The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted down a motion to hold a public work session with Title Network to discuss proposed communications towers, following hours of public comment and extended member debate.

Residents repeatedly urged more public information and precaution before towers are sited near homes. Judy Omer, who organized a Facebook group called "Alaska for Safe Tech," told the assembly the community needs "precautionary, and measured ways of deciding whether we just let this thing happen," and said she has circulated a petition and handouts expressing health and wildlife concerns. Jackie, another resident, distributed materials and said her concern was not with a bare tower but with "when you add the different antennas to it, that's when the danger comes".

Assembly members described the project history and legal limits on borough authority. Manager Giesbrecht said Title Network’s project is a Tlingit and Haida effort funded through a federal grant to expand Internet access, and that the borough has been instructed to negotiate sale terms for a parcel near the fire hall but has not completed a valuation or subdivision required before formal negotiations. City planning staff clarified that a tower sited on Mill Road would be a by‑right use in the industrial zone and would require only a building permit, while outside Service Area 1 there is no zoning to regulate such installations.

Support and opposition were divided. Several members said they wanted more information; others voiced concern that holding a work session now could be construed as bad‑faith negotiation after the assembly previously approved moving forward with a land sale. Member Newman said Title Network had given an "excellent presentation" in August and worried the borough could be exposed to legal risk if it tried to block a federally supported project now. Member Valentine, who said she had been absent during the initial presentations, urged Title Network to engage the public and asked that the company place facilities farther from homes if possible.

When the clerk called the roll on the motion to hold a work session, the motion failed (the clerk recorded a mix of yes and no votes and the chair announced the motion failed) and the assembly did not schedule the requested session. The mayor and staff said forming a service area or changing zoning to create new rules would be a lengthy process that would not be completed quickly enough to affect the current negotiations.

Next steps: the borough manager said he will proceed only after a formal valuation and subdivision are completed for the parcel near the fire hall and that the assembly can later direct staff on service areas or planning authority; several members stated they intend to pursue future workshops about planning, zoning and service‑area options to give residents more say on where such infrastructure can be sited.