Wasilla prioritizes Knik-Goose Bay Road

WASILLA — The Wasilla City Council discussed Knik-Goose Bay Road as one of their priorities for this year’s legislative session with Assemblyman Ted Leonard, who dropped by the meeting to discuss legislative issues with the council. While the assembly had listed KGB as their top legislative funding priority and Governor Dunleavy has stated that it is the top priority for his administration, the city of Wasilla listed KGB safety improvements as their fifth priority. However, Mayor Bert Cottle said that the number does not reflect the importance of improving the safety on KGB and that their priorities were not listed in a particular order. Leonard told the council what he had been told by Department of Transportation Highway Design Chief James Amundsen. Leonard detailed the difficulty in continuing right of way acquisition for needed properties before construction can begin, which is slated for 2021.

“It’s already on our priority list. I will personally be amazed if they start by 2021,” said Cottle.

Leonard asked the council to continue pushing legislators and DOT to begin work as quickly as possible. When declaring KGB as his top priority, Dunleavy helped to add extra Trooper patrols and said that ruts in dangerous areas will be mitigated come springtime. Councilman Stu Graham asked Leonard to have Borough Manager John Moosey present a monthly report on the progress of KGB to the Assembly.

“To say something needs to be done is like the understatement of the century,” said Jeanne Troshynski. “It’s so dumb to not filll in the ruts and I’ve also almost been killed there a million times on that road. I do appreciate the increased police presence. I’ve definitely noticed it.”

Cottle noted that 17 fatalities have occurred on KGB in the last 5 years and over 250 accidents have been reported. Governor Dunleavy’s Director of his Mat-Su Office Todd Smoldon also touched on the topic.

“The biggest problem with the right of way acquisition is the number of appraisers that exist in the state to do that and that’s the reality of the situation is there just isn’t the talent currently in the state to move those appraisals and right of way acquisitions along any faster,” said Smoldon.

Smoldon said that Dunleavy was examining options to begin bringing appraisers up from the Lower 48 to help ease the workload on existing right of way acquisitions.

Leonard also discussed the upcoming presentation from the seven months of work by the Police Powers Taskforce created by the Borough following a 2018 vote to examine police powers in the borough. Cottle sat on the task force and believes that the most expensive option will not resonate with borough residents, speculating that a 50 percent increase in taxes to pay for the $27 million dollar tentative plan would not pass. However, the task force has identified medium sized and smaller options for increasing police presence outside Palmer and Wasilla.

The council unanimously passed two ordinances concerning the Veteran’s Wall of Honor in Wasilla. The third phase of the construction of the Vets Wall should begin this summer, building a pavilion in front of the wall.

“It’s going to look that much better and be that much nicer,” said Graham.

Ordinance 20-01 moved $500 in funding to the Vet’s Wall that had been donated by the VFW. The $500 will help result in another $2,500 in funding. Once complete, the pricetag on the Vet’s Wall will be nearly $1 million, but Wasilla taxpayers have not contributed to that total. Other than the cost of keeping the lights on which the city of Wasilla agreed to pay and the time of Mayor Cottle and Public Works Director Archie Giddings, none of Wasilla’s tax dollars have gone to fund the wall. Ordinance 20-03 accepted a $100,000 topoff grant from the Rasmuson Foundation and $50,000 from the Mat-Su Health Foundation to help fund the third phase of the wall to construct the pavilion. An additional seven panels were added around the original six this summer and the panels have room for 2,000 additional names. Veterans still living can pay $50 to put their names on the Wall and the Vet’s Wall sits on land with a 198 year lease from the city of Wasilla.

“It’s a good thing,” said Cottle.

The council also unanimously voted to pass Ordinance 20-04 to amend Wasilla Municipal Code to change when collective bargaining negotiations may begin. Cottle said that the city of Fairbanks had passed an ordinance in the past and Wasilla had followed suit requiring a seven-day grace period to begin negotiations which is now superfluous as documents don’t need to be printed and delivered and can be securely sent via email. The council passed Ordinance 20-05 to amend the budget to appropriate $100,328 from the general fund to pay for maintenance of Command CAD and MobileCOM for the Wasilla Dispatch Center which services not only Wasilla Police but Troopers, Fire Departments and Emergency Services. Finance Director Troy Tankersly said that the annual appropriation had inadvertently been missed during budget time. Dr. James Martin who works with the YMCA discussed a possible addition of an aquatic center to the Menard Sports Complex and has an additional meeting scheduled with Cottle to discuss the idea. Tom Stearns from the Wasilla Area Seniors Inc., said that the Wasilla Area Seniors Housing project (WASH) had been funded. Construction will begin on an additional 42 independent living units this spring, bringing WASI’s total capacity to nearly 150 housing units.