City delays DOT deal

August 26, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE\Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Road construction projects in Wasilla have caused delays and headaches for the past two years, and there seems to be no end in sight.

Now the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities is facing a delay.

At Monday's Wasilla City Council meeting, council member Robert Sande and the other councilors delayed a pair of maintenance agreements between the city and DOT.

The agreements call for the city to maintain landscaping and storm-drain improvements that DOT will place along the Parks Highway between Crusey Street and Lucas Road, safety improvements at Lucille Street and East Nelson Avenue.

Sande was uncomfortable with entering into the agreements, since both called for the city to maintain amenities in the designated areas, and the amenities have not yet been agreed upon.

"I'm afraid that if we move forward with these agreements without knowing what the amenities are that we could be entering into a budget-busting project," Sande said as the council debated the resolutions. "We should hold off until such a time as we know what the amenities are so we can determine the cost of maintenance."

Sande moved to postpone the agreements until the council had the information necessary to make an informed decision. His proposal passed unanimously.

Mayor Dianne M. Keller said she learned during a meeting of the Alaska Conference of Mayors last weekend in Skagway that this is a new approach DOT is taking in new construction projects.

"This is part of the new way DOT is doing business," Keller said. "It has become part of their practice to hold projects hostage until they have a commitment from the city to take over maintenance of the project."

The tactic forces the city to agree to DOT terms before the project will begin, or, in this case, be completed.

Wasilla Public Works Director Archie Giddings believes the city must approve the agreement before DOT will move forward with the next phase of the project.

"We need to take a good-faith action before they will act," Giddings said. "DOT won't start the design engineering until they have an agreement from the city to maintain the completed project."

The council will reconsider the agreements during its next regular meeting on Sept. 12 if the data on what the amenities are and the cost of maintenance are available. If there is no new information, the council will again delay entering into the agreement with DOT.

"We simply need some clarification as to what we are actually entering into," Sande said. "We need to have that information before we can proceed."

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2257 or at darrell.breese@frontiersman.com