The members of the Chugiak Community Council (CCC) gather every third Thursday in the basement of the Elsie Oberg Building on the Old Glenn Hwy. Four new officers were elected at the Jan. 19 meeting. After Board members were selected, the officers were elected from the Board. The new or re-elected officers for 2017 are President, Randy McCain; Vice-President, Jake Horazdovsky; Secretary, Darrel Parks; Treasurer, Burke Wonnell and At-Large, Blake Merrifield.
Nora Morse of the Mayor’s office reported on the future of APD in Chugiak-Eagle River. Morse said 131 Chugiak residents participated in a survey with the top three concerns for APD presence in the area to be more nighttime and regular patrolling through neighborhoods, that officers are able to maintain assignments to the area as regular schedules and that increased numbers of officers are on the way. Currently, the area is assigned three officers per shift, noting that shifts will overlap leaving more officers on duty at certain times. Two detectives are also dedicated to the area. Morse reminded the members that APD does not monitor social media or Next door. All crimes should be reported directly to APD.
CCC has been closely following the plans for the Carol Creek area above and around the Harry MacDonald Center. Alaska Water and Wastewater Utility plans to build a water reservoir near the higher elevations of the 92-acre area. Plans for higher density housing have drawn the Council’s attention and drawn several members into action. The council requested a meeting of the Chugiak-Eagle River Advisory Board to discuss the development plans to the Heritage Land Bank land.
The Advisory Board is scheduled to meet Feb. 11 at noon at the Eagle River Town Center in the Community room.
Eklutna Valley Community Council invited organizations involved in the new Earnie Turner Recovery Center planned for construction off Eklutna Lake road to attend their January meeting. After a presentation, the Council passed a resolution supporting the project and inviting cooperation and communication between all parties. The resolution reserves the council’s ability to modify their support if circumstances dictate a need.
Most parts of Eklutna Valley have little to no cell phone coverage and exceptionally slow internet speeds. Members of the council are polling residents in hopes of approaching MTA for a solution for higher speeds. The largest problem may be the lack of infrastructure up the Valley to accommodate the faster speeds. Council President, Margan Grover, says folks are being asked by the council to keep track of their usage and average speeds. Grover says she pays for a plan of 786 kb and her average speed seems to be 263 kb. The council has been seeking resident input via their Facebook page.