Moose Passings

Compiled By Willow Hetrick
Turnagain Times
Moose Pass Correspondent

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly Meeting Report

By Sue McClure
East Peninsula
Assembly Member 

Our meeting began with Mayor Carey making two proclamations:  September as “National Preparedness Month” and the week of Sept. 11-17 as “Jump Start Physical Activity Week”. We heard presentations from the KPB School District and also from the Tsalteshi Trail Association.  At this time, school enrollment is 235 under projection, and of particular interest is the fact that Cooper Landing School is once again below the 10 students required to receive State funding. 

Dr. Atwater stated that if enrollment still falls below 10 in October he would recommend closure. The good news was that our test scores are improving and are all above the State average, and our dropout rate is down. Mayor Carey reported that the borough has refinanced a number of bonds, resulting in a potential savings of over three million dollars. We heard 11 ordinances and unanimously enacted 10 of them.  Most were accepting and appropriating funds, including Ordinance 2011-19-06 which accepted the State Revenue Sharing funds, supplying communities such as Cooper Landing, Moose Pass and Hope with the $19,604 annual share.  

We enacted Ordinance 2011-29 authorizing the assessor to accept the late-filed senior citizen exemption applications for four seniors.  We also enacted Ordinance 2011-30, sponsored by Assemblyman Smith, which will require service areas to perform energy audits.  Ordinance 2011-07 failed by a vote of 3-6, which would have reduced the number of KPB Planning Commissioners from 13 to 11.   

We also again postponed Resolution 2011-087, approving a personnel policy for administrative employees, the borough clerk and deputy clerk. We will revisit this at the Sept. 20 meeting. Among the resolutions passed on the consent agenda included Resolution 2011-091, awarding the Moose Pass Depot Road pavement replacement contract to Alaska RoadBuilders, Inc.  We also passed Resolution 2011-093, authorizing the fire service area communication equipment to be standardized as Motorola. Three ordinances of interest that will be heard on October 11 include one accepting $5,235.72 from the State to install smart boards at Seward Elementary, Ordinance 2011-34, establishing enforcement processes for Title 21 violations, and Ordinance 2011-35, setting the upper limit for continuous borough assembly service at 8 consecutive years. Our next meeting will be Sept. 20 at the Homer City Hall. 

Ordinances up for public hearing at that meeting include one accepting $4,500,000 from the State for the borough Road Service Area Capital Improvement Projects, and the $8,998,000 for the Homer solid waste transfer facility construction. 

Also, Ordinance 2011-19-14 will be heard which accepts and appropriates a $6,289.47 State grant for the Bear Creek Fire Service Area for equipment. As always I can be reached at 224-6784, or smcclure@borough.kenai.ak.us. 

Further information on the meetings, the October 4 election, or the borough in general is available at www.borough.kenai.ak.us.  The Seward Annex office at Sea View Plaza, 224-2001, is also a great source of information in the Seward area.

Miles Knotek Wins Anchorage Christian Schools Challenge

Miles Knotek was the fastest (boy) runner in the Sept. 9 Anchorage Christian Schools cross-country running Challenge with a time of 10:10:07. Miles’s teammates Matthew Moore and Michael Marshall also ran exceptionally well.

Vandalism Reported at Trailheads in Seward Ranger District

By Irene Lindquist

Unfortunately there has been a lot of vandalism to vehicles parked at Trailheads on Seward Ranger District along the Sterling and Seward Highways to rigs parked overnight. Broken windows, valuables stolen, gas tanks drilled and emptied of fuel. Troopers and Law Enforcement are patrolling these areas more; however, damage is still occurring.