By Nikki Lewis
Turnagain Times Correspondent
Photo courtesy of Evan Cutler
A trailer is towed out of the Park-N-Ride parking lot in downtown Girdwood around 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4. It was the last of nine abandoned vehicles towed out of the lot.
The Girdwood Board of Supervisors met for its monthly meeting Monday, March 15.
The first point of discussion was the news that Girdwood's Park and Ride parking lot was cleared of abandoned vehicles after many months of discussion.
A total of nine vehicles were towed to Anchorage, with a budget available to cover 20 cars.
Carol Sanner then provided a friendly reminder from the 2010 Census. She noted the importance of completing the census questionnaire because it provides demographic information, which determines congressional representation.
Alaska was severely miscounted during the previous census costing billions of dollars in revenue share statewide, she informed the GBOS.
“Every person who responds to the 10 question questionnaire represents $2,400 in revenue dollars,” Sanner said. “We need to sustain our representation in the federal funding stream, which benefits such things as education, social services, transportation, etc.”
She added that as always, personal information provided for the census is protected under law.
Next, Kaylene Johnson from the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area provided a well-prepared presentation on the newly designated area.
The area stretches from Bird to Seward and is now authorized by Congress as a National Heritage Area. As part of receiving federal funding, a management plan must be created, and public input is sought.
“Organized in 1998, the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area started with local residents interested in preserving and sharing our history,” said Johnson. “They come together and put forth ideas. Girdwood, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing, Moose Pass and Seward all benefit from this designation.”
This is the first NHA in Alaska and the 49th existing in the United States.
“What is the difference between a NHA and a National Park?” a member of the audience asked.
“A NHA is a community driven project which strives to preserve outstanding natural, cultural, historic and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive nationally important landscape,” Johnson answered.
The first project tackled with the new congressional designation and federal funding was the restoration of the Roundhouse at Alyeska and improvements to museums in both Seward and Cooper Landing. Now, Johnson is asking communities within the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area to provide input, opinions, and ideas.
She said it is a collaborative effort which will only boost tourism and create a pristine preservation to what our government calls a national treasure.
“One purpose of this meeting is to make the process available to your community,” Johnson said.
Everyone attending the meeting seemed very excited at the opportunity of federal funding to improve communities along the Arm and the Kenai Peninsula.
You can contact Johnson at kaylene.johnson@gmail.com.
Next on the agenda was the issue of rental room fees. A motion was called and passed with all in favor for a community room fee of $10 an hour with a $250 cleaning deposit.
What to do with Glacier City Hall was next discussed. The Forest Fair Committee did not renew its lease with Glacier City Hall as of Dec. 31 of last year.
“It was always knowledge that it was a temporary building,” said Jay Bell. “When Forest Fair was fixing it up it was for a temporary community space before the community room. When this place opened, all users from City Hall came here. That's why Forest Fair decided to get out of it. No one needs it anymore.”
However with no owner, the question of who is paying the bills for Glacier City Hall was raised.
Chugach electric has come twice to shut off power; however, Little Bears Playhouse shares a power box with Glacier City Hall, which would ultimately cease water flow for the pre-school.
“The municipality of Anchorage has picked up those fees to get them transferred over to our parks and rec,” said GBOS member John Gallup. “$600 is owed to Enstar, $250 to Chugach (Electric). We do have to decide on an expense to running it. It costs $1,600 a year for just the gas and electric.”
The conversation then turned to the importance of the building itself and whether it was worth keeping or should it be torn down or made into a pump house?
“Perhaps we can use the federal funding from the National Heritage Area and turn it into a museum,” one audience member joked.
GBOS decided to continue the discussion to a later date and seek a sensible solution for what to do with Glacier City Hall.
