Borough feels snubbed by state

PALMER — The Valley has been ignored again, said Borough Manager John Duffy, irate after looking over the first draft of the state Senate Finance Committee’s capital budget released Friday.

The fastest growing area of Alaska only received a fraction of what Duffy was hoping for. The prison goes underfunded, voter-approved road bonds were turned down, and there’s no money for the Port MacKenzie rail extension.

The budget Gov. Sarah Palin drafted included $20 million to bring utilities to Goose Bay Correction Facility. The finance committee slashed that to $6 million.

In October, borough voters approved bonds to pay for 30 percent of road improvements if the state paid 70 percent. The budget draft does not fund any of the projects the bonds would help pay.

“We’re the only municipality besides Anchorage that has the taxpayer stepping up to the plate to provide local money to match state funds,” Duffy said, “and we’re not getting any funding.”

Just $10 million would progress the rail extension project to the next phase, he said. The rail extension had the potential to diversify the state’s economy, making the coffers less dependent on oil revenues. But, again, there is nothing in the draft for that project.

In the draft, as far as funding for the borough, there is $400,000 to run water to the Garden Terrace subdivision, $10 million to rebuild Trunk Road and portions of the Glenn and Parks highways are included to be resurfaced.

In addition to the funding for the borough, the draft budget gives Palmer $2 million to replace water mains and $100,000 for restrooms at the Visitor Center. Willow gets $250,000 for improvements to its airport, and Wasilla is slated to get $430,000 for Wasilla Airport Train Station improvements and $900,000 to move Mat-Su Park and Ride to the intersection of Seward Meridian and Parks Highway.

“Clearly, the state’s revenues aren’t as high as they expected,” Duffy said. “But I still believe there’s enough money to create a fair budget. Even if you’re a homeowner, you still have some tough times. You cut back on eating out and focus on essentials. But if the plumbing breaks, you fix it.”

Some of these essentials Duffy was hoping for are improvements to Vine Road, Seward Meridian Parkway, Seldon Road, Hermon Road and Knik-Goose Bay Road

“We have three of the top four most dangerous roads in the state, and there was no action taken on them,” Duffy said. “Where’s Burma Road? Where’s South Big Lake Road? There’s no money for them.”

The projects that were cut are essential to the state’s economic development, he said. He understands oil revenues are lower than expected, but there is an amount of investment necessary for the state’s growth.

“There’s a fine line between being fiscally responsible,” Duffy said, “but you have to be careful you don’t go so far as to halt the economy.”

Representative Carl Gatto said the state received $320 million in requests from the Valley. This, combined with the state’s belt-tightening, was sure to lead to some disappointment, he said.

“I’m as disappointed as the next person,” Gatto said, “but I’m also worried about future years. What happens if we run out of money? Imagine if we had to cut services like schools and public safety.”

“We need the railroad spur that was deemed our connection to the tidal waters for the prospective of economic development.,” said Sen. Linda Menard. “I’m particularly disappointed over the match for road bonds being left out of the capital budget. This will cancel out what I think is an important road project approved by voters.”

“That said, I’m aware of the financial situation of the state and I certainly don’t want to spend more than is feasible for Alaska,” Menard said.

As far as the Alaska Railroad is concerned, the Port MacKenzie extension is still going forward, said Tim Thompson, press officer for the railroad. There is still enough money to complete the design phase, but construction will not begin until additional funds are passed.

Another issue concerning Duffy is the use of money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Instead of funding new “shovel-ready” projects, money from the federal stimulus package is replacing state spending on existing projects and going toward routine maintenance on existing infrastructure.

“We are using the stimulus money for it’s intended purpose,” Gatto responded. “If it releases other state money, that’s a good thing. The money becomes available for something else, or we save it.”

All Duffy’s hope is not lost, though. The budget released Friday was just a draft. He hopes the governor and members of the local state delegation will work to add more spending on borough projects to later drafts. He advises Valley residents to be their own advocates and call their representatives.

“I know (legislators) have a tough job, and I know our people are doing their best,” said Duffy, “but we need to help them and express our disappointment.”

Gatto is less optimistic.

“It’s unlikely things will change,” he said. “We don’t want to change it on the floor or we’ll be here for 10 years.”

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