The Fishiest Ordinance ever proposed by the MSB staff

rotten

This item is on the agenda of the next MSB Assembly meeting. Ordinance 19-101.

The MSB staff wants the Assembly to drain the Land Management Permanent Fund of $3.5 million (of the total $3.9 million which would leave a balance of only $400K in the fund) to pay for two projects. Note: the originator of this proposal is Community Development Director Eric Phillips but there is no way that MSB Manager John Moosey and others are not behind this idea.

Actually, this money is to pay for only part of two projects – the new Willow Library and the “Fish Creek Access Project.”

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The Willow Library Project already has about half of the total funds it needs and with this additional $2 million, it could be constructed. Fine.

It is the other project – the “Fish Creek Access Project” – that is completely and totally FISHY. This project stinks to high heaven.

The MSB (in the Informational Memo) explains that the total cost for this proposed project to open up access to a big undeveloped area of the Mat-Su Valley is $6,290,000. And so, the MSB would like to take $1.5 million from the land fund to get started on this project and then HOPE IT SOMEHOW is able to raise the rest of the funds via grants or “partnerships.” Hmmmm….

WE ALL KNOW FULL WELL THAT THE MSB STAFF HAS SOMETHING UP ITS SLEEVE THAT IT IS NOT REVEALING. THEY NEVER, EVER, EVER REVEAL THE FULL STORY.

Questions:

1. Does this money grab have anything to do with the A2A project?

2. Does anyone trust the MSB to spend the $1.5 million wisely without disclosing any details and without a plan in place to finish the project? Or does the MSB actually have a partner in mind that they are not disclosing?

3. Why are we spending all the Land Management Permanent Funds in one fell swoop?

4. WHY ARE THESE TWO PROPOSALS (THE $2 MILLION FOR THE WILLOW LIBRARY AND THE $1.5 MILLION FOR THE FISH CREEK PROPOSAL) TACKED TOGETHER INTO ONE ORDINANCE?? Why can’t the Assembly divide them up and vote on them separately??? This seems very peculiar and there must be some sort of political reason behind this. (“Maybe no one will notice if we stick this $1.5 million Fishy Appropriation in with the Willow Library appropriation!”)

UPDATE – MORE QUESTIONS from a keen observer of the MSB:

1. Shouldn’t the fishy project be in the CIP, and is it? https://www.matsugov.us/cip

2. Shouldn’t the fishy project at least be in the 2020 budget, it doesn’t seem to be (see numbered p. 499 ff.) – so why such an expensive project outside the formal budget process, why should it not wait for next yr.?

3. Is there a grant match ALREADY somewhere in the budget for this project?

4. Does land management fund code allow for this use?

5. What real health and safety priorities are passed over for this?

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