Michael Baish, Wilma Bagwell, Nola Lamken and Ginny Cochran at the temporary Skagway senior center in January of 2016. (Emily Files)
The votes on a proposed $6 million bond for a senior center and housing facility in Skagway are so close that there will be a recount.
On Election Day Tuesday, preliminary results showed the ‘no’ votes had a six-vote lead over the ‘yeses.’
But on Thursday, the Canvass Board met to count about 90 absentee and questioned ballots. That’s when the ballots in favor gained a four-vote lead over the opposition. The Canvass Board counted 227 votes for the bond and 223 against.
But that margin is so slim that the Skagway Borough Assembly Thursday ordered a recount to take place before the Oct. 20 assembly meeting, where the results would be certified.
The assembly did certify the election results for two open assembly and school board seats.
Newcomer Orion Hanson and incumbent Tim Cochran won the assembly spots. Hanson took 259 votes and Cochran earned 252. Candidate David Brena garnered 181 votes. Assemblyman Spencer Morgan made a last-minute effort to retain his seat as a write-in candidate. But the 124 write-in votes weren’t enough for election officials to even tally whose name was written in.
In the three-way race for school board, newcomer Jaime Bricker handily took one of the two seats, with 375 votes. Longtime board member Darren Belisle retained his seat with 280 votes. Mark Smith, who was appointed to the board last year, garnered 140 votes. The two school board seats include one with a three-year term and one with a two-year term. Since Bricker is the top vote-getter, she’ll take the three-year seat.
The recount of ballots for the senior center bond is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. in Assembly chambers.
