Murkowski team takes local input

WASILLA -- A group of Valley residents tapped to assist Governor-elect Frank Murkowski during the transition period for the new state administration met with members of the public last Saturday.

The Mat-Su issues team was one of several of Murkowski's transition team forums. Each group has six sub-committees who will draft reports specific to six general areas of government: Transportation, revenue, human resources, public safety, education, and natural resources. About 60 local leaders -- tapped mostly from Murkowski campaign supporters and Republican party circles -- made up the Mat-Su transition team subcommittees.

The subcommittees -- called Issue Groups by the transition team -- took public input for two hours Saturday morning at Wasilla High School. Wasilla area resident Greg Brooker stopped by to talk to the natural resources group about trails an access to areas off the road system.

"I think the only way we're going to get development is to let people do it. If somebody wants to make a trail to the Susitna or to Mount Susitna, let them do it," Brooker said.

I have a feeling that Frank will open things up as opposed to lock them up," Brooker said after speaking with the resources issues group. "… Settlement is a nasty, dangerous, dirty business and it has to be done -- It has to be done by the people and the government has got to get out of the way and let them do it."

Down the hall at the revenue issue group Mark Masteller, executive director of the nonprofit Alaska Center for Appropriate Technology spoke to the group about the long-term costs of energy supplies in Bush Alaska. Masteller said barged-in diesel wasn't a financially or ecologically sustainable way to generate electricity over the long term. He said he hoped Murkowski's administration would pay as much attention to planning small projects as it does to large projects such as the proposed trans-Alaska gas pipeline.

"What does a natural gas pipeline do for Kwethluk? Nothing really," Masteller said.

Masteller suggested that local gas, wind power or other alternative energy sources could power bring sustainable energy to Bush villages. He said government agencies such as the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation, and the Denali Commission could lead the way in appropriate technology research but worried that those agencies could be threatened by budget cutting efforts.

"ASTF can do some of these things and I fear that they are going to disappear because of this fiscal emergency," Masteller said.

He also spoke to the committee about finding manufacturing jobs for Alaskans, and mentioned small lumber mills and recycling.

"As far I know, we don't have anyone taking the aluminum and making aluminum cans and putting Pepsi back into it," Masteller said.

The Mat-Su issues group met with more than 50 residents Saturday. Revenue sub-group co-chairman Robert Hall said after the meetings that residents who spoke to his committee came from a variety of perspectives.

"Clearly, they showed up because they had something to say and issues that were important to them," Hall said.

Hall's sub-committee had local government finance experience on-board in Wasilla City Finance Director Ted Leonard and former Mat-Su Borough Finance Director Desi Mayo. Hall said the committee was drafting a "strong statement" on the subject of what is known as outcome-based or performance-based accounting for state government agencies.

"[The accountants] were really helpful when we started talking about not necessarily revenue but the budgeting process," Hall said "… we're going to have a strong statement on that, and it's going to be written by the Ted Leonard's of the world."

The Mat-Su issues group meets to draft its findings tonight at 7 p.m. at Evangelo's Restaurant. The public is invited to attend, but a public comment period is not on the agenda for tonight's meeting.