Hope Happenings
Borough Assembly prioritizes projects
Fayrene Sherritt
Turnagain Times Hope Correspondent
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly sponsored a community meeting Oct. 27 to identify the community’s capital project priorities. The Borough Assembly is in the process of developing its 2008 Capital Project Priorities List for the upcoming legislative session. The Assembly has agreed to include in this list a maximum of two capital project requests from each of the unincorporated communities in the Borough.
Borough Assembly Member Ron Long chaired the Hope community meeting held at the Hope Social Hall. Along with Mr. Long, KPB Mayor John J. Williams, Bonnie Golden-Grants Manager for KPB and Johni Blankenship-Deputy Borough Clerk came to visit with the Hope residents. The meeting was conducted as an informal roundtable discussion and lasted approximately one hour.
After discussing the projects submitted in previous years, the Resurrection Creek Road improvements and the need for a public restroom off of Main Street were re-submitted as the two projects that the community would most like to see funded.
Also discussed at the meeting was the announcement of an additional $20,000 grant available to Hope. This grant, unlike the grants secured by State Representative Mike Hawker, is part of a $200,000 grant given to the Kenai Peninsula Borough to be divided among the ten unincorporated communities in the Borough. Each community will need to submit a request for a breakdown of projects that the communities decide to use the funds for.
The monies can be used for both Capitol improvements as well as for operational needs i.e. fuel and electric costs. All the other grants have been limited to capital projects only. Due to the short notice about these new funds, it was agreed to call a special Hope, Inc. meeting so more of the residents will have an opportunity to give impute into where these funds should be used. The meeting date will be announced and posted as soon as one can be planned.
The issue of “junk cars” was brought up for discussion. Mayor Williams shared that he has a plan in mind for this problem, as it isn’t only Hope that has a concern for the number of abandoned vehicles. It is dependent on funding and is only in the planning stages now.
Another issue discussed was the need to add a third dumpster, during the summer, at the Transfer Station or more times per week that the two current dumpsters are emptied. Even with the limited time the gate is opened during the summer, the dumpsters are overflowing long before the next scheduled replacement of empty dumpsters.
The Mayor indicated he would do some checking to see what could be done for next summer to help with this problem. The meeting lasted barely one hour as the delegation had to move on to Moose Pass for a meeting with their residents. It was suggested that more time be set aside for next year’s meeting. The KPB delegation agreed to make that happen as they could also see a need for more time to be available for the meeting.
On Oct. 15 the Forest Service held an open house meeting at the Hope Social Hall to provide information to the community on the Forest Supervisor’s decision on Kenai Winter Access for the Seward Ranger District - Chugach National Forest. This completes a two-year collaborative process where citizens worked together around the table to identify scenario’s that would improve winter recreation management on the Seward Ranger District. Maps of the District were on the wall and each person attending was able to spend as much time as they needed to have their questions answered by Forest Service staff on their particular area of interest.
A few days later on Oct 19, the community and Forest Service gathered again at the Hope Social Hall. This time it was for a fun evening of coffee, deserts and sharing about the Resurrection Creek Restoration projects in the Hope area. Over the past few years, the Forest Service has worked successfully to restore a portion of Resurrection Creek and is interested in possibly doing more in the future. A movie on the Youth Restoration Corps work to assist this project was shown and a presentation was provided by Chugach National Forest Hydrologist and Fish Biologist.
In the next few weeks there are several dates to mark down on your calendars. The annual Hope/Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department’s annual meeting will be held on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Elections and by-laws changes are on the agenda. Nov. 17 the Hope Christian Church is sponsoring a free Thanksgiving Dinner to Hope’s residents. The dinner will be at the Hope School with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. Along with church members, Tito’s Discovery Café will help with food preparation and Bowman’s Bear Creek Lodge will provide all the catering equipment for serving the meal.
Nov. 24 is the Hope Library Christmas Bazaar from noon to 4 p.m. at the Hope School. Anyone interested in having a table, please contact Susan Anderson at 782-3311. There will be soup, chili, coffee, punch and a bake sale so bring your Christmas shopping list and join in the fun.
The bluegrass band will join in again this year providing Christmas music in the background. December 18 is the scheduled date for the “Cash & Treasures” program that was filmed here in Hope earlier this summer. More information should be available as the date gets closer. The annual Christmas Potluck will be held at the Hope Social Hall Dec. 22. Everyone is invited to bring a dish, plan to arrive at 5:30 with dinner at 6pm. There will be a visit from Santa and other surprises.
Wednesday morning breakfast, at the Hope Christian Church, provides a free breakfast to anyone in our community who would like to attend. Doors of the church will open every Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. for coffee and breakfast is served to 10 a.m. All are welcome to come.
The Food Bank is open Wed. 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Those folks needing to take advantage of the food pantry, outside the regular hours, please contact either Tom Burgin (350-1318) or Joyce Burgin (830-5307). If you are in need of food, you are encouraged to utilize this free service.