Wasilla bucks Valley trend, swears in council newcomers

WASILLA — Officially a city councilman for less than a minute, Steve Lovell was clear in what he believes is Wasilla’s top priority.

“Build a library,” he said during a break after being sworn in as a new councilman Monday evening. “To my way of thinking, that’s the very first thing we should do. We had 106,000 people use our library last year, and only 30 percent of those were citizens of Wasilla. We need a facility our kids can go and use.”

Although city officials and the Friends of Wasilla Library group have worked on plans for a new library for going on two decades, there’s no benefit for waiting any longer, Lovell said.

“It’s time,” he said. “Financially, it’s not ever going to get any cheaper to do it.”

Lovell was one of three who took their oaths of office Monday from longtime Wasilla City Clerk Kristie Smithers. Also sworn in was Brandon Wall and former city planning commission chairman Clark Buswell.

Wall won election unopposed Oct. 2 to serve out the remaining year of former councilman Steve Menard, who was ousted in a recall election earlier this year. Wall was appointed by the council to replace Menard until the election.

Buswell replaces former deputy mayor Doug Holler, who was term limited from running for office again. As a city councilman, Buswell said he wants to continue to focus on the importance of good planning for the city. He also said caution is warranted while dealing with fast growth. It’s necessary to plan, he said, but he believes the city should know when to not over-plan.

“You also don’t want to get too carried away,” he said. “You don’t want to become another Anchorage or another Palmer. They’ve ruled themselves out of existence, almost.”

Lovell was the only new council member to win election in a contested race, narrowly beating incumbent Taffina Katkus for Seat A. Katkus was in the council chambers Monday to answer her final roll call. After receiving a framed certificate acknowledging her service to the city from Mayor Verne Rupright, Katkus said she was grateful for her time on the council.

“It’s been a great privilege and a pleasure to serve the citizens and the public of Wasilla,” she said. “It’s hard to believe that three years have passed since I started my term as a city council member. I’ve always had great pride in representing the public. … Thank you very much for letting me serve you.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.