On Thursday, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly held its annual public hearing on the borough budget at the Willow Community Center. More than sixty Northern Valley residents attended the meeting, and many testified on subjects affecting their respective communities.
The meeting began with Borough Mayor and Willow resident Vern Halter making good on a promise to contribute a substantial portion of his mayoral salary toward the construction of a new Willow library and upgrades to the community center. While the library was not on the agenda, some attendees asked the borough to move forward with the project while the final funds needed to complete it are being secured.
Topics that received significant support from the audience include shifting an additional $65,000 from the borough’s land management fund to the project fund to renovate and restore the old Willow community hall. The log building was constructed by locals in the early sixties using largely locally raised funds. The Willow Historical and Wildlife Federation and Willow Area Community Organization envision using the building as a museum for local history. The Assembly approved the measure without objection.
Multiple attendees also spoke in favor of the borough’s community enrichment program, which funds organizations in Willow, Trapper Creek, and Talkeetna. Funding for the program, which was just over $25,000 last year, is missing from this year’s proposed budget. While the Assembly has not begun its deliberation on potential changes to the budget, Mayor Halter says he intends to encourage the Assembly to put at least some of the funding back in for community enrichment.
Parents, teachers, and school administrators asked that the borough not pass on the cost of school bond debt to the school district in the event that the state cuts back on debt reimbursement.
The other measure passed by the Assembly on Thursday will exempt residential utilities from the Talkeetna Sewer and Water Service Area sales tax. Exempted utilities include electricity, propane, heating oil, and water and sewer bills. The ordinance passed five-to-two, with Assembly Members Sumner and McKee voting against it.
The Assembly opted to delay its budget deliberations until May 16th, in the hope that they will have a more accurate picture of the state budget by then.
