WRANGELL, ALASKA

Among agenda Items addressed Wrangell’s Assembly approved the authorization of a public letter in support of the USDA loan for the replacement hospital facility. This letter is done in a joint effort with the Wrangell Medical Center Board, and will be published in Wrangell’s newspaper in the weeks to come. WMC Board President Mark Robinson says the letter is a way to get information out to the public about the project before voting begins.

“Mayor Jeremy Maxand and I have been chatting about this for awhile and I think it’s a really positive thing and a good step forward. Once we reestablish the construction team, it’s up to all of us on the hospital board and borough assembly to make sure this thing happens. And it’s my job this next year to make sure we break ground in the spring and move forward,” he says.

At the Special November 15th Election, voters in Wrangell will decide whether to authorize a loan with USDA in the amount of $24,700,000 for the purpose of constructing a new hospital and long term care facility. Absentee voting begins October 31st at City Hall.

And In other items addressed, Wrangell will soon be getting a whole brighter and richer. The Assembly approved the installation of 364 LED street light fixtures throughout the City of Wrangell. The bid was awarded to Sea Tac Lighting LLC, and is funded through a grant from Alaska Energy Authority and the Wrangell Cooperative Association. Electrical Superintendent Clay Hammer says the new LED installations will cut city light costs in half.

“Our current street light costs are $45,675 a year. When we get done installing all of the 364 LED lights our yearly savings will be just over $25,000 a year,” he says.

Other items approved under new business include a change order for Evergreen Elementary School Playground upgrades in the amount of $9,202, scheduled to be paid from the grant funds provided by the state, as well as the approval to give over a 1.33 acre plot of land for the mitigation of the Etolin Street and Wood Street road and utility projects.

Finally under city board and committee appoints Leslie Cummings and Corrie Seward were appointed to 3-year terms on the Wrangell Convention and Visitors Bureau, While Samantha Satchel was appointed to the last open seat on Wrangell’s planning and zoning commission.

Join KSTK for further coverage of Wrangell’s October 25th Borough Assembly meeting in upcoming news broadcasts. To listen to the entire meeting go to www.KSTK.org.
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