Around 30 people showed up for the public hearing on the proposed K-Beach Economic Service Area Thursday evening. Some came in support, some in opposition and many with questions.
Brian Olson with the group Borough Residents Against Annexation said they are fighting an uphill battle since the Borough Assembly President Dale Bagley supports Soldotna’s annexation of K-Beach.
Olson: “Everybody has their own niche or community and representatives that they have to speak for but with that said, residents that live in this particular area would have a voice more than what they have now and I think that’s what government’s all about is the voice of the people.”
Bob Wortham and his wife own more than 60 acres in District 1, the area that would be made into the service area. He said he doesn’t trust the service area to fix anything.
Wortham: “It’s just another way in the back door, you can’t trust these people. They want more tax base so they’ll do just about anything and they don’t always tell the truth.”
The special assembly committee formed for the hearing included the ordinance’s creator Kelly Wolf, Stan Welles, and Wayne Ogle.
At least three different issues currently threaten or have already impacted District 1: Soldotna’s possible annexation of the K-Beach business district; the effects of flooding from 2013; and high arsenic levels in a neighborhood off of East Poppy.
With those issues competing for solutions, Ogle asked the attendees how the service area board will determine which solution the 0.01 mill rate revenue, which would be about $5,600, goes to fund?
Wolf said he did not intend for this economic development service area to be a fix-all, but merely a vehicle which his constituents could use to begin working on solutions.
