It has less than half the population of either city, but the "biggest little town in the Valley" has been a beehive of activity this year, partly due to the influence of its mayor, Roger Purcell.
"We're no longer the backward town that people thought we were," Purcell said.
Purcell, 48, is getting ready to fly to the nation's capital later this month to lobby for federal stimulus funding, a trip that might be a first for a Houston elected official.
When Purcell talks about city projects he sounds like a pitchman with big ideas. His critics have accused him of pitching ideas that won't work in the real world of small-town bureaucracy, but some of his plans appear already to be working.
Under his direction the city recently won a lawsuit against AMATS, a committee of Anchorage and state officials that works on transportation issues, for their plan to demote the Knik Arm Bridge project to a longer-term plan without giving Houston and Wasilla time to comment. He's working with the borough to get local control of decisions such as zoning changes -- tasks that borough officials previously handled on behalf of the city.
He has certainly stepped on some toes along the way. His BMW sport-utility vehicle has flashing lights mounted on the window, and he used them earlier this year to pull over a driver he said was speeding, a somewhat eccentric move that got him questionable publicity statewide. He said the mayor has the right to make traffic stops, a position some state officials challenged.
The driver, Ron Johnson, contested the ticket in court and won when no one from Houston appeared at the hearing. Purcell and Houston Police Sergeant Charlie Seidl said they only reason they didn't show is no one told them it was scheduled.
Like many politicians, Purcell is the target of general grousing from people who aren't happy with his style, if not his actions. He's been accused of everything from beating his dog to having city work crews plow his driveway -- both apparently unfounded. He is aware of the dissension and chalks it up to people still burned about his victory in the 2007 election and the past year of tumult.
GETTING THINGS DONE
He points out that he and the City Council are getting quite a bit done, including shoring up an old husk of a building so it can be used to store an enormous water tanker for fighting fires, a move he hopes will lower insurance rates for some residents.
He also got the council to pass a "scofflaw" ordinance, so motorists caught driving in Houston drunk, with a canceled license, with more than $1,000 in unpaid fines or without insurance automatically lose their vehicle. Refuse to submit to a chemical test or get caught soliciting a prostitute and the vehicle is impounded too.
And not just Houston residents -- tourists and people just passing through are subject to the law too.
Ransoming a seized vehicle costs the owner $390 plus towing and storage fees and any fines. It took effect in July and the city was quickly averaging $1,600 a week from impound fees alone, Purcell said.
"We looked at other areas (for raising revenue) than taxing locals. If they're breaking laws, why not have them help pay for the law enforcement?" he asked.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
Purcell said he is positioning the city for a major leap in population and industry, tied to big projects, such as a $300 million rail spur jutting off the main Alaska Railroad line at Houston and heading to Point MacKenzie and the infamous bridge across Knik Arm to Anchorage. He's also exploring a complex bioenergy generation idea that involves producing electricity and heat from incinerated septic waste. While the bridge and rail spur would be miles away, Purcell said either project would turn Houston into a major intersection. He believes traffic and development will follow.
"Even if it doesn't, Houston has land available -- if we can get an electric plant, how many factories would want to come in?" he asks
"If we don't look at the future, we're going to make the same mistakes we have in the past. By the time change comes, it's too late to plan."
Two years ago, Purcell challenged the city's longtime mayor, Dale Adams, for his council seat. The election was bitter and the city divided over Houston's future. Purcell criticized the way the police department was run, the way roads were plowed and plans to expand City Hall.
Purcell won, but in Houston voters don't choose the mayor. Each year the City Council votes for one of its members to serve as mayor for a year. The mayor acts like a manager, overseeing day-to-day decisions in addition to leading the City Council. Adams had been chosen by the council for six years.
Purcell didn't get the mayor's seat -- it went to deputy mayor Steve Frost -- but a change of power had begun. Purcell and Frost -- and often their supporters -- rattled swords at each City Council meeting. Four city employees quit. A City Council member resigned.
In February 2008 Frost resigned too and Councilwoman Sandy McDonald took his place as mayor. McDonald set about trying to hire temporary staff and reshape the city amid a lot of disarray. She spent nearly nine months on the project but decided not to run for reelection last fall.
SAVING THE CITY MONEY
In October the City Council gave Purcell what he wanted -- the mayor's seat. He hired new city employees and put a snow-plowing plan into action using city employees that cut by a quarter the cost of the old contract plowing.
"It knocked $35,000 from last year's cost and we have better service," he said.
Seeking grant funding for city projects has allowed the city to get nifty equipment such as new, indestructible LED-lit flashers that replace burning flares at accident scenes -- 36 of them, along with other safety equipment as part of a $5,000 state grant. City administrative staff salaries are paid from the grants that come in, a practice Purcell said wasn't used previously.
By asking workers to be ready to do odd jobs if their normal duties are slow, other projects are getting done. Last week Hood and a firefighter, along with a road maintenance employee, were helping build the fire substation.
"I take it more like it's my money -- if I were at home with a crew working on my house, would I allow that crew to stand around half the day and drink sodas because the nail gun went down? No," Purcell said.
Progress has come in small ways. The city rolled over $83,000 from last year's budget to this year. Employee turnover has been nil for several months. The fire department has a stable roster of emergency responders, many of whom have volunteered their time to clean up around the public safety building and build a fence behind it, using fencing and posts scavenged from another city property.
"We have 98 percent retention (of volunteers). It wasn't like that two years ago. I put a lot of credit to the City Council and the new mayor," said Fire Chief Tom Hood.
Purcell still faces criticism from city residents who think he plays fast and loose with the rules, citing the traffic stop and a debate over allowing a gravel operator to mine near a neighborhood. To those outside the city, he remains an interesting question mark.
Find Daily News reporter Rindi White online at adn.com/contact/rwhite or call her at 352-6709.
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