Mat-Su Borough Assembly members voted to amend a proposed ordinance that would have required five members for all Road Service Area Boards in District 7. RSA Boards are advisory and help the Borough decide which projects to prioritize.
According to Caswell Lakes RSA Board Chair DJ McBride, increasing the number of board members and the quorum could impact the ability for the Board to function.
Most commenters at the meeting were against the ordinance. Some of them were representing RSA Boards, including McBride, or Community Councils. Several stated that they had not been consulted about the change.
Originally proposed by District 7 Assemblymember Ron Bernier, the ordinance included all Road Service Areas in his District. However, some of those areas overlap Districts 4 and 5. District 5 Assemblymember Bill Gamble says he also was not consulted about the proposed changes.
“There’s a good portion of RSA 27 that’s within my District.”
Gamble went on to reiterate that the RSA Boards were opposed to it and that he also was against it.
“And I don’t appreciate an ordinance being brought forward that affects my District without being consulted.”
District 2 Assemblymember Stephanie Nowers says there does not seem to be strong support for a five-member board.
“I’ve heard a lot of opposition and I’ve also just seen evidence including what we had tonight that the five-member board didn’t work. It blew up an entire board. And now you have to piece that back together.”
Nowers is referring to an ordinance proposed by Assemblymember Gamble to replace all the members of the Big Lake RSA due to dysfunction. That proposal will be heard at the May 20th Assembly meeting. And Gamble’s ordinance to reduce the Knik RSA from five to three members passed this week too. That RSA currently has zero members.
For now, the Greater Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, Caswell Lakes, and Greater Willow RSAs will remain three-member boards.
