Petersburg’s Borough Assembly will hold its regular meeting today at noon in the Assembly Chambers — and they’ll have two new faces at the dais.
The Borough held its municipal election last week, where voters decided who will replace outgoing assembly members Jeff Meucci and Dave Kensinger. Meucci received the lowest number of votes and is projected to lose his seat; Kensinger decided not to run for another term.
Borough staff will count up 24 absentee and four questioned ballots at today’s meeting and certify the election results. The remaining ballots will decide the outcome of two close races.
Borough staff will count any qualified ballots postmarked on or before October 3rd that were delivered before the start of the regular meeting. Those last few votes will decide the tight race for a seat on the Borough Assembly.
Assembly candidate Rick Perkins is a newcomer to local politics — he has a five-vote lead over his opponent, Jeigh Stanton Gregor. Stanton Gregor served on the assembly for eight years, and lost to Assembly Member Donna Marsh last year in another narrow race – by just 31 votes. Assembly candidate Rob Schwartz, also a newcomer to local politics, is the projected winner of the other assembly seat. He got the most votes: 695. Assembly member Jeff Meucci, who was up for reelection this year, is projected to lose his seat. He got the fewest votes: 540.
The race for one seat on the Public Safety Advisory Board is also narrow enough that the uncounted votes might change the projected result. Candidate for Public Safety Advisory Board Stan Hjort currently has a nine vote lead over his opponent, Jacob Slaven.
After the electees take their oaths of office, they’ll immediately take their seats on the assembly — and kick off their terms with three items of new business.
They’ll look at an ordinance to rezone a lot near the Severson subdivision from Public Use to Single Family Mobile Home. Ambre Burrell, owner of Skylark Park, LLC, is looking to subdivide the 5-acre parcel to allow for the construction of manufactured homes.
The Borough Planning Commission voted unanimously in favor of rezoning the property at its September meeting. But the idea is already receiving some pushback. Assembly member Donna Marsh signed a letter to the Planning Commission, co-written with Kirt and Evan Marsh, condemning that decision.
They said the section of muskeg in question is a favorite spot for exploring, sledding, and newt-hunting by neighborhood children; that the development would bring down the property value of nearby homes, and that it would compromise the cleanliness and safety of the Severson Subdivision. They wrote that the idea that the open space would be rezoned for single family mobile homes “…makes their stomachs churn.”
The assembly will also look at a resolution to apply for a loan increase by almost $3 million to finance an upgrade to the Borough’s wastewater infrastructure, which would be repaid over a term less than 20 years. The financial assistance for the Pump Station 4 Force Main project would come from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s Alaska Clean Water Fund. At the last regular meeting, the assembly unanimously approved a land acquisition to further the Pump Station 4 project.
The assembly will also decide whether to send a letter to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources explaining its refusal of the easements and rights-of-way for the proposed South Mitkof Subdivision. At its meeting in early September, the assembly declined a dedication for the property, which is owned by the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office.
Mayor Mark Jensen’s unsent letter says that the basis for their refusal lies with the best interest of the public, and to: “…ensure the orderly and safe development of land located within the Borough.
The property contains over 500 acres and would create over 100 lots. Jensen’s letter says, despite the Borough’s desire for more land for residential development, the Department of Natural Resources didn’t provide enough information for the assembly to sign off on the dedication in good confidence.
The Assembly will hold its regular meeting and certify the results of the 2023 Municipal Election at noon today in the assembly chambers. KFSK will broadcast this meeting live and post the recordings in our Assembly Archives. Anyone from the community can join the meeting in person, by phone, or on Zoom. There’s more information on KFSK’s community calendar.
Editor’s note: This story has been changed to reflect that candidate for Borough Assembly Rick Perkins has a five-vote lead over his opponent, Jeigh Stanton-Gregor.
