Hindsight is 20/20

To the editor:

Kudos to Mayor Verne Rupright, the Wasilla planning department and the Wasilla planning commission for working hard to look for alternatives to MEA’s plan for huge towers through Wasilla. Clearly, when it comes to land use planning, it’s difficult to advocate for doing the right thing for current and future residents rather than simply following the cheapest course of action.

Because of the issues surrounding overhead power lines, including their impact on views and their susceptibility to harsh weather, many communities (including Anchorage) have efforts to replace overhead lines with underground lines. The idea of installing lines in an utilidor also greatly improves options for future flexibility in grid build-out. But, of course, in the short run this is a more expensive option.

In Alaska we have the opportunity to save tax dollars by learning from the many other communities that have traveled these paths. When a community is young, few people see the need for land use planning; it’s often viewed as unwanted government interference. But at some point, people realize that protecting the qualities they love about their community requires planning and investment.

Wasilla is no exception to this pattern. Hindsight is 20/20, and I’m sure many people would do things differently given a chance. More importantly, we save a lot of tax dollars over the long run if we leapfrog to a solution other communities have developed through expensive trial and error. (Just like many countries that are not installing phone lines — they’ve gone directly to cell towers.)

Rather than install unsightly, huge towers now and eventually, at far greater cost, decide they need to be underground, let’s do it right the first time. If you go cheap, your community ends up looking cheap.

Mark Masteller

Palmer