WASILLA — A local law firm has plowed through piles of paperwork and has moved on to the next stage of its probe of the city and administration.

Wasilla City Council selected Denali Law Group last month to head an investigation into the actions and communications between Meritage Development Group and city administration. After eight to 10 hours of following a paper trail, the law group has began the interviewing process of its probe.

“So far I haven’t met with any opposition and the interviews have been very fruitful,” said Richard Payne, an attorney with Denali Law Group. Although Payne couldn’t comment on any details of the ongoing investigation, he said work is  progressing. After the council selected the local law partners for the investigation, the city provided many binders full of information, he said. With all of the paperwork perused, the investigation is moving forward and staying on track.

Payne expects to report his findings by the council’s June 23 deadline. The only thing that could jeopardize meeting that deadline is if interview subjects present opposition. Although it’s possible, opposition is unlikely considering the cooperation so far, he said.

Councilman Steve Menard was the original sponsor of the probe. He said the need to look into communications and actions of city administration and developer became apparent after certain city documents were uncovered. One of those documents has become known as the “Aug. 24 Letter.”

The letter was sent to the owners of the Windbreak Café and Six Robblees after the two local businesses declined to sell their property to Meritage to help make way for its planned Creekside retail development near the Parks Highway. The letter, signed by Mayor Dianne M. Keller, uses what the businesses and some on the city council consider threatening language to communicate that the city could take parts of the land to create access for the Meritage project.

With that letter and other questions about the city’s relationship with Meritage, Menard said an independent review and report is the best way to proceed.

“I felt there was enough there that didn’t pass the initial smell test and I wanted to bring it to the council,” Menard said.

In addition to communications between the city and developers, Menard said it didn’t seem fair that longtime Wasilla businesses were being strong-armed by the developer and the city. For now, Menard said he and the rest of the council have to sit back and wait for the investigative report. When it comes time to review the report, the council has options depending on what the investigation finds.

If the investigation reveals any illegal or ethical transgressions, Menard said the council could propose a resolution in support of the mayor’s resignation. If nothing illegal is found, another option would be to address the city’s ethics code.

“The code itself doesn’t define what is ethical business practice and what isn’t ethical business practice,” he said.

Similar to Menard, Councilwoman Dianne Woodruff said there are several reasons why the investigation is necessary. For Woodruff, it’s a matter of legality, ethics and preventing future problems.

“The bottom line is that we owe it to our citizens to make sure the city is operating in a fair and transparent manner,”  she said.

When it comes to legal or illegal actions, Woodruff said it’s hard to tell whether the investigation will find something that was actually illegal; however, there is more to the probe than looking for any potential illegalities. Ethics is also an area of concern for her.

Woodruff said she asked the law firm to look for specific communications or actions that could be considered unethical for city staff and administration. If specific examples are found, the city could use those to help create an ethics code.

Overall, Menard and Woodruff agree that no matter what the investigation reveals, it’s time to take a good look at how ethically the city handles its business.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com                    or 352-2284.