How to make an error without making a mistake

This issue of the Mayor’s Corner is devoted to the fact that your mayor and city council are capable of making an error in judgment.

I am sure this does not come as a revelation to anyone. I believe we made a couple of errors recently that received a great deal of attention and left many of our residents scratching their heads and wondering, “What in the world are those people on the council thinking?”

I will submit what I believe to be the answers and emphasize that while we made these errors, we did not make any mistakes.

What used to be called the Palmer One-Way Couplet came about from design efforts and endorsements from the state of Alaska, the Mat-Su Borough and the city of Palmer all agreeing that an additional east-west corridor was needed to relieve traffic on the east end of the Palmer-Wasilla Highway. Although the council endorsed the one-way design, when we reached the design input stage, the community became involved telling us this is not what was wanted. I am pleased to give kudos to Mr. Jim Amundsen, P.E., the project manager from the Department of Transportation. He supported us going back to design, forming a 19-member advisory group and making every effort to accomplish the traffic relief while doing away with one-way streets. This evening I will see the five suggestions from the advisory group. Thank you who served, you helped the council correct an initial error before it became a mistake.

We still have many who are concerned about the future of the railroad tracks in downtown Palmer. When the Alaska Railroad Corp. announced it was unable to bring a train to the downtown depot for Colony Christmas due to the poor condition of the tracks, I felt it would be a good idea to remove the tracks and base material and develop a greenbelt through the middle of town. Should Alaska Railroad decide to rebuild the tracks, it would be that much closer to completing a project of this nature as a new base, ties and rails would be needed. I envisioned a representation of the tracks be retained on both sides of the Depot with historical markers speaking to the history of the rail system in Palmer. Additionally, the Shane Woods Memorial Trail from the fairgrounds to the Matanuska River will offer a lookout over the river valley. This will be constructed parallel to the tracks for hiking and biking in any event, as funds become available.

Track removal was discussed by the council, and initially we were to discuss this with ARRC. Then I met with Gerry Keeling, who provided an in-depth history of the Alaska Railroad and the city of Palmer. Also, many others, including Ms. Kiersten Johnson, who wrote an open letter to me in mid-January.

Again, the council halted any action to discuss the issue further until we could get a better idea of what action, if any, would be taken.

A charrette (advisory committee) has been formed for this purpose. I encourage Ms. Johnson and other interested parties to contact our city manager at 761-1317 or ballen@palmerak.org to take part. In the meantime, the railroad tracks are staying put.

In conclusion, it would be much better to give the council input before action is taken. We do hold public hearings. The city agendas can be found at www.cityofpalmer.org. And finally, I will leave you with a quote from President John F. Kennedy: “An error does not have to become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.”

John Combs is the mayor of Palmer.