Next Tuesday, voters will choose new Mat-Su Borough Assembly and Mat-Su Borough School Board members. The Upper Valley lies within District 7. The District 7 assembly seat is not up for election, but its school board seat is. Unlike in previous years, where school board members could reside anywhere in the Valley, each seat is tied to the same geographical areas as the borough. Dr. Donna Dearman, who currently holds the District 7 seat, is running unopposed to remain on the school board.
In addition to elected offices, there are three area-wide ballot questions in the October 4th borough election. Two of those deal with commercial marijuana. Proposition B-1 seeks to ban commercial cannabis in the unincorporated areas of the Mat-Su. If passed, marijuana retail, cultivation, and testing facilities, would be banned from all areas of the borough outside of the incorporated cities. Industrial hemp is exempted from the proposed ban. Citizens of Palmer, Wasilla, and Houston are allowed to vote on the initiative, despite having already ruled on their own municipalities. At the moment, Houston is the only area of the borough where commercial marijuana is allowed.
The second marijuana ballot question deals with taxing the product. If passed, this initiative would place a five-percent sales tax on cannabis sold within the borough. A partial exemption is built in for incorporated cities that already have a sales tax, such as Houston.
The third area-wide ballot question is a bond proposal for trails and recreational facilities in the borough. The majority of the $22 million proposal is allocated for improvements to the Palmer and Wasilla pools as well as the Brett Memorial Ice Arena. Upper Valley projects in the bond package include the Willow and Talkeetna ice rinks, the Talkeetna Ridge Trail, a parking area near Fish Lake, and improvements to the Trapper Creek Community Center.
Borough election day is also when five new members will be chosen for the Talkeetna Community Council board of directors. Eight candidates are running for the open seats.
Over the next week, KTNA will provide additional information regarding both the borough and community council elections leading up to the October 4th election.
