Assembly overrides veto on road bonds

MAT-SU— In a 5 to 2 decision, the Assembly for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough voted to override Mayor Larry DeVilbiss’ veto of the proposed $32 million transportation bonds.

Today while traveling, Mayor DeVilbiss vetoed the transportation package by iPhone. The Mayor gave three reasons:

1. The package price is too high.

2. The road bond package is essentially for roads, not trails.

3. Things are upside down when we are more interested in paving a trail on a State road while we are still driving on State roads that are gravel.

The bond package offers road projects in every Assembly district. Among the projects: Dogwood Avenue extension in Palmer, Clapp/Mack Road extension to the Wasilla Sports Center, intersection improvements for South Big Lake and Big Lake roads, a paved pathway from Sutton Elementary, Vine Road upgrade and pathway, Seldon and Lucille Street intersection improvements and more. For a full list see ordinance 11-084 under Assembly legislation on the Borough website.

Bonds may not be issued to pay for projects unless matching funds are received from the State. The cost to local taxpayers is $73.58 annually on a $200,000 property assessment.

Tomorrow was the last day for the Assembly to consider a veto override that would allow the proposition to still make it onto the Oct. 4 ballot. The Assembly agreed to override the veto in 15 minutes in a special meeting. Assembly Members Ron Arvin, Jim Colver, Cindy Bettine, Warren Keogh, and Vern Halter voted to override. Assembly Members Noel Woods and Mark Ewing opposed.

In voting to override, Assembly Member Ron Arvin said that comprehensive road bonds are a safety issue and a core responsibility of government. “Overlaying trails with asphalt is a huge benefit in dust mitigation. The notion that transportation related projects have to do only with combustible engines is not the case. The more traffic moved,—the more motorized, personal use, motorhome, off-road vehicle—the better.”

In voting to override, Assembly Member Cindy Bettine said a constituent told her she didn’t have a park in her neighborhood and that a paved path is the cheapest park the Borough will ever get. “People are out walking their dogs and pushing babies and enjoying it,” Bettine said. She said three specific fatal accidents flashed before her as she came down here tonight to override the veto. “The lady whose feet were knocked right out from under her on Seward Meridian; the boy on Seldon, and the bikers on Fairview Loop,” she said.

In voting to override, Assembly Member Vern Halter said that traffic on Vine Road was “vicious and somebody is going to get killed. We’ve got to move traffic off that.”

In voting to override, Assembly Member Jim Colver said he felt it was his duty to respond to the number one issue in his district, the intersection of Seldon and Lucille. “We’ve got excessive speeds on substandard roads and we will be held accountable if we don’t act,” Colver said. Road construction will “prime the pump” of our local economy, he said, by providing jobs next summer if this bond passes.

For more information call Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie at 745-9684 or Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan at 355-0103 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.