Wasilla City Council debates disposal of animal waste on public property

WASILLA — The Wasilla City Council discussed regulations on fines for owners of animals who relieve themselves on the sidewalk. This heated discussion went along with other regularly scheduled business at the Wasilla City Council meeting Monday night.

Ordinance 18-28 presented by Councilman James Harvey offered a fine schedule for offenders whose animals did not dispose of animals solid waste on public property. Councilman Stu Graham proposed an amendment that would eliminate language exempting service animals for disabled individuals from the fines. City Attorney Leslie Need offered legal expertise on the issue, saying that virtually every other ordinance from municipalities often included the exemption that they suggested removing. The amendment failed, but a new amendment arose about the fine schedule. The originally proposed fine schedule was a warning and then a $100 fine. An amendment was suggested to make it just a $25 for sidewalk solid waste. Questions were posed as to why the fine for solid waste inside the parks was $250 and on the sidewalks was $25. That motion also failed, which yielded the final edit. The motion that passed, along with the ordinance, was a warning for the first offense and a $100 fine for the second offense.

Mayor Bert Cottle read two proclamations. Cottle proclaimed Oct. 18 as Alaska Day in honor of the first day that a United States flag flew above the territory on October 18, 1867. Cottle also proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“We encourage all our citizens to join in this observance and help make it clear in our community that there is no excuse for domestic violence,” Cottle said.

Kelly Dall spoke during public comment, blasting the Knik-Goose Bay construction project that has been put on hold. North Country Estates has one access road to KGB, which will not feature a left turn onto KGB with the current design. Members of the Department of Transportation told Dall that she would have to travel a mile down the road and make a u-turn.

“A u-turn is classified as one of the most dangerous driving maneuvers,” Dall said. “KGB road is an east-west road. The blinding sun is in the eyes of the drivers going one way or the other at least twice a day. This is insane yet this is the safety and improvement plan from the state of Alaska DOT for KGB road.”

Sen. David Wilson (R-Wasilla) attended the meeting to discuss community watch program funding and also weighed in on the KGB hold up.

“We were also told that that whole project is going to be sort of scrapped in the design. They’re going to go back to redesign because of the time period, so that is a possible piece of that. I’ve been telling folks that that’s not going to be the final design and hopefully DOT can provide a little more information on how far back they would have to go on the redesign piece on that project,” Wilson said.

Cottle said that more people have died in that 20-mile stretch than the 130-mile stretch of the Seward Highway.

“That road is more heavily traveled Monday through Friday than the Seward Highway is Monday through Friday so it is a major safety corridor and we need to make sure that we can help protect and make that road safer for everybody. I agree it’s more of a community access road than a business road,” Wilson said.

Cottle wondered aloud when the project was set to begin again. Public Works Director Archie Giddings told Cottle that with another required environmental impact statement, the whole schedule had been blown.

Wasilla finally has a new owner of Meta Rose Square. After two offers and an agreement in June, the building is now the property of Richard Payne.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com.