13.0°

I believe the present City Council, Mayor, administration and city employees serve the citizens of Soldotna well. During the past year we have hired a new City Manager, a new Finance Director and a new City Planner. All of these positions were filled with very highly qualified individuals who have made Soldotna a better place to live, work and recreate. The present City Council is a cohesive group of individuals who work hard for the citizens of Soldotna. We all try our best to formulate the right decisions for the public interest after reviewing the pertinent information and hearing public testimony on the issue at hand.

The of City of Soldotna is on solid financial ground however I feel a potential impact of Wal-Mart opening could be more detrimental than even the national recession. We need to continue the conservative fiscal policies of the present Mayor, Council and administration have already implemented.

I think the city council has adequately handled the cemetery issue. The City Council has come up with good compromise solution in the Knight Drive location. This site will provide a wonderful site for the future Cemetery. The site is near the heart of the City and in a neighborhood where the surrounding residents do not object. Even with City having to purchase the property this site could prove to be the most cost effective of any of the sites considered. I feel the development costs for this particular site will be substantially less due close proximity of existing infrastructures already in place. My primary reasons for not supporting the Redoubt location was the close proximity to the elementary school, the concerns of the surrounding neighborhood residents, the lack of access and potential high development costs.

I support the ballot proposition allowing the City formulate an exemption for financial disclosures on the Soldotna ballot. I am in favor of the exemption because the current State of Alaska financial disclosure requirements have become too onerous. Many communities throughout the State are formulating their own financial disclosure requirements which meet the needs of the local communities. Soldotna should be allowed to do the same.

During my time on the Council I feel that I have always tried to listen to the residents of Soldotna. I was part of the council which implemented the current format of the City Council meetings that provides time on the agenda for people to direct their concerns in a public forum without prior notice. As a Council person you sometimes have to put aside the concerns of a few and make decisions which are the most beneficial to the whole community.

I encourage everyone to get out and vote on October 6th and to support my incumbent council members Jim Stogsdill and Eugene Fowler along with candidate Jay Rohloff.