Remember this MatsuMuckraker post from last August? https://matsumuckraker.com/2019/08/13/the-fishiest-ordinance-ever-proposed-by-the-msb-staff/
The MSB staff proposed draining the Land Fund of millions of dollars to start working on the “Fish Creek Access Project” and fund the new Willow Library. The ordinance was very odd for several reasons. 1. The MSB is having big budget problems. 2. This Fish Creek ordinance seemingly came out of nowhere. The Fish Creek Access project had not been mentioned at all during the normal budget process which took place just a few months earlier. Normally, massive CAPITAL PROJECTS are discussed during the regular budget process. Thus, why not wait and discuss it during the next year’s budget cycle? Why the sudden RUSH to get started on this massive expensive project? 3. The Fish Creek thing was tacked onto the Willow Library funding for no apparent reason except politics or obfuscation. 4. It was abundantly clear that the MSB wasn’t telling the public the full story about the Fish Creek project. The IM said – well, um, we would like $1.5 million and if we find some financial partners, we will be able to complete this $6.5 million project…and if we can’t find any partners, we will put the $1.5 million back into the Land Fund. It was super clear they were ALREADY WORKING ON SOMETHING BEHIND THE SCENES and that they already had potential financial partners.
NOTE: The MSB Public Affairs Dept did a nice video re: the Fish Creek Access last fall and posted it on Youtube…It sort of makes you wonder why else they needed drone footage of the area:
Do you think this ordinance would have passed if the public knew that the Fish Creek project potentially involves COAL Mining and CHINA?
This week the Manager posted his “Feb. 4th, 2020 Manager’s Notes to the Assembly” on the MSB website. (He used to submit “Confidential Manager’s Memos” to them but he is now making his packets available to the public – albeit a week AFTER the Assembly gets them.)
Tucked into this newest packet is an email dated 24 January 2020 about progress on the “West Susitna Road Access Project.” This is the exact same thing as the “Fish Creek Access Project” referred to in the fishy MSB ordinance.
So it seems the MSB is going full steam ahead with the West Susitna Road expansion and bridge project. This project is being spearheaded by AIDEA – the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
This email is from Alan Weitzner – the Chief Investment Officer at AIDEA – and it is to the members of the “WORKING GROUP.”
What is this working group? Who are they and what are they working on exactly besides the West Susitna Road?
The folks included in the working group seem to be John Moosey, the MSB manager; several AIDEA people; and Clark Penney, the controversial contractor hired by the Dunleavy Administration. Penney is the grandson of Robert Penney, one of the biggest donors to Gov Dunleavy’s campaign.
However, there are a few private non-government players who seem to be part of the project’s working group too including Robert Power, Robert Bach, and attorney Stacey Stone of the Anchorage law firm Holmes, Weddle and Barcott. (Side note: HWB Law has several former Gov Walker Admin leaders working there now including Scott Kendall and former AG Jahna Lindemuth. Lindemuth is one of the lead attorneys representing the Recall Dunleavy group.)
Who is Robert Bach?
His email is given as rbach@rgpc.com.
RGPC is the Rio Grande Pactific Corporation. It is a privately held, Fort Worth, Texas-based holding company for regional freight railroads. I.E., they are the in business of shipping natural resources and commodities.
Who is Robert Power?
He is very interesting. He seems to be an attorney & businessman based in Calgary, Alberta Canada with strong ties to CHINA.
ROBERT POWER’s listed email is RobertPower@ALASKAASIA.COM. However, that website is no longer working.
This is his Linked In profile:
Here is an ad from a Canadian newspaper The Post from 5 January 2005 when Power joined the Blakes law group. This is the only photo I can find of him on the internet:
This is a screen shot from Mr. Power’s CURRENT gig – a Chinese investment company – Beijing Investment.
NOTE: ROBERT POWER Doesn’t just own his own investment company. He is connected to a Chinese State owned Top 100 investment company:
Here is a Press Release from the US Chinese Embassy from December 2018:
Robert Power is connected to these Alaska Corporations:
The Flatlands Energy Corp applied for COAL MINING exploration permits in 2018 in Canyon Creek near Skwentna. It used to be known as the “No. 8888 Corporation.”
Flatlands Energy is owned by Alaska Asia Clean Energy Corp and Robert Power is the President. The mailing address is Canmore, Alberta, Canada.
Robert Power reserved a bunch of potential corporate names in Alaska in 2017 including many with the words CHINA and ASIA in them. See below:
Here are screen shots from Flatland Energy’s COAL EXPLORATION application filed with Alaska DNR in May 2018:
Here is the link on the Alaska State website re: this permit:
http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/mining/coal/canyon_creek/
Note: Various environmental groups were opposed to Flatland Energy’s COAL Exploration proposal.
The possibility of COAL MINING in Canyon Creek has been discussed for many years now. But COAL MINING is VERY CONTROVERSIAL.
See this article from the Frontiersman from 2013: https://www.frontiersman.com/news/assembly-support-skwentna-coal-lease/article_03d92c24-645d-11e2-98fb-0019bb2963f4.html
Note: The Frontiersman article ties the possible coal project to CanAm Coal of Calgary, a company that Robert Power was connected to in the past. He was on their board.
The question is – is COAL MINING IN THE northern Mat-Su now a real possibility?
And if so, why isn’t the State of Alaska OR the Mat-Su Borough disclosing this to the PUBLIC so that we can get in on the discussion at the early stages?
Also – does a potential coal mining project have anything to do with CHINA?
