Dancing in the same old shoes with the borough and the Mat-Su Delegation

On Thursday the Mat-Su Borough and the Mat-Su State Delegation met to discuss pressing issues for the Mat-Su Borough. The past four years there has been an outcry from both sides that the Mat-Su Borough has not received a fair shake on our concerns which includes improved roads, increased presence by Alaska State Troopers, a plan to reduce crime in the valley and a fair evaluation of Port MacKenzie for the LNG pipeline.

There is a lot of work to be done with a governor who is from the Valley but has vowed to reduce the size and expense of the state government. Gov. Mike Dunleavy also campaigned on a full Permanent Fund Dividend payout. A tall order when you consider what needs to be fixed statewide.

Port MacKenzie needs a dance partner and the borough is put out by the treatment they believe they have received from AGDC. It’s very interesting to speak with both sides of the issue and a much more detailed column from me will be coming. There so much information, plot twists and intrigue on the subject it will be at least a two-part series. According to Borough representatives the analysis for Port Mac being considered the port terminus for the project has been skewed and the ball keeps moving on them. According to the AGDC Port Nikiski is by their analysis the first option. FERC will be the final decision maker. Not sure what the State Delegation can do on their end. The borough is in the better position to influence FERC since they have intervener status.

Finish the state road projects in the Borough. Ninty percent funded by the Federal Government. Over $550 million in Federal money. Knik-Goose Bay has been fully funded since 2014. Five Alaskans died on KGB in 2018. Yet we are still four to five years from completion. The state Department of Transportation has received praise nationwide for their quick action on repairing major damage on state roads from the November earthquake. Even prompting comments from lower 48 folks on social media wondering why their state DOT can’t act this fast. Well it’s the same reason our state DOT road warriors can’t act on our road projects as fast unless it’s declared a disaster.

One word. Bureaucracy.

The Mat-Su Delegation has seen this first hand in the Valley and so has Dunleavy. In an interview with the Frontiersman, Dunleavy has promised to expedite the projects as fast as he can. He doesn’t see anyone outside of the Valley disagreeing that the road infrastructure in the Valley needs to improve. I’ll remain cautiously optimistic that this can get done.

Crime and troopers has been discussed to the point we are all wore out. SB91 has been deemed a failure by most. But to reverse SB91 or make extreme changes to the bill will take a lot of cash. If we think increased trooper presence alone with deter crime, we’re fooling ourselves. Crime in the Valley has been an issue long before SB91. Adding troopers, which we must do, is really putting the proverbial cart before the horse. Without a buildup of correctional facilities, prosecutors and the overall court system we are not going to make any traction. Let me give you three examples of how victims are being victimized by the system.

It can be reasonably argued that David Grunwald’s murder was preventable by the system. In June of 2016 five months prior to Grunwald’s murder two of the people involved in the murder of Grunwald were arrested on attempted robbery and kidnapping charges. Devin Peterson and Austin Barrett along with Devon’s brother Damien were charged. The case involved Damian Peterson hitting a man over the head at a Wasilla home and the three forced him to take them to his home in Eagle River where he was to retrieve his credit cards and cash. Peterson’s own mother in a KTUU interview expressed her frustration because Damian should have been behind bars for a probation violation.

Two days prior to this incident the older Peterson brother and Austin Barrett were involved in the death of teenage victim Frank Woodford. Barrett is still to stand trial for his involvement in Grunwald’s murder. As Woodford lay dying, he was told by EMS that he was not going to survive his wounds and if he can shed any light on what happened he should do so. Woodford’s responded by saying he didn’t shoot himself. Barrett as a witness lied and told troopers that Woodford shot himself. Peterson later plead guilty to manslaughter. The case of Woodford’s death was reopened after Grunwald’s murder. Both incidents took place at home on Jasper Road. A home on Jasper Road was identified during the Dominic Johnson trial for murdering Grunwald as a hangout of those involved in the Grunwald murder. Other crimes have been attached to this group particularly the Peterson brothers. The testimony in both trials involving Grunwald’s murder clearly show a group of young men who were affixed on the gangster life and one crime seemed to lead another each escalating into the killing of Grunwald.

Another case of a failed system is that of Rory Vail Jr. A habitual criminal who despite continued arrests ends up back on the streets in the Mat-Su Valley. In 2012 Vail Jr fled troopers in a routine traffic stop and was later arrested on warrants for failure to appear on multiple theft and MICS IV charges. Fast forward to 2018 Vail Jr was stopped by troopers and identified for being under investigation for being in possession of multiple stolen trailers dating back to Feb 1, 2018. The VIN numbers were removed. Vail was arrested for two counts of theft in the second degree, theft by receiving and removal of identification marks. Vail also had an arrest warrant for forgery in the first and second degree. He was transported to pretrial in Palmer.

Then in November Vail Jr was arrested for stealing a Chevy 1500 truck in Sutton. Vail forged the title and registered the vehicle in his name at the DMV. Vail was also in possession a $35,000 camper stolen from Valley RV Center. The Troopers were able to track Vail’s exploits through his ankle monitoring device. He was also arrested for violating his conditions of release and forgery II. A search on court view shows the 29-year-old Vail has been in and out of court since 2005. The number of cases is too many to bother counting.

At what point and expense do we put habitual criminals away so they quit victimizing the community.

The crime issue will not be solved or even a dent put into it in one session of the legislator. They have their work cut out for them and so does Governor Dunleavy. Lock them all up is the mantra of most citizens. The reality is as Senator David Wilson stated, “You won’t see just one bill replaced, you’re going to see a plethora that’s going to deal with the Dept of Public Safety.”

It has to be comprehensive from arrest to prosecution to incarceration to rehabilitation. And at some point, we have to face the reality that it is going to cost monies outside of our current revenue streams to do so. The elephant in the room is where will those funds come from and like the drunk uncle we don’t talk about at family gatherings neither do we talk about the external revenue sources including that dirty five letter word-taxes.