Palmer City Council addresses trip to Juneau, new Fred Meyer and dogs in parks

PALMER — Members of the Palmer City Council addressed a trip to the capitol building in Juneau to discuss state funding, including money that would be used toward waste water treatment improvements, during a meet Tuesday night.

Council members met with Valley legislators, and Mayor Edna Devries met with Gov. Bill Walker, hoping to hear good news about funding for Palmer’s outdated water treatment system after the EPA stated in December that it was contaminating the Matanuska River. Due to the state’s budget deficit, the city did not receive the funding expected to help with the cost of the improvements, despite high hopes that federal funding would be included in the budget.

City councilman Richard Best was not in panic over the state's budget in relation to the city of Palmer.

"Palmer has always been very conservative fiscally and we've not gotten ourselves into too many ventures or projects that we've had to go to Juneau and lobby for," Best said.

Members of the council expressed their excitement of the opening of the new Fred Meyer today.

"I think it's a win-win for Palmer,” DeVries said. “There are more shopping opportunities and opportunities for existing local businesses or new businesses to expand into the existing Fred Meyer.”

The council heard a report from the Palmer Museum of History and Art, pleased with the tourism numbers from 2016. Of the 27,000 tourists to come through the visitors’ center, only 7,000 came on tour buses.

The board discussed, at length, language pertaining to the city code allowing dogs into the parks.

"That's a balancing act to keep it safe for you to be able to slide into second base without any problems," DeVries said, alluding to discussion during the meeting by city council member Brad Hanson on why dogs were not permitted on the baseball fields.

"The question has come up at Friday Fling,” Hanson said. “It's an outdoor setting and people do bring dogs. People park and walk around with their dogs. We want them to be sure that they what the boundaries are. We want the tourists and we welcome them. We have a pretty good reputation. A lot of people love our downtown area and we want to protect that and for it to be safe for families.”

An amendment was proposed by Hanson, attempting to clarify the designated areas where dogs may be allowed, but was later withdrawn.

The council similarly discussed clarification of airport regulations.

"The goal is to clarify things,” Best said. “As soon as we leave ambiguity in the middle of language that we pass, that's a disservice to the citizens and the personnel."

The council approved the purchase of two new police vehicles, and was anxious to see the unveiling of two new fire engines. The work of the city’s snowplow drivers was applauded, in light of the recent snowfall.

Public comment was heard on nearly every agenda item, including testimony by former City Attorney Jack Snodgrass on issues from the Mountain Rose Estates community.

"We do in government levels need to have that watchful eye to be sure the public has been adequately informed," said DeVries.

The Palmer City Council will meet next on March 14 at City Hall at 7 p.m.