Palmer narrowly approves new development group

PALMER — As the city moves forward to create an economic development commission, there may be debate developing among city council members about how Palmer should plan for its economic future.

The council voted 4-3 Tuesday in favor of creating the commission, but the close vote reflects the belief among some members that the city may be going overboard in creating a separate economic development body.

Councilman Richard Best, who attended the meeting via teleconference, said a commission would create another level of bureaucracy, which he considers overkill.

“In essence, we truly do have a board already,” Best said. “You’ve got the city manager, you’ve got the economic development coordinator, the chamber of commerce and the city council. In essence we are supposed to be this group that decides these things. I think this is creating bureaucracy, which I think is going to bog it down.”

Instead of creating a full commission, Best said a less permanent group, like the Citizen Efficiency Review Team, would be a more appropriate way to handle economic development in Palmer. If the city were to choose that option, it could minimize costs and city time involved with the issue.

In response to Best, Palmer City Manager Bill Allen defended the commission.

“You’re not going to have economic development that’s planned in a growing community without the city fathers and mothers determining what the policy is,” he said. “To ask the administration to go out and free wheel this — it’s not fair. It’s not reasonable, because we don’t know what the perimeters are.”

Allen said the commission could define those perimeters by holding meetings, talking with community members and discussing economic development policy with council, which would minimize impact on city staff.

Although a new debate for Palmer, Allen said he has prior experience with a similar group when he was mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. At that time, the borough created its Council on Economic Policy that includes prominent members of the community.

“If you look at the community of Fairbanks, it is a planned community,” he said. “The growth that we experienced during the ’80s was planned growth. You don’t see a lot of pull-tab stores or insignificant businesses in Fairbanks.”

Agreeing with Best, Councilman Tony Pippel said creating a commission is beyond what Palmer needs.

“I think having advice from an economic board is useful, but I think it’s more than we need to do and I can’t support it,” he said. “I support the idea, but I don’t agree with the structure.”

Pippel also said city council should make decisions about economic development, not a new commission.

Despite some opposition from council, there was support for the commission from the community expressed at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Stu Graham, board president of the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce, spoke in favor of creating the commission.

“We definitely do think it is important to have a plan to develop as opposed to helter skelter developing as we grow here in the city of Palmer, and we certainly think that’s a good thing.

Although Graham is in favor of the commission and plan, he also expressed concerns about some parts of the proposal.

When it comes to who would be on the commission, Graham said the city should be more specific. The resolution outlines members should come from an array of sectors like tourism and industry, but Graham said it should include terms like small business.

With that in mind, Councilman Michael Chmielewski proposed an amendment to reword the resolution to state the commission should be filled with members from those sectors, but not limited to those outlined in the resolution. The amendment passed.

In the end, Councilman Brad Hanson and other councilors added a few amendments to the resolution. For Hanson, it was a last-stitch effort to improve a resolution he doesn’t agree with.

“While I certainly support the idea of economic development, I personally believe we’re going about it the wrong way as far as this board goes,” Hanson said.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.