Borough, Talkeetna Community Council Elections This Tuesday

Tuesday, Upper Valley Residents will vote in both borough and community council elections.

The Upper Valley will not be choosing its Borough Assembly member this year.  There are two Mat-Su Borough School Board seats on the ballot, but both candidates are running unopposed.  That means the decisions on the ballot come down to questions.  The first is proposition B-1.  If passed, the proposition would mean a redrawing of some of the borough’s districts in order to conform more closely to the state’s voting precincts.  It would also eliminate fourteen polling places.  The ordinance to place the question on the ballot passed unanimously in April.   The second ballot question would increase property tax exemptions for elderly disabled veterans and their widows or widowers.  Currently, those who qualify are exempted from the first $150,000 of property value.  Proposition B-2 would increase that amount by an additional $68,000.

Talkeetna residents will also be voting for community council members and on one advisory question.  Four seats are up for election.  The candidates are Whitney Wolff, who currently serves as the TCC chair, Rich Crane, Mark Moren, Rob Shelby, and write-in candidate Caitlin Hunt.

The question on the Talkeetna ballot is for East Talkeetna residents.  The question gauges interest in expanding Talkeetna’s flood service area to include the part of town on the east side of the railroad tracks.  Currently, East Talkeetna is not covered by a flood service area.  Talkeetna Community Council Chair Whitney Wolff and Borough Emergency Manage Casey Cook both say that means that any future work done by the borough for flood control would have to stop at the tracks.  If East Talkeetna were to join the flood service area, property owners would see a property tax increase.  Whitney Wolff says that the flood service tax amounts to about $100 per year for many downtown lots.  KTNA’s Phillip Manning interviewed Wolff regarding the ballot question.  That interview, as well as an interview with write-in candidate Caitlin Hunt, is available in its entirety at KTNA.org.

Polling places for the borough election in the Upper Valley are Talkeetna Elementary, Trapper Creek Elementary, and the Upper Susitna Senior Center.  Voting for the Talkeetna Community Council will be at the Talkeetna Public Library.