To the Editor:
I would like to as that residents of Girdwood, please do not park their vehicles on the public streets and roads. The roads are snow packed and icy. Without unrestricted access to the roads and streets to plow and sand them, they can not be made better. This causes a continuing inconvenience and potentially dangerous situation to the others in our community. The municipality code 24.25.060 stipulates fines and towing penalties for those who are not considerate of the good of the community.
Please do not park your vehicles on the public streets and roads of Girdwood.
Jim Henderson
Girdwood Board of Supervisor
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter regarding the article about the dispute between Girdwood’s former roads contractor and GBOS member Jim Henderson; in the last edition of the Turnagain Times.
I was not at the meeting at which the Redmonds’ accused board member Henderson of racial slurs, so I will not speculate one way or another regarding the validity of the claim, nor should any others who were not there.
An accusation has been made and board member Henderson has denied the claim.
I will, however, shed some light on the issues that brought about the tension between the Redmond Company and the GBOS.
At the time I was on the board, and spent much time with Jim Henderson going through a disaster of time cards from the Redmond Company. There were instances in which the Redmond Company charged Girdwood for the operators taking naps and lunches, and fixing broken down equipment. Redmond Company admitted to taking naps on the clock, and gave us time cards that had a person behind the wheel in excess of 20 hours without any type of break at all.
In addition, it is my understanding that the Redmond Company had purchased a reserve of aggregate from Portage, but was charging Girdwood Alaska Sand and Gravel prices. Redmond Company was spreading this aggregate, which is extremely expensive, with a front wheel loader rather than a spreader so the job was uneven and much of it was wasted. Today is Feb. 17 and it is raining, and I am recalling about a year ago when it was raining and the streets were impassable because the slush was over a foot deep. This is the result of the Redmond Company floating the blade when they grade the streets. I am not seeing the same problem this year.
My point is, Jim Henderson took it on himself to make sure that Girdwood received value for the dollars being spent on the road maintenance. Jim didn’t put all of his efforts into an unpaid position just so he could cause a ruckus. He did what he thought he was expected to do, get value for Girdwood’s money by questioning what was clearly a very loose situation.
When items on bills were questioned there were instances that board member Henderson reported that the Redmonds were so aggressive with him that he feared for his physical safety.
As a Girdwood Supervisor it was my feeling that the Redmond Company, since it had no competition, was taking advantage of the situation both in the rates that were being charged, and the timecards that were being turned into the board. The Redmond Company had almost a year to bring the issue of racial slurs up to the board, but only brought it up after they lost the contract to a lower bidder. You can infer what you want, but these are the facts.
So, keep your judgments regarding board member Henderson. None of us knows what happened at that meeting.
Eben P. Stone, former Girdwood Board of Supervisor
Girdwood, AK