The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved an appropriation of $175,000 at their meeting Tuesday night for the purpose of securing professional engineering, or hydrological service for a study and long-term solution recommendations for the high water issues in the Kalifornsky Beach area.
The area in question has been plagued by regular flooding, an issue potentially caused by neighborhood developments creating a damming effect on wetland water which previously drained into the Cook Inlet.
The flooding has become a contentious matter between residents of the area and borough leadership. In July the borough filed a lawsuit against David Yragui, seeking a restraining order and injunction to stop Yragui from digging an unpermitted canal – his attempt the handle the matter personally.
Yragui has been frustrated by lethargic action on the part of the borough and state in response to the problems presented by the high water. What could be perceived as inaction, however, may also be attributable to the limitations of administrative and executive authority in a second-class borough.
“So, remember we’re a second-class borough, we’re not a flood control borough,” said Borough Mayor Peter Micciche on KSRM’s Sound Off. “People are expecting us to do things that we’re simply not authorized to do. And the people of the Kenai have repeatedly pushed back on expanding powers, the powers we have, the only powers we have that people have given us, but we’re doing what we can with the road service powers we have in our roadside ditches and culverts.”
Some of the financial and operational limitations of a second-class, non-flood control borough, have led to frustrations on the part of community members who asked for things which, according to Micciche, are not within the authority of the borough.
“We do not have the authority to convey water outside of our ditch and culvert system without permission, without partnership, and we don’t have the authority to use borough funds on those items,” the mayor said in a phone call. He also expressed a willingness to work with the community toward a solution. “This study is about evaluating not only suggestions that others have had in the area, but an independent view of what it would take to help the constituents in K-Beach area to hopefully alleviate some of their groundwater problems as well.”
In April, the borough approved the use of $300,000 from the Road Service Area Operating Fund to begin addressing the high water problems. On Sound Off, Micciche elaborated on some of what has already been accomplished to that end;
“We’ve moved 20 million gallons of water out of that area through our culverts with the project that we did. But we want to understand what’s possible for that area. We want to help where we’re authorized to help. And where we’re not, we want to reach out to agencies that are authorized, to see how they can help.”
The assembly unanimously approved the $175,000 appropriation.