Mayoral candidate criticizes Wasilla's capital budget

July 8, 2005

Spectrum/Stephen Stoll

Mayor Keller's five-year capital budget was accepted with little debate or comment by the Wasilla City Council last week. While Mrs. Keller sees this as tribute to her managerial skills, it is really just a symptom of the City Council's lack of hard work and foresight. Yes, there are many worthwhile projects on the $64.6-million list, but it is disturbing what is lacking. Five years -- oh my!

The five-year CIP list includes:

$9 million for a trail to Big Lake … but Lucille Street will get only preliminary design money. Amazingly, no construction is planned for Lucille Street in this five-year plan!

$250,000 for an events marquee Sign (the state will pay $200,000!) … but nothing for our brave volunteer firefighters and EMTs working for the borough.

$450,000 to acquire a greenbelt on Cottonwood Creek (which already has easements for public use and creek maintenance) … but nothing for utility expansions and life-saving fire hydrants around the downtown area.

$70,000 for an economic development plan (in addition to the new $170,000-a-year economic development department) … but only four stoplights are planned for Wasilla in the next five years.

$3 million for an overpass to the sports complex; the total price for this wetlands project will be much more. Plus, we are still in court over the land there. The choice of this location for the MUSC was a very foolish and expensive one.

$5.3 million in additional sports complex infrastructure, however, there's nothing for the transportation museum or the library. This additional sports complex money is for amenities promised in the $14.5-million bond Issue.

$250,000 for septic tank replacements. A real sewer system would not need the expensive repairs and high maintenance costs of our pressurized septic system. Mayor Keller and the City Council chose not to cooperate with Palmer on its sewer extension to the new hospital. Upgrades to Palmer's system right now could have saved Wasilla millions in the future when we finally hook up to their treatment system and outfall.

$3.7 million for paving. Only $1.6 million is local funding; the rest, hopefully, will come from the feds. Will your paving be free, like Lake Lucille Drive, or part of a very expensive LID? Did you know the city actually turns a profit on administering LIDs?

$1.2 million in additional Homeland Security technology funding; Homeland Security has funded millions of dollars in Wasilla, including $47,000 for security lights at the sewer plant … but our city will spend nothing to help out the families of our country's soldiers serving at home and abroad.

$50,000 to buy irrigation water meters at $1,000 per spigot to save a few utility users a few bucks on their summer sewer bills. This could have been accomplished in the accounting office with a sharp pencil at little cost and no muss or fuss. Every new home in Wasilla, it has been suggested, will need to have this upgrade installed -- ka-ching! -- whether you want it or not.

$1.125 million for a paved back door to Home Depot … yet still nothing for Fern Drive.

$150,000 for Wasilla Gateway signs, proclaiming Wasilla the "Home of the Iditarod and the Iron Dog" … yet both events are considering permanent relocation to areas with snow and manageable traffic.

$300,000 for Web site updates. C'mon, this item should be in the operating budget of every department that uses the Web site. Are fuzzy accounting methods the proper way to achieve a "zero-growth budget?"

$20,000 each for unspecified improvements to Carter, Nunley and Newcomb parks … yet nothing for long-term maintenance at the sports complex, estimated to be at $100,000 to $150,000 per year over the long term.

$50,000 for a "police staffing study,"

$92,000 for a "transportation study,"

$105,000 for a "downtown study,"

$150,000 for a couple of "area master plans,"

$2,000,000 for a "Wasilla alternate corridor study."

$250,000 -- yes, $50,000 per year in unspecified real property acquisition.

This item makes me especially nervous, as the authority to negotiate real estate deals has been abused and blundered in the past. Every transaction should be open to the public and the terms freely discussed.

Please, take a look at your city's capital projects list for the next five years. Does it meet your expectations? Do you have specific items that are not addressed in this five-year plan? I'd like to hear about them -- my phone number is 373-3447, and my e-mail is aztech@mtaonline.net. I am very glad to talk with you about what I have learned about the issues facing Wasilla, and I will be delighted to listen and learn more from my concerned neighbors.

Steve Stoll is a candidate for mayor of Wasilla.