to personal matters. Please make a
motion for recess. For those
participating by phone, please keep your
device muted unless you are speaking.
When speaking, kindly state your name
for the benefit of those viewing the
live stream. As a reminder, this meeting
is being broadcast live. The camera is
located above the clock at the back of
the council chambers. Our proceedings
follow Robert's rules of order as set
forth in Wasillo Municipal Code
2.04.090.
090 to promote an orderly and respectful
meeting. I respectfully ask the council
to observe the following rules. Please
seek recognization before speaking. No
member may speak more than twice on the
same motion without a vote to suspend
the rules. No member may speak a second
time until all who wish to speak have
had an opportunity to do so. These
guidelines help ensure fairness,
efficiency, and mutual respect during
our discussions.
Madame Clerk, please call the role.
>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. Council
» Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. Council
member Codle
>> here. Council member Graham
» here. Council member Graham
>> here.
» here.
>> Council member Smith
» Council member Smith
>> here.
» here.
>> Council member Crafton
» Council member Crafton
>> here.
» here.
>> Council member Johnson
» Council member Johnson
>> here.
» here.
>> He is participating telephonically. And
» He is participating telephonically. And
Council Member Rubio, Deputy Mayor
>> here.
» here.
>> Thank you. You do have a quorum. All
» Thank you. You do have a quorum. All
members are with us in chambers except
Johnson who is participating
telephonically.
>> Thank you. Please rise for the pledge of
» Thank you. Please rise for the pledge of
allegiance. Council member Codle, would
you please lead us?
>> My pleasure.
» My pleasure.
>> I pledge algiance to the flag of the
» I pledge algiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
» The next item of business is approval of
the agenda. Before changes are
discussed, are there conflicts of
interest to declare?
Hearing none, I would like to move AM
number 25-61,
item 8.41,
from the consent agenda and place it
under new business, item 10.2.
It has come to my attention that one of
the applicants resides outside the city
limits.
Are there additional changes to the
agenda?
Hearing none, the agenda is approved as
amended by anonymous consent. Is there
an objection?
The agenda is approved as amended. There
are no special orders of the day. We are
now at commissions and agency reports.
There does not appear to be anyone from
planning department in attendance this
evening. Please refer to item 11.2 for
commission minutes. Their next schedule
meeting is December 9th.
At this time, we will hear from Madnus
Citna Burough regarding the transition
to areawide animal care services. Please
come forward and begin your presentation
by stating your first and last name.
You guys can pull more chairs if you
want around that.
Madame Deputy Mayor, council members, my
name is George Hayes. I'm the deputy
burough manager. I've got with me uh the
director of animal care, Vanessa Forbes,
and the uh chief animal uh control and
regulation officer, uh Matt Hardwick.
What I'd like to do is just do a brief
introduction and then turn some comments
over to Vanessa. And then once she is
done, we've got uh Matt here to give us
some real life examples of why it's kind
of not working now and how we think
it'll work better. So number one, this
started with an offsite uh special
meeting by the assembly in August. We
had heard already that the some of the
cities, if not all, might be interested
in an area wide animal care. And so the
assembly asked the burough manager to
explore that further and see what we uh
needed to do for area wide animal care.
We checked officially with each one of
the cities and the city mayors, managers
all were at least in favor of exploring
that. So we um we have made up a
presentation. We also looked at what the
uh kind of the pluses and negatives were
for that and we um then kind of brought
it to each one of the uh the cities and
you're the third one at this point. Um
each of them have asked us kind of to
come back um and in your case we're
we're introducing it today and then
we'll come back I understand in December
15th for the public hearing. So, with
that, I will turn it over to Vanessa and
let her talk. Thank you.
>> Good evening, um, Madame Deputy Mayor
» Good evening, um, Madame Deputy Mayor
and, uh, council members. My name is
Vanessa Forbes. I'm the animal care
director for animal care and regulation
for the burrow. Um, this was brought to
me very shortly after I started in
February. Um, and as um I've been in
this role and working with Matt, um,
we've noticed some areas where it it
could be a lot more seamless and and
better for our residents to be able to
um have area powers instead of
non-erawide.
Um, the biggest area that we're looking
at is obviously enforcement. So you have
in front of you kind of a table or a
chart that outlines the different
services that we provide um how those
are provided right now to the city and
then how they would be provided if we
were to go area wide. So that that first
row there in blue, enforcement services,
is will where you would see the most
change and fluidity if we were to go to
areawide. Um including our our
enforcement of our title 24. Um and then
our section does investigations um
citations, administrative orders, and
all of that that will be taken over by
um the bureau. So, I'm going to pass it
over to Matt. He's been with us for for
since the dawn of time. Um, he's been
with us for a very long time, so he's
been able to have some some direct
experience with how it's been working
>> and we'll all be available for questions
» and we'll all be available for questions
after.
» Evening, ma'am, deputy mayor, council
members. My name is Matt Hardwig. I'm
the chief animal care and regulation
officer for the bureau. I've been
working for animal care regulation for
the bureau for 22 years. So I have seen
the challenges and the changes not only
in Wasilla city for that time frame um
but with the burrow. [clears throat] Our
relationship with the city has been has
been good over the years but I've seen a
lot of conflict and not with the city or
with the the enforcement but with the
citizens and between the cities and the
bureaus. The problem that conflict I'm
talking about is when something crosses
boundaries and I can't enforce our laws
in your city and your city can't enforce
it in our burrow. To give you an example
of uh a dog from the Wasil city crosses
into burough boundary, bites a child and
then goes back. We cannot enforce those
ordinances for across our boundaries.
Um, another example of a problem we've
come across, um, [clears throat] this
was probably the most com complex one
was Palmer City had a warrant for a
house in Wasilla City and I went and
took the animals out of the house. Whose
jurisdiction does that fall underneath
for enforcement of those animals?
It solved itself, so I didn't have to
worry about it, but it was still what do
we do? Um, so this going area or having
a one ordinance for all burough and city
res residents has been a wish of mine.
Um, it's very difficult for me when I
get a call from a city resident and tell
them I can't help them. Um, whether it's
the city can help them or not, it's
something that's a struggle for us. Uh,
so this is to have a one ordinance, a
one-stop shop, a a one place for all
Burough residents to go because we're
all living here together basically, even
cities and burough residents. Um, now I
am open to any questions, any any
concerns about how this would work.
» Deputy mayor,
>> thank you.
» thank you.
>> Uh, actually this question is for
» Uh, actually this question is for
Vanessa. Thank you number one. Thank for
being here. I talked about uh you know
once again the first magic line on your
handout here and it talks about uh
city
and burrow cooperating. So if a city
resident calls and says, "Hey, I have a
trouble with my neighbors got three dogs
barking all night."
uh
can the city respond to that with our uh
code folks and say, "Hey, there's a
problem here. I'm going to turn it over
to the bureau," or are we kind of out of
the loop alto together on that?
>> So, if it's within city jurisdiction,
» So, if it's within city jurisdiction,
then it falls to you. um we can shelter
those animals if we get a call from you
saying we need a place for these animals
and um you can bring them to the shelter
but that would lie with um with the
city.
>> So the normal enforcement procedures
» So the normal enforcement procedures
other than
>> sheltering
» sheltering
>> sheltering would continue to remain with
» sheltering would continue to remain with
the city
>> as it is right now.
» as it is right now.
>> Correct. Correct. Thank you.
If I can expand on that, when you said
would continue to, you mean if we don't
go area
cuz right right now,
>> if you do go area wide, George,
» if you do go area wide, George,
>> I mean, currently the city has these
» I mean, currently the city has these
animal regulation
issues. Uh but my
my question had to do with specific
enforcement of Wasilla City Code that
deals with, you know, you can't have six
cattle on your condominium property.
>> I mean, is our
» I mean, is our
uh our code enforcement guy
>> going to be able or woman, you know,
» going to be able or woman, you know,
whoever it is at the time,
>> going to be able to go in and say, "Hey,
» going to be able to go in and say, "Hey,
there's a problem here. If you don't fix
it, I'm going to call the burrow and the
burrow is going to take these or may
take these animals." I mean, are we do
we still have control of our code when
it comes to animals or does everything
shift over to the burrow?
>> Once you go area wide or if we go area
» Once you go area wide or if we go area
wide, then everything shifts over to the
burrow and your co your code would then
become null and void. Now, I will say
that if you have a particular part of
your code, and I've told this to the
other two cities as well, and let's say
you have a a code that says we require
all dogs within the city limits to be to
have licenses. Well, we don't have that
in burough code anymore. So if you
wanted that then you could petition the
assembly and say we'd like this and
other portions of our current code to
remain in effect within the city of
Wasilla. And then that you would send
that to the assembly and the assembly
could pass that then as part of title 24
specifically only within the city
limits.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Other than that other than that your
» Other than that other than that your
code would would no longer be in effect.
>> Okay. Okay. And I see the city attorney
» Okay. Okay. And I see the city attorney
u may she add to that madam?
>> I just want to add to that and I think
» I just want to add to that and I think
also hopefully delineated an idea that
you're putting forward council member
Graham which is we still retain our land
use authority. So if you're saying there
are only two horses allowed on this on a
lot this size which would be which would
live in title 16. the animal control
component doesn't impact that. We would
say there's a violation. You're not
using your land properly. Now, if we're
going to go into the property and take
the horses, that's when we're we're
entering into the world of uh uh animal
care and regulation. That's now going to
be if this pass is transferred to the
burrow. And I just want to make sure
we're all Yes, ma'am.
>> Okay. So,
» Okay. So,
>> oh yeah, land use is definitely
» oh yeah, land use is definitely
different than the straight animal code.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Thank you,
» Thank you,
>> Councilman. Deputy mayor, um, just for
» Councilman. Deputy mayor, um, just for
clarification purposes, if we're to pass
ordinance serial number 2541, it is
repealing Wasilla Municipal Code, Title
7, Animal Care and Regulation, and
transferring the city's jurisdiction and
authority over to animal care with the
bureau. So, we would not be doing
anything other than animals on land use.
Our our title 7 um codes would go away.
>> Correct.
» Correct.
>> Yeah. I just I just wanted that for
» Yeah. I just I just wanted that for
clarification because I think there's a
little bit of of mud with with that.
>> Yeah. I just wanted to make sure our
» Yeah. I just wanted to make sure our
land use
>> our land use
» our land use
>> was not going to be affected by this,
» was not going to be affected by this,
particularly since we just spent two
years working on title 16. [laughter]
Madame Deputy Mayor,
>> Councilman Craftton,
» Councilman Craftton,
>> thank you. Thank you guys for being
» thank you. Thank you guys for being
here. Uh, so just to make sure I also uh
heard you correctly, if we wanted to do
anything, basically we can put more
restrictive measures in place if again
we uh wanted licenses to use your
example uh for for dogs in the city
limits. We could, but we would have to
go to the burrow to do that. We couldn't
do it at the city level anymore.
Essentially, we would have to in essence
create a resolution stating that this is
what we want uh or modify the ordinance
before us prior to sending it off to the
bureau. And that might jump to Holly or
or both of you, but just to clarify,
that's what I'm understanding correctly.
>> Yes, I think at this stage you're
» Yes, I think at this stage you're
looking at a whole transfer of the
animal regulations and control. Um, I
think because of the areawwide
concerted effort, if we do want to
peacemeal that at all, I think that
those discussions would need to go back
because what was anticipated by the
administration is bringing forward a,
you know, a full transfer.
» Thank you. No other questions.
» There's no further questions. Thank you
guys.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
We are now at public hearing. Madame
clerk, please read the ordinance by
title.
>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. First
» Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. First
public hearing this evening is ordinance
serial number 2537 repealing Wasilla
Municipal Code Chapter 1655 downtown
overlay district and amending Wasilla
Municipal Code 161025
definitions 165010
overlay districts and 161201
decisions subject to appeal to remove
the downtown overlay district in
references to that district from Wasilla
Municipal Code Title 16.
The public hearing on ordinance serial
number 25-37 is now open. Anyone wishing
to testify, please come forward and
begin by stating your first and last
name. Comments are limited to three
minutes per person.
Good evening, madame deputy mayor,
council members. My name is David Seals.
I'm the current chair of the Wasilla
Planning Commission. Um, I'm
really excited that this is coming
before you tonight for a vote. This is
something that a lot of people have
worked on for a long time to remove this
restrictions from this area. It is a
commercial dead zone and has been for a
long time because of restrictions.
So, uh, I urge that this be passed and
if a downtown overlay needs to be done
in the future, it can be something that
could be looked at. But for now, this
all needs to revert back to commercial
property and DOT needs to be informed if
this is a past that the downtown overlay
no longer affects the plans for the
couplet. Thank you very much.
Seeing nobody else, the public hearing
is closed. Is there a motion to adopt
ordinance serial number 25-37?
>> Madame Deputy Mayor, [clears throat]
» Madame Deputy Mayor, [clears throat]
I move ordinance serial number 2537.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
>> I'll second that.
» I'll second that.
It's been moved by Council Member
Craftton and seconded by Council Member
Schmidt to adopt ordinance serial number
25-37.
Is there discussion?
>> Madam Deputy Mayor,
» Madam Deputy Mayor,
>> Councilman Craftton,
» Councilman Craftton,
>> thank you. Uh, I am very excited about
» thank you. Uh, I am very excited about
this one.
Uh, this has probably been one of the
top complaints that I've gotten from
business owners uh here in the city of
Wasola. And so I think uh this is a very
good thing that we uh are looking at
repealing this. I know we had this
conversation during title 16 and again I
was glad we separated them just because
there was it it was it was a lot to work
with trying to do both of them at the
same time. Um but the other thing that
really excites me about this is being
able to look at our code and go, "Hey,
this just doesn't work for people." And
going, "That's okay. We can undo things.
We can just get rid of things because
it's not working." Um, I feel like a lot
of times the government puts thing in
things in place and then they want to
try and patch it and fix it and try and
find a way to make it work because there
was a reason why it was put in in the
first place. But sometimes you just have
to go, "No, this didn't work. We're
going to get rid of it and we're going
to start over." And uh I'm not saying we
need to start over and put another
downtown overlay uh in place, but uh
like what Mr. Seals said was that uh if
there is one necessary for the future,
you know, it's a completely different
process that we're going to be looking
at doing. But I am in full support of
repealing the downtown overlay district
and I know a lot of people and a lot of
business owners will be excited to hear
that this gets passed tonight.
» Councilman um
>> Stu. Yeah, that's me.
» Stu. Yeah, that's me.
>> No, Graham.
» No, Graham.
>> Yeah,
» Yeah,
thank you Councilman Craftton. Good
words there. And I too think this needs
to be repealed. But I think when it came
forward initially, it was a
a grand idea. You know, let's revitalize
the downtown. Let's let's figure out
what makes it work. And this idea was
brought in, you know, from other uh
small cities uh larger than us, but
other small cities to try and revitalize
the down revitalize the downtown. So, I
I certainly don't want the planning
commission uh or the city council to
think that they wasted their time on
this, but I do think it's important that
we uh you know, as uh elected office
holders say, you know, hey, we made a
mistake. Let's let's fix it. And this is
fixing that mistake.
» Councilman Schmid.
>> Yeah. I also agree um in repealing this
» Yeah. I also agree um in repealing this
uh as many of the businesses that I
talked to, it literally inhibited a lot
of different things for business to grow
and uh I think getting rid of this is
going to be a wise decision.
» Madam, Madame Deputy Mayor, Council
Member Schmidt, I think we have a
microphone problem, so if we could take
a brief at ease to get him
um a mic, that would be great.
[laughter]
Darth Vader entered the room.
>> We need to start doing some checks at
» We need to start doing some checks at
the beginning of meetings.
» The elected officials need to bring
their own mic.
[clears throat]
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Is there further discussion?
» Is there further discussion?
Hearing none. Is there an objection to
the motion?
Hearing none. The motion is adopted.
Madam clerk, please read ordinance
serial number 25-38 by title.
>> Thank you. That's amending the fiscal
» Thank you. That's amending the fiscal
year 2026 budget by accepting and
appropriating 340,000
from an amendment to the Matnus casuous
sit contract to add two new full-time
positions at MATCOM. One fire EMS call
taker and one dispatcher.
The public hearing on ordinance serial
number 25-38 is now open. Anyone wishing
to testify, please come forward and
begin by stating your first and last
name.
No takers. Okay. Is there a motion to
adopt ordinance serial number 25-38?
>> Madame Deputy Mayor, I move to adopt
» Madame Deputy Mayor, I move to adopt
ordinance serial number 2538.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
Graham seconds.
>> It has been moved by council member
» It has been moved by council member
Codle and seconded by council member
Graham to adopt ordinance serial number
2538. Is there discussion?
» Councilman Graham.
>> Thank you. I I do have just one question
» Thank you. I I do have just one question
here and hopefully
Matt H director can answer it. I mean,
we're accepting $340,000
uh for these
two positions. Is there some sort of,
you know, handshake agreement with the
bureau that we will continue to do this?
Because what we're doing here is we're
adding PERS
positions here and if the bureau thinks
that this is going to be a temporary
situation, I'm I'm concerned.
>> It's not. Sorry. I'm sorry. Um, can we
» It's not. Sorry. I'm sorry. Um, can we
ask the TED
finance for PERS
>> for PERS?
uh through uh Deputy Mayor Rubio to uh
Council Member Graham is that we have a
total number of uh positions and as long
as my understanding is we don't do away
with the full class
that if something would happen and we
had to lay off people it wouldn't cause
a termination study is my understanding.
ing
for the
>> yeah the problem with PERS I mean a lot
» yeah the problem with PERS I mean a lot
of times those termination studies those
additional costs arise when you
eliminate a classification so and that's
a that's something we have to think
about where a size arcity is of a size
that we might eliminate a department if
we create a department so we're we're
always careful um in that way but this
doesn't trigger those types of concerns
I'm glad to hear that. But I I would be
interested in the other question. I
mean, is does the bureau consider this
to be a semi-permanent arrangement? I
mean, they didn't say, "Let's just try
this for a year and see what happens."
Or
>> they're wanting to try it with the
» they're wanting to try it with the
part-time uh additional person and then
they will continue. They're intent is to
continue with the part-time on for the
next um contract bid.
they may want to go ahead and go a extra
full-time person. So, that's what I look
for to happen is they'll want another
person to add next year, but they were
hoping to get this done sooner rather
than later so that they can have time to
study it before their next budget cycle
and make sure they can add another
person, too.
And are we letting these people that
we're bringing on know that this is a
temporarily funded position or
>> um
» um
>> test position?
» test position?
>> We haven't had that discussion yet
» We haven't had that discussion yet
because we're waiting for confirmation
to get this approved. So
» I deputy mayor
>> Councilman Craftton.
» Councilman Craftton.
>> Thank you. Sorry. Did you say they're
» Thank you. Sorry. Did you say they're
wanting to do a part-time position
first? Well, it's um they're we're
putting an extra person on just halfime.
So, adding those two positions is only
covering 12 hours out of each day.
>> Sorry, Miss Craftton. Yeah, we're going
» Sorry, Miss Craftton. Yeah, we're going
to relay over to Ted.
>> Oh, thanks. Uh, Deputy Mayor and
» Oh, thanks. Uh, Deputy Mayor and
uh to Councilman Ian, we are requesting
two full-time positions,
>> correct,
» correct,
>> for this contract that would go forward
» for this contract that would go forward
if the council or if the Matsu Burough
would uh do an appropriation next year.
So this contract amendment that we have
for the 340,000
is for just FY26
and the understanding is that these
people are needed and it's doing the or
these positions are doing what the
bureau is expecting the positions to do
that they would come back with another
subject to appropriation amendment in
FY27.
But yes, the
[snorts] it is understood in our
meetings with uh the
burough manager that if
we didn't get an amendment
next year through the appropriation
process in January through June that
those two positions would be eliminated.
Thank you. Answers my question.
>> Is there further discussion
» hearing? None.
Is there an objection to the motion?
Hearing none, the motion is adopted.
We are now at persons to be heard. a
time for members of the public to share
their views with the council. Please
note that this is not a question and
answer period. Speakers may be referred
to administration and items raised may
be taken under advisement. Please begin
your testimony by stating your first and
last name and if you are a city
resident, comments are limited to three
minutes. First one is William Baxter.
I'm I'm William Baxter. I'm from
Anchorage, but I used to live out here.
My parents lived up fish for uh many
years. And uh and um and uh I were I
volunteered for FFA and other things I
do and and I was at the Graange last
night, which is a agriculture program.
It's been around since the 1800s. And uh
one of the things I I'm trying to do,
I'm trying to get a a graange in
Anchorage, but also Graange could help
with uh like gardening. I think it'd be
a good idea to we're we're in Anchorage,
we got in Fairview, we have two
community gardens and it's a it's a good
way to get get the family, you know,
people interested in in farming and and
uh uh gardening and that and uh it's
just a uh I I when I was live when I
lived out here in Wasola, my parents my
mom was raised on a farm and uh and my
dad was uh you know, He liked to uh uh
raise chickens and turkeys and that up
here on was fish hook and uh and when we
were kids we we had our we had ducks and
geese and that and 4 is a another good
thing one I uh I volunteer for and I I
think we need to uh expand our farming
more. One of the things I noticed is uh
farming is hidden in in in Alaska. When
you go white people uh have boats and
fishing boats and four-wheelers and that
well you see them go down the road. Do
you see tractors go down the road and I
you come out here now I don't from Wasel
to uh from Anchorage you don't see no
farms out here anymore along the the the
highway. And then uh also you go to
Palmer, I don't you know uh you don't
you don't see any farms there. You used
to see them at Four Corners or big
potato potato farm, but it's not there
anymore.
Thank you.
» Tim Sterns
» or Tom Sterns. Sorry. There you go. My
mic's on now. I don't know. Tom Sterns.
>> After all these years,
» After all these years,
>> I know Tom. Sorry.
» I know Tom. Sorry.
>> Goodness.
» Goodness.
>> It could be your handwriting. You know,
» It could be your handwriting. You know,
you should have been a doctor.
>> That that could be the problem. Good
» That that could be the problem. Good
evening. My name is Tom Sterns. I'm the
senior ambassador for the Wasel Area
Seniors Incorporated. Um, what's
happening at Wasi? Well, most of you
probably have already picked up your
pies from our my oh my, it's pies and uh
and so you know that we just completed a
fundraiser. But what you don't know is
that we were not expecting one to do
this this year. And then just at the
end, we we said, "Okay, we'll do it."
Our expectation was to get probably
maybe $2,000 out of the fundraiser.
Once everybody started donating pies and
stuff, we ended up with uh a total of
$7,000
as the uh end total. And uh that that
was really uh really exciting. So that
was that. Now, what's coming up in the
future? Well, the future starts um here
on uh Wednesday. Wednesday is one of the
best meals that you will find uh in the
valley uh at Wasi and uh we put in a
very big effort to for our Thanksgiving
meal and uh you will see that our place
is packed out. Uh it will uh probably
have uh 150 people there. uh and it will
be a great lunch. Uh and so I would
encourage you uh if you have the
opportunity to be there for that. Then
uh on the 23rd of December, we will do
it all over again, different motif.
It'll be Christmas and we will have
another great meal. and uh uh and so we
would uh uh request your presence there
for that. Now, one other thing that's
happening and it's something that you
can all help us with. It's the WASI uh
Christmas giving. We do this every year.
Uh we collect things for seniors and
then we put them in a bag and uh on that
23rd of December uh everybody gets
together. They have this great meal and
the seniors uh get the opportunity and
go to get one of these bags.
If you saw the smiles and the um on the
faces of the people, it may be the only
thing that they get for Christmas and
they are so excited and so thankful for
that. And that's because of our
sponsors, people that help us uh with
all these things, collecting all these
things and putting them all together.
So, we thank you for that.
>> Madam Deputy Mayor, can I ask him two
» Madam Deputy Mayor, can I ask him two
quick clarifying questions?
>> Go ahead, Craft.
» Go ahead, Craft.
>> Thank you. Uh Wednesday, what time was
» Thank you. Uh Wednesday, what time was
the uh the dinner? I don't think I heard
what it was.
>> I would suggest you be there by 11:00.
» I would suggest you be there by 11:00.
Uh it will start probably 11:30, but if
you want to see it, uh you want to get
there about 11:00.
>> Perfect. And then another clarifying
» Perfect. And then another clarifying
question on your uh giving one here. It
says that to shop online, are people
allowed to to go other places, you know,
try and get the other items from other
places they want or do you specifically
want them purchased from the ways to
give online there?
>> Uh no, you can get your gifts from any
» Uh no, you can get your gifts from any
place and then just give send them over
to us. Yeah, perfect. Thank you.
>> Anything else? Thank you.
» Anything else? Thank you.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
We [clears throat] are now at the
consent agenda. Madame clerk, please
read the items for the approval under
the consent agenda by title.
>> Thank you, Madame Deputy Mayor. Uh
» Thank you, Madame Deputy Mayor. Uh
regular meeting minutes, November 10th,
2025. We have three introductions for
public hearing date on December 15,
2025. The first is ordinance serial
number 2539 amending was municipal code
section 504060
examination of city financial records
and financial statements to change the
required completion date of the annual
audit from November 30 to January 31st.
Ordinance serial number 2540 amending
Wasilla Municipal Code section 50430
general fixed assets to increase the
fixed asset capitalization threshold
from 5,000 to 10,000. And lastly,
ordinance serial number 2541, repealing
Wasilla Municipal Code, Title 7, Animal
Care and Regulation, to transfer the
city's jurisdiction and authority over
animal care to the Matanuska Susettna
Bureau on an area basis effective upon
the burough's acceptance of such
jurisdiction and authority. We have no
resolutions and our AM was moved to new
business. So that's it.
>> Is there a motion to approve the consent
» Is there a motion to approve the consent
agenda as read?
Madame Deputy Mayor, I move to approve
the consent agenda as read.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
>> Madam Deputy mayor, I'll second the
» Madam Deputy mayor, I'll second the
motion.
>> It has been moved by Council Member
» It has been moved by Council Member
Codle and seconded by Councilman Coun
Council Member Craftton to approve the
consent agenda as read. Is there any
objection?
>> Madame uh Deputy Mayor, Madam Clerk, did
» Madame uh Deputy Mayor, Madam Clerk, did
did I not hear you say that minutes of
the meeting were part of it?
>> You did. You heard me say that.
» You did. You heard me say that.
>> Okay. Thank you. Hearing
» Okay. Thank you. Hearing
none, the consent agenda is approved.
There is no unfinished business, so
we'll move directly to new business. The
city attorney will provide ethics
training. Madame Deputy mayor, would the
council like to take the two action
items first if
>> Yes, please.
» Yes, please.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> No offense, Holly. So if there's no
» No offense, Holly. So if there's no
objection from the body, we'll begin
with AM number 2561, confirmation of the
mayoral appointment of Tommy Truit, Dan
Fleckenstein, and Megan Montigane.
Apologize if I botched that last name.
To the parks and recreation commission,
Aaron McCarthy to the airport advisory
commission, and Carolyn D. Young and
Simon Brown to the planning commission.
» Motion to adopt.
>> Is there a [clears throat] motion to
» Is there a [clears throat] motion to
adopt?
Madame Mayor, I move AM2561.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
>> Codle seconds.
» Codle seconds.
>> Motion has been moved by Councilman
» Motion has been moved by Councilman
Graham and second by Council Member
Codle to approve.
>> Deputy mayor.
» Deputy mayor.
>> Councilman Craftton.
» Councilman Craftton.
>> I mean Graham. Whoops.
» I mean Graham. Whoops.
>> I've been called much worse.
» I've been called much worse.
>> Okay. Uh I I move to uh postpone to the
» Okay. Uh I I move to uh postpone to the
next regular meeting u uh due to the
fact that this is a mayoral appointments
and the mayor is not here to speak to
this.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
>> I'll second the motion.
» Want me to read that? You want to read
it? No. Is there any objection?
>> Is there an objection?
» Is there an objection?
>> Did we discuss it first? I just had a
» Did we discuss it first? I just had a
quick question though. Uh mostly just I
think it probably be of our clerk uh the
Tommy Truit situation here. Are we are
we going to just strike it at the next
meeting then at this point? It just
carries over for now or
>> since the motion to postpone has already
» since the motion to postpone has already
been moved and is on the floor. Um we'll
wait to amend.
>> Okay. Thank you.
» You ready?
So no objection then to the
postponement.
Madame deputy mayor, if I may, we'll
move on then to the resolution serial
number 2537 authorizing the Matuskus at
Nuro to provide areawide animal care
services within the city of Wasilla.
>> Is there a motion to adopt resolution
» Is there a motion to adopt resolution
serial number 25-37?
>> Madame deputy mayor, I move to adopt
» Madame deputy mayor, I move to adopt
resolution serial number 2537.
>> Is there a second?
» Is there a second?
Graham seconds.
>> It has been moved by Council Member
» It has been moved by Council Member
Codle and seconded by Council Member
Graham to adopt resolution serial number
25-37.
Is there discussion?
» Council member Graham.
>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. I I I
» Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. I I I
can't think of any reason to object to
this. The bureau is the one that has the
experience, the continuous continuous
experience uh uh dealing with animals.
the the burrow uh is the one who owns
and operates the animal shelter and and
has improved that over time. So, as time
goes by, they're getting better and
better. Instead of getting more and more
complaints, it's getting less and less.
So, yeah, this is a uh a wise move for
the city to let people with expertise
handle this. Thank you.
» Is there further discussion
hearing? None. Is there an objection to
the motion?
Hearing none, the motion is adopted.
» Next, we have ethics training by city
attorney Holly Wells.
» Thank you. I'm just gonna I think I use
this over here, Sarah, or
>> is it on?
Okay. So, first I want to say you have a
PowerPoint in front of you. We're going
to have sort of a ethics training a um
that's incorporated into the meeting to
the extent that council finds that they
want a freestanding independent ethics
training at some point and that would be
a a conversation with the clerk. Of
course, that is something we can do as
well. But we thought we'd try this
approach first. Um, in part because
several council members were on the
council when we were um when the ethics
code was adopted in 2022 or were engaged
in I think there may have been um
commission members at that time. So it's
a fairly recent code adoption and um so
hopefully some of these provisions will
feel familiar and there's a greater
understanding of them. Uh that said,
this is a um 13 or so page PowerPoint
and it is designed to be a reference for
you even though I don't plan on going
through this PowerPoint line by line. I
don't think that's in your best
interest.
Um so moving on, first and foremost, the
Wasola Code of Ethics has a really
strong purpose statement. Um, and this
purpose statement is a guiding
interpretation
piece for the city. So, as you're trying
to when you look at what the prohibited
acts are or when you're thinking about
your own conduct as an elected official,
one of the places to ground yourself is
in the purpose statement. I'm going to
read that purpose statement because I
think that it's helpful to have both in
the record and for the public to know,
but also as a reminder. The purpose of
the Waselis code of ethics uh states
that the city expects all city officials
to serve the public with equality,
honesty, and transparency, and to take
actions that the official believes best
serve the public and city. The public
has a right to conscientious, loyal,
faithful, and unbiased service by its
officials performed free of deceit,
undue influence, conflict of interest,
self-enrichment, self-deing,
concealment, bribery, fraud, and
corruption. The city has an obligation
to the public and city officials to
establish standards of ethical conduct.
Promote ethics education for all city
officials. Provide clear guidance to
city officials of the ethical procedures
and standards of the city. Recommend
procedures that promote ethical
behavior. And hold city officials
responsible and accountable for their
behavior. and promote procedures that
protect city officials, employees, and
members of the public from harassment or
retribution should they raise concerns
about activities that do not appear to
be in line with ethical behaviors. So,
this is a very strong purpose statement
as you can see. And one of the things I
can say and you should be very proud of
is there are very few ethics complaints
in the city. Um, and there are um it is
very unusual to see violations of the
ethics code, but the council members do
also ask questions. Whether you're
asking of the clerk or you're uh seeking
advisory opinions of the city attorney,
you really do use those components of
your code and it's very healthy um in
its um in its administration. So the
other thing to note is that OELA's code
of ethics is not um blind to the fact
that you're in a small town and if you
prohibit all interests or actions on
items that you may have any interests
that you'll make no decisions at all. So
that is incorporated into the language
of the code and it recognizes that
um that you need to protect the public
from decisions that involve substantial
[music] finan financial interests but
make sure that um the council members
are engaged in making decisions. um so
that and that
people who want to serve as elected
officials retain the rights to personal
and financial interests and that there's
an outlet there for them. So in 2.0130C
is where you really get language that
strikes that balance.
So one of the most important things to
understand with the code of ethics and
it can get a little confusing is who is
covered. So, a council when they adopted
this uh with a code of ethics years ago,
um although not that many years ago,
they um they included the city clerk and
the city attorney as city officials. It
also includes the elected officials of
the city and appointees to commissions.
So, that's an important So, it does not
include and that's what it's important
to note. It does not include city
employees. Now, city employees are
subject to a lot of ethics provisions.
We'll talk a little bit about that. And
they and there there are some of these
ethics provisions from title two that
are incorporated into title three and
apply to city employees, but the
consequences of a violation are
different. All right? So they they may
be subject to discipline action for
example whereas
they the ethics complaint process is
reserved for these elected and uh
appointed officials and the city
attorney and the city clerk.
» I'm not going to spend too much time on
the conflict of interest piece because I
feel like that's the piece we work with
regularly. council is and council
members are repeatedly declaring a
conflict of interest when they I'm
sorry, declaring a financial interest
when they have one and disclosing it and
then the mayor determines if that
interest is substantial or is not
substantial. If the council disagrees
with the mayor's decision, the council
can make a motion um and find otherwise.
Uh similarly if the mayor is the one who
has a interest um that interest is
decided upon by the council and so that
basic uh construct I believe all of you
are familiar with that if anyone feels
like they want to go through that in
more detail raise your hand okay moving
on so substantial financial interest
I've included the provision regarding
what that is in this uh training I don't
think we need to go through it I feel
like you're very familiar with it. Um I
think one of the things to note is that
the substantial financial interest test
adopted by Wasilla
mirrors the test adopted by the courts.
And so while some municipalities will
just have a number, Wasilla has a has
factors that are weighed in determining
whether or not an interest is
substantial. Those factors are whether
the financial interest is a substantial
part of the consideration, whether the
interest will be significantly impacted
or changed by the outcome of the
official action, whether the interest is
immediate and known or attenuated and
dependent on factors beyond the official
action, and whether a reasonable person
would consider the financial interest
significant and would expect a person to
take actions and make decisions to
protect that financial interest. We get
these from case law. We get these from
the court. This is what they think a
financial interest, a substantial
financial interest looks like. But one
of the things that Wasa did do to ensure
that we can answer these questions a
little easier or have uh it they adopted
a presumption of substantial financial
interest for uh interest that with a gr
greater than $1,000.
So, what I expect to see as time goes on
is council considering that number
because clearly $1,000 today is not
$1,000 five years from now and $1,000 in
2022 is not even $1,000 today. You know,
so that's one of the things as council
members, as you're navigating out there,
remember that the purpose of your ethics
code is to find balance between
your interests and your involvement in
your community and your role as a
council member or or the role of a
commissioner. Um, and so that number may
need to change [music] at times. You
shouldn't be afraid to talk with the
clerk about bringing, you know,
sponsorship or bringing something
forward, if that makes sense.
Does anybody have any questions so far?
I'm moving quickly because I want to
cover all of the things and there's
quite a few prohibited acts. So, but um
one of the things we incorporated is
something that also exists in what we
call common law, right? Under case law,
and that's called the rule of necessity.
This is used a lot by the courts
regardless of whether or not it's in
your code, but not a lot of communities
have expressly adopted it. I think one
of the things that uh the good things
about putting it in your code is you
know you're going to use it right if you
end up using it instead of relying on it
because you didn't have anything to use
and so just issued a decision or even
worse just become paralyzed and unable
to make a decision. So the rule of
necessity is designed to allow a uh body
to make a decision when they are not
going to get to a majority vote with
uninterested
members. So it's one of those things you
have a very important decision. It has
to be issued but maybe three of your
council members have a conflict on that
thing. And the alternative is that you
just don't get to make a decision on
that issue, you know. So that is that is
not an outcome that
bodess well for a city if it's an
important decision that you need to
make. So what this does is it creates a
rule of necessity and there's three
provisions. Um so the provisions are it
would apply but only where by reason of
being excused for conflicts of interest
the number of council members is reduced
to [music] less than the minimum number
required to approve the official action.
No other body of the city has
jurisdiction and authority to take the
official action. The and the official
official action cannot be set aside to a
later date within a reasonable time when
council could obtain the minimum number
of members to take action who are not
excused. Basically meaning that conflict
is just going to be there you know for a
long period of time and you just cannot
escape it. So that is the rule of
necessity and it's good for the public
to know about that too because when it
comes up you know it's unusual.
>> I don't believe the rule of necessity
» I don't believe the rule of necessity
has been used since this was adopted. So
it's not it's very very rare.
>> Thank you. So curiosity kind of thing.
» Thank you. So curiosity kind of thing.
Basically what what ends up happening is
the council's going to vote and it's
just kind of hey everybody's got a
conflict of interest here or most of the
council has a conflict of interest.
We're going to vote on this matter. Does
anybody can do I ask this? Is a member
of the public able to step in and say
hey you know I feel like the vote should
have gone a different way. I mean, what
would be the repercussions or actions
that somebody could take if something
like this were to happen and basically
said and they somebody felt that the
council made a decision completely
biased because of the conflict of
interest. I mean, is that in place
somewhere? Well, I mean, I think where
what it is is you would look to case law
and say the rule of necessity is a rule
of law that is respected and applicable
and has been found to comply with the
what is in essence a sub a substantive
due process consideration. Are you
making an arbitrary decision? you know,
and if you're making a quasi judicial
decision, which council rarely if ever
does, but in theory could, um, there's a
provision in your code of ethics that
allows that gives a hearing officer
jurisdiction to hear a uh to to hear a
matter if the rule of necessity would
otherwise be triggered. So you protect
in that sense and if it's going to be
quasi judicial
it would go to a hearing officer because
under the rule of necessity it says if
anybody else has jurisdiction to hear it
right that they they're going to hear
it. You can only decide it if there's no
if no other body or person has
jurisdiction to hear it. So you
protected those quasi judicial pieces,
but in the realm of legislation,
this code would protect you legally if
it's followed. And that's why um that
doesn't mean, you know, so it could go
to court. And again, you never know
what's going to happen in court, but you
would have local law and state case law
that supported the cities what the city
did, which is pretty um pretty strong
support
>> to follow up. Um and it's
» to follow up. Um and it's
[clears throat] I guess I wasn't asking
the question of whether they had the
right to make the vote. Obviously, they
do. It's more so a resident said, "Hey,
I don't think that was the way you
should have voted that I believe you
were biased and that you voted in favor
of your bias." Uh does somebody have a
repercussion or or would you basically
like what you said it just needs to end
up in court at that point or hope that
the council goes obviously we're biased
here so we're going to say no or yes
whatever the factor might be to to make
the decision so that
>> they can kind of say hey we even though
» they can kind of say hey we even though
we're biased we're going to not go do
this thing or do this thing depending on
how what the outcome was.
>> Yeah. I mean I think what council will
» Yeah. I mean I think what council will
have to do is try not to be arbitrary.
You know, that's that's the only and
that's what you can say to the public is
we had to use the rule of necessity. We
worked really hard to issue findings
like to share our reasons to make sure
we had reasons and to make sure we
didn't make an arbitrary decision.
We can't guarantee that our biases sort
of didn't come into, you know, our
votes, but we can we can guarantee that
we do not make an arbitrary decision,
which ultimately is what the courts are
looking at. when you make a legislative
decision that is the question. I mean
obviously there's if you make a decision
that violates some other federal or
state law or you know is discriminatory
or violates the constitution but other
than that assuming it doesn't do those
things the question is have you made a
decision that is uh that is not
unreasonable
that is intentional so to make it even
sort of less it's not
that has to be unreasonable has to be
not unreasonable or arbitrary.
So that's Thank you.
>> And
» And
>> Madam Deputy Mayor Tim Johnson,
» Madam Deputy Mayor Tim Johnson,
>> Councilman Johnson.
» Councilman Johnson.
>> Uh, the way I'm seeing this is the rule
» Uh, the way I'm seeing this is the rule
of necessity then will actually protect
the councilmen that would have the
conflict of interest, but it really
wouldn't take the council as a whole off
the hook. Is that correct?
>> Yeah. I mean, I think you still have to
» Yeah. I mean, I think you still have to
act in a way that's not unreasonable and
is not arbitrary, you know. So, council
will still need to do that. The rule of
necessity says, look, we either can make
a decision and govern or we can do
nothing and not be able to govern a
particular area of um you know, of our
that's within our authority that we need
to be doing. So, it's it's pro it's it's
designed to protect the keep the wheels
turning on a city, you know, or a
burrow, any municipality really. Does
that answer your question question,
Council Member Johnson? So, I don't know
if they're really on the hook, but
you're right that they're on the hook to
make decisions in the same way that they
normally
are required
to do.
>> Yes, that would be the way I'd
» Yes, that would be the way I'd
understand it. It would provide a path
forward.
>> Yes, exactly.
» Yes, exactly.
And again, hasn't come up. So, it's just
it's an interesting
uh rule. It's important that it's there,
but so far we haven't had to to use it.
Thank goodness.
So, um and council member Johnson, I am
not sure. We're on slide seven and I
have not been cute. I haven't been
saying that. I'm sorry.
That's helpful.
Okay.
And we're moving on to slide eight.
And so here what we're really looking
at. So there's the conflict of interest.
That's where we spend most of our time
with code of ethics, but lots of
communities have conflicts of interest
provisions. So where where is it that we
really start to see the meat of your
code? And that is in the prohibited acts
that are listed in 2.01.
uh 060 and that is where we look at all
we have like sort of a laundry list of
things that city officials are
prohibited from doing. So one the city
officials are prohibited from making
false statements.
So this is important to note. So they
cannot make false statements in order to
influence official action. So that means
we're not out there policing the
statements of city officials in all
areas, right? We uh we do however um the
city does have the ability to um to look
at false statements that are made to
influence official action. And remember,
we'll talk about this a little bit
later, but we have an e the ethics
complaint process means that the public
also can hold city officials accountable
for what are perceived or alleged false
statements. Uh inappropriate use of
title or authority. So that is also
prohibited. No city official shall use
the implied authority of their office or
position for the purpose of unduly
influencing the decisions of others or
promoting more personal interests within
the community unless duly appointed by
council to represent the interests of
the full council. Council members shall
refrain from implying the representation
of the whole uh by the use of their
title. So, this is one of those things.
It it I highly recommend
just calling the clerk as your first
step in the process when sometimes
you're going to be at an event and
you're not really sure what hat you have
on and you're not really sure if you're
there in an official capacity. There it
can get the lines can get blurred. um
especially when um you know there may be
sort of a lobbying effort in Juno or a
attending a chamber meeting and you're
wearing many hats, you know. So it's
just it's a good uh this is a good one
to keep your eye on and make sure you
watch and sometimes just get comfortable
saying things like I'm here in my
private capacity or this is my opinion
in my personal capacity. Um, and then
for council to when you want someone to
speak for council, making sure you give
them the protection uh to do that by
passing a resolution or something um
that puts them in that position. So
representing private interests um is
also prohibited. So no city official
shall for compensation and that is an
important distinction represent or
assist those representing private
business or personal interest before
council administration or any city board
um any city board commission or agency.
Nothing in this section, however,
prevents an official from making verbal
or written inquiries on behalf of
constituents or the general public to
elements of city government or from
requesting explanations or additional
information on behalf of their
constituents. No official may solicit or
accept a benefit or anything of value
from any [music] person for having
performed this service. This is just
trying to prevent that dance between a
council member as a persuasive
vote on council and voice on council and
a consultant in the community where
people are compensating you because of
the power of your voice with the very
body you're trying to influence. Right?
So that is what these uh prohibitions
against representing private interests
are designed to address. A lot of
communities have both this one and the
inappropriate use or title. Uh, a lot of
communities have both of those. They'll
have them as separate or distinct
provisions, though not necessarily
incorporated into a code of ethics.
So, another pro prohibition is one
against disseminating confidential
information.
Most uh most communities prohibit this
in some way, but a lot of them fail to
codify it in a way that it can be
enforced. And so this is something that
was chosen to do.
Uh the other is gratuitities is another
prohibition. It's really important for
you to read that one. That's another one
with a number. So it's another one to
keep in mind. The number right now is
meals under $75 in value are not
prohibited. I believe that that's the
same thing for gifts. Nothing uh it's
not prohibited if it's an occasional
what they call non-puniary gift and it's
less than $75 in value. Um also it's not
prohibited to receive a gift presented
by an employer to its employees in
recognition of meritorious service or
civic or public awards.
um any discounts or prizes that are
generally available to the public or
large sections of the public. When you
serve as a council member or city
official, you don't lose your right to
be and participate as a member of the
public. So, any benefit that goes to the
public, um any um prizes, any fun,
you know, handout or I don't know,
privilege or it's not you're never going
to be asked to forfeit that because we
can't because you have the same
protections. [snorts]
Not because we can. I'm not saying the
city would take that from you if they
could. I'm just saying that uh that
that's one way to think of it is am I
participating as a member of the public?
if you come across something and you
wonder can I do this as a council member
you know the answer is going to be yes
if it's open to the public um and now
that said to the extent can you all do
it together at a specific time that
might be different under the open
meetings act um so here are your so
gratuitities you want to pay attention
to that number you want to pay attention
to because things are going up really
fast you know and I feel like $75 should
be fine to cover a meal
But I think you should be watching your
your checks on that just because I think
it's starting to it's starting to go up.
Um and you could have a nice dinner and
a few drinks when you're in a position
where you're you know you are um that
would normally be something you don't
think about. Someone offers to to um
treat you and you're at $85. I can't
believe I'm saying that but that
possible. Um, so, uh, use of city
property for personal purposes is also
prohibited. So, you want to make sure
you read that to the if you're in a
position where you're using city
property. You know, I think you can
ignore it unless that unless that
occurs. Um,
and we've got more. Political activities
are prohibited. Um, certain political
activities. And this one's really
important to pay attention to because
this is another one you can fall into. A
city official may not take an active
part in a political campaign or other
political activity when on duty. Now,
nothing here prevents city officials
from exercising a right to vote,
contribute to a campaign or a candidate,
or expressing officials political views
when they are not on duty or engaging
with the public in their capacity as a
city official. But what you have to
watch is if you show up somewhere and
you introduce yourself as a city council
member or you're attending something and
you're talking about the interests of
council or you're there in your capacity
as a member of council and then you
start sharing your political viewpoints
on a candidate. Um that is something to
be very wary of. uh it's very easy to
either get sideways or perhaps more
importantly appear to get sideways of
this pro prohibition. And while ethics
complaints um there they there's a
process to vet them and make sure that
you are not you are not
sanctioned or there are no remedies
given for a violation that does not
occur. It is still a process and it is
still unnerving to go through a process
when people think there's a violation.
So, for that reason, I would say really
pay attention to what hat you have on
and how you're communicating. And if you
have any questions about that, either
get an advisory opinion so you have that
to sort of carry around with you or or
um call the clerk and kind of talk it
through if that's okay, Jamie, first and
then she can help you identify what best
steps, next steps. I'm gonna take a
breath. Anybody have any questions? I've
gone through quite a few.
Okay. Is this pace okay or is this a
little too quick? Not quick enough.
>> Okay. All right. I'll keep going. All
» Okay. All right. I'll keep going. All
right. Improper influence. A city
official may not contact the employer of
other city officials or threaten
financial harm to other city officials
um in an attempt to influence their
actions, votes, or positions. This is
something you would not something I've
seen in Wasela, but I have seen this
numerous times. And so this is an
important one to have in your code, but
um so far maybe not for you guys. You're
doing great. So impartiality in
conducting city business. Um
this one is very very strong for a
community. Um and it was something that
council wanted and it's in line with
your oath. But I I just want you to be
aware that the prohibition against
acting impartially when conducting city
business in a blanket sense is very um
very strong. Now that said, almost every
community has an element of that in
their oath of office, but a few carry it
through in their code. What it means is
the way I interpret this is there are
the actions you take as council members
that come before you as a body. There's
procurement. There's all of those
things. So you declare any substant or
any financial interest you have. Council
decides if it's substantial and that's
sort of the model for that right. Uh as
far as partiality whether or not you are
impartial that you need to disclose that
and that is something that is determined
in a quasi judicial proceeding. Here
there is a presumption that you will
tell you know you will disclose if you
are acting impartially or in a position
to act impartially which means when we
look at what that what what the
difference between being say having a
substantial financial interest which is
tangible and being partial or impartial
it really comes down to what
you believe right what you do you think
you're partial or impartial for purposes
of legislative actions. And so the only
so if this comes up where you are
sponsoring or introducing an ordinance
or an action
then we're going to look at would a
reason what would a reasonable person
believe you know would they believe that
there's but if you were acting in your
passive role as a council member and
things are coming to you I think we
would based on the law we would be
looking at you to act lawfully and
comply with the law. So, that's just
sort of to give you some because that
one's really hard. It's hard to
navigate. Um, but when in doubt,
disclose. Raise the issue if you think
that you may be um impartial or if
you're you're I or partial or if you're
certain that you're impartial, but you
want the public to know that this is
your best friend or this is somebody
that you know that there's some interest
that exists there. Um, but that you feel
like you could make a
impartial decision, you know, so that's
a conversation with the public. Any
questions on that one?
Okay. Um,
all right. Employment and financial
disclosures. talked a little bit about
this, so I won't go into it too much um
as far as um you know who the code
covers, but it's also important for you
to remember that council member during
your term council members may not
represent or advise a person in any
manner pending before a city body. So
that's a restriction that can be can
have a cost, you know, so it's very
important the council members are aware
of that. Um during also during the term
for which uh elected and for one year
after leaving office, city council
members and the mayor are not eligible
for city employment unless it comes back
to council and they approve it, which I
don't know, Jamie, has that ever
happened where we've had
>> not to my knowledge.
» not to my knowledge.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Um finally, don't forget to complete
» Um finally, don't forget to complete
your financial disclosure statements
every year and that's in that lives in
the code of ethics as well.
So, another area that's encompassed into
the code of ethics, and this has been in
your code for a long time, but it was
moved over to the code of ethics um when
it was when the code of ethics was
adopted. Um
so, this deals with contracting and
purchasing for the city. And it states
that a city official who has a financial
interest in any bid or proposal for a
city contract shall disclose that
interest by filing a written notice uh
of that interest with the purchasing
officer. And that has to be done not
less than 10 business days before
submission of the bid or proposal in
which the official has an interest. This
is a hard one to comply with because you
don't necessarily know. You have to be
watching and it has to be triggered. And
I think this is something that I know
the administration is working on to
ensure that you get that trigger if they
know right. So because when you look at
it so it's basically it's going to be
appointees and council and the city
clerk and the city attorney. I mean it
will impact us but uh um so basically 10
days before submission of the bidder
proposal in which the official has an
interest. So that
you may have an interest in a bid or
proposal and not know when it's getting
submitted. Does that make sense? So this
is one that it really takes everyone's
involvement to help uh ensure that
there's compliance I think in some
cases. In some cases, it'll be very
obvious if you know if you have a family
member living in your household who is
submitting a bid. You're going to know
they're submitting a bid, right? If
they're going in and submitting, but
you're not going to necessarily know
that if it's um you know, if maybe one
of your kids runs a business and you
know, or they or they're a subcontractor
and they're pulled in on the uh on the
bid. So, there's a lot of circumstances
here. So, just be aware that it's there.
And then, um, you know, that's one that
the administration can work with the
council members on. The other piece of
this is
if if you determine that there has been
a misstep, just tell the clerk as soon
as possible because then we can
retroactively address it. Sorry. And um,
and bring that before counsel in a way
that sort of ratifies it if it's not
um if it's not intentional because I do
again I think this one's a little
difficult um but importance it's
probably so let's see all right the
other thing to note here
um
so the purchasing officer posts the
written notice at the place maintained
for the posting of public not uh public
notices at city hall so that's just
another thing to note so when you see it
up there you're not surprised um no city
official has a financial interest in any
bid or proposal for a city contract may
participate in the city's decision to
award the contract. Um
um that's I think we are all comfortable
and know that uh no city official may
solicit or receive any form of
compensation from any party other than
the city in connection with the awarding
of a city contract.
Uh that one is um you know sort of
common sense but I think one of the
other things here is this provision
remains it we it hasn't been changed to
add more restrictive
um consequences. This came from your
code and it is worth noting that it says
uh anyone who violates this is guilty of
a a misconduct in office and a violation
of the oath of office. A contract
entered into in violation of the section
is voidable by council.
So, um, you know, it's pretty
the it's very clear that the Wasilla
City Council wants arms length
transactions, especially when it comes
to procurement and has adopted codes to
make that happen. And um, and again, I
think that
council does a great job of complying
with these things. So, this is training,
not warning, you know. [laughter]
Uh, does anybody have any questions
so far? No. Okay, moving on. Uh, just a
reminder, this does not apply to city
employees. I do worry because we start
talking about city officials. City
officials often do encompass employees
and other arenas. So, a lot of times
we'll try to impute these provisions and
private acts on employees. So we just
always want to make keep that separation
in mind. That says uh that said the um
title 3 does encompass a lot of these uh
into the personnel policies the list of
prohibited acts for example an employee
who has a financial interest as defined
in the ethics code whether it's direct
or indirect in the sale of any lands
materials supplies or services um is um
does have a requirement to tell the
mayor and disclose that interest to the
mayor And generally what needs to happen
is that an employee is um screened off
or not permitted to make any official
take any official action on those on
that matter. So it's a very similar
process. It's just done under an
employment process. Um all right. So how
do you stay out of trouble?
Right? Because this is a lot of rules.
Right? Uh you talk to your city clerk.
Uh as you all know I don't have to tell
you this. was an incredibly competent,
knowledgeable, experienced city clerk
and deputy city clerk as well. So, you
have this this is a great resource and
just have the talk. Um, one of the
things I get that really scares me if
people are afraid of these laws, that is
when they are most likely to run a foul
of them and those ethics complaints
start start coming in. If we're um
willing to make mistakes and disclose
them then we can navigate these things
usually. Um
it's a lot easier. Um also attend Oh no
I don't want to leave there. Okay.
Attend regularly scheduled ethics
trainings and making sure we have them
even if we do them this way and we just
kind of get it all out there and maybe
we you know in a couple months we have
another one so it's just you know stays
rough on our minds. Um, and then, um,
it's important to know, and I know the
council members are aware of this, but,
uh, use the advisory opinion component
because you can ask and you'll get an
opinion and we do try to turn them
around fairly quickly and that will it's
binding, you know, on the city and they
and it's and it protects the council
members from ethics complaints. Um, so
that's a really powerful tool.
And then I get to just Disclose,
disclose, disclose if there's a problem.
And that is
sort of your
ethics training on the code of ethics.
Are there any questions?
Any concerns?
» All right. Thank you, Holly.
>> We are now at communications. Madame
» We are now at communications. Madame
Clerk, please read the items by title.
>> Thank you. Thank you, Madam Deputy
» Thank you. Thank you, Madam Deputy
Mayor. Item number 2518, the Lake
Lucille Park [clears throat] playground
removal. I am number 2519, monthly
financial reports for the period ending
July 31st, 2025. I am number 2520,
monthly financial reports for the period
ending August 31st, 2025. I am number
2521, which is the city of Wasilla's
2026 holiday schedule. And lastly, item
number 2522, the McGrath job
classification study report with two
sets of commission meeting minutes
planning commission September 9 and
October 14, 2025.
We are now at audience comments, which
is a time for members of the public to
share their views with the council. This
is not a question and answer period or a
time for dialogue. Speakers may be
referred to administrations or issues
raised may be taken under advisement for
council or administration.
No takers. We are now at mayor clerk
attorney and council comments. Madame
clerk. Thank you. I do council if we
could pick a couple dates. I had sent
out an email. Um, our finance department
through the mayor is looking for two
4-hour sessions in January to kick off
our budget season. I thought maybe
weekdays from 10 to 2, but I don't know.
I just want council. I don't know what
your schedules are. Um, so I'll turn it
over to whoever. Councilman Graham.
>> Thank you. Uh
» Thank you. Uh
I don't think the 4hour sessions
uh give council adequate time to
prepare. The administration has a habit
of giving us a ton of information at the
last minute which is essentially forcing
us to make decisions on things where we
haven't had adequate time uh to study
and prepare. So I would go back I would
recommend that we go back to the mayor
and say break this up into two-hour
sessions. Make sure that you provide us
uh information, you know, a minimum, I
mean, complete information, none of this
last minute laid on the table kind of
stuff. Give us complete information for
the meeting so we have time to study and
be able to ask reasonable questions and
make informed decisions regarding the
budget of the city. So, I uh I don't
agree with the idea of 4-hour meetings
and therefore I don't suggest any dates
for those.
Councilman Craftton.
>> Thank you. Uh
» Thank you. Uh
I'm kind of in line with m what Mr.
Graham was saying. Uh my concern is just
four hours is a long time in the middle
of the day. Uh I I understand that these
meetings are not generally attended by
the uh by the public, but I still think
the opportunity for them to attend is
better done in the evening time. That's
when we usually do the meetings. And uh
I mean we could do a Saturday, but we've
done a 5 hour Saturday meeting and it's
I mean that's just grueling to do. It's
too long of a day. Uh my thought would
be uh I liked the 3 hours. Uh I think 3
hours was long enough that we could get
through enough uh information but not so
long that uh it it was burdensome on us.
I think about about that 2 and 1 half
hour three hour mark we're all tired
anyways. So I I mean I would think if we
did two three hours and then if we
needed the additional two hours on a
third day we could because the mayor
asked for eight hours. Uh that would be
something I'd a little bit be a be a
little bit more okay with um in that
sense. But I do like what Mr. Graham
said about making sure we're getting
that information early enough because
again uh it's a lot to digest and uh
usually those are the types of things
I'm reading two if not three times
before meeting. So making sure we're
getting it ahead of time and not four
o'clock before meeting would be great
>> through the chair to the through the
» through the chair to the through the
chair to the council. Then would the
group be immunable to three three-hour
evening meetings maybe on Mondays and
then we'll use our same packet deadline?
We'll ensure that you have your packets
5 days ahead of time which is our
standard.
>> I I would think that's a good idea.
» I I would think that's a good idea.
Thank you.
» Okay. Are there any dates that don't
work for anybody? They're completely off
the table.
>> I would prefer not Thursday nights.
» I would prefer not Thursday nights.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> I like the idea of Mondays, even though
» I like the idea of Mondays, even though
we would be scheduling Monday after
Monday after Monday, but I mean, we're
kind of used to being here on Mondays
and the folks that attend the meetings
are used to being here on Mondays. I
think it fits into everybody's schedule
reasonably well.
So through the through the chair. So
that le So we have two Monday council
meetings in January, the 12th and the
26th. I'm not sure through the
administration we could make a January
5th meeting. So that actually only
leaves us one meeting in January on the
19th.
» I I would almost prefer these to be
backtoback. And I know that sometimes is
a lot, but again, it's sometimes this
information is easily digestible
uh when they're back to back like that,
but also also at the same time it goes
back to what happens at one meeting. You
got to a day is not always enough to
think about it. So it' almost be good to
have two meetings back to back and then
the third final one on a different day.
Would the how does the 19th and the
20th? So that's um Monday and Tuesday
and then maybe the 28th Wednesday the
28th.
» I would prefer not to do backtoback just
because of the homework time that's
involved there. I have no objections to
two meetings in a week, but spread them
out. And since it is, you know, uh
setting the budget is the primary
responsible responsibility that the
council has during the year, I wouldn't
object to even doing a Friday meeting or
a Saturday meeting to uh you know to
make that work. But I think when you put
two meetings back to back and you don't
have that time in between to study and
reflect on what happened on Monday
before you're making decisions on
Tuesday, I I I don't know. I I just
don't think it sets us up for the most
effective decision making.
>> What What if we did a Monday, Wednesday,
» What What if we did a Monday, Wednesday,
Friday then?
>> Or we How about if we did the 19th,
» Or we How about if we did the 19th,
which is a Monday, Wednesday the 21st,
and Wednesday the 28th?
No objection.
>> I think that's okay.
» I think that's okay.
>> Mr. Johnson, does that work for you?
» Okay, I believe that's going to work.
I'm going to work with the
administration to make that happen and
we will for sure have that packet to you
5 days ahead of time, which is our
standard rule.
>> Real quick here, sorry you're looking at
» Real quick here, sorry you're looking at
the calendar. Monday the 19th is Martin
Luther King Day. Does that affect us at
all?
>> Does not. Okay. It's not a city
» Does not. Okay. It's not a city
recognized holiday, but thank you for
that. And then um so okay, so we're
going to go with the 19th, the 21st, and
the 28th. We'll start there. Um your
travel packets to AML were passed out.
Join us this Friday. Employee holiday
lunchon 11:30 to 2. We'd love to see you
there. And then next regular meeting
after tonight is December 15th. And
that's all I have. Happy Thanksgiving to
everybody.
>> Thank you, Madana Attorney.
» Thank you, Madana Attorney.
No comment.
>> Council member Graham.
» Council member Graham.
>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. First,
» Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. First,
thanks everybody for being here. I know
some of you are regulars and some of you
are not, but it's always great to have
people here and and to get input, even
if that input just includes scowls from
the from the gallery. So, that's it's
always good to get that. uh said a
couple things
uh
to talk about. You know, number one, I
just have a question. The city was a
holiday schedule. I mean, the our
contracts with the union say that we'll
observe these holidays, but does it say
on what dates we will do that? uh you
know because you know some of the dates
on the holiday schedule you know the
holidays on a Saturday so we're going to
observe it on a Monday or or so on does
do our contracts
specify that if the if the published
holiday you know falls on a certain date
that it would happen on a Monday or
happen on a Friday or or the reason I'm
asking is purely informational because
for future contracts you know I mean if
July the 4th is on a Saturday uh Why not
give the employees a floating holiday to
cover the July 4th because they're not
going to be here on the holiday day
anyway? I mean, it's just an added
flexibility for employees. Do you do we
know the answer of whether that's
>> something like that might be permissible
» something like that might be permissible
through negotiation or
>> through the chair to council member
» through the chair to council member
Graham? I don't I mean I think
anything's open for negotiation. It's my
understanding is that the union
contracts in terms of our standard
holidays follow the code. So if the
holiday is on a Saturday, we have we're
closed on Friday. If it's on sun if it's
on a Sunday, we're closed on Monday.
>> Okay. So you believe that is the code?
» Okay. So you believe that is the code?
>> I understand.
» I understand.
>> Okay. Thank you. That's very
» Okay. Thank you. That's very
informative.
>> I guess if that is untrue, we I'll send
» I guess if that is untrue, we I'll send
an email.
>> Oh, no. I'm I'm I'm trying to find out
» Oh, no. I'm I'm I'm trying to find out
here. No one knows the code like the
clerk. That's for sure. So, uh, the
other thing I I need to come back to is
IM218,
uh, which is Lake Lucille Park
playground removal.
You read through this IM,
uh, and if you look at the whole thing,
you can see that an inspection was
completed on or prior to the 1st of
September. Okay. Uh the uh removal of
the equipment from the park happened on
October 22nd and here we are a month
later informing the city council that
city assets have been uh destroyed or
disposed of. Uh I find that completely
unacceptable.
Completely unacceptable. If the if the
inspection comes forward and says, "Hey,
we got a problem here." uh you know, and
we're going to have to remove or destroy
some city equipment, then come to the
council and say, "Hey, we need to do
this." Don't send us an IM a couple
months later saying, "Oh, by the way, uh
we decided to, you know, destroy a
parking lot that that we built or in
this case, uh, you know, take out some
playground equipment that appears to
have been, you know, not have been
inspected very well over time. So, I'm
assuming that we've fixed the problem of
in, you know, inspection and we're
talking about a parks plan and things
like that. But, you know, city council
needs to be advised when city property
is going to be intentionally disposed of
or destroyed. Uh there's no uh there's
no fault in saying, "Hey, we got a
problem here. We need to fix it." Uh and
that temporary fix that we're proposing
is to remove it. But to do it without
advising the city council, which
essentially means you haven't advised
the public, I I think is completely
inappropriate. And I've been by the uh
Lake Lucille uh park where the
playground was removed. There's no sign
there that says, "Hey, we removed this
stuff because it was unsafe." There's
still signs there that say, "Hey, you
know, playing here is you do at your own
risk and there may be hazards and things
like that, but there's no equipment to
play on." So I I I just am very
uncomfortable with the way that this uh
uh happened and I hope in the future
that that we will uh make sure that the
city council is advised when we're going
to uh you know either uh you know have
some sort of non-rine destruction or
propose or destruction or disposal of
city property. Um see uh the and the
last uh thing I I have city business
here comes back to the agenda and I'm
going to look at the attorney when I say
this. I mean the agenda was set you know
uh almost two weeks ago. Okay. Uh and
then the agenda was given to the city
council on Wednesday which is 5 days
ago. And today we get your 15page
PowerPoint. Uh,
I'm sorry that I I don't find that as as
being good business practice. Give me
that PowerPoint 5 days out so I can look
through it. I can study it and I can
come up with questions. I mean, I truly
appreciate the fact that you're reading
a PowerPoint to me that I can read all
by myself. But, uh, for those that
didn't have the opportunity, you know,
and I've been on council for a long
time, so you're not telling me anything
new, but there are questions there. And
for people that, you know, uh, you know,
have questions, they should be able to
be prepared to ask those questions
because they've looked at it, uh, prior
to the meeting, you know, not just show
up and sitting on my desk there's a
15page, you know, word intensive
PowerPoint. Uh, you know, I I I just
don't think that was, you know, I
appreciate the training. It's required
by the code, but I I think there's a
better way to do that. That's just a
>> personal opinion there
» personal opinion there
>> through the chair to council member
» through the chair to council member
Graham. I continue to hear hear what I
will do is information and it's not the
city attorney a lot of times director we
we get powerpoints because there is no
action to be taken we do get them later
if I don't have a powerpoint when the
packet closes I will just work to
reschedu that then
>> I I think that would be most helpful
» I I think that would be most helpful
because it allows the council to study
whatever it is that's coming up and have
reasonable questions
>> I'm going to [clears throat] say
» I'm going to [clears throat] say
something and I'm really sorry if this
impacts the way that you see my
performance. When I prepare a
PowerPoint, I do it to prepare myself
for the presentation. I provide you the
PowerPoint because I think it's a great
resource. I don't provide it as
something to study before the the
presentation. We are very busy and
predominantly with projects all very
important. When I do a 30 minute
training, the likelihood of me preparing
that over a week ahead of time and
creating a PowerPoint for your
digestion, I just I I will try to do
that, but I that's just not how I
do a presentation as opposed to say a
PowerPoint like some of the title 16
PowerPoints. Sometimes those PowerPoints
are designed to be coordinated with with
like documents. So, we'll have handouts
and attachments and worksheets and a
PowerPoint that's that goes with a
manual when we do like a 4hour session.
Those usually I will absolutely make
sure those those can be in the packet.
And it is but I just I hear the clerk
saying she'll reschedule if there's not
a PowerPoint in your packet.
I just I'm I'm telling you the reason
why I prepared that PowerPoint was to
help me talk to you today and I give you
a copy of that PowerPoint so you could
basically get a copy of my notes. It's
not so that you can be prepared by
reading the PowerPoint ahead of time.
>> Well, if if I may suggest, Madam
» Well, if if I may suggest, Madam
Attorney, if that's the point, just send
us a cassette tape with the training on
it. And you know, I mean, the whole idea
is for us to be able to look at that and
say, you know, why,
you know, why is this thing in there
about tips? Why is this why is it
$1,000? Why is, you know, is for us to
learn from it. Uh, you know, this is,
you know, not not to just uh have you
give us information, but to have you
give us information that will stick with
us and make us better public officials.
So you don't take it as a personal
comment but as a but as an instructor
you know someone who has uh you know
considerable and and con experience in
instruction can tell you uh you know if
if you're just going to stand in front
of somebody and talk you know 80% of
what you tell them is gone by the time
your presentation is done. Whereas if
they're prepared you know which is why
teachers give homework you know read
chapter one and then we're going to talk
about chapter one tomorrow. Uh that's
you know that's the whole idea is is to
better prepare and have better retention
but that's my personal thing which has
doesn't reflect the view of the council.
Let me make sure make that clear so I
don't have an ethics violation here. So
but [laughter] but but anyway I would
find that very handy. You're going to do
the PowerPoint anyway.
>> Maybe I think for now on I might not do
» Maybe I think for now on I might not do
them because I I mean I'm torn on
powerpoints. It sounds like I believe
that powerpoints detract attention from
the words that you're saying a lot of
times and people get focused on right.
So that's the pro and con. So it might
be that you a better a well-prepared
powerpoint that isn't just a lot of
words and you know pointing to the code
would meet what you're asking for
council member Graham better and that
would be something to be prepared and
submitted in the packet as a real tool
for council. And when we're doing
trainings like this one, I think maybe a
worksheet where we're interactive and
we're working through some of the
provisions might fit better as opposed
to a PowerPoint that we lay down on the
table. So, I'll I'll talk to clerk and
we'll figure out how to
>> and that'd be great. My my biggest
» and that'd be great. My my biggest
concern is that we actually get training
out of it instead of just, you know,
saying, "Yeah, we checked that box." So,
thank you. Uh
um I think that's it for tonight. Madame
Deputy Mayor, thank you.
>> Council member Craftton.
» Council member Craftton.
>> Thank you, Dep Madame Deputy Mayor. Um
» Thank you, Dep Madame Deputy Mayor. Um
Stu took a couple things, but I did want
to mention them as well. Uh the the
first was the park um situation. I agree
wholeheartedly about the fact that we
just learned about this this last week
when we got this agenda. Um, I mean I I
would have a question for the clerk or
the attorney. I mean, is this something
that we could I mean we can't write the
policy, but do we need to codify what
has to be communicated to the council
basically as soon as possible? I mean,
this is something that could have ended
up in an email saying, "Hey, this is
what we're doing. Heads up." I mean,
look across the street. That ended up in
an email after the fact again. But
still, it I've talked with the mayor or
not mayor, excuse me, the clerk about
this and I always say too, like I don't
want to codify something that might end
up binding a future mayor because every
mayor is a little different. They have
strengths and weaknesses and the current
administration, I should say more so,
just seems to not communicate some of
these things to us. And so I don't want
to feel like the next mayor has to do
certain things if they're okay with
doing or they have a certain style or I
mean things that happen with uh with our
police department too. Same thing. Uh I
feel like there are certain times that
the council should be communicated with
uh about what's happening city
business-wise. So we're not learning
about it on Facebook. And whenever a
constituent calls us up and says, "Hey,
I have questions about this." And we
have to go, "I have no idea what you're
talking about." I mean, it's our job to
be informed and be the ones
communicating it to them, not the other
way around generally. [clears throat]
Don't get me wrong, I love hearing that
because again, that's how I also stay
informed. You can't keep up with
everything. So, I know it's kind of a
open-ended question and it isn't
necessarily something that needs to be
answered right now, but maybe a future
conversation that we might have to have
uh around communication with council
because again uh I can't remember the
dates, but the fact that again it was a
month ago that it was taken out and this
is we just heard about it this past
week. Um
Mr. Graham also brought a point about
the the powerpoints. Um Holly, I'm just
going to pick on you with it because
you're the one that did it tonight. Um,
I'll be honest, when when I get people
that start reading from a PowerPoint,
I'm gone. Like I'm I'm not I I just
again, it's the fact that I can read it
and so I feel like I'm being read to and
I'm I'm I'm pulling up the code. I'm
looking at it. I I I do like the
PowerPoints because I think it gives us
something to follow along with. I think
it gives the public something to follow
along with because I can guarantee you
80% of the people that show up here
aren't pulling the agenda and reading it
and going through every line in detail
like we are as as as a council. Uh so I
think it does it is helpful. I think
again condensing it. I actually just a
moment ago there was a book I read a
while back that that was the whole
concept was learning not to read from
powerpoints and how to utilize
powerpoints as as a way to uh convey
your ideas without having to read from
them. So, can't remember what the book
was, but again, I would like them, but I
agree with Mr. Graham. I'd like to see
them sooner so that again, I can take a
moment, digest it, and be ready to
actually discuss it and have questions.
Uh, instead of feeling like I'm
constantly on the back foot, uh, and
then there was questions I had in here.
And again, because we had moved on and
felt like I was being read to, I just
went back there and was looking at back
and forth. I ended up answering my own
question. Uh, but still, I felt like I
could have been prepared to ask those
questions ahead of time. Um, so yeah.
And then last thing, uh, Mr. Sterns
actually came up to me before the
meeting and brought this up. Uh, this
Saturday is Small Business Saturday, and
I was curious. I'm not sure who this
would go to, unfortunately, the mayor
and Crystal Nygard's not here, but I
feel like it would be a good question. I
believe the chamber does something for
small business Saturday where they
announce, hey, these are all our small
businesses. These are our retail ones.
Do we convey any information to them? Do
we assist them in any capacity to try
and say, "Hey, you know, these are some
small businesses in our our city here. I
understand that there's a fine balance
because we can't seem like we're
promoting certain businesses over other
ones." Um, but do we have any type of
joint effort with them on how we can
work to promote small businesses at all
or can we?
Mr. Graham seems like you might want to
answer it, but go ahead Jamie if you
want to.
I was I was just going to say Mr. what
much more suited to answer this but
because chamber is a a private organ a
membership based organization I imagine
their role is to promote
>> members of chamber but I don't know
» members of chamber but I don't know
>> the clerk is correct it is the role of
» the clerk is correct it is the role of
the chamber to to promote the community
in general and businesses in particular
and for the past couple of years the
chamber has not
really actively promoted small business
Saturday in Palmer they do the chamber
takes a different role there and tries
to bring people into Palmer to uh to
spend money, you know, which collects
sales tax of course, but uh the Wasilla
Chamber hasn't done that in the past.
Our our or hasn't done it in the last
couple of years. Our role, the city's
role in the last couple years has been
to uh sponsor activities that the
chamber does, but since they have no
activity that I'm aware of for Small
Business Saturday, and there was no
opportunity for sponsorship or
promotion, the city did not fund
anything to that. Does that help, Mr. C?
>> It it helps. So, I guess my question
» It it helps. So, I guess my question
would be because I understand that maybe
a business doesn't want to be fully
publicized. So, I mean, is it a question
we could ask them of saying, "Hey, when
Small Business Saturday comes up, we
just want to publish a list that says
these are the small businesses inside
the city of Wasilla. We're not endorsing
them. We're not sponsoring them. We're
just telling you these are the retail
businesses. If you want to go shop,
they're great." Because I mean, you'd be
surprised at how many small businesses
people don't know about because unless
you drive by them, you don't know a lot
of times or you're not in that little
niche. Is Is that a possibility that
we're allowed to do?
And if there's no answer right now, then
that's fine. I mean, just food for
thought. I can get the answer later. I
see a lot of questioning face, confused
faces, so I'll go with that. So, other
than that, uh, happy Thanksgiving,
everybody. It was a very good meeting.
Thank you all for staying here. I know
we're all here talking a lot tonight,
but I appreciate you all for appreciate
you all for staying and have a safe
Thanksgiving. And we'll see you guys
we'll see the council at AML uh for the
five of us going and the rest of you on
the 15th.
Council member Codle.
>> Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. Um,
» Thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor. Um,
I'm not going to beat a dead horse with
the park equipment. Um, but I think we
can do better with communication. You
know, an ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure and nobody likes getting
beat up over issues. Um, I would have
had questions regarding some of this
equipment before it was removed, but
it's a it's a moot point now. Um, but I
think we can do better with with
communication and not only from
departments to us, but from us to
departments, too. So, um, Holly,
I I'm I'm just going to say thank you
for your training.
[laughter] We've all been through
training. Everybody here learns
differently.
Some are visual, some are a audio, you
know. Um, and I it is the job of each
council member to know our ethics code,
but your trainings are good. And I think
that you can never have too much of
that. I have sat through, you know,
training here with the commissions and I
think it's always good to have the
refreshers no matter how they're
delivered. So, thank you. Um, and just
want to wish everybody happy
Thanksgiving.
Council member Johnson.
» Yes. Thank you, uh, Deputy Mayor and
Council. Uh, I will choose to beat the
dead horse, but for a different reason.
I was really disappointed with 2518.
I have long complained on Nukem Park on
Iditarod Park and now we find Lucille
Park's equipment is not being
maintained.
My discouragement is the fact that we in
the city is not maintaining the stuff.
Oh, then we find out that it's broken to
the point where we've got to re remove
it all together. This is unacceptable.
As far as training goes, I really love
training. I believe that the training
should be posted in a training folder
because this is not the first time that
we've had ethics training. And guess
what? It won't be the last. So why do we
have to recreate all of the powerpoints
every time by somebody? Maybe we update
them, but they should be online so we
all could review in ahead. So when we
see training is coming up, go to the
boulder and look at the training. Thank
you. Everybody has should have a nice
Thanksgiving. Goodbye,
>> Council Member Schmidt.
» Council Member Schmidt.
>> I [clears throat] want to say thank you
» I [clears throat] want to say thank you
for the PowerPoint. I really enjoyed it.
Um, I did learn a few things on it
because I haven't sat through it myself
and uh do I do approve that and I am
glad we finally got through the uh
downtown overlay and got that removed.
Um, I think that was stifling to a lot
of our businesses here and the the
community and I think that was a huge
win for tonight. That's all I've got.
Happy Thanksgiving
>> and I'll bring it back to me. All right,
» and I'll bring it back to me. All right,
I got to end on a high note, joyful
note. Um, I dropped the puck at the Guns
and Hoses this last weekend and uh,
Scott, the Menard Center, it was packed.
It's beautiful. I like I found myself a
few times just sitting back and going,
"Wow."
Like, you've done an amazing job. Um,
that event was awesome, too. And then
I'm just going to say happy Thanksgiving
to everybody. And looking at the clock
with no further business at hand I'm
adjuring the meeting unless objection is
raised. No good reach for it. It was I
was hearing none. The media is a