Author: kfskadmin

GCI has cleared one local hurdle for connecting a regionwide fiber optic cable to its internet and cable TV service in Petersburg. The Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday supported the company’s request to build a small communications building on city-owned land next to a residential area. Some nearby homeowners did not like the location but the commission decided the communications connection was an essential service for the community and should be granted a special use permit for the site.

Southeast Alaska longliners will see a deep cut in the amount of halibut they are allowed to catch next year under recommendations from fishery scientists. The staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission released its annual catch limit numbers last week, which include a 27 percent cut for the region.

Petersburg’s Utility Advisory Board decided last week to stick with its October recommendation for a water rate increase and did not support a city council proposal that would allow a smaller rate hike. At the same time, the board is recommending a six percent decrease in electrical rates.

Municipal leaders from Petersburg, Wrangell and Kake are reaffirming their support for a powerline connecting Petersburg and Kake. City councilors from all three communities met in Petersburg late last month to talk about Kake’s power needs as well as the merits of shrinking the power agency that owns two of the region’s hydro-electric plants.

Top managers with the Alaska mental health trust and the forest service have been discussing a land swap in southeast Alaska. The details are still in the works, but it could result in some protections for thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive trust land in Petersburg and other communities around the region. In exchange, trust officials want some previously-logged federal lands where the agency could harvest second-growth timber.