Yundt, McKee propose four-year terms for Borough mayor, assembly

In its last meeting of 2023, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly tackled mainly routine business, accepting and appropriating funds for projects and programs.

However, proposals were also made to change the terms of the Borough mayor and assembly members from three to four years and to drop the nonpartisan identification of candidates.

This would allow candidates to declare an affiliation with a political party. Public hearings are set for early January on the proposals.

Assembly members Rob Yundt and Dee McKee are sponsors of the two proposals.

In other actions, $1 million dollars in a state grant was accepted to pay startup costs for the new Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, that will guide allocation of federal and state transportation funds in the core urbanized areas of the Mat-Su region.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy made the new MPO official with this signature Jan. 19, borough manager Mike Brown told the assembly. The funds will be used to pay for an executive director and other staff, Brown said.

Borough Mayor Edna DeVries said the application period for the MPO director position has closed and that candidates will be interviewed in early January.

Brown also told the assembly that the formal establishment of the MPO, which federal regulations require in areas deemed “urban” in census counts, will change the local match requirement for federal funds supporting public transportation, or bus service, in the region.

Previously, Mat-Su was considered rural but the latest census showed enough population growth so that the Wasilla-Palmer corridor was designated urban in the census.

The changes the local match requirement from 10 percent to 50 percent, Brown said. The borough assembly will need to consider how to fund this, he said.

“This is a big shift,” Brown said.

The cities of Wasilla and Palmer will foot part of this and discussions must be held to how the cost will be shared by the cities with the borough.

There’s a chance that a regional nonprofit might pick up a portion of this. In the existing 90-10 split the Mat-Su Health Foundation contributed the 10 percent share as a contribution to local health and well-being.

If the borough and cities fund the entire 50 percent the borough share would be $1.1 million; Wasilla’s share would be $200,000 and Palmer would pay $127,000, the assembly was told.

If a nonprofit chips in or other grant funds are found the borough’s share could drop to $900,000; Wasilla would pay $150,000 and Palmer $99,000.

Mayor DeVries asked how public transit ridership and subsidy is shared between the borough’s core population area and outlying regions in places like Talkeetna and Trapper Creek.

She also asked for ridership data on bus runs that go from the Mat-Su area to Anchorage. Her concern is the fairness of borough taxpayer support for a system that has local support for routes to Anchorage.

Jennifer Busch, CEO of Valley Transit, which operates Mat-Su’s main public transit system, said that she will get the ridership data to the mayor.

In other actions, the assembly approved the sale of borough tax-foreclosed property in Rustic Wilderness Division to the adjacent property owners, Curtis and Amy Woods.

In another property action, the assembly approved retention of three parcels for public purposes that were acquired through tax foreclosure.

The assembly also accepted federal funds to replace borough expenditures related to the Talkeetna flood. The $2.29 million received would replace funds spent on repairs in eight of 16 road service areas and also at the Gateway Visitor Center. In a related action the assembly approved receipt of $595,900 in federal disaster relief funds for the 2022 January wind storm.

The funds would replace borough expenditures for debris removal and cleanup.

An ordinance was approved appropriating $60,000 to improve a water well at Willow Fire Station 12-2. The well currently cannot supply enough water to full tanks on fire trucks or to wash vehicles, the assembly was told.

The appropriation would pay for deepening the well and replacing parts and equipment.

In another action, the assembly approved receipt of a $170,000 state grant to fund emergency services wages and benefits and another $525,000 state grant for generators and emergency service equipment for the MSB’s Departmenrt of Emergency Services.