City process frustrates pilot

April 18. 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

WASILLA - After the Wasilla Planning Commis-sion rejected his petition to put a floatplane dock on Wasilla Lake near Fred Meyer, Dave Glenn wanted the city council to rethink the matter. Since the issue wasn't on the published agenda, but people came prepared to speak against the operation again, someone spilled the beans.

Glenn has been flying his air taxi, Grasshopper Aviation, off Wasilla airport for nine years, and he wanted a commercial float operation on Wasilla Lake with the ideal location behind Fred Meyer.

Glenn said he was unaware of any problem with the location until the March 28 commission meeting.

Sandra Garley, city planner, told the commission that, after research into the conditional-use permit the city issued to Fred Meyer, she discovered it specifically precluded a commercial floatplane operation. Twenty people at that meeting offered public comments on Glenn's petition. Five were in favor of the plan, including Cheryl Metiva, executive director of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce. The rest were opposed, citing Fred Meyer's broken promises, pollution, safety concerns and excess noise.

After the rejection, Glenn wrote a letter to the city council, and several Wasilla residents showed up with a copy of that letter at the April 10 council meeting, ready to speak again in opposition to the plan.

Garvin Bucaria was one. Bucaria would not say how he knew Grasshopper Aviation would come before the city council, but he did say he knows these issues never really die.

However Bucaria found out, he has been the organizing force advocating for the health of the Wasilla Lake watershed for years. Bucaria attended meetings between the city and Fred Meyer in 1998 and 1999. He kept his notes from that time, keeping what may be the only accurate records of the city's negotiations with Fred Meyer.

Bucaria kept a list of names and phone numbers of people who attended the early meetings, which helped him reconnect with residents who had expressed concern about Wasilla Lake then. Bucaria also kept a sign-up list for speakers at the recent meetings, something the planning commission and the city council didn't have. Bucaria even called Fred Meyer headquarters in Portland.

&#8220The Fred Meyer/Kroger representative explained they were neutral,” Bucaria said. &#8220How are they neutral when they offered a situation contrary to the original agreement?”

Bucaria has monitored the deterioration of Wasilla Lake for at least 20 years, seeing it through the eyes of a wildlife and fisheries biologist.

&#8220There are big problems, and Fred Meyer is just a small part of it,” he said.

Bucaria puts his money behind his concerns.

&#8220Shop there? I don't,” he said. &#8220That's the only thing I can control, is where I shop. I've excluded Fred Meyer from the mix. I used to live

in Oregon, and thought they were fine, but a person has to have some principles.”

Bucaria notified several people about both the planning commission meeting and the city council, but his concern is not with Grasshopper Aviation per se.

&#8220Most of the testimony did not attack Mr. Glenn in any way,” he said. &#8220I was very careful to address the problem with Fred Meyer/Kroger. It was about the conditional use permit assigned to that development. I think Sandra Garley did a good job reviewing those things, but she wasn't there back then.”

Katie Hurley, a longtime resident who lives on the lake, had a copy of Glenn's letter when she came to the city council meeting. She asked for a copy from the city clerk, she said.

&#8220I don't know where I heard about it,” Hurley said. &#8220I know it wasn't on the agenda.”

Hurley objected to Glenn's criticism of Garley in the letter.

&#8220She was just doing her job, reading the law,” Hurley said.

Dianne Woodruff heard about Grasshopper Aviation being on the agenda from Bucaria.

&#8220I don't know how he knew,” Woodruff said. &#8220I sympathize with Sandra, she is overwhelmed and understaffed, and she has a limited time to act. Maybe she simply didn't have any choice.”

Woodruff said she does shop at Fred Meyer, but this issue is kind of making her rethink doing so. And she pointed out that, while Glenn told the planning commission he would be flying two planes that would take only two trips a day, he then said he would fly out Bush orders, too.

&#8220If he's there doing Bush orders for people, he's making money and they'd make money,” Woodruff said. &#8220You have to wonder if there weren't some discussions at Fred Meyer and it came up. Why would they stick their necks out for no good reason? In the corporate world, you've got risk management and legal departments, and they had something to gain from potential shopping.”

Bob Cederholm also heard about both meetings from Bucaria. Cederholm lives across the lake from Fred Meyer, but he is outside the city and doesn't get official notice of meetings. He said if it weren't for Bucaria calling him, he wouldn't have known.

&#8220The guy that we all need to thank is Garvin,” Cederholm said. &#8220 He has given 120 percent to the lake. We don't have anything against Glenn. But this lake is going to get wrecked, and we don't want any more commercial operations.”

There was one public announcement about Glenn's intent to address the city council.

At the April 4 Mat-Su Borough Assembly meeting, Steve Menard, as the city council member representing Wasilla at the meeting, spoke about city events. In addition to saying the city was hiring a new attorney, Menard spoke about the upcoming council meeting.

&#8220There are going to be some fireworks regarding Grasshopper Aviation plan,” Menard said. &#8220But it's not on the agenda.”

Menard said later that he did not tell anyone else about Glenn's plans to come before the council, nor did he suggest to anyone that they should get a copy of Glenn's letter.

But on April 10, people opposed to a commercial flying operation based at Fred Meyer on Wasilla Lake were on hand and prepared to speak.

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@ frontiersman.com.