Assembly Report for February 13, 2007

FOR NORWAY RATS, ANCHORAGE IS A BIG WILD LIE: State biologist Rick Sinnet popped two Norway rats at the airport last week to keep the town free of the large rodents. Apparently the new “Big Wild Life” brand doesn’t extend to Norway Rats because it is illegal for any person to “import, buy, sell or breed any member of the genus Rattus” within the municipality under section 16.90.030(A) of the Anchorage Municipal Code.

BOND PROPOSITIONS HEAD TO THE APRIL, 2007 BALLOT: Schools: $65M to rebuild Clark Middle School and $20M for repairs and maintenance for other facilities in the district. Roads: $35.55M, Parks $4.9M, $5.7M for Public Safety and Transportation, and $3.1M for Fire Service. Only Paul Bauer voted NO on the Clark bond, arguing that Muldoon residents do not understand how or why that bond was proposed by the school board.

ASSEMBLY SOUNDLY THUMPS THE TRAINI-COFFEY YOUTH EXCLUSION ACT
Introduced by midtown assemblymembers Dick Traini and Dan Coffey, AO 2007-24 would have banned any young person under the age of 18 from serving on a municipal board or commission. Reacting to howls of protest from youth and parent organizations at Tuesday night’s Assembly meeting, Dan Coffey and Dick Trani beat a hasty retreat from their original proposal, offered a substitute, and then saw both ordinances ashcanned by a lopsided vote of 10-1. For the moment, the issue is dead.

In a sharply worded delivered to the assembly last week, Mayor Begich announced he would “vigorously oppose” assembly efforts to prohibit youth from serving on Anchorage’s advisory boards and commissions”. Active participation by youth in government activities, according to the mayor, increases future voter turnout, trains new leaders, and deters crime. Other than youth members of the Youth Advisory Commission, only one youth is currently serving on a municipal board.. Despite his promotion of “Wild Anchorage” in recent days, Mayor Begich is unaware that any youth member has embarrassed or detracted from the work of a municipal board or commission. Obviously, the mayor was ready to veto the measure.

One this one, Dick Traini was simply being hard headed. By getting in on this caper during an election year, however, his midtown colleague Dan Coffey managed to alienate hundreds of young voters who don’t agree with the exclusionary message the proposal sent to youth.

19 FILE FOR 6 ASSEMBLY SEATS IN SPRING ELECTION: When the dust settled last Friday, 19 persons had filed with the municipal clerk to run for 6 seats on the Anchorage Assembly on April 3rd. Here’s the final list:

West Anchorage: Running for the open seat is lawyer Matt Clamon, community activist Sherri Jackson, and retired West High principal Jim Bailey is running with Republican party support. Zarina Clendaniel will run for the seat. She is a 1990s West High graduate and works at ISER. Political unknown David Fair has also filed for the seat.

South Anchorage: Small business owner and consultant Val Baffone is running, along with Ryan Stencel, president of the Huffman-O’Malley community council. A neighborhood activist and conservative. Jennifer Johnston, a political unknown in the area will also run; she is reportedly the favorite of Assemblyman Chris Birch. Retired former MOA buidling safety employee Gary Hovenec has decided to run. He is a retired city employee who worked in Building Safety, lived several years in the Mat Su Borough where he ran twice for the legislature, and before that time, lived in Kodiak where he was borough manager.

Mid town: Assemblyman Dan Coffey is seeking a second term. He is retired lawyer who represents businesses, bars, and liquor stores in Anchorage. Former Assembly budget analyst and current ML&P executive Elvi Grey-Jackson is also running for the midtown seat. Jason Dowell identifies himself as the president of the Libertarian Party of Alaska and is also running for the seat.

East Anchorage: Incumbent Ken Stout is seeking a second term; Ken is the former head of the state Republican party and is the father of musher Deedee Jonrow. Former city planning Director Shiela Selkregg is also running; she is the daughter of the late Lydia Selkregg who held a Muldoon seat on the Assembly seat several years ago.

Eagle River: Chugiak resident and incumbent Debbie Ossiander is running for a second term on the Assembly. Jim Byrnes, an unknown resident of Eagle River is running for the seat. Byrnes has some sort of claim against the municipality.

Eagle River II: Former community council president and Eagle River businessman Bill Starr along with Long time Eagle River parks activist Janet Brand has filed a letter of intent to run. Bob Lupo has also filed for this seat; he is the chaplain of the Alaska Vietmam Veterans Motorcycle Club and rides under the name of “Joker.”

BIRCH SHOWS THE URBAN DESIGN COMMISSION THE DOOR: South Anchorage Assembly member Chris Birch on Tuesday introduced AO 2007-37 which would eliminate the Urban Design Commission. The nine member group reviews and approves highway landscaping, public facility project site plans and landscaping and other “urban design matters.”S. The ordinance will be reviewed first by the Planning and Zoning Commission and by the UDC before its public hearing on April 10th.

FOR THOSE WHO CAN STILL AFFORD IT, A RURAL LIFESTYLE AND A SINGLE FAMILY HOME: Taking direct aim at the 2020 Comprehensive Plan which recommends higher density development in some areas to address a growing shortage of residential lots in Anchorage, Assemblyman Ken Stout on Tuesday introduced a resolution to mandate single family ownership on single family lots in the range of 5-7 dwelling units per acre. Stout’s resolution would require local zoning and land use laws to support existing “rural lifestyles” in Anchorage, allowing higher densities only in those neighborhoods where a clear preference for such densities has been demonstrated by those residents. The resolution will be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission and heard by the Assembly on April, 13, 2007.

FEBRUARY 27TH PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED ON KNIK ARM CROSSING: The public will have a rare opportunity to address the Assembly on construction of the $600M Knik Arm crossing linking downtown Anchorage with the Matanuska Susitna Borough. Before the Assembly on February 27 is an amendment to the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRPT) the assembly may recommend to state and local road planners. While the amendment under consideration do no reach the ultimate “build or no build” issue, three issues will be addressed: Whether state funds or local funds, such as general obligation bonds, will be used to help finance construction of the crossing. The second issue is the timing: millions of dollars of additional improvements are needed in Ship Creek to permit bridge traffic to use Gambell-Ingra rather than the C St. corridor, thereby relieving downtown of direct traffic impacts. The question is when should these improvements be built, allowing use of the “highway - highway” connection through Gambell-Ingra. Amendments to the plan may also include measure to protect the historic Government Hill neighborhood, including its impacts on air quality, noise, and neighborhood cohesion through placement of a “cut and cover” freeway in the middle of the neighborhood with daily traffic counts comparable to those of the Glen Highway. A fact sheet by residents of Government Hill can be found at:
http://www.tesche.us/docs/Knik_Arm_Bridge_Fact.doc