This past Monday, the Talkeetna Community Council board of directors held its annual meeting. With the exception of new members being seated, the agenda wasn’t very different from what might appear during any of the regular monthly meetings. Three new members were seated on the board, Rich Crain, Mark Moren, and Rob Shelby. Whitney Wolff was retained as chair, as well as Mary Farina as co-chair. Katie Writer was chosen as the new treasurer and Iris Vandenham was made secretary of the TCC. There was no secret ballot, since only one person was nominated for each position.
Much of the discussion at Monday’s meeting dealt with the distribution of state revenue sharing funds. The council had a total of $28,600 to give to community organizations. In total, seventeen applications were submitted, with requests for more than $64,000 dollars. All but two organizations received at least some of the requested funding. The largest awards went to Sunshine Transit and the Upper Susitna Food Pantry, with both receiving $4,000. Some controversy emerged from the recommendation of a $400 contribution to the Gateway to the Arctic Camp, since it lies outside of the Talkeetna Community Council Area. Board member Iris Vandenham also opposed a $500 grant to the Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce. An amendment to strike those two items did not receive a second.
A complete list of the approved revenue sharing grants is available below:
Sunshine Transit $4,000
Upper Susitna Food Pantry $4,000
Upper Susitna Seniors/Meals on Wheels $3,500
Susitna River Coalition $3,000
Talkeetna Cemetery Committee $2,000
Denali Arts Council $2,000
Talkeetna Historical Society $2,000
Friends of the Talkeetna Library $1,600
KTNA $1,600
Youth Conservation Corps $1,000
Talkeetna Community Schools $1,000
Talkeetna Ambulance/Community CPR $1,000
Talkeetna Community Council (Operations) $1,000
Talkeetna Chamber of Commerce $500
Great Land Christian Church/Gateway to the Arctic $400
