Assembly to dedicate borough chambers in honor of Betty J. Glick

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will be dedicating the assembly chambers in honor of former assembly member Betty J. Glick in a ceremony before Tuesday’s assembly meeting, Jan. 8.

At the November meeting, the borough assembly changed the name of the assembly chambers to the Betty J. Glick Assembly Chambers in honor of the former assembly member who served from 1982-1995 and then again from 2002-2005.

The resolution was brought by assembly Vice President Dale Bagley, who wrote in the resolution that Glick “has selflessly served the constituents of the Kenai Peninsula Borough since her arrival to Alaska in 1961.”

In 1981, Glick was recognized in the “Who’s Who of American Women” for her dedication to the community, the resolution said.

Glick served on the Kenai City Council, and was vice mayor of Kenai, and the chair for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning and Zoning Commission. While serving on the borough assembly, she was elected vice president and then president.

The ceremony is at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the borough building in Soldotna. 6075226_web1_43425669_894082410800780_6039032044640534528_n.jpg

Residents rush to offer invocations at 2019 assembly meetings

Alaska, News, Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

Kenai Peninsula Borough residents have filled nearly all the available time slots to offer an invocation at Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meetings in 2019.

April 16, when the assembly meets in Seward, and Oct. 8 are the only dates on which no one is assigned to give an invocation, according to the borough’s website.

Kalliste Edeen will be offering the invocation at the Jan. 8 meeting.

At the November meeting, the borough assembly voted to not appeal the Superior Court decision that cited the borough’s invocation policy as unconstitutional. At the same meeting, an updated invocation policy was passed to allow a more diverse group of people the ability to give invocations at assembly meetings.

In October, the borough lost a lawsuit against plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska in a fight over its invocation policy, which allowed certain groups and individuals to offer an invocation at the beginning of each meeting. The plaintiffs, Lance Hunt, an atheist, Iris Fontana, a member of The Satanic Temple, and Elise Boyer, a member of the Jewish community in Homer, all applied to give invocations after the policy was established in 2016. All three were denied because they did not belong to official organizations with an established presence on the peninsula. They sued and the ACLU Alaska agreed to represent them.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson ruled the invocation policy, passed in 2016, violated the Alaska Constitution’s establishment clause, which is a mandate banning government from establishing an official religion or the favoring of one belief over another. Article 1, Section 4 of the constitution provides that “no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion.”

Kenai Peninsula Borough residents can sign up for the April 16 and Oct. 8 invocations on a first-come, first-served basis through the borough’s website.

State minimum wage will rise 5 cents Jan. 1

Alaska, News, Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

Starting Jan. 1, 2019, Alaska’s minimum wage will be raised by 5 cents, from $9.84 to $9.89.

The 5 cent raise is to adjust the wage for inflation. In 2014, Alaskans voted to raise the minimum wage by $1 in both 2015 and 2016, and require the rate to be adjusted annually for inflation, according to an October press release from the Office of the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Tips do not count toward the Alaska minimum wage.

To adjust for inflation, the state uses the previous calendar year’s Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Anchorage Metropolitan Area. The index is a measure of the average change in prices paid by urban consumers over time.

“When there’s a rise in the CPI, there’s a rise in wage,” Paloma Harbour, Administrative Services Director for the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said.

Harbour said inflation has remained fairly consistent over the last few years.

In each of the years 2017, 2018 and in 2019, the minimum wage was raised by 5 cents, Harbour said.

By law, Alaska’s minimum wage must remain at least $1 per hour over the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25. Alaska is among 29 states with minimum wages above $7.25, the highest being Washington state at $12, and in July, Washington, D.C., will pay workers at least $14 per hour, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. The federal minimum wage hasn’t risen in over a decade.

Shutdown continues; some local agencies affected

Alaska, News, Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

A partial government shutdown that could extend into next year has shuttered several federal operations on the peninsula, and left other government employees working without pay.

Federal Aviation Administration employees, which include air traffic controllers and technicians at the Kenai airport, are still performing essential duties, but without pay, Greg Martin, a spokesperson with the FAA, said.

Martin said FAA employees in Kenai, and around the nation, remain on the job to retain public safety.

“There’s no operational impact for Kenai because air traffic controllers and technicians remain on the job,” Martin said.

The shutdown started Saturday after President Donald Trump and lawmakers reached an impasse over the president’s demand for $5 billion to fund a border wall.

Funding lapsed for nine Cabinet-level departments and dozens of agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Interior, Agriculture, State and Justice. Roughly 420,000 workers were deemed essential and are working unpaid, while an additional 380,000 have been furloughed.

Employees deemed essential or otherwise exempted from their respective agency furloughs can’t take any vacation or sick days.

Locally, a handful of federal entities will be closed and unavailable.

Activity on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will be allowed to continue, but no visitor’s services will be available and the refuge warns that entrance into the refuge will be at the risk of the visitor.

Both Lake Clark National Park and Kenai Fjords National Park remain accessible to visitors, however, access may change without notice and current conditions will not be updated. Visitors should enter at their own risk.

The Kenai office for the United States Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is closed due to the partial government shutdown, according to their office voicemail.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Soldotna and the Women Infants and Children office in Kenai are both unaffected by the partial government shutdown.

The shutdown will likely extend into next week. The House and Senate gaveled in for a perfunctory session Thursday but quickly adjourned without action. No votes are expected until next week. Lawmakers are mostly away for the holidays and will be given 24-hour notice to return, with Republican senators saying they won’t vote until all parties, including Trump, agree to a deal.

Although furloughed federal workers have been given back pay in previous shutdowns, it’s not guaranteed. The Senate passed a bill last week to make sure workers will be paid. The House will probably follow suit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kenai Peninsula teachers still without a contract

Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

As the Anchorage and Ketchikan school districts finalize employee contracts, it is unknown when teachers in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will see their three-year contracts.

David Brighton, president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, said the district and teacher unions do not have any meetings scheduled to negotiate contracts.

“It’s frustrating to see Ketchikan and Anchorage both settle a contract with 2 percent raises in all three of the years, and our district can’t see to give us a three-year contract or include raises,” Brighton said.

If no new meetings are scheduled with the district and unions, arbitration will take place on Feb. 26.

The school district was not immediately available for comment.

The sweetest gift

Alaska, food, Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

It’s probably the sweetest gift there is. Honey has been a symbolic offering for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, beekeepers would gather honey to prevent diseases and heal wounds. The Greeks gifted honey to their Gods as a sacrificial offering.

Even in the Bible, the term “milk and honey” is described to the Israelites as the bounty of the promised land in Canaan, Exodus 3:8.

The sweetness of honey has slipped into holiday traditions around the world. During the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, apples are dipped into honey and honey cake is eaten to welcome the new year. Challah bread, an eggy sweet bread eaten during the Jewish holidays is typically sweetened with honey. During the Madhu Purnima, which was celebrated in September this year by Buddhist in India and Bangladesh, it is traditional to gift honey to Buddhist monks during the festival. In Greece, special Christmas cookies called melomakarona are dipped in honey and covered in chopped walnuts. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims enjoy honey-drenched dishes, like the bite-sized honey puffs called loukoumades.

With thousands of species of bees and varying flora across the globe, no jar of honey is the same. Besides supporting the local economy, there can be other benefits to buying your honey products locally.

James Reid along with his sister Ana, run Stoked Beekeeping Company in Homer. He said eating locally harvested honey connects you to the land and flora around you.

They harvest honey and sell it raw, and also use the beeswax to make specialty, food-safe cloth wraps. James Reid said honey is made using local pollen and nectar. He said eating their byproducts can help acclimate a body to the pollen of local flora, which in turn can help with seasonal allergies.

To get the community more involved with local honey, the Reids offer tours of their hives every summer.

Sarah Souders of Sarah’s Alaska Honey has been harvesting honey for 18 years. She said honey harvested on the Kenai Peninsula is special because of the pollen taken from vast fields of fireweed.

“Alaska honey is unique and light in flavor,” she said.

She said local honey makes a great gift, and her stock usually runs out after Christmas time.

“It’s much more personal than something from Wal-Mart,” Souders said.

It’s not just Alaskans who seek out Kenai Peninsula honey. Souders said she has people from all over the world call her to order honey.

“Someone from Qatar has been calling me all week trying to order our fireweed honey,” she said.

She said she limits her sale of honey online to try to focus on selling to locals first.

Souders will be hosting a beekeeping class next month. Information for the class can be found on Sarah’s Alaska Honey Facebook page.

To find Sarah’s honey, give her a call at 907-252-5132. James Reid said his honey can be found at the Homer Salmon Sisters Shop or by calling him at 424-558-1015, or emailing him at stokedbeekeeping@gmail.com.

Kenai’s tsunami risk is low, but not impossible

Alaska, News, Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

On the morning of Nov. 30, many residents on the Kenai Peninsula received automated tsunami warnings on their cell phones following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake. While Seward and Homer evacuated their schools and braced for impact, some residents in Kenai may have been left confused.

An hour or so after the earthquake rumbled the peninsula, Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander was on the radio, assuring residents that they had nothing to worry about when it came to a potential tsunami. Shortly after this, the warnings were canceled across the state.

The tsunami warnings, which come from the federal level, were automatically issued to communities in the Cook Inlet region the morning of Nov. 30.

Could a tsunami traveling up Cook Inlet affect the city of Kenai? Scientists say maybe.

Donald More, acting director of the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, said there is a tsunami threat for Kenai, though it’s a small one.

The city of Kenai sits at the crux of the mouth of the Kenai River and the silty salt waters of Cook Inlet. Moore said tsunamis caused by earthquakes will slowly diminish as they travel up Cook Inlet toward Anchorage. He said Kenai is not under threat when it comes to thrust-generated tsunamis.

“Kenai will probably not see significant damage from this kind of tsunami,” Moore said.

Moore said a different kind of tsunami could affect Kenai — one that is caused by landslides, both above and underwater.

In 1883, the southern Cook Inlet volcano St. Augustine erupted, sending a massive chunk of the mountain into the sea. The landslide caused four 20-feet-high waves to crash on the shores of the Kenai Peninsula, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

“The Kenai Peninsula is in risk of this kind of event,” Moore said.

Moore said the National Tsunami Warning Center and the Alaska Volcano Observatory work closely to watch St. Augustine.

“We monitor earthquakes in the vicinity of the volcano,” Moore said. “We have special warnings in place for St. Augustine.”

Moore said these landslide-generated tsunamis are difficult to track and predict.

“You don’t know when or where the land is going to slope,” Moore said. “It could be underwater. It could be an earthquake near the coast that causes a landslide.”

Earthquakes that reach a magnitude 7.1 or higher are typically the threshold for the warning center to start monitoring potential tsunamis, though they could happen with smaller earthquakes as well, he said.

Just like with earthquakes, Moore said there is uncertainty when it comes to predicting and assessing tsunami threats.

In the case of another tsunami warning, the National Tsunami Warning Center encourages residents in coastal communities to seek higher ground or move at least 1 mile inland until there is no longer a threat.

Borough reduced deficit by nearly $4 million

News, Uncategorized

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion 6060739_web1_47324593_1398301540303991_8473079986553618432_n

The borough had nearly $4 million less in deficit spending than projected, according to Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, who was speaking at a Dec. 5 Joint Chamber Luncheon at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

At the beginning of fiscal year 2018, which goes from June of 2017 to June 30, 2018, the borough estimated they would spend $4,152,291 more than they earned. Pierce said updated reports from fiscal year 2018 show the borough only spent $434,028 during that year.

The borough managed to spend less from a combination of federal money, state money and budget tightening on the local level.

“There were a lot of unanticipated gifts,” Pierce said at the chamber luncheon. “We can’t take credit for all of it.”

The largest reduction of the deficit came in the form of $3.1 million in federal PILT money, or payments in lieu of taxes.

PILT money is what the federal government pays as their contribution to area federal lands.

“It’s essentially a property tax,” Pierce said Tuesday.

An additional $1.2 million was saved through expenditure tightening and project fund rollovers. Pierce said the borough put a hold on everything and looked at every expense to help cut back costs. He said some of those savings came after borough employees retired, and their positions did not get replaced.

“Each one of the borough employees needs to be given credit for the savings,” Pierce said during his report at the Dec. 4 borough assembly meeting.

National Forestry receipts, revenue sharing with the state and an increase in sales tax revenues also helped offset deficit costs, Pierce said.

Despite all the savings, the borough appropriated an additional $600,000 in supplemental expenditures, which went toward the East Peninsula Highway Emergency Service Area program, the borough’s comprehensive plan, supporting the LNG project and hiring a compliance officer.

“We felt like we needed a seat at the table,” Pierce said about the LNG project at the chamber luncheon update. “We want to represent our borough residents to make certain that if decisions are being made as to whether it happens here or not, we wanted to participate. We had to pay some money and hire some lawyers and of course a compliance officer.”

Pierce told the chamber he was looking forward to hearing ideas from assembly members on how they can balance the budget at the fiscal year 2020 budget plan kick off on Jan. 9.

“We continue to spend more than we make in the way of revenues,” Pierce said.

In 2020, Pierce said the borough forecasts around $2.1 million in deficit spending.

“2019 will be very frugal as well,” Pierce said at the assembly meeting. “We’ll look for savings along the way.”

Mayor: Borough needed more prep for quake

News

Originally published in the Peninsula Clarion

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District was praised for their quick response following the Nov. 30, 7.0 magnitude earthquake, however, borough Mayor Charlie Pierce said there was room for improvement for borough administration.

“It was evident that our performance, although very well, was not anywhere near to how the school district had performed,” Pierce said at the Dec. 4 borough assembly meeting.

Pierce said the borough hasn’t practiced any drills or performed emergency training in case of earthquakes or even fires.

“We don’t train,” Pierce said. “We haven’t had any fire drills or any evacuation plans that employees were familiar with. There were a number of people in (the borough building) going in different directions and weren’t really certain about what to do.”

On Dec. 3, Pierce said Borough directors, managers and chiefs gathered to go over how they reacted and made a plan for what to do if another emergency occurs.

“We addressed that on Dec. 3 to make sure if we have an earthquake tomorrow, or if we have one this evening, that we will know what to do.”

Pierce said per their new training, visitors in the borough building are asked to follow an employee in the case of an emergency.

The mayor also commended the school district at the Dec. 4 assembly meeting on its ability to address the proper emergency procedures.

Superintendent Sean Dusek said during the Dec. 3 Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Education Board meeting that teachers and staff across the peninsula made sure students were safe.

“Our staff performed very, very well in a stressful situation,” Dusek said. “It came at a very odd time. At the elementary schools, it was drop-off time for students. The staff here did a great job of implementing the critical incident plan that we have. We had some things happen to some of our schools, but compared to Anchorage and the Mat-Su, it was very minor.”

Dusek said the school district has reached out to both the Anchorage and Mat-Su school districts to offer assistance.

People outside of the borough recognized the borough and district’s quick response, as well. At the Dec. 4 borough assembly meeting, Tim Dillon, executive director for the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, said the borough and the school district’s performance after the earthquake was outstanding.

“Between our mayor and our superintendent and their staffs, the way they performed not only on Friday but right straight through the weekend has just been outstanding,” Dillon said. “That’s what makes the Kenai Peninsula such a great place to live.”

Kenai bluff stabilization project moves forward

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

A project seeking to stabilize Kenai’s bluff has seen development in the last month. On Nov. 16, a director’s report was finalized by the Alaska branch of the Army Corp of Engineers, a project partner with the City of Kenai. The report is a feasibility study.

“It looks to see if it makes sense and if the project is feasible,” Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander said.

The objective of the project is to stall the 3-feet-per-year erosion on a 1-mile stretch of land starting from North Beach, past the senior center and ending where the original canneries were. The idea is to install a mile-long rock berm, using anchor rocks that would halt the erosion of the ground beneath Old Town Kenai.

This is the first of three milestones in a project the city has been tackling for more than 30 years. The most recent efforts to get the project completed began in 2011.

“It’s been a long effort,” Ostrander said.

Ostrander grew up in the area and said he’s seen the area erode over time.

“There are several buildings that used to be there that are now long gone,” he said.

Besides protecting current properties and buildings in Old Town Kenai, Ostrander said one reason the city is looking to stabilize the bluff is to increase investment opportunities in the historic district, which Ostrander said have been limited in the last few decades.

Now that the feasibility report has been finalized, efforts on the next milestone, the design phase, can begin.

The design phase can be tricky, Ostrander said, because federal funding is needed for the $1 million cost. The city has secured a $350,000 match for the grant they hope the federal government awards them in the next year.

“Getting funding for these projects is highly competitive,” Ostrander said. “We want to position ourselves to get funding as quickly as possible.”

Once the design phase is complete, the construction phase can begin, which Ostrander said has a price tag of approximately $24-40 million.

The Clarion previously reported that the city would cover a 35 percent share of the cost, with $6 million already secured from a $4 million state grant and $2 million in voter-approved bonds. The rest of the project would be funded by the Army Corps of Engineers. The city could apply for other grants or use more bonds to cover the other portions of their share of the bull.

Ostrander said the project timeline is dependent on funding approval from the federal government, but if things go smoothly it could be one to two years before the city can halt the erosion.

Former hockey coach sentenced to 62 years in sex abuse case

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

On Monday, a Sterling resident and former Soldotna High School hockey coach was sentenced to more than 60 years in prison for sexual abuse of six minors and possessing child pornography.

Bradley Elliott, 57, pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including six charges of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, one charge of possession of child pornography and eight charges of indecent photography, according to Kenai District Attorney Scot Leaders.

Elliott faces 62 years and 240 days in prison, with 42 years suspended and a $300,000 fine, with $240,000 suspended.

Elliott was arrested in 2016 and charged with 34 felony counts, including second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, unlawful exploitation of a minor, indecent exposure and possession and distribution of child pornography. In August, he was charged with four additional counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and four counts of indecent viewing or photography.

The sexual abuse dates back to 2002, according to the complaints filed against Elliott.

Elliott coached junior varsity hockey from 2008 to 2010 at Soldotna High School, and was an assistant coach for the varsity team for the 2007-2008 season, according to a 2012-2013 Soldotna Hockey Program.

In February, unnamed plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, the Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association and Elliott seeking damages in excess of $100,000. The suit alleges that through his association with the school and the hockey organization Elliott was able to build relationships with families and gain their trust, and that the hockey association and school district were negligent in their hiring, training and supervision practices.

A status hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 18.

Peninsula faces minimal damage after Friday’s quake

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

The Kenai Peninsula sustained minor damage and no life-threatening injuries after Friday’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

In a statement released Monday, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce said the peninsula experienced damage to roads, especially in Nikiski along the Kenai Spur Highway. Some borough buildings and schools had minimal damage, but most of the immediate issues were resolved on Friday, Pierce said in his statement.

“This week we will continue structural evaluations to be sure that none of the buildings have any further issues to be sure and keep our students and residents safe,” Pierce said in the statement.

Pegge Erkeneff, communications liaison with the school district, said the district’s facilities received minimal damage.

“We don’t plan to close any schools; we feel confident that schools are safe, or they wouldn’t be open,” Superintendent Sean Dusek said in a statement. “The two-hour delay start on Monday was weather-related, not from the earthquake.”

Borough maintenance fixed a minor leak in the Kenai Central High School heating system. The school remained in session. Nikiski Middle/High School was released early on Friday following the earthquake because of a loss of water pressure caused by a power outage. A minor water leak in the heating system was also patched. Tebughna School in Tyonek suffered a substantial loss of ceiling tiles in the gym, which caused an early release on Friday. Hope School was released early on Friday, following a water and propane gas leak. Paul Banks Elementary and West Homer Elementary had gas leaks at their boilers, which were isolated, patched and repaired. The schools remained in session.

Chapman School in Ninilchik also reported a minor gas leak, which was repaired, Erkeneff said.

Erkeneff said most of the damage at borough schools was addressed on Friday.

“All damage except the ceiling damage was either repaired or patched by the end of the day,” Erkeneff said. “Permanent repairs for temporary patches will be completed within the next few weeks.”

She said several schools have minor cracking and will be looked over by borough maintenance and a structural engineer, which will take several weeks.

Jack Blackwell is the superintendent for the State Parks Department in the Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound area. He said the Eagle Rock Boat Launch access road, in between Kenai and Soldotna, was damaged by a landslide, triggered by the earthquake.

“Half of the hill slid into the wetlands below,” Blackwell said. “We were closed for the season so there were no vehicles or people in the area.”

He said the State Parks Department engineers will look over the damaged road and assess further damage.

Mayor Pierce said the borough will continue to improve emergency response in the case of another similar event in the future. Pierce said residents can help by being prepared, keeping emergency supplies at home, vehicles fueled and helping each other during times of emergency.

If residents see any significant damage to property, including their own, reach out to www.kpb.us/emergency or call 262-4910. The borough encourages residents to take photos or videos of any damage or losses. Additional assistance from the state may become available.

Borough chooses to not appeal court decision, updates invocation policy

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

Tuesday night, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to not appeal a Superior Court decision that cited the borough’s invocation policy as unconstitutional. The assembly also passed a resolution changing current invocation policy to allow a wider group of people the ability to offer invocations.

Last month, the borough lost a lawsuit against plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska in a fight over its invocation policy, which allows certain groups and individuals to offer an invocation at the beginning of each meeting. The plaintiffs, Lance Hunt, an atheist, Iris Fontana, a member of The Satanic Temple, and Elise Boyer, a member of the Jewish community in Homer, all applied to give invocations after the policy was established in 2016. All three were denied because they did not belong to official organizations with an established presence on the peninsula. They sued and the ACLU Alaska agreed to represent them.

Peterson ruled the invocation policy, passed in 2016, violates the Alaska Constitution’s establishment clause, which is a mandate banning government from establishing an official religion or the favoring of one belief over another. Article 1, Section 4 of the constitution provides that “no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion.”

“The Resolution is inclusive of tax-exempt religious associations serving residents of the borough,” Peterson wrote. “It is not inclusive of every religious view or belief practiced by the residents of the Kenai Peninsula.”

Kieth Hamilton of Alaska Christian College gave an invocation at the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting. During public testimony, he urged the assembly to appeal the Superior Court’s decision regarding the borough’s current invocation policy.

“This isn’t an agenda item to check off the list or a political-charged speech given during a meeting, but rather a solemn time to remember our Lord’s call for us to pray for our nation,” Hamilton said.

He read from the Old Testament, 2 Chronicle 7:14, which says, “People, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and trim of their wicked ways, and I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

“I want our land to be healed, and I want peace and prosperity on our peninsula specifically,” Hamilton told the assembly. “I believe each of you has been appointed to the solemn task of governing us as you’re elected to this office. These invocations bring us all to a place of dependence, not just on ourselves, but to God who created us and gives us wisdom beyond ourselves to govern.”

Greg Andersen from Kenai spoke in opposition to appealing the court’s decision.

“Countless hours have been wasted on this,” Andersen said. “The borough will be receiving the bill from the ACLU in the next two weeks for their lawyer fees. That dollar amount is an unknown, but I’m sure it will be a considerable amount that the borough will have to pay. Think of all the services that those funds could have paid for? I work very hard in order to pay my property taxes. Gambling on the unknown with these tax dollars is unacceptable. These tax dollars need to be spent on services for the borough. It is time to move on.”

Shawn Rice of Kenai said pursuing an appeal would waste taxpayer money and time.

“The waste of time and money at the point is shameful,” Rice said. “Those of you who have voted to keep this process going, you have had at least probably six or eight opportunities to end this, to end the discrimination, to end the bigotry based on ancient texts. Whether it’s my opinion or your opinion as to what the reality of our existence here is, is irrelevant. This is a government facility; this is tax dollars.”

Some members of the public felt they weren’t being heard by the assembly. Amanda Bird from Kenai said she wanted her comments on the record either way.

“I’ll be brief because I’ve come to enough of these to realize public opinion doesn’t appear to factor into the decisions that you all make,” Bird said. “I just would like it to be on record that as a citizen of this borough, I am appalled by the voting record on this item and I wanted to come up and let you all know it’s a mistake to appeal this.”

Assembly member Kelly Cooper reassured the crowd that public opinion does matter.

“I do hear you,” Cooper said. “We are tasked with governing and making the best decision for the majority. One of the things about this body is that we bring our own personal beliefs and our own personal experiences to this, but that shouldn’t be how you vote. That’s just part of your guidance in making that decision.”

When it came time for assembly comment, Blakely said he’s heard several comments from citizens outside of Tuesday’s meeting who support the appeal.

“I would say a lot of the people I am associated with, and who I talk to, would like this appealed, “ Blakely said. “Everyone that is here and has made their concerns known, I would like you to know there are other people in the world. I’m sure you understand that. Those people would see this go in a different direction.”

Assembly member Willy Dunne opposed an appeal, saying he didn’t like wasting or gambling with taxpayer dollars.

The assembly narrowly voted, 5-4 to not appeal the court’s decision. Assembly members Paul Fischer, Brent Hibbert, Dale Bagley, and Norm Blakely voted to advance to the appeals process.

Next on the agenda was an amendment of the current invocation policy that would “broaden the scope of eligible invocation providers to better reflect the diversity of beliefs in the borough,” the resolution stated.

Many members of the public supported the amendment, but offered suggestions on how to enhance it, such as giving invocation speakers time limits, barring those who don’t show up for their scheduled slot from giving an invocation for a year, limiting the ability to provide invocations to once per year, per provider and to have no commercial message of any kind. None of the suggestions were added to the amendment.

Peggy Peterson of Sterling said she was concerned invocation providers wouldn’t show up to assembly meetings and suggested no-shows be taken off the list of eligible invocation providers for a year.

“Many times this last year a person was scheduled to give an invocation, but didn’t show up,” Peterson said. “So Mr. Ogle gave it instead. This meant that others on the list were denied the opportunity. As this new resolution is written, the same thing could happen unless there’s some kind of provision to stop it.”

Rice spoke in support of the new amendments, saying the new policy was less discriminatory.

“If you’re trying to maintain the moral high road, then not excluding people is essentially your wheelhouse, so I don’t know how it wound up here in this form,” Rice said of the former policy. “What’s before you now is inclusive. Anybody can do it. And guess what? Every now and then you’re going to hear something you don’t agree with in these chambers. Every now and then you’re going to hear a representative of the Satanic Temple and you’re going to hear an atheist and you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Bagley responded to Rice and said if you were a Muslim or a Jewish person that you could offer invocation in the previous policy, but that the individual had to be a part of a group, present on the peninsula.

Rice responded by asking Bagley where the local groups for Islam and Judaism were.

“They don’t exist, which means those people are excluded,” Rice said. “Now those people can speak in a non-invocation moment, but as far as being allowed or selected to present an invocation, those people were discriminated against because those groups don’t exist here.”

Fischer asked Rice if he thought the person giving invocation had to be a resident of the borough. The policy includes a residency requirement.

Rice said that being a resident was a fair guideline.

“So you discriminate that way,” Fischer said. “How about age? Can someone who’s 16 sign up?”

“To say I’m discriminating against people outside of the borough isn’t to say that I’m discriminating against religion,” Rice said to Fischer. “In reality, fine. If someone from Talkeetna wants to come give the invocation here, open it to that.”

Several members of the public said they would prefer a moment of silence.

“I believe the new policy is a step in the right direction, but in my reading, there are at least 12 portions (of the amendment) that I see as sketchy or open to interpretation,” Daniel Lynch of Soldotna said. “A moment of silence gives us all a chance and we’re all involved. I got two minutes left and I’m going to take a moment of silence right now just so we can get used to it.”

Thirty seconds later, Lynch ended the silence saying the moment “didn’t hurt anybody.”

The new amendment passed with 7 in support and 2 in opposition. Both Fischer and Blakey voted against the policy amendment.

The borough has one meeting left before 2019. Starting next year, the assembly will begin taking volunteers to provide meeting invocations.

Peninsula teachers looking for extra income, second jobs

Alaska, Education, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

Arin Bowen starts her morning at Soldotna Montessori where she works as an interventionist. In the afternoon, she works as the Quest teacher at Redoubt Elementary. Her workday doesn’t end there though. She works as a referee for high school volleyball and works at Challenger Learning Center running missions and educational programs.

“I have had my other jobs for several years and I just kept them to help pay for daycare and other fun bills adults get to pay,” Bowen said.

While Bowen said she enjoys her side gigs, she also said she’s expecting her third child this spring, and that working long nights and on the weekends might be hard on her family.

“(The extra jobs) might make it harder to be gone for during those long nights and weekend days with two young ones and a fifth-grader at home,” Bowen said.

She said her husband and parents are teachers too.

“We do what we need to do,” Bowen said.

Bowen isn’t the only educator who has taken up a second job. In fact, Bowen said she remembers her parents always having summer and weekend jobs, as well.

“It’s nothing new for me,” Bowen said. “It’s kind of what I have always known.”

Roughly 1 in 5 teachers in the U.S. have a second job, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most recent National Teacher and Principal survey from the U.S. Dept. of Education shows that 18 percent of teachers have a job outside of their school system.

According to the National Education Association, average starting salaries for educators in 2016-17 was $38,617.

Salaries for teachers in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District start at around $48,000 a year and can grow to near $100,000 a year, Pegge Erkeneff, communications liaison for the district said. Salaries can grow depending on education and number of years with the district.

Winter Marshall-Allen, who works as a special education teacher at Homer High School, said she took up a second job to balance her high cost of living.

“I have two degrees and I live to teach, but the cost of living is expensive,” she said.

Alaska has the 10th highest housing wage in the nation, according to 2018 Out of Reach study conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. A housing wage is an hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford a modest rental home while spending no more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities. In 2018, the national housing wage is $22.10 an hour, according to the Out of Reach study. In Alaska, one needs to make $24.80 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental home. In Hawaii, the highest housing wage in the nation, renters need to make $36.13 an hour to afford a similar two-bedroom home.

Marshall-Allen said she’s had more than one job for six out of the 10 years she’s been teaching.

“I have also tutored, been a personal trainer and provided life coach support for individuals with developmental disabilities,” Marshall-Allen said.

David Brighton, president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, said he believes the percentage of teachers on the Kenai Peninsula who work second jobs may be higher than the national average because of employment opportunities Alaska has in the summer.

“I know a number of teachers who work in fishing or in tourism during the summer,” Brighton said.

Brighton said his biggest concern for teachers lies in the rising cost of health care.

“Health care is our major concern and we are trying to find a way forward with that,” Brighton said.

Many teachers also use their own money to supplement their classroom. Nationwide, teachers spend $480 a year, of which $250 is tax deductible, on school supplies for their students, according to a study released this year by the National Center on Education Statistics.

Teacher and support staff unions are still waiting to come to an agreement with employee contracts with the school district.

Where do you draw the line?

Alaska, Online, Spenard, The Spenardian, Uncategorized

Originally published in The Spenardian

Spenard is a part of my identity. My great-grandparents homesteaded near Romig Hill. My parents met at local watering hole, Chilkoot Charlies. I made my pilgrimage there 21 years later. I had my first kiss in the history section of Title Wave. When I was born, I was brought to a home that sits on Garfield Street. I started Kindergarten at Northwood Elementary and when I lived with my grandma, we could sit on the deck and see the white windmill, standing as a beacon of our Spenardom.

I’ve never considered another Anchorage neighborhood home, and I never would. However, the Federation of Community Councils might. Depending on who you talk to, my great-grandparents homestead, and the home my grandparents built sitting near the confluence of Spenard Road and Fireweed Lane is not in the neighborhood of Spenard, but instead, North Star. A small community council area encompassing the neighborhood surrounding North Star Elementary.

“What do they know?” My grandma, Sylvia Butcher, asked after I told her we were apparently residents of North Star. “Those cheechakos can’t tell me this isn’t Spenard.”

My neighborhood, my pride and my identity came into question when I wanted to join the Spenard Community Council. I wanted to work in an entity that was going to make where I live a better place. Elections were coming up and I had been encouraged to run. When I put my name in the hat for consideration, I was met with utter disappointment. Apparently, my grandma’s house, my residence, was less than a hundred feet out of bounds for the Spenard neighborhood. I cried. Fireweed Lane: twenty-some odd feet of pavement was keeping me from the opportunity to make my home a more beautiful and safer place to live.

When I reached out to the manager of the Federation of Community Councils, Mark Butler, said that why the borders were drawn the way they were is a bit unclear. The community councils were created in the 70s when the Anchorage borough and the city merged into the Anchorage Municipality, with four original neighborhoods, Fairview, Mt. View, Government hill and South Addition. The community councils were created so every neighborhood would have an entity to give guidance to the Anchorage Assembly and the mayor on issues at the time.

“The boundaries of Spenard are fuzzy,” Butler said. “The boundary used to go all the way to Old Seward Highway, where Sears Mall now is. Midtown as a community council did not exist.”

Butler said it wasn’t until the 80s when the term Midtown was formally used, it was just considered Spenard. In recent times, Butler said Midtown Community Council has had difficulty maintaining members. A primarily business district, few people actually live within the Midtown Community Council borders. Butler said a push to merge Midtown with North Star and Spenard was recently shut down by the Anchorage Assembly, who has the authority to manipulate community council borders.

Butler lives near Chester Creek, which he calls Lower Spenard. He noted that there are pockets of land that are inexplicably a part of one neighborhood, but officially are a part of another. Spenardigan, for example, is a grey area between Spenard and Turnagain.

Now, this arbitrary border means nothing to me. Anyone who knows me, who knows Spenard, knows that Bosco’s, Franz Bakery and all the homes down the north end of Spenard Road, where it meets with Hillcrest Drive, are a part of the neighborhood.

Spenard isn’t a neighborhood made up of arbitrary borders. It’s a feeling and a sense of place. For me, there are neighborhoods within the Spenard neighborhood. They have their own personalities and geographical characteristics. Deep Spenard comprises the neighborhood of the Barbra Park valley, the Heights is where my grandma calls home. The president’s neighborhood, where my mom grew up on Lincoln Avenue, is the area of Spenard where the streets are all named after, you guessed it, presidents. There’s new Spenard and there’s old Spenard. These days, it seems you’d be hard pressed to find the two mix. I’d like to see biker gangs and prostitutes, whose birth certificates say ‘Spenard,’ drinking soju cocktails off 24th Avenue or sipping on $9 fresh-pressed juice, while they peruse kayaks and hammocks at REI after brunch at Middleway. But, maybe you would. Spenard surprises you like that.

We asked our readers on Facebook where they drew the line of Spenard’s borders.

Andrea Redeker said she thinks the Spenard borders are north of International Airport Road, and Tudor Road, east of Wisconsin Street, west of Arctic Boulevard and south of Hillcrest Drive.

Joe Lisool says the east and south side of Wisconsin Street, south of Fireweed Lane, west of Arctic Boulevard and north of Tudor Road. Scott Woodham said he mostly agreed, but that he adds it all the way to International Airport Road to include Lake Hood.

Local agencies have similar maps. The Spenard Chamber of Commerce has a map of their boundaries on their website, along with a guide saying where the boundaries generally are.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly continues invocations, despite court ruling

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story published in the Peninsula Clarion.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify details about the court ruling on the borough assembly’s invocation policy.

Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting was just like any other, starting with the pledge of allegiance and an invocation. Two weeks ago, however, the borough lost a lawsuit against the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska in a fight over its invocation policy, which allows certain groups and individuals to offer an invocation at the beginning of each meeting.

The Superior Court ruled the invocation policy, passed in 2016, violates the Alaska Constitution’s establishment clause, which is a mandate banning government from establishing an official religion or the favoring of one belief over another’s.

Since then, assembly meetings have two weeks in a row begun with an invocation or an appeal to a higher authority for the benefit of the assembly.

The borough’s resolution allows a chaplain serving the military, law enforcement agencies, fire departments, hospitals or other similar organizations to give invocations before Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meetings, as well as people who are members of a religious organization with an “established presence” in the borough that meets regularly.

Tuesday’s invocation was given by Borough Assembly President Wayne Ogle, who gave thanks to “Father God” and offered a number of prayers.

The ACLU of Alaska represented Lance Hunt, an atheist, Iris Fontana, a member of The Satanic Temple, and Elise Boyer, a member of a small Jewish community in Homer. Each submitted applications to give invocations after the resolution passed in 2016, which were denied because they did not belong to official organizations with an established presence on the peninsula.

“Plaintiffs allege that the invocation selection policy implemented through the Resolution violates the prohibition against the establishment of religion, denies them of their freedom of speech and freedom of association, and denies them of their entitlement to equal rights, opportunities, and protection,” the court decision states.

Several members of the community came to the meeting to testify on the issue. Keith Hamilton, who lives in the K-Beach area, encouraged the assembly to appeal the court’s decision.

“Recently a judge has struck down our policy as it is in its current status,” Hamilton said. “Doing what we believe is considered right and appropriate by the far majority of our residents, assembly leaders should not let others divert you for what is best for the borough in keeping these policies as is. Please don’t back down. Please stand firm and know that we are with you. I encourage you to appeal this court decision and take it to the next court. The first amendment protects us from these threats, for which I’m grateful as both an American and an Alaskan.”

Leslie Rohr is the executive director of Love INC, a community program that represents a network of more than 40 area churches of different denominations. She spoke to the assembly on behalf of herself and Love INC.

“My prayer this evening is that the voice of the majority will not be drowned out by the minority,” Rohr said. “There are so many real issues in our community that we could be spending this time addressing. It makes me sad to think that we have people who are in crisis in our community and we are arguing whether or not there should be an invocation when what we need is to restore the moral culture in our community. How better to do that than to have an invocation to call upon our higher power to bless and guide our elected officials as they make decisions that affect each and every one of us.”

Not everyone who spoke felt the borough should appeal the court’s decision. Ed Martin Jr. from Cooper Landing said he personally believed in prayer, but felt the assembly should not seek an appeal.

“I believe this assembly and many of us in this room need prayer,” Martin said. “Now, there are some in this room who may not welcome it. We as prayer givers should accept the fact that we should have some tolerance. So, in my opinion, I don’t believe the assembly should appeal this case. It’s been clear that you’ve been tested by a Superior Court.”

Greg Andersen of Kenai said he’s concerned the legal fight is a poor use of tax dollars.

“It is time to stop spending taxpayer dollars trying to pursue keeping the present policy in place,” Andersen said. “Tens of thousands have been spent so far and I have a feeling since the borough lost they will be on the hook for the ACLU’s legal fees as well. How many tens of thousands will it add up to? A hundred thousand more? Two hundred thousand more when you add what the borough has spent so far? I would love to see the invocation policy eliminated completely, but I have a feeling that it will be fought tooth and nail by some members of the assembly.”

Andersen suggested the assembly have a moment of silence for people to use as they please.

“Last year, there was a suggestion to have a moment of silence to use as you see fit, which would have ended the lawsuit, but was ignored by most members of the assembly,” Andersen said. “My question is: why not use that now? It is simple and everyone qualifies. No lawsuits. I find it reprehensible that my tax dollars have been spent on this. It has to stop. Appealing the court’s decision would be criminal in my opinion.”

During the assembly meeting, Ogle said the borough hasn’t decided to appeal the court’s decision.

Students get firsthand account of Soldotna’s homesteading history

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

Third graders at Soldotna Elementary are learning all about their community. Marge Mullen, one of the city’s first homesteaders, it invited every year to teach students about what life was like in the early days on the peninsula.

Mullen showed the students around Soldotna’s historic post office, where she used to receive mail. She visited the students in their classroom earlier last week to talk about her own homestead.

“I took some survey tape and made a 14- by 16-foot square on the floor to show them that my homestead could have fit inside their school room,” Mullen said.

Third-grade teacher at Soldotna Elementary, Shaya Straw said having Mullen speak to the students is a great opportunity.

“I think it’s cool they get to have this first-hand account of history here,” Straw said.

Marge Mullen shows a group of third graders around the Howard Lee Homestead, which was used as the city’s first post office when she first homesteaded in Soldotna, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, in Soldotna, AK. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Henu’ Community Wellness Court honors first graduates

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe Henu’ Community Wellness Court celebrated the program’s first graduates Friday afternoon at the Tyotkas Elder Center.

The Henu’ Community Wellness Court is a joint-jurisdiction therapeutic court, operated by the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the State of Alaska Court System. The court serves offenders who face legal trouble stemming from substance use.

Kenaitze Tribal Court Chief Judge Susan Wells says the program is about transforming lives.

“When we talk about transforming lives, that’s really what it is,” Wells said. “Most people that come into the program really want to sober up and be clean.”

The program’s first graduates, Dale Vaughn and Eli Darien, were awarded many celebratory tokens, including a piece of Dentalia, which Wells said was historically used as money in the area and shows the participants they have value. Graduates also received Chaga tea, a spruce hen feather and an agate rock, which all hold important cultural significance.

Vaughn said the program has been amazing.

“Eighteen months ago, I had three years hanging over my head,” Vaughn said. “It was either do the three years or get out with no license. I’d probably be in the same boat, in and out of jail, like I was before, but this program came along. I decided to give it a try. Now look at me. It’s all been worth it.”

Darien also said his experience in the program was phenomenal.

“I had some rough spots, but I got over them,” Darien said. “It’s been just a wonderful experience. When I started the program, I pretty much didn’t have anything. Now it seems I have everything at my fingertips.”

Henu’ uses rehabilitation to reduce recidivism rates and improve the lives and the communities of program participants. The program is 18 months long and goes through a series of phases. One phase is the trust phase, where participants and the tribal court learn to trust each other through the process.

“It’s not so much that we learn to trust them to do what they’re supposed to be doing, it’s them trusting us to help them,” Wells said.

To be in the program, people must go through an interview process with tribal probation officers. Wells said they focus on people who are high risk and have high needs. Priority is given to people who have children involved. Members of the program cannot have a distribution charge.

The program is individualized for the needs of each person’s recovery, but it takes at least 18 months to complete, and sometimes even longer if the participant relapses. Wells said the 18 months is necessary to regain complete sobriety.

“They want that clean, sober life, but they can’t because of the chemicals in their brains until they can get them out,” Wells said. “A six-week program just doesn’t work; it’s not enough time. It doesn’t take care of that addictive brain. We realized early on in this program if the person is addicted or just getting out of jail and they’ve been sober for a month or six weeks, their addiction is a lot of work.”

Wells credits part of the program’s success to the Dena’ina Wellness Center and its clinicians, as well as asking the right questions.

“We have to change the questions,” Wells said. “It’s not ‘what’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you stopping? You want to. You say you want to. What’s the matter with you?’ We are asking the wrong question, and what we need to do is look deeper at what happened to you to get you on this path, and what can we do to help you get back. It’s not about us catching them doing something wrong; it’s about catching them do something right and helping them continue on this path of sobriety.”

Wells said she believed the program can help change lives and communities.

“We want to stop the recidivism, and I think we can,” Wells said.

Both Vaughn and Darien said they are excited to see what opportunities the future has in store for them.

“I can get on with my life,” Vaughn said. “I can drive legally without looking over my shoulder, you know.”

“I’m just going to keep on this path on recovery,” Darien said. “So many good things have happened to me already.”

The Kenatize Indian Tribe held their inaugural graduation for the Henu’ Community Wellness Court program on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, in Kenai, AK. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

What’s next for K-Selo?

Alaska, Education, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

Bonds to build a new school in the Old Believer village of Kachemak Selo, east of Homer, were voted down last week, but the effort to build K-Selo a school is not over.

Brenda Ahlberg is the community and fiscal project manager for the Kenai Peninsula Borough. She said the borough will be working with several entities to make sure the community of K-Selo gets the facility and education they need.

“It’s important to know the voters have spoken, and respect that,” Ahlberg said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t continue to try and provide a quality education and facility for K-Selo.”

Pegge Erkeneff, communications liaison for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, said the district is disappointed with the results of the school bond vote.

K-Selo has been in need of a new school for nearly 10 years. In 2011, the village petitioned the school board for a new facility. In 2016, the state appropriated approximately $10 million for construction of the school, but in order to proceed the borough needed to provide a match. Borough residents voted down the match bond package, which was nearly $5.5 million, this last Tuesday.

The current school in Kachemak-Selo is made up of three borough-leased buildings and serves about 46 students. Erkeneff said the school has deteriorated beyond useful capacity. The buildings are converted homes, and students and school district officials have said the buildings are unsafe and leak in the winter, among other issues.

One of the largest cost drivers comes from the remote nature of the village. The village sits at the bottom of a steep bluff only accessible by a dirt switchback trail, too narrow and steep for most vehicles to traverse. The borough initially considered upgrading the road to borough standards but found it would be too expensive.

Some voters and assembly have expressed concern about the $16 million price tag for the school, given its remoteness and small student population. However, a state statute based on the number of students dictates the size of the school, and the borough does not have the flexibility to downsize the building. Shipping in materials is also expected to increase the cost.

With no backup plan, Ahlberg said the borough will reconvene with the school district, the K-Selo community, the state Department of Education and Early Development and the state legislature to discuss what’s next for the project.

“This project is not going to die,” Ahlberg said. “We will work with DEED and the state legislature on the current grant, so we can try to flesh out all options and we can build a school for this community.”

The $10 million grant the borough received from the state expires next year.

The borough is still required to provide a suitable school for the children of K-Selo and may have to fit the bill if the grant expires without any matching funds.

Future of Kenai bowling alley in limbo

Alaska, News, Print, Uncategorized

This story originally published in the Peninsula Clarion.

Members of the public came out Wednesday night to urge Kenai City Council members to support Charlotte Yamada’s effort to reopen Kenai’s bowling alley.

Yamada updated the council on recent actions she’s taken to gather funding for the bowling alley, which would help fund equipment updates. Yamada has been working towards reopening the bowling alley since it closed in late 2015.

“It is taking a long time to get this process done,” Yamada said. “It’s a very specific business we are trying to get back up and on its feet, and that in and of itself is kind of what we are fighting against.”

Because of the specificity of the business, and because there are so few bowling alleys in the state, getting funding to update the building to code and to buy equipment is proving difficult.

The Kenai City Council held an executive session at the end of their Wednesday meeting to discuss a request for renegotiation of terms regarding the sale of the bowling alley property. The council unanimously passed a motion authorizing the city manager to renegotiate the terms of the bowling alley opportunity. The administration came to no decision but said at the meeting they are going to continue negotiating with the owner of the building, Sue Chang, and her business partner Yamada.

Yamada said Thursday that progress with the bowling alley is up in the air. At Wednesday’s meeting, she was optimistic about the bowling alley’s potential.

“It does lend itself to being just what our community needs,” Yamada said. “I’m just crazy enough to jump on board.”

The bowling alley was built in 1984 as Kenai Bowl. It sat on city-owned land in Kenai’s airport reserve, and the owners paid an annual lease, which went to support the Kenai Municipal Airport. Most recently, Ken Liedes, who operated the business as Alaskalanes, owned the bowling alley. The Clarion previously reported his annual lease to the city was $27,000, which he defaulted on before shutting the alley’s doors in late 2015. The city reclaimed the building and sold it for $450,000 in February of last year to Anchorage-based commercial real estate consultant Dean You.

Kenai resident Teea Winger also spoke to the council in support of the bowling business. She said bowling league dues alone would offer a significant profit to the bowling alley. Winger said it would cost her $2,500 in dues for one bowling season. With 12 lanes and four to five people on a team in each lane, she said the bowling alley would have a strong market.

“We’re trying to definitely build up the city of Kenai,” Winger said. “Between this, and the arcade that’s going in, this will really give a lot more activity to the Kenai area than we’ve seen in the past.”

Jeanie Carter, Yamada’s aunt, said the bowling alley would be another place for young people to hang out in the community.

“It’s really nice to know that there’s going to be somewhere else you can go as a couple or as a family besides the movies or out to eat,” Carter said. “That starts adding up dollar wise and weight wise. I have two special needs kids that are very active and I would love to see another place for them to go.”

RaeEllen Kurzendoerfer is a Kenai resident, mother and educator. She also sees the bowling alley as another option for the community’s youth.

“I have six children of my own… My two younger boys are always asking me ‘mom when can we bowling?’ andIhave to tell them that we have to go all the way to Anchorage to go bowling,” Kurzendoefer said. “It’s been a huge part of our community and I think with the Yamadas running the business it will flourish for the youth in our community.”