Talkeetna considers city incorporation

TALKEETNA -- This month Talkeetna residents are mailing in ballots in an election that may give their town a local government. The question before Talkeetna residents sounds simple enough. "Shall Talkeetna be incorporated as a home rule city?" is Proposition One on the mail-in ballots that are due March 19.

Proposition One didn't arrive in Talkeetna alone. The ballot also includes two options for a sales tax to fund the city, a race for the mayor's seat and a slate of nine candidates for a six-seat city council. The incorporation election is also a conditional ballot. Voters must grant the new city it's sales-tax power in order for the city to incorporate. There are also council candidates who hope they never have to take office.

"In our particular case, I don't think we're ready." said Martin Terstegge, a council candidate who is against

incorporation and predicts it will fail.

Terstegge said incorporation might have a better chance if Talkeetna were voting on second- or first-class city status. He said home-rule status would bring too many responsibilities to the new city and make it too expensive to run.

"There were quite few people who came to meetings when this first started who asked 'Why are you going

for this home rule thing?' Terstegge said. "The only argument I ever heard for it was if we're going to do it we should go all the way. That wasn't the only reason I heard but it was the only reason that I could legitimize."

The new city boundary would encompass about 24 square miles and would be a council-manager form of government. Such an agreement would give the city manager control of the basic running of day-to-day operations. The city would take over management of solid waste, the local sewer system, the library, and could go as far as to establish it own animal control and land-use regulations. Terstegge said just finding a good city manager is a difficult proposition.

"Sure, we've got a a lot of smart people," Terstegge said, "but we don't have the infrastructure or the specific knowledge to go to in that direction so fast."

Council candidate Jim Okonek is for incorporation and said the town needs self government because of the rapid changes ahead.

"I argue that we can't afford not to incorporate," Okonek said. "Our approach into Talkeetna is going to look like the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, or worse yet, like your approach into Wasilla on either end."

Okonek said area residents discuss issues at either chamber of commerce meetings or community council meetings. Okonek questions whether this is sufficient for building consensus or for dealing with larger governments such as the borough and the state. He thinks a city council would better serve the community.

"[The council would] have the power to do certain things and the potential to get a pat on the back or a notice to leave," Okonek said. "I happen to have faith in the people."

The incorporation movement grew out of the local community council. The plan has been worked on for about four years and approved by the Local Boundary Commission, an independent authority chartered by the Alaska constitution. Okonek said a lot of misinformation has accompanied the process-- he sometimes has to explain to voters that people who aren't hooked to the sewer system won't pay fees for it, for example.

Terstegge said the proposition has made for interesting meetings at the community council.

"We have our normal amount of disruption and sidetracks and that sort of thing, but I'd have to qualify that by saying that I have seen improvements from 10 years ago with how the organization is run," Terstegge said.