Petersburg’s Borough Assembly will meet tonight at 6:00 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers to review several new items of business — including a resolution to sell a decommissioned fire truck for one dollar. 

The Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department took Engine No. Five out of service earlier this month. They determined that the almost 33-year-old truck has a low resale value and wouldn’t be of much use to most fire departments. 

But they said that it could be of use to a community that doesn’t have any firefighting equipment at all — like the City of Hyder, a small community at the end of the land border between Alaska and British Columbia. Hyder recently re-established its fire department and is in need of a new truck. So, the Petersburg Borough is considering essentially giving them old Engine No. Five. Hyder has agreed to pay all shipping and transportation costs – in addition to the one dollar for the truck, itself — if Petersburg’s Assembly approves the “sale.”  

In other business, Assembly Member Scott Newman has requested that the Assembly send a letter of support for House Bill 201 to the State Legislature. The proposed changes in the bill would limit resident hunting, trapping, and sport fishing licenses to only year-round residents of Alaska. State Representatives Rebecca Himschoot and Sara Hannan are sponsoring the bill.

The Alaska Mental Health Land Trust Office asked the Assembly to meet with their representatives to talk about working together in the best interest of Petersburg. At tonight’s meeting, the Assembly is slated to choose a date for that meeting in early 2024.

Again, the Assembly will hold its regular meeting at 6 p.m. tonight 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.Borough Business is a live call-in show where Borough officials will talk about today’s agenda. The program starts at 12:30, and if you’d like to ask the guests a question, the number to call is (907)772-3808. There’s more information on KFSK’s community calendar.

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that the City of Hyder is not located on Prince of Wales Island, but in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area at the end of the land border between Alaska and British Columbia.