Minutes of the Regular Meeting

Denali Borough Assembly

Tri-Valley Community Center

August 11, 2002

 

CALL TO ORDER    Presiding Officer Jerry Mueller called the regular meeting to order at 3:00 pm.

 

ROLL CALL               Assembly members present were: Jim Caswell, Jerry Mueller, Gerald Pollock, Teresa Hall, Teresa Usibelli, Dave Talerico, Sid Michaels, Jim Payne and Mayor Gonzales.   Assembly member Carol Shields was absent due to a work conflict.

 

PAYNE MOVED to excuse SHIELDS, and HALL seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.

 

AGENDA                   MICHAELS MOVED to approve the agenda as presented, and TALERICO seconded.  The VOTE was unanimous.

 

MINUTES                   1.)  July 14, 2002:  Work Session, Public Hearing, and Regular Meeting.

 

                                    MICHAELS MOVED to approve and HALL seconded.  The VOTE was unanimous.

 

                                    2.) June 26, 2002 Special Meeting.

                                   

                                    HALL MOVED to approve, and PAYNE seconded.

 

                                    MICHAELS said the vote on page four needs some clarification.  The Clerk so noted.  The VOTE was unanimous.

 

FINANCIAL                MUELLER entertained a MOTION to receive the June 2002

REPORT                    financial report.  HALL so moved, and PAYNE seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.

 

MAYOR’S                  Mayor Gonzales said the contractor hired to complete the sewer

REPORT                    and water feasibility study, Michael Foster and Associates, will be presenting a report during the next meeting to the Assembly. The next step in the process would be to apply for more funds for another feasibility study to study how the needs outlined in the report could be met. Foster and Associates recommended that the City of Anderson apply on their own for a grant to upgrade their sewage lagoon.   Mayor Gonzales said there would be a resolution at the next meeting to support the Borough applying for more funds.

 

                                    Mayor Gonzales said he had met with DOT regarding the Northern Access Reconnaissance Study.  He said phase one of the project is progressing nicely.  He said phase one would be completed in the next two months or so.  He said Don Lowell and his group is working on the scoping meetings, and hope to complete the initial meeting via letters.

 

                                    Mayor Gonzales said he had met with Lt. Colonel Tom Lawless, the new Commander at Clear Air Base regarding the coal ash that is suppose to be dumped at the Borough landfill.  He said the contract is in the process of being changed and finalized.  He said in the mean time the landfill is out of gravel used for cover material.  He gave the assembly a copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) being sent out this week.  This proposal is for someone to excavate gravel out of the next cell for use as cover for the landfill.  He said we are not building a new cell yet, but excavating the needed gravel will be the beginning of the new cell.  He stated that the cost to build a new cell would be between $60,000 and $80,000 dollars to build.  He said the landfill account has approximately $171,000 in it.

 

                                    PAYNE asked if there was a chance that the Air Force will come through with the coal ash for cover.  Mayor Gonzales said they may come through in time, but we cannot take that chance.  He said the first cell lasted for almost five years. 

 

                                    Minimal discussion followed.

 

ASSEMBLY               There were no comments.

COMMENTS            

                                   

PUBLIC                      Healy resident Ray Gary said he has only been to a few meetings, but there were some issues brought up by members of the public during those meetings, and it seemed to him that the Assembly just fluffed over those issues.  He said during the last meeting Mr. Braun brought up the issue of Mr. Caswell’s residency.  He said the issue of Mr. Caswell’s residency is not his concern.  Gary said his concern is the way the Assembly treated that concern.  He said because of that he wrote a letter to Mr. Mueller asking that that issue be put on this month’s agenda.  He said a proof of residency would have alleviated this issue.  He said he received a letter from Mr. Mueller stating that Mr. Caswell is registered to vote in the Borough.  Gary said he is not sure that that covers residency requirements for an Assembly member.  He said his concern is that the Assembly does not seem to be paying a whole lot of attention to issues raised by the citizens.  He said the Assembly is taking on the appearance of the good old boys club, by protecting each other and feathering each other’s nest. 

 

Gary said he would still like to see the issue of Mr. Caswell’s residency addressed in a public forum.  MUELLER said Caswell’s APOC forms are on file in the Borough office. 

 

Gary said he has a copy of an APOC form that lists Caswell’s residence as Anchorage. 

 

CASWELL asked to see the form.

 

Gary produced the form for CASWELL’S review.  CASWELL asked if Gary had been a Trooper before.  Gary said that had nothing to do with this issue.  CASWELL said Gary had made a statement and for some other person to make that statement Caswell would cut them a little slack.  He said with Gary’s professional background you’re drawing a conclusion from something that is incorrect.  Gary said he would like this handled in a public forum.  Gary said he is not concerned about Caswell’s residency; rather he is concerned that this is not being handled in a public forum.   Gary said he has not done a lot of research on this issue, but he thinks there is some question about the residency. 

 

                                    Healy resident David Braun stated that at the end of last meeting Caswell said he did not want Braun trespassing on his property.  Braun said he has never trespassed on Caswell’s property because Caswell owns no property in the Borough.  He said that was a threat, and that’s the third time he’s been threatened by members of the assembly.  He said Mr. Payne had explicitly threatened him last December.  He said he would venture to say that when Mr. Caswell goes home to his residence at 332 Gaylene Circle in Anchorage he does not have to worry about an asphalt plant being put next to home because he is protected by land use regulation there.  Braun said if Caswell wants to have unrestricted land use he should go home and persuade his neighbors in Anchorage.  He said he does not appreciate Caswell coming up here and dictating land use policy.  He said it’s very curious that Mr. Caswell has repeatedly objected to people from outside telling other people what to do with their land.  On the local level Caswell has come up here from Anchorage and he has nothing but financial interest in this Borough.  He works at Usibelli Coal Mine, starting in 1991, and he the leaseholder on a mineral claim, and he does not own that land.  He said Caswell is a hypocrite and a scoundrel.   

 

                                    MUELLER said he is not an attorney, but he does not think there are any laws that precludes an Assembly member from owning land outside the Borough. 

 

                                    Braun said as far as Caswell’s residency if he is in fact not a resident of this borough, is he qualified to vote.

 

CASWELL said if a person is not a resident of this Borough, then he should not be on the Assembly.  He said he is a resident of this Borough.  He said you make statements that are inaccurate, they’re false.  Braun said Caswell does not maintain a residence in this Borough. 

 

CASWELL said the APOC form is available in the Borough office.  Braun said he gave everyone on the Assembly a copy of Caswell’s APOC form.  CASWELL suggested that Braun pursue his inaccurate statements.  

 

                                    USIBELLI asked what the Code says.  Braun said in this very chamber its been said in relation to a land use thing, that anyone who is a registered voter has to be a resident.  He said if Mr. Caswell does not have a bonifide residence here then he is not qualified to vote here!

 

                                    MICHAELS suggested that the Attorney write something up to satisfy the public.  He said he knows people in this Borough that are residents of this Borough, and do not own property in the Borough.

 

                                    Discussion followed.

 

                                    Gary said he thinks it should be referred to the Borough attorney.  MUELLER said that APOC form is a financial disclosure form, and there is nothing in that form that requires someone to declare his or her residency.

 

CASWELL said the property in Anchorage being discussed is property he owns in Anchorage.

 

CASWELL said he has been a resident of the Cantwell area for a longer period of time than this Borough has been in existence.  He said he was on the Borough formation committee for two years before the Borough was formed.   He said anyone who wants to pursue the case that they think he is not a resident, please do so.  Braun said he would.

 

                                    USIBELLI said her seat is now District B, and from reading the code she believes she could still run for that seat, and move there the day after the vote to keep the seat.  She said it looks like anybody could run in any district no matter where they lived, and just move there the day after the vote.  She asked if we wanted to have the attorney review this.

 

Discussion followed, and MICHAELS suggested that people review chapter 66, section 3, residence criteria.

 

                                    Neal Laugman read section B:  “Residence of a person is a place in which his habitation is fixed, and to which whenever he is present has the intention to return.  If a person resides in one place but does business in another, the former is his place of residence.  Temporary construction camps do not constitute a dwelling place.  There can only be one residence.”

 

Laugman said he did not get a chance to comment earlier on an ordinance and the way the agenda is delineated he can’t comment right now on that ordinance.  He said he would like to comment on that ordinance right now.  He asked how do you have the right to limit my free speech.  He asked where in the world did the assembly get this?  He said he understands the practicality of the limit.  How can you on a piece of paper right here limit someone’s right to speak. 

 

Laugman said as far as the business license ordinance, he doesn’t want “you people” in his business.  He said he is not in the overnight accommodations business.  He said that Mr.Caswell has done just a fine job of putting a boundary around himself protecting himself from the Park and McKinley Village.

 

Laugman said he is so disappointed that the Assembly hired Don Lowell.  He said Don Lowell from Fairbanks has been trying to consolidate their two governments.  Laugman said he has three applications for petitions forthcoming.  He said he would like to see some members of the Assembly take a break.  He said one of the petitions is about term limits.  Laugman said one of the petitions changes the Assembly meeting date and time.  He said the third petition has to do with an advisory vote pertaining to the northern access project.  He said he thinks how he has written the proposed ballot question states the question very well.  Laugman said that whole project is a shady deal.  He said it looks like its being dealt with privately, out of a public forum.  He said he thinks classifying the wolf township land should be in a public hearing.  Laugman said he is quite tired of Mayor Gonzales stating that 85% of the people in the Borough are in favor of a railroad into the park. He said that’s nonsense.  He said someone should ask the residents of the Borough if they are in favor of this project. 

 

                                    Healy resident Gina Soltis said she wants to say something positive!  She said although some things that happened today were uncomfortable; the Assembly seems to be addressing resident’s concerns.  She said before this meeting she had seen the Assembly  “stonewalling” resident’s questions.  She said she would like to see the Assembly continue in this positive vein!

 

RECESS                   MUELLER called for a recess at 3:46 p.m.

 

RECONVENE           MUELLER called the meeting back to order at 4:02 p.m.

 

ORDINANCES          1.)  Ordinance 01-10, Version B, an ordinance amending the Denali Borough Charter, Article XI, Section 11.01, regarding a sales tax.  (Introduced by Assembly member Jerry Mueller)

 

MICHAELS MOVED to postpone this until the next meeting, and PAYNE seconded. 

 

Discussion followed.

 

HALL said it is her opinion that more revenue is needed.  She said the State is cutting funds, and the Borough will need more revenue.  HALL said we need to take care of our own!!  She said we have some projects on the capital improvements list that have been on the list for years.  She said you’re telling me that a leaky roof over my kids at school doesn’t count!  She said it counts to her, and the kids at the Cantwell School!   

 

CASWELL said if a tax is initiated the tourism industry needs lead time because they advertise their businesses so far in advance.

 

MICHAELS said he would like to know that there is a chance this will pass before we put it to the voters.  He said he is willing to withdraw his motion to postpone if the second agrees.  The second agreed.

 

PAYNE said some valid points have been brought up.  He said the populous of this Borough needs to know exactly where we are concerning the sale of Borough lands.  PAYNE said there are also  things that need to transpire before the Borough can sell land.  He stated that there will be a lot of confrontation that will occur before the Borough will be able to sell the lands.  He said there are a lot of people that don’t want the land next to them, which could be Borough land, sold.  He said there is surprising little land to sell in the Borough.  He said this body would do only what needs to be done to keep the schools functioning.  He said the Borough is only required to provide a 30% match for school projects, and that will eventually become a 50% match.  He stated that he is tax exempt because he is a disabled veteran.  He said he couldn’t believe the State has allowed a school to be in existence without a sprinkler system. He said we all need to work together to solve this financial problem.

 

MICHAELS MOVED to change the date this tax comes into play to January 2004, and HALL seconded.  The VOTE was unanimous.

 

MUELLER asked to suspend the rules so he could discuss this ordinance.  Seeing no objection, MUELLER said he cannot vote in a tax for the voters to vote on that will not tell the public what the money is going to be used for, and have a cap on it. 

 

CASWELL stated that he is not in favor of any of these taxes.  He does not like the way the system is currently set up for funding school district projects.  He said he is in favor of a new sprinkler system at the Cantwell School, but he feels the cost associated with the district’s proposal are too high!    He said he doesn’t think it should cost $1.8 million to put in a new heating and sprinkler system. 

 

TALERICO also spoke against the tax proposals.  He said the requests from the school district seem to be missing details of how the projects will be completed, etc.  He said he is not opposed to school or kids, but we need to learn to live within our means!   He said he is fearful of collecting tax money before you need it.  TALERICO said he is opposed to any tax at this juncture.

 

PAYNE agreed with TALERICO and CASWELL.  He suggested using the force accounting method for these projects to save money.

 

CASWELL MOVED to adopt, and PAYNE seconded.

 

Mayor Gonzales said the current Governor declared that the force accounting method is no longer viable.

 

The ROLL CALL VOTE was 1-7, with HALL in favor. And all others opposed.  The ordinance failed to be adopted.

 

2.) Ordinance 01-13, Version A, an ordinance establishing a 2% general Sales tax within the Denali Borough.  (Introduced by Assembly member Teresa Hall)

 

HALL MOVED to postpone indefinitely, and MICHAELS seconded.  The ROLL CALL VOTE was unanimous.

 

3.) Ordinance 01-07, Version A, an ordinance amending the Denali Borough Code of Ordinances, adding Chapter 22, pertaining to business licenses. 

 

HALL MOVED to postpone indefinitely, and MICHAELS seconded.  The ROLL CALL VOTE was unanimous.

 

4.) Ordinance 02-08, Version A, an ordinance creating Title IV, Chapter 27 of the Denali Borough Code of Ordinances providing for classification of Borough-owned land.

 

TALERICO MOVED to amend Page 2 to read, “classified or reclassified”, and MICHAELS seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.

 

MICHAELS MOVED to add the definition of unrestricted as follows “The Denali Borough has no restrictions on land classified unrestricted, however, Federal and/or State regulations may apply.”  CASWELL seconded.  The VOTE was unanimous.

 

HALL MOVED to postpone this ordinance until the next meeting, and TALERICO seconded.  The VOTE was unanimous.

 

5.)  An ordinance amending the Denali Borough Code of Ordinances, Chapter 7, Section 3, pertaining to Assembly meetings.

 

TALERICO MOVED to introduce, and HALL seconded.  The ROLL CALL VOTE was 4-4, with USIBELLI, HALL, TALERICO, and MUELLER in favor, and all others opposed.  The ordinance failed to be introduced, as five affirmative votes are required for an introduction. 

 

OTHER                       1.)  Approval of Village View Subdivision election results.

BUSINESS

MUELLER entertained a MOTION to certify the election.  MICHAELS so MOVED, and HALL seconded.  The ROLL CALL vote was unanimous.

 

2.) Public comments.

 

There were no public comments.

 

ASSEMBLY               HALL said she is disappointed in the Assembly for not allowing

COMMENTS             the introduction of the ordinance that would have changed the day of the Assembly meeting.  She said this issue has been brought up every year she has been on the Assembly.  HALL said this is the people’s government not the people that sit on this side of the table, but the 1800 that sit on the other side of the table. 

 

                                    CASWELL said when he was on the formation committee there were promises made at that time to residents that the Borough government would travel to the communities, and make access to them as easy as possible.  He said he wants those promises to be upheld.

 

                                    PAYNE stated that he questioned this Sunday afternoon time frame.  He said several people told him that it was difficult to get a quorum during the week.  He said this has worked well on Sunday. 

 

                                    MICHAELS stated that we have discussed this before.  He said we talked about Friday, Thursday, etc., and everyone had a hard time making a weeknight evening meeting.  He said there is a buffer zone when you have the meeting on Sunday afternoon.   He said it’s almost impossible for everyone to agree what day is best to hold the meeting.

 

                                    POLLOCK said he would probably resign if the meetings were not on Sunday.  He said he puts his family first.  He said it might not be safe to have an evening meeting when driving is involved.

 

                                    HALL said evening meetings have worked well for the school board, and they have not even considered changing their meeting day.  She said she was just given 48 letters of support to change the meeting day.  HALL said the school board has a better level of attendance to their weeknight meetings.

 

                                    TALERICO said some advantages to weeknight meetings are the Borough office would be open.  He said he would just as soon not break up a weekend for the Staff.  He said the staff has never said anything to him about this.  He said another thing is you’re asking Alaskans to stay home on the weekend when they have other business to attend to.  He said he believes in the new and improved ideas associated with change. 

 

                                    USIBELLI said this issue would be coming forth in petition form.

                                   

                                    Mayor Gonzales said the National Park Superintendent needs to know who is attending the trip into the Park.

 

NEXT MEETING       The next Assembly meeting will be held on September 8, 2002 in McKinley Village.

 

ADJOURNMENT      MUELLER declared the regular meeting adjourned at 4:38 pm.

 

 

ATTEST:  _________________________          APPROVED:  __________________

 

 

Date Approved:  ____________________