Four former Anchorage mayors sent letters last week encouraging the city Assembly to hold off on a ballot measure to strip Point Woronzof Park of its parkland status so it can be traded to the airport.
On Thursday, Tony Knowles, the namesake of the coastal trail running through the park, dropped off two letters at the Anchorage city clerk's office. One was co-signed by Knowles and Rick Mystrom; the second was co-signed by Jack Roderick and Mark Begich. The letters implore Anchorage Assembly members to postpone action on a proposed agreement between the city and the airport at its Tuesday meeting, saying more public involvement is needed.
If approved by the Assembly, the proposed agreement would require the city to sponsor a ballot measure seeking to remove park dedication from the West Anchorage park so it can be traded for a snow dump and other real estate. More immediately, the agreement would set up a 25-year lease for the snow dump, which the city is currently renting month-to-month. Officials have described long-term control of the snow dump as a critical issue for maintenance and regulatory compliance reasons.
The airport is seeking Point Woronzof Park for a new north-south runway that may be built in the future.
At a work session last week, Assembly vice-chair Elvi Gray-Jackson said the Assembly does not plan to take action on the proposed agreement Tuesday. She said the plan is to continue the public hearing at the body's August 25 meeting.
More time was the main theme of the letters from the four former mayors.
"We strongly and respectfully advise the Anchorage Assembly to postpone any precipitous action on this matter," Knowles and Mystrom wrote in their letter. "Action on this ordinance clearly should not be taken without the open and public participation and recommendation of boards and commissions such as the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Watershed and Natural Resources Commission, and the Planning and Zoning Commission."
They also said that community councils and the general public weren't given enough time to make comments.
The letters state Point Woronzof Park was negotiated to protect that section of the Coastal Trail; city officials argue the land swap would give the city more acres of parkland overall, and the agreement would require the airport to maintain a continuous trail.
City planning director Jerry Weaver said in an interview earlier this month the agreement stems from both the area's district plan and an October 2014 task force report that recommended a comprehensive land swap to resolve long-standing land use conflicts. The task force, convened by Mayor Dan Sullivan, met 10 times with a professional moderator and included legislators, parks officials and West Anchorage community council members.
Knowles said in a phone interview Saturday the letters were focused on the level of public involvement for the proposed agreement before the Assembly, which was introduced less than two weeks ago.
"The letters were not intended to reflect our feelings on the issue itself, but on the possibility the Assembly could act on it, and pass an ordinance putting it on the ballot," said Knowles, also a former Alaska governor. "We felt the subject was far too important to the community and should not be handled without going through a very open and thorough public process."