Palmer City Council passes all but one ‘embarrassing’ item

WASILLA — “Postpone” was the word of the evening at Tuesday’s Palmer City Council meeting, where a seemingly benign appointment turned into a public embarrassment.

On account of an allegedly truncated application period, councilman Richard Best moved that Allan Linn’s appointment to the Palmer Airport Advisory Board be postponed until the next regular meeting to allow latent applications to come in via U.S. mail.

With the application period closing Monday afternoon, Best said Linn’s appointment Tuesday evening would be premature and unfair to applicants who mailed their paperwork on Sept. 26.

Mayor DeLena Johnson was not pleased with the motion, especially with Linn seated in the audience. She said she asked Linn to be on the board months ago, and the appointment simply never made it on the agenda.

“The postponement doesn’t matter, I just think it’s kind of rude,” she said.

Nevertheless, the motion was seconded by councilman Steve Carrington and supported by councilwoman Linda Combs.

“As embarrassing as this feels, and it is embarrassing, it would be equally embarrassing if an individual walked in tomorrow saying they applied and their application was postmarked September 26,” she said.

When put to a vote, Johnson said, “no, but yes, because that’s the will of the council.”

She then acknowledged Linn and his supporters present, in effect apologizing for the delay.

“I certainly appreciate Mr. Linn being in the audience,” she said. “It’s not called political theater for nothing.”

The council did approve an action memorandum to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for professional legal services, though that also was threatened with postponement as councilmembers argued about how often the city attorney should be present at meetings.

The council also approved an ordinance restricting the parking of trailers and recreational vehicles during certain evening hours in downtown Palmer; a resolution authorizing the sale of a 6.9-acre, South Glenn Highway property to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for highway expansion; and an action memorandum authorizing the City Manager to contract Sustainable Design Group to produce Palmer wayfinding signage for $35,925, which, again, councilmembers questioned on the basis of sufficient public notice.

“It’s always good to let the public know what you’re doing, even if it’s only to let them know that a meeting is happening and they’re invited,” said Sandra Garley, Palmer’s director of community development.

Next week, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3, the council will hold a joint special meeting with Palmer’s Board of Economic Development, where former Gov. Sean Parnell will be a guest speaker.