Borough setback advisory board presents final report

A final report by the Mat-Su Borough’s Waterbody Setback Advisory Board was turned into the borough assembly at its meeting Tuesday.

The chairman, Bill Kendig, said he was unhappy with final recommendations of the advisory board, however, and recommended they be shelved. However, borough Mayor Edna DeVries said the plan should at least be considered because committee members had spent several months working on it.

The water setback issue deals with possible changes to the borough’s code requiring that residences and commercial buildings be a certain distance from a water body, such as a stream or lake, to prevent bank erosion and potential contamination of water.

The issue is complicated by the fact that several hundred structures have been built over the years that are in violation of the current setback rule. In considering changes, which would apply to new construction, the assembly will have to deal with the properties that are in violation.

No action by the assembly was required as the report was turned in. The action was just advisory and the committee is now disbanded, Kendrig said, under the assembly’s prior authorization creating it.

Kendrig didn’t go into detail as to problems he sees with the proposed new property setback rules and its proposed restrictions but felt there would be substantial opposition after people examined the plan.

During the committee’s work Alex Strawn, the borough planning director, had developed an alternative proposal that Kendrig felt was more practical. “The committee just shredded it,” and went on to develop its own plan, Kendrig said.

Members of the assembly noted, however, that seven members of the advisory committee voted to support its plan. Kendrig said he was travelling when the vote was taken but that he would otherwise have been the one “no” vote.

CJ Koan, chair of the borough’s planning commission, told the assembly that the task force was following directives given by the assembly in its original charge, which included recommendations of solving the problem of property owner out of compliance and the potential water pollution from construction activities too close to the water.

Devries said the report needs to be reviewed by the public and discussed. The topic will be scheduled for a future meeting of the assembly, she said.

It’s important not to just put the committee’s work product on the shelf in view of the time people have invested. Previous citizen task force reports have been shelved and it if happens again people will be unwilling to serve on them, DeVries said.

In other, more routine matters the assembly approved the final closeout of a $625,721 contract with Western Construction Equipment LLC for resurfacing of Tait Drive; closeout of a $1.9 million contract with Mass Excavation Inc. for upgrades to Valley View Drive; Spinnaker Drive; Admiralty Circle fand Neptune Circle, and a $2.6 million contract closeout for Scarcella Brothers Inc. for the Central Landfill grading project.

The assembly also approved a full-time position for a building maintenance technician for Port MaKenzie. Previously there was a building specialist on call.

In addition, George Hayes, the deputy borough manager, told the assembling that the groundbreaking for the new Mat-Su visitor center on the Glenn Highway will be April 11. Construction will be underway this summer.

Also, Katie Gardner, deputy Mat-Su school superintendent, said the “ribbon-cutting” or ceremonial opening of the new Mat-Su Central school will be on April 4.