The Kodiak Island Borough is proposing to eliminate Service District 2 and is looking for public feedback.
Service District 2, which includes residential and park areas along Monashka Bay Road, was formed in 1991 to allow those residents the power to organize water and sewer services.
However, since then, the district began using the city’s water and sewer services, and hasn’t been able to fill seats on the service area board.
Assembly person Duane Dvorak introduced the idea of eliminating the district at last month’s meeting.
“My point was that we have a service area board that says we shall empanel people. We haven’t been doing it. There really is nothing happening as far as investigating the potential for water and sewer in that area at the present time, but I recognize it could be a possibility.”
The alternative is to just leave the district on the books, in a sort of purgatory, just in case, as Assembly member Scott Arndt argued: “It’s not hurting anything continuing to let Service District number 2 exist on the books. Not hurting a thing. It doesn’t generate any money, it doesn’t spend any money. But where it comes in handy is potentially for grant money.”
Federal and state grants for infrastructure do come up from time to time, so Arndt thinks eliminating the district would be an unnecessary obstacle.
“I don’t feel it hurts to let it sit dormant on the books in hopes that something comes up. Because it doesn’t take very long to disconnect it, to eliminate it, but it will take a year to go back through the process to create it.”
The Assembly decided to continue to explore abolishing Service District 2 with a tie vote, which Mayor Bill Roberts broke, at the April 15th meeting.
In the end, though, it’s not up to the Assembly. Eliminating a service area is up to the residents of that area, as Assembly member Dvorak recognized.
“This needs to go to a ballot measure. It feels right to me that we get input from the community and let the community control their own destiny in this regard, and let them tell us if they’re still interested in pursuing this or not. And I don’t think we’re going to have that dialogue or get that kind of feedback if we don’t we force this issue.”
Before putting the issue on the ballot this fall, the assembly would like to hear from residents of Service District 2 at this week’s work session May 13th and next week’s regular meeting on May 20th.