Barton touts gas tax boost

MAT-SU -- The Valley is growing and so are its transportation needs. Several Valley roads are being expanded or improved, and that work will continue with ongoing growth.

Although the Mat-Su Borough's population has about doubled in size in the last two decades, the state's maintenance and operations budget has changed very little. And new Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Barton said it's time to find new funds.

"We need to grow the pie, so to speak, instead of reslicing the same pie," Barton said.

Barton discussed the need for more state funding for road maintenance and operations to several audiences, most of whom agreed with him, on a road trip Thursday. It was Barton's first journey on what has become an annual trip for Willow-area Rep. Beverly Masek, whose district covers from Knik-Goose Bay Road nearly to the Denali Highway. Mat-Su Borough Assemblywoman Kelly Lankford-Ladere, whose assembly district shares much of the same area, said about one-ninth of the roads in Alaska are found in she and Masek's district. On this year's trip, Barton, along with new DOT Central Region Director Mike Scott, Assistant to the Director Murph O'Brien, Mat-Su Area Planner Brad Sworts, Mat-Su Maintenance and Operations Supervisor Curt Devan and Caroline McRoberts from Masek's office, discussed road issues with Big Lake residents and a few Anchorage over-the-road drivers before heading north up the Parks Highway to meet with Trapper Creek residents about issues facing their roads.

Along the way, Barton was able to view several problems facing Mat-Su roads -- pavement problems in the north end of the borough, the burned-out hull of the old DOT Willow Maintenance Station, brush-cutting needed in the Willow area, right-of-way issues and future planning efforts.

Although Barton said every area had a list of road problems all their own and addressing all of them is one of the larger challenges of his job, the overriding challenge, he said, is the shortage of funds to pay for things like plowing roads and filling potholes.

The federal government, Barton told residents in Big Lake and Trapper Creek, gives Alaska four to five dollars for every dollar Alaska invests in its road system. But that money doesn't pay for plowing roads, it can only cover the cost of new construction or renovations. Even the amount of federal money Alaska received is down this year, a drop of about $80 million. The reduction, along with the increasing cost of construction and right-of-way costs, means fewer construction projects are slated for the 2004 statewide transportation improvement project or STIP list.

One way to curb the reductions, Barton said, is to bring more money into the state.

"The governor, last session, proposed a gas tax and I anticipate he probably will this session also," Barton said.

The governor's proposed gas tax, Barton told Big Lake residents, would have increased the current eight-cent-per-gallon tax to 20 cents. The hike would generate about $71 million for the state, as compared to the $28 million brought in today. The money would only be able to be dedicated to DOT's budget if a change were made to the Alaska Constitution, and would otherwise go directly into the general fund.

Increasing the gas tax was a hard sell to Valley residents who turned out to speak to Barton Thursday. About four raised their hands in favor of the idea at a public meeting at Mahoney's in Big Lake. Others said they'd more likely support it if they had some guarantee the money would go toward roads.

"It's a bad time to ask right now, with the recent increase in gas prices," one Big Lake resident said.

The gas tax was a harder sell in Trapper Creek.

"A 20-cent gas tax would certainly affect us more than it would somebody in Anchorage," said one Trapper Creek resident. "We have to go 90 miles to the grocery store."

Barton, in discussions in both communities, discussed alternatives. In Trapper Creek, one resident suggested making the gas tax seasonal. Others suggested putting toll-booths at the Alaska-Canada border and trading in permanent-fund dividends for funding state services.

Barton said Gov. Frank Murkowski has not yet announced he will reintroduce the gas tax legislation, and said suggestions will be considered before it's reintroduced. But it's likely that proposal and other suggestions will come from the governor's office as to how to increase state funding and grow the state's economy. Barton said it's important a share of the added money goes toward building and maintaining Alaska's roads.

"The best way to grow the pie is to grow the economy," Barton said, "and the governor is really committed to that. Transportation has a very important role in growing the economy."