Eliza...
Petersburg's American Legion Edward Locken Post 14 held a ceremony at Sandy Beach on June 14 to honor and properly destroy faded and worn flags. Members of the American Legion, Active Duty Coast Guard Service Members, and others in the community were present to see over 150 American, Alaskan, Canadian, British, and POW/MIA flags retired. The Ceremony for Disposal for Unserviceable Flags, typically held on Flag Day, was adopted by the American Legion "to encourage proper respect for the Flag of...
For many, classical music evokes images of evening gowns, baroque concert halls and impassioned, white-gloved conductors. Its mood is reverent, its audiences are serious and ever-so-slightly snobbish. But concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has set out to buck classical piano's black-tie reputation. The music, he argues, is not only for a knowledgeable few - its beauty can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of whether they know a "madrigal" from a "minuet." Rudnytsky, a professional musician...
Community members are preparing to welcome the crew of the Hōkūle'a when it visits Petersburg this week as part of its Moananuiākea Voyage, a journey that will cover 43,000 nautical miles around the Pacific Ocean over the next four years. According to the Polynesian Voyaging Society, the Hōkūle'a, meaning "Star of Gladness," is a deep sea double-hulled voyaging canoe built in a traditional Hawaiian style that can be crewed by about a dozen people. Its voyage will take 400 crew members, who will...
The Planning Commission voted against recommending that the Petersburg Borough Assembly approve the Petersburg Medical Center's application to rezone 43 undeveloped lots on the proposed site for the new hospital facility at its meeting on Tuesday. The 43 lots are owned by the borough and are located north of Haugen Drive and behind the Elizabeth Peratrovich Building. They are currently zoned as single-family residential, multi-family residential, commercial, and open space-recreational, but the...
Petersburg is ramping up preparations for this year's star-spangled celebration as Independence Day draws near. On Monday, it was announced that "Let Freedom Ring" would be the theme for floats participating in the Fourth of July parade, beating out other contenders "Tour America," "Create Hope in the World," and "Celebrate U.S." The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce is organizing the parade and Administrator Mindy Lopez is encouraging any and all local organizations, nonprofits, churches,...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance that will raise the amount that sewer utility rates will increase by in FY24 during its June 5 meeting. In May 2022, the assembly voted to increase sewer utility rates by 3% annually from FY23-FY26, but this new ordinance will double the planned rate increase in FY24, raising rates for one year by 6%. According to an annual rate review of the utility, the 6% raise is needed to keep up with increased costs and expenses to the...
The Petersburg Borough's annual Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Event is returning at the end of this month after a three-year hiatus. The borough invites the public to deliver their materials to the baling facility on June 24-25 at no cost, encouraging community members to get hazardous substances out of their homes and disposed of in a safe manner. "COVID kind of interrupted our stride, and-you know-it's taken us a couple years to get back to where we need to be, so we fully intend to make...
Devil's Thumb Shooters (DTS) attended the 2023 Alaska YESS State Championship, themed "Home on the Range" this past week at the Birchwood Shooting Park just North of Anchorage. 11 youth marksmen from DTS spent five days breaking clays in seven different disciplines, partook in a special Sadie Hawkins shoot, and even shot a few hats. Hannah Slaven took second in the discipline of double sporting clay for intermediate females, Trent Kittams took second in male's varsity wobbles, Calden Smith...
The last year has been filled with many trials for Joseph Tagaban, but with each step he is proving that he has the courage to keep marching on. "Overall, feeling really good," Joseph said while resting in the comfort of his own home on Monday. "I have weekly labs, like with the doctor, and then we're also meeting with the doctor every week or so discussing about how I'm doing, you know, updates and then any changes to medications like that, but overall, I'm feeling really great." After...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed the borough's budget for the next year in its final reading during Monday's meeting. The final version of the FY24 budget fulfills the Petersburg School District's request to increase local funding to $3 million, up $1 million from last year. The district has been advocating for a bump in funding at the local level and from the state as it faces inflation, higher utility costs, and the implementation of the Alaska Reads Act next school year. "I...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to create a new utility assistant director/project manager position during Monday's meeting. The assistant director would work under the supervision of Utility Director Karl Hagerman who plans to retire in the next few years. The addition of the position intends to mitigate the impact of Hagerman's retirement on the borough and ensure his successor has a smooth transition into the role. Hagerman has worked for the borough for 31 years and became...
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...
