Blueberry Street to see upgrades

PALMER — Palmer City Council has voted to approve a special assessment district for the Blueberry Street Area Improvements, but agreed to reduce the amount affected property owners will have to pay.

The project will replace water mains, pave streets and install storm drains, sidewalks and street lights. Major funding has already been approved by the state, borough and city, but the city is asking property owners with affected street frontage to help pay for the paving costs.

Originally, the SAD would have split $270,000, or 25 percent of the estimated paving costs, between 54 property owners.

Property owners who were in opposition to the SAD presented a petition to the council at Tuesday’s meeting. The petition included the signatures of the owners who would bear more than 50 percent of the owners’ portion, the requirement for the petition to be successful. The only way the council could overturn the petition was with a super majority.

The council voted 5-0 in favor of the SAD. Two of the seven council members — Mayor John Combs and Councilman Brad Hanson — were recused from the vote due to conflicts of interest.

Even though it passed, the council agreed to lower the cost of the SAD by $60,000 to $210,000.

“I think it was a good compromise,” said council member Richard Best. “When I talked to a couple of the people who signed the petition, they stated their intention was not to shut the project down, but to find a compromise and express their concern.”

“I think the petition was successful,” said Chris Curtis, the organizer of the opposition. “We didn’t want only a $60,000 reduction, but we wanted the city to pick up more of the bill. This should afford some relief to some of the people.”

The council also voted to change the method of evaluating what each property owner will be assessed. The final method averages two other assessments: square footage and property value.

Despite the super majority, controversy still surrounds the project.

First, the property owners had asked for a break on the 6 percent interest rate attached to the SAD.

“My understanding is the 6 percent rate is going to remain,” said Best. “But the city lawyer is looking into whether we can go on with this project, and I’m hoping he could look into changing the interest rate as well.”

The city attorney is looking into the project because of the mayor’s involvement in the initial stages, property owner Chuck Felzien said. He said Mayor Combs has a vested interest in the project and did not participate in the final vote on Tuesday. He did, however, vote to approve the funds necessary to complete the original plans before the project was made known to the public.

“The mayor admits he cannot vote on this resolution,” said property owner Chuck Felzien, “but he still voted to sign the contract to create the plan.”

“What he voted on was to advance the project to the engineering phase and to accept the money from the state,” responded Palmer City Manager Bill Allen. “He did not vote on the final use of the funds.”

Felzien, who owns a mobile home park in the area and stands to pay one of the highest assessments, also claims the City Council was given false information. The council asked if the water main improvement — funded completely by the city and state — could be completed without paving the streets. Allen responded the city would lose the grant it got from the state to replace the water mains.

“There’s nothing in those grants saying the money will be sent back if we don’t pave,” said Felzien, who reviewed the grant after Tuesday’s meeting and is planning on writing a letter to council members before the April 14 meeting.

“The council’s direction is to pave the streets and repair the water mains in Palmer,” Allen said. “I went to Juneau and got the money for that purpose. Palmer would totally lose its credibility if we used the money for something else. Everything doesn’t have to be in writing, but if you don’t do what you asked the Legislature for money for, the game’s over. They expect us to work in the sprit of fairness and fair play,” Allen said.

“I could probably go back and ask for a re-appropriation, and it may or may not make it through the political process. But I don’t think I would be invited back.”

Allen is not worried about the future of the project after the 5-0 vote on Tuesday. That’s good, he said, because the timing is critical.

“This ties into a bunch of other things. It ties into the downtown urban revitalization, and the couplet project,” Allen said Wednesday afternoon. “The big picture is a lot more than those folks were talking about.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.