Anchorage Daily News

Consider them Snowzilla's army.

A group of snowman protesters -- apparently rallying in support of the towering Anchorage outlaw -- appeared on Christmas Day in front of City Hall. They carried signs that read "Snowzilla needs a bailout" and "Snowmen have rights too."

Snowzilla creator Billy Ray Powers said he had nothing to do with the protest, though he saw the snowmen last night while passing through downtown.

"They're cute as can be," he said.

Today the remains of the protesters lay in frozen pieces. Their signs sat in a nearby Dumpster.

City Manager Mike Abbott said the building's super removed them. Employees at the Kaladi Brothers across the street say it was the security guards.

The city is battling Powers -- whom city officials say has long stored junk and ignored land use rules, to the dismay of his Airport Heights neighbors -- over whether the giant Snowzilla he builds each year is a safety hazard or good holiday fun.

A small, misshapen snowman protester appeared in front of City Hall earlier this week. Reinforcements arrived Thursday.

As for what happens now, city spokeswoman Jenny Evans said one option is to negotiate a deal with Powers that would allow him to build Snowzilla for a few weeks each year rather than let it stand for months at a time.

City Manager Abbott said, "All of it requires sort of a good-faith effort on Mr. Powers to work with the city, and his neighbors to figure out some way to accommodate what he wants to do, and what's legally allowed in that area."

Powers says the city has never tried to work with him before and ought to pass an anti-snowman law if it wants to get rid of Snowzilla.

There will be no negotiations, he said.

Find Kyle Hopkins online at adn.com/contact/khopkins or call him at 257-4334.