Minutes of the Regular Meeting
Denali Borough Assembly
Anderson City Council Chambers
March 10, 2002
CALL TO ORDER Presiding Officer Jerry Mueller called the regular meeting to order at 3:05 pm.
ROLL CALL Assembly members present were: Sid Michaels, Jim
Caswell, Jerry Mueller, Teresa Hall, Jim Payne, Gerald Pollock, Carol Shields,
and Mayor Gonzales. Assembly members
absent were Teresa Usibelli and David Talerico.
MUELLER entertained a MOTION to excuse USIBELLI and
TALERICO. HALL so moved and PAYNE seconded The VOTE was unanimous.
PLANNING 1.)
Conceptual approval of the 2002 Remote Cabin Site
COMMISSION Program (RRCS).
(Mucho Lake and Wood River areas in the Denali Borough.)
Jeanne
Proulx, Department of Natural Resources representative, gave an update of the
RRCS. She stated that there is another
trail that leads into the Wood River area.
She stated that the only problem with it is that it goes through Fort
Wainwight. Proulx stated that before
offering these sites they want to clear up the problem with the airstrip that
is located in the middle of the Rex trail.
She said that there are three options that they are looking at. The first one is to move the trail to either
side of the airstrip and offer a lease for public use. The second option is to issue a lease for
private use, and the third option would be to eliminate the airstrip. She asked the Assembly if they had any input
on this issue. She also stated that if
this issue is not resolved by the time of offering then the sites in the Wood
River area would not be offered.
HALL
MOVED to send a letter of conceptual approval for the RRCS. PAYNE seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.
MINUTES 1.)
December 21, 2001: Public Hearing, and Special Meeting.
HALL
MOVED to approve the December 21, 2001 Public Hearing and Special Meeting
minutes, SHIELDS seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.
2.) February 10, 2002: Work Session, Public
Hearing, and regular.
PAYNE
MOVED to approve the February 10,2002, Work Session, Public Hearing, and
Regular Meeting minutes. SHIELDS
seconded.
MICHAELS
stated that the meeting was in Cantwell not at the Tri-Valley Community
Center. The Clerk so noted.
The
VOTE was unanimous.
FINANCIAL HALL MOVED to receive the January 2002 financial
report, and
REPORT PAYNE seconded.
The VOTE was unanimous.
MAYORS Mayor Gonzales introduced Tim Woster, P.E., from
the
REPORT Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities (DOT&PF).
Mayor
Gonzales stated that on February 13th he met with DOT&PF regarding on the
TORA (Transfer of Responsibility) agreement.
He stated that it has been an uphill battle, but the conclusion is in
sight.
On
February 15th Mayor Gonzales and his wife Irene attended the Clear Air Force
Ball. He said they had a wonderful
time.
February
20th Mayor Gonzales met with Don Lowell about the Northern Access
Reconnaissance Study (NARS).
February
21st he met with Paul Anderson, Superintendent, and Dianne Chung, Deputy
Superintendent, of Denali National Park.
He said that they had a good meeting and he hopes that it will continue
that way.
February
27th he met with Ralph Swarthout, Northern Regions Director of DOT&PF. He said that they talked about the
TORA. He also met with Jerry Rafson and
the DOT planning staff.
March
6th Mayor Gonzales met with DOT Northern Director Ralph Swarthout and was able
to fix the things that we were worried about in the TORA. He said the TORA has been signed by both
parties. He said that because this is
Federal money the rules on spending the funds are more stringent. He stated that they only allow payment after
the work is done. Mayor Gonzales said
that there would be money for administrative costs, payable to the Borough.
Mayor
Gonzales said that Deanna Rennick, Transfer Station Gatekeeper, has
resigned. He said that the job was
posted and that two applications were received. He stated that the interviews were last Friday.
Mayor
Gonzales stated that we have run out of money in the Assembly Travel line item
for fiscal year 2002. He said that the
Assembly could either stop travel until July 1, 2002 or the money could come
out of the Assembly Contingency line item.
ASSEMBLY HALL stated that she is on the Alaska Municipal League
Board
COMMENTS of Directors.
She stated that AML has been working very hard on HB20. She said that HB20 would benefit our Borough
and other Boroughs in Alaska. HALL said
she would like to be able to attend the Legislative Conference in April.
MUELLER
stated that the Assembly needs to address this issue under “other business” on the agenda. He said this item and a transfer of liquor
license ownership need to be added to the agenda. He said the transfer of ownership should have been emailed to the
Borough on February 21st, which would have made the agenda
deadline. He said HALL’S request should
have been added earlier during the approval of the agenda.
PUBLIC Joe Fields, Kantishna Holding, Inc., stated
that 10 years ago he
COMMENTS came to this Borough and addressed the issue of northern
access into Denali National Park. He
said that the Assembly passed a resolution in support of the privately funded
railroad concept. He said that he looks
forward to working with the Borough in the future. He stated that if you look at economic development and the
economy of Alaska, there are many benefits for our area if we do this project
right.
COMMUNICATION 1.)
Captain Faulkner: update on the Air National Guard takeover
AND of
Clear Air Base.
APPEARANCES
Captain Kimberly Faulkner, of
Eielson Air Force Base gave an update on the infusion of the Air National Guard
at Clear Air Force Base.
2.)
Coal Ash update: Mr. Scott
Stowell, Ms. Heidi Young, and Mr. Steve Denton.
Scott Stowell, Usibelli Coal Mine
employee, stated that the Department of Environmental Conservation wants to
make it easier to dispose of and use coal ash.
He stated that a permit might not be required. He urged the Assembly to pay attention because some of the
proposed changes might affect the landfill and use of coal ash at the landfill.
Steve Denton, Usibelli Coal Mine,
gave a brief history on the export contract with Korea. He said that for 17 years Usibelli has been
selling coal to Korea via a middleman (Korean Electric and Power Company (KEPCo)),
and they have recently begun to restructure the company into Korean East and
Korean West. As of now KEPCo has
terminated the contract with Usibelli as of January 1st, but
Usibelli is still in negotiation with them.
MICHAELS asked under the worst-case
scenario, when would the job losses start.
Denton stated that it would happen pretty quickly, possibly in June or
July. Denton said it would affect about
1/3 of the workforce, which is about 30 jobs.
PAYNE asked what his take is on a
private gas line coming from the North Slope.
Denton said he is unaware of that project.
CASWELL asked what Denton what he
thinks the future of the Healy Clean Cola project will be. Denton said the power plant is shut down
right now, but Golden Valley wants to do a full retrofit. There is no bill in congress for that money
yet. He said that we are looking at
least a couple of months until we see if that money is appropriated.
RECESS MUELLER
called a recess at 4:09 p.m.
RECONVIEND MUELLER
called the meeting back to order at 4:27p.m.
ORDINANCES 1.) Ordinance
01-07, Version A, an ordinance amending the Denali Borough Code of Ordinances,
adding Chapter 22, pertaining to business licenses.
CASWELL MOVED to amend the application to “optional” under
the requirement for a social security number on the application. He also added to delete “Other Required Business license” on the
application. CASWELL also requested
that the following verbiage be added:
“License fees may be paid for up to five years in advance. Prepaid fees are nonrefundable.” PAYNE seconded.
The VOTE was unanimous.
PAYNE MOVED to postpone this ordinance until the next
meeting, CASWELL seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.
2.) Ordinance 02-01,
Version A, an ordinance amending the Denali Borough Enabling Code, Title 1,
Chapter 4, Public Records.
HALL asked if there had been any changes made since it had
been introduced. MUELLER stated that
there has not.
HALL MOVED to postpone this ordinance until next meeting,
SHIELDS seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.
RESOLUTIONS 1.) A resolution in
support of the Department of Transportation Project #60924. (Next resolution
02-03)
Tim Woster P.E., DOT&PF, gave a brief overview of the
proposed project. He said that it is a
rehabilitation project between mileposts 206-210 of the Parks Highway. He stated that they will also be adding a
few interpretive signs at the pull out.
PAYNE asked about the sharp corner at mile 206. Woster stated that they would put up reduced
speed signs and add chevrons to increase visibility at the sharp curve.
CASWELL asked if they were going to repave the area. He said that in the Wasilla area they are
using an experimental stone mixture to pave their roads. He suggested that the DOT look into that
proposal. Woster said he would look
into that possibility.
Mayor Gonzales stated that we have been asking for this
project for the last eight years. He
suggested adopting this resolution.
MICHAELS asked when the project is scheduled to start and
how long it would take. Woster stated
that it will be a one-season project and they are looking at late this summer,
or early next spring.
PAYNE MOVED to adopt the resolution, HALL seconded. The roll call VOTE was unanimous. This will be Resolution 02-03.
OTHER 1.) Certify the February 19,2002 Special
Election.
BUSINESS
MUELLER entertained a MOTION to certify the Special election
held on February 19, 2002 pending pre-clearance from the Department of
Justice. HALL so MOVED, and MICHAELS
seconded.
The roll call VOTE was unanimous.
2.) Discussion
regarding changing the Assembly meeting day and time.
MICHAELS stated that due to his working schedule the only
evenings that would work for him would be Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
CASWELL stated that he could handle an evening
schedule. He said that his concern with
it would be that Healy is centrally located and that all the meetings would
eventually be held there.
HALL stated that she does not really care when the meeting
is. She stated that she is an elected
official. She said that the School
Board holds their meetings on the weekdays.
She said that she does not think that CASWELL’S argument holds water.
MICHAELS stated that because the school board holds their
meetings on a weekday, he could rarely attend.
Minimal discussion followed.
3.) Formal written complaint from the Committee At-Large
Chairman.
MUELLER stated that this complaint was formally submitted to
the Assembly during their February 10th meeting, and was given to the Clerk
February 13th. MUELLER said
he had written a proposed response to the complaint. He asked if there was any action that the Assembly wishes to
take.
MICHAELS stated that we should discuss it. He stated that since there was a formal
complaint there should be a written reply.
He asked how the rest of the Assembly feels about the reply that MUELLER
had proposed.
HALL stated that she is satisfied with the reply and agrees
that it needs to be discussed.
HALL MOVED to direct the Presiding Officer to provide this
letter to Mr. Winklmann. SHIELDS
seconded. The VOTE was 6-1 with POLLOCK
opposed.
4.) Denali Borough
Independent population census.
No action was taken.
5.) Discussion
regarding ethics of Assembly members.
MICHAELS MOVED to postpone until next meeting when USIBELLI
would be present. CASWELL
seconded. The VOTE was unanimous.
6.) Public comments.
Kay Durham, Healy resident, stated that she thinks that it
is much easier when the Assembly meetings are held during the week. She said that she gets a little upset when
there is no attendance. She stated that
she has heard that there might even be more competition for the Assembly if the
meetings were held during the week. She
feels like it is in the best interest of the Borough.
John Winklmann, Healy resident, stated that there are a few
things that he would like to add to his complaint pertaining to the maps. He said that on the map it says to see
Borough office for a more detailed map.
He said that he went in the office and asked to see the more detained
map and that there was not one. He
requested that that be addressed in the letter that the Assembly sends
back. He stated that he also dug up an
old map. He said that he went to the
Borough office to get more copies and was told that it was a working map and
that there are no more copies. He
stated on this map there are a couple of cul-de-sacs. He said that he would also like that addressed in his reply. He stated that it is inaccurate
information. He stated that it was
partisan information. He also wanted
that addressed in the response to his complaint. He asked Gail Pieknik, Land Use Technician, if there is a legal
description of the boundaries. Pieknik stated that she would prefer not to
answer that question at this time.
7.) Travel Expenses for the AML Legislative Conference.
Mayor Gonzales stated that there is an Assembly contingency
line item that could be used for HALL to go the AML Board of Directors
meeting. HALL said the Presiding
Officer is also considering attending the conference.
MICHAELS MOVED to allow the Mayor to take the funds from the
Assembly contingency line item for HALL and MUELLER to fly to Juneau for the
AML Legislative Conference. CASWELL
seconded.
The VOTE was unanimous.
8.) Lynx Creek
Liquor License transfer of ownership.
MUELLER entertained a MOTION to approve, CASWELL so MOVED
and HALL seconded. The VOTE was
unanimous.
ASSEMBLY CASWELL stated
that this was a relatively short meeting and if
COMMENTS we were to hold the meetings at night and they started
at 6:30 it could go long into the night.
Winklmann
said he would like the Assembly to look at the rules for an inititive petition
that the Clerk has to follow. He stated
that there were some problems with the resident address requirement in the
Code.
NEXT MEETING The next Assembly meeting will be held on April 14, 2002 at
the Tri-Valley Community Center.
ADJOURNMENT MUELLER
declared the regular meeting adjourned at 5:11 pm.
Date Approved:
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