Palmer City Council tackles variety of topics

PALMER — The Palmer City Council discussed aeronautical campgrounds, plastic bags, and temporary structures and commended the United States Postal Service in their regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 9 at City Hall.

"We're talking about people getting caffeine here, this is an important matter," said Councilman Steve Carrington.

The board heard lengthy discussion on ordinance 15-003 to amend the municipal code to authorize temporary structures under Chapter 17. Currently, temporary structures, mainly conex storage containers and drive-through coffee shops, are allowed in the industrial park and commercial district.

"Don't allow things to linger that should be addressed and can be addressed by this body. Having a formal process in planning and zoning is the ultimate goal but reviewed by the council," said Councilman Richard Best.

The change in code was first brought to the board in 2015. An independent adjudicator for the planning and zoning committee currently decides who gets permits. Council discussion ranged far and wide, asking what actually defined a structure and how temporary would said structures be, noting a coffee stand going on 16 years under the permit. Having heard the ordinance in November and sent it back to planning and zoning, the council still found flaws in the way the code was written. Rather than wait for Planning and Zoning to complete their scheduled rewrite of Chapter 17, the council voted the ordinance down.

"We're just trying to make sure that property values are protected and there's a plan for something better," said Councilman Brad Hanson. "Maybe not go away but maybe moved, maybe dressed up, maybe disguised, something more. We did all those things because we believe in the community and we want to see it better... This is our responsibility and these policy issues they're important to the community and we need to treat them like that."

Definitions are yet to be determined, but the council is now the determining body over what temporary structures may receive permits in the city of Palmer. The council will now handle four pending requests for extensions of conditional-use permits for temporary structures.

The council also presented a citation to the Palmer Post Office, which has served the city for more than 100 years. Mayor Edna DeVries lauded the postal workers for delivering packages on Christmas Eve, which fell on a Sunday. Postal workers do not traditionally deliver packages on Sundays.

City Manager Nathan Wallace detailed the ongoing Wastewater Treatment Facility in his report. According to Wallace, the facility is surpassing 50 percent completion while remaining on or under budget. Wallace also said that the continued runway renovations at the Bud Woods Memorial Airport are at a halt, as the only piece of equipment in the state able to finish the job is at the airport in Anchorage and will not be available for the Palmer airport soon. Wallace also detailed a bid out for work on mold at the Palmer Pretrial facility. Councilman Hanson again noted cracked sidewalks along the Palmer Senior Field. Wallace was unsure if the sidewalk was specifically scheduled to be fixed, but that funds had been made available for bringing sidewalks up to code. Wallace stated that surveillance cameras for the downtown area and airport were having policy developed for their implementation.

Mayor DeVries detailed her participation in the Railroad Task Force appointed by the governor.

"To me there's lots of questions," said DeVries. "What happens when we dump those people in downtown Anchorage? Then the speed of it, sure there are times when we hear the horror stories of three hours to get home, but there are many more days where it's 45 minutes or an hour. If we can't beat that with the train you're only going to get the people that like the idea of riding on a train and that's not going to be enough to pay for it."

The council unanimously passed an ordinance allowing aeronautical campgrounds near the airport. The council renewed liquor licenses for Pizza Ria Delphi and Turkey Red, along with the purchase of a snowmachine for search and rescue.

Molly Boyer and Carol Montgomery of the Mat-Su Zero Waste Coalition spoke in favor of a plastic bag tax or ban, citing the recent plastic bag ban in Wasilla.

"I don't mind something coming forth and having discussion. What happened with the smoking ban was we just put it on the ballot as well as we did the marijuana thing. Let the people in Palmer vote... I remember when we had paper bags and we did away with them because of saving the trees. I'm pretty open to it. Let's bring it forth in discussion. I'm not one to squash anything, that's not the way local government should work, to be afraid of anything. Let's bring it forth and discuss it," said DeVries.

Boyer noted the danger of plastic bag ingestion by animals. Montgomery stated that in 52 comments delivered to the Wasilla City Council, 48 were for the ban and only four were against, and that the meeting was the third largest turnout in history.

The council will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting on January 23 at 7 p.m. at Palmer City Hall.

Contact Tim Rockey at timothy.rockey@gmail.com