Proposition 4 fails, local coaches voice disappointment

MAT-SU — When Jeremy Johnson woke up Tuesday morning, the longtime Colony High School boys soccer coach actually felt fairly confident about the potential of Proposition 4, which, with approval, would have led to more than $9 million worth of improvements to athletic facilities at five Mat-Su area high schools.

“In my head, I told myself there’s got to be a good chance,” Johnson said Wednesday. “Who isn’t going to vote for kids when it’s only going to cost like $6 per household.”

As it turns out, nearly 6,000 people.

The bond proposal — which included potential funding for the installation of turf fields at three schools and synthetic tracks at five high schools — failed by about 14 percent, according to the Mat-Su Borough general election results released by the Mat-Su Borough Tuesday night.

“When I saw the (results), I actually thought, ‘wow,’ we lost by that much,” Johnson said. “I had to really read through it, double check it.”

Johnson’s team would have been one of a number of local sports programs to benefit from the approval of Proposition 4. The bond, which would have not exceeded $9.025 million would have included a synthetic running track at Colony, Palmer, Houston, Susitna Valley and Wasilla high schools; field turf at Colony, Palmer and Wasilla high schools; and a hockey rink, outside basketball court and warming facility at Su Valley.

The proposal included prior approval by the state to reimburse 70 percent of the cost of the projects, leaving 30 percent to borough taxpayers. According to information provided by the Mat-Su School District, borough property owners would have been taxed an average of $6 per year. According to district information, the value of the average home in the borough is just more than $200,000. Property owners would have been taxed $3.05 for every $100,000 of assessed property value.

Johnson said he thought that was a pretty good deal. But about 57 percent of the 10,756 voters who turned out on Tuesday voted against the proposition. There were 4,446 in favor of the proposition, about 43 percent of the voters.

Only 18 percent of those registered voted on Tuesday.

Of the 34 voting precincts in the borough, only five produced winning margins for the ballot proposition. Voters in the Springer, Palmer No. 1, Palmer No. 2, Wasilla No. 2 and Talkeetna precincts voted in favor of the proposition.

The biggest margin of victory came in Talkeetna, with 57 percent voting yes. The largest defeat was in the Sheep Mountain district, where 72 percent said no. Nearly 70 percent of voters said no in the Big Lake and Meadow Lakes No. 2 precincts.

Now, for proponents of these facility improvements, it’s back to the drawing board. Johnson said he’ll continue to argue for these upgrades.

“Absolutely,” Johnson said. “That’s all we can do. I know every sport wants it.”

Johnson said it’s extremely important for his sport.

“I don’t want to play the ‘woe is me’ card for soccer, but as the way it is now, we get only two-and-a-half weeks for soccer,” Johnson said.

Johnson said players in local programs are not allowed to use cleated shoes until early May typically. The conference tournament is usually the second weekend of the month, and the state championships are the following week.

“To get that all put together in two-and-a-half weeks is pretty tough for us,” Johnson said.

The Mat-Su Valley is currently without an outdoor turf facility. There are at least seven facilities with turf in the Anchorage and Eagle River area.

Gary Howell, the head coach of the Wasilla High School track and field team, was also hopeful heading into the general election.

“I was actually optimistic,” Howell said Thursday.

Howell said the fact Proposition 4 was separated from the much larger Proposition 3, another schools bond worth $34 million, gave him hope for the approval of Prop. 4.

Proposition 3 passed.

“I’m just appalled the large bond passed and the small one didn’t,” Howell said.

Howell said local track and field teams are currently working with facilities that hinder practice and the scheduling of meets.

“Right now we can’t host meets. It’s impossible for us to host a meet,” Howell said.

Howell said Palmer High School is currently the only school in the nine-school Northern Lights Conference that can host an ASAA-sanctioned track and field meet.

“The region is down to one functioning track,” Howell said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.