State asked to help soothe road rash

WASILLA — The owner of a landmark local eatery is asking the state Attorney General’s Office to intervene in its dispute with the city.

Bob Andres, co-owner of the Windbreak Café with his wife Annete, is frustrated over a city proposal to trade Parks Highway frontage property for ownership of East Sun Mountain Avenue. The swap, Andres said, paves the way for a large retail development called Creekside Town Square next to his property that calls for an access road that would run through his parking lot.

Andres has been approached by Meritage Development to buy his land, but he doesn’t want to sell. Meritage plans to develop the Creekside complex on its property near the Parks Highway next to the Windbreak. Because he and other nearby businesses don’t want to sell, Andres is concerned over a hard line the city is taking to secure his property.

Conflicting correspondence from Wasilla officials shows the city has already made up its mind to take his land to make way for Meritage’s development, Andres said.

“Developers develop for one reason and one reason only — to make as much money as they can,” Annete Andres said Monday while was addressing Wasilla City Council. “Let’s not behave like giddy teenagers who have a crush on a developer.”

Calls to Meritage Development owner Jack Barrett for comment were not returned by press time.

In an Aug. 22 letter addressed to an official at First National Bank Alaska, Wasilla Public Works Director Archie Giddings tells the official the city is securing ownership of East Sun Mountain Avenue from the state. He also writes that, “At this point, all parties have agreed the exchange can be completed to allow Creekside Town Square to incorporate property along the Parks Highway where East Sun Mountain Avenue exists while providing access road(s) of equal value.”

Bob Andres said he never agreed to the exchange. In fact, an Aug. 24 letter sent out to affected property owners by Mayor Dianne M. Keller stresses the city intends to take their property, using eminent domain if necessary, he said.

Deputy Mayor Ron Cox asked Keller if she sent a letter threatening to take the property through eminent domain.

“No, I did not,” Keller said, adding she sent a letter inviting affected business owners to discuss the situation.

In the Aug. 24 letter to business owners Keller writes, “We are confident that you are aware we are well within our purview to pursue more aggressive means for this public purpose; however, it is our preference to exhaust every opportunity with local business and property owners and work cooperatively with other jurisdictions before pursuing other means.”

Although the words “eminent domain” aren’t used, Bob Andres said he believes that is what the mayor meant by saying the city could take “more aggressive means” to solve the dispute.

The divergent messages in the two letters and their timing concerns Diana Straub, a Wasilla resident who questioned the city council about the issue Monday.

If the city had support of all the affected property owners, “why is eminent domain a threat [in the Aug. 24 letter]?” she asked.

Dianne Woodruff, a Wasilla resident and council candidate, was more to the point: “Who’s in charge?”

“Lack of planning can cause big problems,” she said. “Stop letting [developers] dictate to us. … Apparently, there’s a pecking order in Wasilla.”

Traffic issues

While the city maintains it is pursuing a swap with the state for East Sun Mountain Avenue to address traffic issues, those traffic concerns have been “trumped up,” Annete Andres said.

“There have now been several attempts by [Mayor Dianne M. Keller] and the city to destroy, devalue and sacrifice my business, my employees’ jobs,” she said. “And now you are willing to risk the lives and community safety for the sake of a developer and his project.”

Only in the past few days since she requested public documents has she seen the full picture of “the efforts you’ve made in this regard and the avoidance of the public process you’ve achieved,” she said.

Council member Marty Metiva said he doesn’t have enough information about the proposed road swap or Andres’ concerns. He’s also not aware of any traffic problems with East Sun Mountain Road.

“From what little I’ve seen, there’s not a traffic issue there,” he said.

The state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has had preliminary discussions about a trade for East Sun Mountain Road, said Rick Feller, spokesman for the department’s Anchorage office.

“The subject of a potential exchange of rights-of-way has been discussed for some time now,” he said. “It’s been conceptual. … We’ve been working off and on with the city and developers to bring that to a conclusion.”

The state has reviewed some plans for the area, but there is still much local work to be done before the state would entertain a swap, Feller said.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done at a local level before it makes any sense for us to look at [this] at a state level,” he said.

Intervention

Annete Andres reiterated her husband’s desire Monday to have the state Attorney General’s Office investigate.

“I hereby request the state attorney general be part of this and review all documents in regard to this situation for ethics, propriety and proper public notice,” she told council. “I would hope you would want the same review.”

Bob Andres said he sent a letter Monday to the Attorney General’s Office asking for its intervention.

Reporter Chris Gillow contributed to this report.

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2268 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.