Public has its say on line routes

WASILLA — If the sentiments expressed Thursday evening are any indication of the broader consensus, public opinion seems to be against Wasilla city administration on the question of where to route a new set of power lines.

In a two-hour meeting at Evangelo’s Restaurant, Matanuska Electric Association recorded testimony from members of the public regarding proposed power line routes. MEA says it needs the line, using 80-foot power poles, to both transmit power between substations and provide three-phase, commercial-grade power through the area. City administrators say they oppose running the lines through Wasilla.

“Bury the lines within city limits,” Mayor Verne Rupright implored the utility.

Noting that MEA had applied for a city permit two days prior to Thursday’s meeting, he said the process of gathering testimony was disingenuous.

“If MEA truly values the public comment and input, then why have they already submitted their permit application?” he asked.

Other members of Rupright’s administration and one member of the public also spoke out against the Parks Highway route. Wasilla public works director, Archie Giddings, pointed out that MEA doesn’t have money for line upgrades and will be competing on a state level with millions of dollars of other projects in the Railbelt, implored MEA to protect the city’s viewshed.

But most who testified seemed to favor running the lines down the highway.

“I do think the highway line would be best, actually,” said Ron Eggleston, who lives very near a proposed alternate route that would skirt around the highway to the north and then to the south.

Eggleston pointed out that such a route would make the lines easier to service and he seemed dismissive of impacts to the city’s viewshed.

“Nobody’s going to stop and admire the view there, they’re going to get killed if they do,” he said of the highway.

Greg Van Thiel, who lives along another proposed alternate route, said he, too, favors the highway route.

“Wasilla lost its boutique Colony-town charm in the ’70s and early ’80s,” he said.

Ken Ray, though said he was more in favor of running it along the railroad than along the highway, expressed a concept a lot of people agreed with, that of bundling things together when planning a city.

“This is an opportunity for a transportation corridor and a utility corridor,” Ray said.

Dianne Woodruff, a member of Wasilla City Council, said she favors the Parks Highway route.

“It simply makes sense to me to serve commercial businesses and commercial properties through a commercial route,” she said.

She said MEA should work to get the project before Wasilla’s planning commission and its city council so that city residents can have their say.

Don Zimmerman, who sells real estate in the Wasilla area, said he also favors the cheaper route, saying it also impacts the fewest number of homes.

“I’ve never had a homeowner say, ‘I want to live next to a power line.’ But I’ve had commercial people that say, ‘I would like good power,’” he said.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.