Cities sue to overturn bridge vote

WASILLA — The cities of Houston and Wasilla have filed a joint suit, the effect of which would delay Anchorage’s decision on what to do about the Knik-Arm Bridge.

The suit requests an injunction be placed on the Anchorage Assembly and on the Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions, the body that guides transportation policy for the city, barring it from taking action on the bridge.

But since the suit was filed and before Houston and Wasilla could have their day in court, a lot has happened. The Anchorage Assembly recommended Tuesday that the bridge project be moved from the short-range transportation plan to the long-range transportation plan. AMATS met Thursday and decided to follow the assembly’s recommendation.

Houston Mayor, Roger Purcell said that in his city attorney’s reading of the law, Anchorage is required to give 30 days notice to other municipalities when considering a regional change. He said that wasn’t done in this case and that Anchorage needs to back up a step.

“They need to go back and notify the two cities and have the 30-day waiting period,” he said.

Toward that, Purcell went to Anchorage Tuesday to serve papers on the three elected Anchorage officials who serve on the AMATS board — acting Mayor Mat Claman and assembly members Patrick Flynn and Sheila Selkregg. Claman’s papers were served quietly in city offices. But Flynn and Selkregg were served at an Anchorage Municipal Assembly meeting while the body was on a break.

He said he would have preferred to do it quietly, but he wasn’t allowed back to where Selkregg and Flynn were prior to the meeting. Selkregg and Flynn were not immediately available for comment at the numbers listed on the municipality’s Web page.

Claman’s chief of staff, Patty Ginsburg, said the acting mayor doesn’t comment on legal matters and referred questions to the municipal attorney, Jim Reeves, who said that the lawsuit is moot since the votes already took place.

“We don’t think the arguments are sound. We don’t think the arguments, that are at this point moot, are valid arguments,” he said.

He also said he didn’t think that the cities had standing to tell the Anchorage Assembly or AMATS what to do and that in any case the municipality has acted legally.

“We do think that there’s been no violation of the law by either one of them,” he said.

Purcell said he doesn’t agree.

“If the bridge went from Anchorage to Anchorage (the municipality) would be absolutely right. But it doesn’t go from Anchorage to Anchorage,” he said.

Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright backed him up.

“This isn’t a bridge from Anchorage to Anchorage, this is a bridge from one political subdivision to another,” he said.

And the issue isn’t moot, both mayors said, because their court hearing — scheduled for this afternoon in Superior Court in Anchorage — could overturn the municipality’s decisions.

“The judge has the authority to overturn it all if he rules in our favor,” Purcell said.

And, if he doesn’t?

“We’re prepared to go to federal court to null and void the stuff that they’ve done,” he said.

On Wednesday, state Sen. Linda Menard (R-Wasilla) said in a press release that she fully supports the bridge and urged the city of Palmer to join the list of petitioners.

Whether that will be done is unclear. Palmer City Manager Bill Allen was not available for comment Thursday.

Purcell said the bridge has been a part of Houston’s comprehensive plan going back to 1972.

He said he feels AMATS is trying to rush to a vote while Claman is still in office. Purcell doesn’t think the body will have the votes to get rid of the bridge once mayor-elect Dan Sullivan is serving on the board.

But, really, he’s not saying they shouldn’t vote, just that they shouldn’t vote now, without proper notice. He pointed out that if the process wasn’t followed, it opens a loophole for other groups to challenge the decision at some point further down the line if the bridge project ever gets off the ground.

“An environmental group has the opportunity to say you violated the law back there so you have to start all over,” Purcell said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.