Nome Common Council canvasses election

The Nome Common Council canvassed last week’s municipal elections and made official the results. After voting down one questioned ballot — the voter, a Nomeite, was registered in Fairbanks— the council signed off on the election results. In all, 431 ballots were cast. Mayoral candidate Ken Hughes received 265 votes, defeating incumbent mayor John Handeland who received 137 votes. There were 24 write-ins. No other race was contested.
Adam Lust received 366 votes for Seat E on the Nome Common Council, with 33 write-ins.
Incumbent Mark Johnson received 383 votes to remain in seat F on the council. There were 19 write-ins.
Larry Pederson received 362 votes and remains Utility Board seat D.
Darlene Trigg and Marjorie Tahbone kept their seats on the school board with 360 and 377 votes, respectively.
Proposition 1, asking voters to approve a one percent sales tax increase, passed narrowly by eight votes, with 216 voters approving and 208 voters disapproving of the increase.
Of 2,548 registered Nome voters, 13 voted early and 418 found their way to the polls at Old St. Joe’s on election day. The turnout was 16.72 percent.
Council members Scot Henderson, Maggie Miller, Kohren Green, Adam Martinson and Cameron Piscoya voted to canvass the election.  Council member Mark Johnson was excused due to travel.
Prior to swearing in the new mayor, new council member Adam Lust and student representative Alora Stasenko, City Manager Lee Smith asked for the council’s blessing to purchase a reconditioned Caterpillar landfill compactor on a lease-to-own basis for a total of $314,000 including interest. Smith argued that the continued use of backhoes and bulldozers to manage the city’s trash at the landfill causes frequent damage to the heavy equipment, causing major backlogs of regular operations that the machines were supposed to perform. He said that proper compaction of waste would extend the life of the current landfill cell up to 10 years.
Public Works Director Cole Cushman found a used, reconditioned compactor in pristine condition that is sold by a city in Texas for $290,000 plus interest. The compactor would come with a warranty, Cushman said.
Rather than depleting the city’s heavy equipment fund for one piece of equipment, Smith recommended to make payments on the compactor, $18,000 every quarter for five years.
The council signed off on the deal and voted unanimously to move forward with the acquisition of the compactor.
Council member Scot Henderson inquired about the progress of the 3D-printed house experiment. City Manager Lee Smith expressed disappointment that the house has not made much progress after this summer and offered “cautiously optimistic” hope the project owners would better manage logistical problems. The house-building ran into problems when the concrete the 3D-printer used was contaminated with larger rocks and new materials had to be brought to Nome. The printer, Smith said, will leave Nome soon and is bound to Hawaii, where it will be put to use on another project.
John Handeland bid farewell to the Nome Common Council with an emotional farewell speech. He said it had been his deepest honor to have serve Nome as mayor, twice, for a total of 20 years. Serving as mayor can be a balancing act. “You quickly learn not everyone will always agree: you’ll be the hero to some and the villain to others,” he said.
Getting emotional when he recounted difficult times “with heartbreak and a wet pillow” when a mayor has to console a family in times of personal loss or regional tragedy. As he bid them farewell as the mayor, he added, “know,however, that my care, commitment and compassion for the people of Nome is unwavering.”
After doing the honors of swearing in Ken Hughes, he pulled Hughes into heartfelt hug and thus handed the baton over to his successor.