Wasilla council approves 5-year E-911 dispatch contract

WASILLA — “This is a project that has been worked on for many years. It’s been talked about for 10 or 12 years that I can think of,” Wasilla Deputy Mayor Stuart Graham said regarding the city council’s approval of a five-year contract to provide enhanced 911 (E-911) services throughout a majority of the borough.

The approval came at Monday evening’s regular city council session and was one of just a handful of action items on the agenda. The $8.5 million contract will allow almost all of the Mat-Su’s emergency service dispatching to be handled under one roof. Mayor Bert Cottle said negotiations have been ongoing for almost a year.

With the exception of Palmer fire and police departments, all fire, police, ambulance, search and rescue and police — including the Alaska State Troopers — will be housed under one roof.

Wasilla Police Chief Gene Belden said the initial funding will go for equipment upgrades, needed new equipment, hiring additional employees and training. Cottle stated in addition to equipment, the existing facility will be overhauled to meet the additional space requirements. He said the new center will include six dispatchers, one call taker, one supervisor and one IT person.

“It will all be under one building. We have lots of remodeling to do and lots of training to do,” Cottle said, adding the move will make the process “...more efficient and more effective.”

“We hope to flip the switch on June 1,” Belden said.

Self-proclaimed people’s advocate Eugene Haberman questioned what he sees as the lack of public input from all involved parties, including the Mat-Su Borough and the cities of Wasilla and Palmer. Haberman said he felt the public should have had more opportunity to respond to the proposal and asked the council not to take action until that had taken place.

In other council news, walking enthusiasts will soon be able to take advantage of the indoor track at the Menard Center. Wasilla Area Seniors Inc.’s (WASI) spokesman Tom Sterns thanked the city for setting up a program allowing for an hour of open walking Monday through Friday. Cottle added that the city has found daily sponsors for the next year. Open walk time will be 7:30-8:30 a.m. weekdays starting Feb. 1.

Cottle said he was approached about the topic a month ago while having lunch. He said a senior approached him with concerns over the $2 daily fee to use the track. He said the daily fee could add up to a burden for some people wanting to exercise.

Cottle and city Public Works Director Archie Giddings addressed snow removal concerns. Cottle said overall, the average snowfall is only several inches below normal. He said the problem is that most of it has fallen within the past month, creating difficulties for city crews in keeping up with removal.

Giddings said the city does have a set plan to address the issue. A city map shows Spruce, Lucille, Nelson and Glenwood streets are continuously plowed and sanded during a snow event. He said city crews generally focus their efforts on streets north of the Parks Highway, and the remainder is contracted out. The remaining downtown streets are generally cleared within 12 hours after a storm or where six or more inches accumulate. Subdivisions may take up to 24 hours using the same guidelines.

Cottle added city sidewalks are usually put on the back burner. He said main roads come first, followed by side roads.

“We have to wait for people to get off the roads,” said Cottle. He said it’s not that the city and its employees aren’t trying to get things cleared in a timely manner.

“We’re (working) as fast as we can,” Cottle said.

Anyone with snow removal questions or concerns should call Public Works at 373-9010.

Cottle also took a minute to address parking issues at the new library. He said a recent event led to overflow parking at the facility. Some drivers, Cottle noted, were parking in nearby business lots, much to the dismay of those proprietors. Cottle said with growing library use, signs may have to be erected warning drivers that their vehicles could be towed at their own expense. An alternative would be to move the venues to a larger facility, he said.