Borough assembly to vote on fate of Property Asset Management board

Mat-Su Borough deputy mayor Ron Arvin is proposing to get rid of the Real Property Asset Management Board and the borough assembly will consider the issue on Tuesday. The board is advising the Borough Assembly, administration and the planning commission on land acquisitions, disposals and how borough land should be used. This includes decisions on resource leases and sales. The borough owns 365-thousand acres of land.

Assemblyman Arvin argued that the board is just another unnecessary layer of regulation. In an opinion piece published in the Frontiersman, Arvin writes that the borough has more than 60 advisory boards – this includes fire service area boards, community councils and road service boards. He asserts that these boards have no decision-making authority but use up paid borough employees’ time.  Arvin also intents to recommend a review of all of these boards and proposes to disband some to create leaner government. During last Thursday’s Susitna Community Council meeting, Cari Sayre brought the topic to the attention of the council and cautioned that disbanding the Real Property Asset Management Board may not be a good idea as it would limit the public’s input concerning the use of borough-owned land. The board was created in 2005 to acquire citizen input into the management of the borough’s real property assets.

District 7 Assemblyman Vern Halter said that he appreciates the input from the various advisory boards and commissions and that he will likely vote to keep the Real Property Asset Management Board in place. The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the issue at their regular meeting on Tuesday.