The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved multiple purchases for South Peninsula Hospital and reelected their assembly president and vice president at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Central seat Assembly Member Brent Johnson and Soldotna seat member Tyson Cox were once again elected to be assembly president and vice president, respectively.
The assembly also approved a purchase of the Stryker Mako SmartRobotics System for South Peninsula Hospital. The system is used to perform knee replacement surgery – a procedure the hospital reports many patients currently leave the peninsula to do.
Over the course of the 7 year agreement with Stryker Mako, the borough is projected to pay more than nine hundred thousand dollars for the machine through purchasing implants.
Borough resident Chris Vanslyke supported the purchase, but also commented on other potential technology slated to enter the market.
“We're going to see a drastic change in what the status quo offers, which includes what the state of the art is offering,” he said, “and this stuff is head and shoulders better than what the current offering is.”
Assembly members still approved the purchase, with many stating not having a system for the near future would delay patients’ access to the procedure.
The assembly also authorized a contract for the hospital to acquire new medical software.
In Nikiski, the Fire Service Area received funds for a new fire engine, and the region’s Fire Mobile Integrated Healthcare Program received a $250,000 grant from the Healthy and Equitable Communities Program.
The assembly agreed to request Governor Mike Dunleavy to designate the Upper Cook Inlet East Side Set Net Fishery as an area impacted by an economic disaster this year and to support a recovery plan.
Finally, the assembly tabled a resolution to create a program under the Municipal Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience, or PACER Act. The program — which has already been implemented in Anchorage — would allow the borough to finance energy and resilience improvement projects for commercial, industrial and multifamily properties.
While many members supported the PACER Act as a whole, many like Borough Mayor Peter Micciche had concerns on the burden a program would place on staff. Borough Finance Director Brandi Harbaugh said that implementing a program like this would be a lot of work.
“Finding time and staff's current schedules to do these things, it would be difficult,” she said, “it perhaps could require additional personnel, specifically in the beginnings of the process to get that going.”
In addition to these decisions, Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships of the Southern Kenai Peninsula presented their recent community health needs assessment findings to the assembly. Steering committee members Lorne Carroll and Claudia Haines invited residents to attend their next community meeting taking place at the Kenai Peninsula College Kachemak Bay Campus this Friday.
The next borough assembly meeting is on November 14.
