A courtroom showdown between MEA, borough is averted, to our relief

Frontiersman editorial board

It was refreshing to hear Matanuska Electric Association and the Mat-Su Borough were able to reach an agreement early last week, effectively ending their courtroom battle over a power-line route needed to provide a second source of electricity to the new Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, which is currently under construction near the Trunk Road and Parks Highway intersection.

MEA had contended it needed to run the power lines through the borough's central landfill, which would have also required the lines to cross privately owned land.

The compromise route has power lines running through a gully at Crevasse-Moraine park and extending across land owned by the University of Alaska, but all parties agree the new route is the best route.

MEA has a long history of complicated legal battles and it is encouraging to see this matter could be resolved before additional taxpayer and co-op money was spent on exorbitant legal fees.

The compromise also showed promise that this community can resolve its differences in a reasonable fashion when polarized parties are willing to sit down at the same table and enter rational, productive discussions. The only parties who have profited from the ugly courtroom dramas of the past have been attorneys, while Mat-Su taxpayers and utility users were left to foot the bill.

When a community experiences the breakneck growth we've seen in the Mat-Su, it's not uncommon for squabbles to erupt over planning and growth-related issues. How those issues are handled, however, says a lot about how a community functions.

We hope this out-of-court settlement is a sign of progress for our community and that other groups who find themselves at odds with those who hold opposing views will take a page from this accord between MEA and the Mat-Su Borough and improve on it by initiating fruitful deliberations at the start of an issue, making it easier to find common ground.