Once again, the City of Soldotna has brought annexation to the table. Should this be of concern to borough residents? Absolutely! Borough residents should be banding together right now to extinguish the city’s latest attempt at a land grab.
In 2008, borough residents came very close to being annexed by the City of Soldotna. At that time, the majority of the City Council voted in favor of annexation. Thankfully, Mayor Carey vetoed the ordinance, due to overwhelming opposition. If you are a borough resident, you better think long and hard about just how this will affect you, your business and your way of life. If you want more big box stores and urban sprawl, dozens of restrictive codes and ordinances, to pay additional taxes without receiving any benefits, then do nothing.
This is not a matter where we can afford to be apathetic or complacent. The city has already had a year head start in their move to annexation.
What can we, as borough residents, do to fight City Hall and their ceaseless efforts at another land grab?
We are forming a grassroots coalition to fight this and every future attempt at annexation. Borough residents need to get involved, discuss ideas and develop strategic plans to fight annexation. Otherwise, we can kiss goodbye the freedoms, quality of life and other benefits we enjoy as a result of choosing to live in the borough and not in the city.
We invite and encourage all borough residents to join together in this fight.
Our coalition, Borough Residents Against Annexation, will hold its first meeting March 25 at 6 p.m. at the Soldotna Sports Center. If you are a borough resident opposed to annexation, please attend.