East Talkeetna Residents Will Vote on Flood Service Area This Year

This October, East Talkeetna and River Subdivision residents will vote on whether to join the Talkeetna Flood Control Service Area.  The service area is a special tax district, currently levied at 1.39 mills.  The Borough Manager’s proposed budget would reduce the mill rate to 1.07 for the area.

The proposed expansion would be bordered by the Alaksa Railroad, the Talkeetna River, and a combination of Twister Creek slough and the ridge line.

The issue of annexation came up after it was discovered that East Talkeetna is not covered by the existing flood service area.  According to Mat-Su Borough officials, that designation is required in order for the borough to do flood mitigation work or act as a pass-through for state and federal flood control funds.  FEMA funding after a flood is not affected by the designation.  Taxes raised through the levy are also available for flood control, but the amount is not sufficient to do major work.  The flood service area’s current revenue is about $22,000 per year.

According to borough code, a majority of voters residing in the proposed expansion zone who vote in the borough election must approve the annexation for it to take place.  The Talkeetna Community Council conducted an advisory vote on pursuing the expansion last October.  On a vote of 48-10, the council was advised to proceed.  This year’s borough election will be on October 6th,