Wasilla City Council speculates over special session

WASILLA — The Wasilla City Council used its regularly scheduled Monday meeting to do as much prognosticating and pontificating about the upcoming legislative session as they did to conduct business.

The council did not have a no-vote all night, passing the Consent Agenda, Introductions and Action Memorandums without objection.

Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, who represents the city of Wasilla in the House, came to have some dialogue with her former body, the council, on state and local issues. Sullivan-Leonard said that she had steam coming out of her ears when she heard the news that the legislature has put out that they are not coming to Wasilla. Sullivan-Leonard was not the only member of another governing body to speak at the Wasilla city council meeting, and she was not the only one that believed that the legality of holding a session outside of Wasilla after Governor Mike Dunleavy called the July 8 special session on the Permanent Fund Dividend to be held at Wasilla Middle School.

“We also know that the decision that was made today is not legal and so it begs the question as to why they would make this statement that they’re going to gavel in in Juneau when they don’t have the votes to do so,” said Todd Smoldon.

Smoldon, the Director of Dunleavy’s Mat-Su Office, has been present at nearly every meeting of a city council or the Mat-Su Borough Assembly since he took his position. Smoldon had dialogue with the council around the location of the special session and encouraged them to communicate with the administration. Sullivan-Leonard had hinted that she believes in the probability of a third special session once the legislature finishes making their decision on the PFD.

“He did say that education was an area he was not vetoing so we’ll hold him to his word on that piece,” Sullivan-Leonard said. “From the bit of work that we’ve done so far we don’t believe that there’s a legal standing to tell the governor where he can or cannot hold a special session. Therefore, I would keep things as planned for July 8 at WMS.”

Sullivan-Leonard’s husband, Ted Leonard, who was misidentified as by Mayor Bert Cottle to the delight of the crowd by his wife’s name, also gave the council an update. Leonard illustrated the introduction of a sales tax by Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman Jim Sykes, which Leonard has little faith will be ready by the end of August when it will be due if it is to make it on the November ballot. Leonard said that he wants to see stronger special conditional language in the sales tax ballot, following the same philosophy Wasilla did when it taxed it’s residents for the Wasilla Police Department and had a cap on how much tax the city could collect. Leonard also was happy to announce that the Sexual Assault Response Team and officers working with the DEA were both kept in the Borough budget, along with $100,000 for the veterans memorial wall of honor.

“The city of Wasilla has a history of honoring our military and our vets so I really do appreciate everything the city’s done on the veterans wall and for keeping up hour honors garden,” Leonard said.

Cottle questioned Smoldon about the possibility of the Alaska State Troopers being required to bring the legislature to Wasilla, if they decide they are to gavel in elsewhere.

“There’s no reason not to come here,” Cottle said. “Unless somebody makes a big deal of it, we won’t even know they’re here. So it’s not going to make us or break us, but I think it would be good to put it on the road just for public access. Why would you not want to.”

The filing period for Wasilla City Council opens July 10.