Letter: Wasilla and mayor let seniors down

This letter is in response to Mayor Dianne M. Keller:

I was informed that you read the proclamation in support of seniors in Wasilla at (Monday's) Wasilla City Council meeting - after you said that you would be reading it at the Sept. 10 council meeting.

We did not receive notice from you or your office that this date was changed and it wasn't even advertised in the newspaper. I had planned on attending the Sept. 10 meeting along with Wasilla Area Seniors Inc., its board of directors and many Wasilla seniors. This would have been a special day for the seniors to have been there. Now they will be disappointed when I inform them it has already taken place.

Why didn't you give the seniors a chance to hear your proclamation?

Mayor, you say you support the seniors, but this time you have let them down. We have asked the city council and you to financially support this nonprofit public senior center, to no avail. You signed Resolution 07-22 on June 11 stating that you will direct the city's state lobbyist to lobby the governor and the Alaska Legislature for funding for Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.

(It said that) it is vital in order for Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. to continue to provide services and programs to the senior citizens of Wasilla and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. I waited to hear from the city regarding this matter and called Aug. 14 to follow up and spoke with (someone at the city) and I also e-mailed you. Not until then did I receive an e-mail from you saying that according to the law the city could not do this.

So where does Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. stand now? We are in desperate need of operational funding. The city financially supports many others, why not Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.? I would like to remind you that Wasilla's Mission Statement declares that:

“It is the mission of the City of Wasilla to provide optimum service levels to the public as cost effectively as possible to ensure a stable and thriving economy, promote a healthy community, provide a safe environment and a quality lifestyle, and promote maximum citizen participation in government.”

Wasilla states its commitment is to ensure the city meets the challenges of the fastest-growing community in the state and to ensure that the necessary services will be available when the residents and businesses need them. Wasilla seniors and Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. needs the city to do what it claims and financially support the local senior center.

I hope we can work together to make sure that this senior center will be available to all residents now and in the future.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Robin Hall

Executive Director

Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.

This letter is in response to Mayor Dianne M. Keller:

I was informed that you read the proclamation in support of seniors in Wasilla at (Monday's) Wasilla City Council meeting - after you said that you would be reading it at the Sept. 10 council meeting.

We did not receive notice from you or your office that this date was changed and it wasn't even advertised in the newspaper. I had planned on attending the Sept. 10 meeting along with Wasilla Area Seniors Inc., its board of directors and many Wasilla seniors. This would have been a special day for the seniors to have been there. Now they will be disappointed when I inform them it has already taken place.

Why didn't you give the seniors a chance to hear your proclamation?

Mayor, you say you support the seniors, but this time you have let them down. We have asked the city council and you to financially support this nonprofit public senior center, to no avail. You signed Resolution 07-22 on June 11 stating that you will direct the city's state lobbyist to lobby the governor and the Alaska Legislature for funding for Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.

(It said that) it is vital in order for Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. to continue to provide services and programs to the senior citizens of Wasilla and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. I waited to hear from the city regarding this matter and called Aug. 14 to follow up and spoke with (someone at the city) and I also e-mailed you. Not until then did I receive an e-mail from you saying that according to the law the city could not do this.

So where does Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. stand now? We are in desperate need of operational funding. The city financially supports many others, why not Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.? I would like to remind you that Wasilla's Mission Statement declares that:

"It is the mission of the City of Wasilla to provide optimum service levels to the public as cost effectively as possible to ensure a stable and thriving economy, promote a healthy community, provide a safe environment and a quality lifestyle, and promote maximum citizen participation in government.”

Wasilla states its commitment is to ensure the city meets the challenges of the fastest-growing community in the state and to ensure that the necessary services will be available when the residents and businesses need them. Wasilla seniors and Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. needs the city to do what it claims and financially support the local senior center.

I hope we can work together to make sure that this senior center will be available to all residents now and in the future.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Robin Hall

Executive Director

Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.