Palmer Council skeptical about commuter rail

PALMER — The Palmer City Council discussed a commuter rail, security cameras and voted to improve a public safety building as well as funding a grant to the Palmer Museum of History and Art for their Garden and Art Faire at their Tuesday meeting.

As soon as action memorandum 18-038 moved, Deputy Mayor Richard Best moved to reduce the amount granted to the Palmer Museum of History and Art to $1,000. The motion passed 4-3, though immediately thereafter, council members David Fuller, Pete LaFrance, Steve Carrington and Sabrena Combs voted in favor of increasing the amount of the grant to $2,000.

The Council heard public comment from Tom Roberson and declared March 27 Education and Sharing Day, just as Wasilla had done at its City Council meeting the night prior. City Manager Nathan Wallace also presented his draft of the Rules and Regulations of the city-wide video security system.

The proposed commuter rail to from the Wasilla depot to downtown Anchorage was discussed at length, without much optimism from the council.

Wallace concluded his report by displaying his action with the Commuter Rail Task Force. The first task force meeting was Friday, March 9 and the next will be in Wasilla in two weeks.

“What is cost benefit of 150 riders off the road to $300 million in operational costs?” asked Wallace..”Something has to fund it since ridership won’t be able to, and that’s the piece that nobody has the answer to.”

Mayor Edna DeVries was eager to hear the opinions of the two council members who commute to JBER for work daily.

“As much as I’d like to see a commuter rail of some kind, I don't think with what have in place infrastructure wise it's even feasible,” said David Fuller.

“It’s sort of the chicken and the egg,” said Mayor DeVries. “You’ve got to have the ridership, but then, even if everybody in the whole Borough decided to go work on JBER and they took us all in there, that still isn’t going to be $3 million for the cost of it.

Discussion of how to best find funding for the project and then subsequently find riders was the most hotly debated topic of the night. Best proposed using the South Palmer Depot based on the existing parking area. City Attorney Michael Gatti posed the problem of moving riders from the train to their working environments once they get to Anchorage. A test program is proposed using projected numbers from those who currently ride buses. Logistical questions as to how riders would use the rail if they had to work late with only one train, as well as funding shortfalls, continued to be asked.

“Not that I believe that this is a program that has much ability to be a viable entity,” Best said, redoubling his doubt.

The proposed security cameras images would be accessible to police officers, public safety officials, municipal officials, governmental agencies and the general public. Any party wishing to view the captured images must submit a written request, however, live streaming capabilities are not available to the general public.

“Our intent is not to monitor what people are doing. Our intent is to make sure things are being treated appropriately,” said Wallace.

Highest priority for camera placement was given to the often vandalized A-Moose-ment park, followed by the north airport entrance and City Hall, followed by the south airport entrance and the skate park. Determinations have yet to be made on what types of cameras would be purchased and how exactly they would be placed to be most effective. Councilman Brad Hanson questioned the ability to place cameras on private property to get the best view of the area.

In other action, the council voted unanimously to spend $44,852 on improvements to the public safety building repair design. Rotting trusses and cracked beams necessitate the improvements, which will partially be paid for by a state grant for public building and safety improvements.

The Council also heard public testimony from Noel Kopperud, who dealt with a neighbor’s encroaching snow maneuvering tactics by contacting the city. The city’s slow — in Kopperud’s opinion — response was not what he had hoped to see and provided graphics and information the problems the snow placement caused and how it blocked the right of way. The impassioned, testimony by Kopperud served as a call to action for the Council.

“We need to do more than send to code compliance. There wasn't any snow in this other lot; it was all in the right of way. We need to take care of this in a more expeditious fashion,” said Hanson.

Roberson continued to ask for a letter of support from the council for a ‘stand pipe’ or ‘emergency fill station,’ which would use a pipe running from the deep end of the Palmer Pool to run to the nearest curb for access during emergencies or natural disasters. Robertson spent years in the National Guard and with the Nikiski Fire Department and estimates that the project would cost less than $10,000.

During board comments, councilman Carrington thanked Roberson for sharing his ‘pipe dream.’