City plan to get review

April 4, 2006

DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - In an effort to complete the City Of Palmer Comprehensive Plan, council members will review the third major revision on the document during a special meeting at 6 p.m. today in City Hall's council chambers.

&#8220The council on the whole liked the plan, but wanted more focus on essential city services like water and sewer, police and fire protection, and roads,” Community Development Coordinator Sara Jansen said.

Jansen, along with consultant Chris Beck of Agnew-Beck, has been tackling the task of writing revisions. The first draft was completed in October.

&#8220We will look at how the city will deal with those items (city services) in the future,” she said, adding that land use had been covered very specifically in the draft and the council wanted to see more details in the chapter on city services.

The council can rule on revisions to the draft by coming out of committee as a whole - a more relaxed atmosphere of discussion, according to City Clerk Janette Bower.

Residents can preview the 2005 draft of the comprehensive plan at www.cityofpalmer.org.

Also on the agenda for tonight's meeting, the council will decide whether to add more money to a settlement offered to John and Roseanne Leiner for trees and land-use lost during the construction of the southwest utility extension to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

After the white paper birch and rhubarb plants were removed during land clearing for the water-and-sewer main project, the Leiners hired a landscaper who estimated the damages at roughly $80,000, council member Tony Pippel said.

On March 13, the council OK'd a settlement of $7,000 based on acreage. The Leiners accepted that amount, but asked for more to bring the total reimbursement to $12,000, Pippel said.

&#8220The rhubarb may have been there for a long time, and the paper birch is native. But it's beside the point. The settlement will allow us to get the water project finished,” he said.

The city budgeted for right-of-way acquisitions involved with putting in the water-and-sewer extension so the settlement won't come out of the contingency fund, he said.

Last year, the city found the property in question was deeded to the person who owned the subdivision, which he sold to the Leiners.

&#8220Later, it came out there was an informal process of assigning strips of land in this common area to the subdivision's residents. It wasn't a recorded document,” Pippel said. &#8220It isn't like anyone was out to do anything malicious or wrong. We didn't know there was a verbal agreement. That one strip of land is exactly where we wanted the extension to go.”

To preview other business going before the council, go to the Web site www.cityofpalmer.org, click on Mayor and City Council, and below the group photo, click on 2006 agendas.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@frontiersman.com.