Colligan bids farewell on light night at borough assembly

PALMER — At its meeting on Tuesday, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly passed ordinances for various trail projects, postponed finalizing lists of state and federal legislative priorities, and Assembly Member Steve Colligan bade his colleagues farewell.

Three ordinances pertain to projects that are part of the recreational bond package approved by voters last year. The assembly approved plans for the Ridge Trail in Talkeetna and the historic Herning Trail. In addition, the borough will acquire land along the Old Glenn Highway from the City of Palmer near the to improve connectivity of trails along the Matanuska River.

The assembly chose to delay action on two resolutions regarding the borough’s legislative priorities for next fiscal year. The list of state and federal priorities will be back on the agenda for the Oct. 17 meeting. Assembly member Barbara Doty said on Tuesday that the list didn’t include road safety measures near borough schools that she said should be a high priority. Assembly member Jim Sykes added that, since the list is for legislative priorities and not just capital project requests, that something should be added regarding the protection of fisheries important to the Mat-Su. An amendment to that effect passed before the resolution was ultimately tabled.

Borough Manager John Moosey responded that the priorities, especially the four-item wish list to be sent to Juneau, are kept intentionally short, since the state has largely cut its capital budget in recent years. He added that borough staff had a list of more than fifteen other projects that didn’t make the final cut. One possibility that Doty mentioned was to cut the request for a new Willow library. She said that she highly valued libraries, but felt that the safety concerns should take precedence. The other three items currently on the state priority list are the Port MacKenzie rail extension, the Museum Drive extension, and road projects to access lands west of the Susitna River.

The federal list is longer, and contains some of the same items, as well as various road projects and a project to help protect the docks at Port Mackenzie. Assembly members decided that resolution also needed some tweaking, and voted to delay action until the Oct. 17 meeting.

The most recent meeting is also the last that Assembly member Steve Colligan will fully participate in. His seat in District 4 is up for election this year, and Colligan has reached the two-term limit for the assembly. While he will technically be in office for one more meeting, Colligan says he may not be able to attend, so gave his parting words. He thanked his fellow assembly members, and said the six years he spent on the board broadened his horizons. He added that they have also helped him learned to control his “thoughts and tempers,” particularly during public hearings and audience participation. Colligan referred to those as times when those attending meetings, “Have their three minutes of joy to launch at you uncontested.”

Colligan said one of his most poignant memories was of a World War II veteran whose home was in foreclosure due to an unpaid property tax bill. While local contractors at the meeting offered up the money to resolve that issue on the man’s behalf, Colligan said it reminded him that taxes, even small ones, have an impact on people.

Normally, the next Mat-Su Borough Assembly meetings take place on the first Tuesday of the month, but in October that day is the same as the borough election. In addition to Steve Colligan’s seat, Assembly Member Dan Mayfield is also up for re-election. His opponent in District 5 is Clayton “Mokie” Tew. Colligan’s seat is a two-way contest between Pat Hogan and Ted Leonard. Other items on the ballot for Oct. 3 include two school board seats and a sales tax inside the Talkeetna Sewer and Water District to fund the fiscally strapped system.