Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- Matanuska Election Association members voted in favor of a gravel pit south of the Glenn Highway near Palmer as their preferred site to build two new electrical generating plants, according to ballots counted Thursday night.

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The site was chosen by 2,381 of those who returned ballots selecting among five alternatives for the plants. The second highest vote-getter of the five was a nearby site north of the Glenn Highway, which got 2,187 votes.

MEA asked its members last month to cast advisory ballots ranking the sites. The utility is planning a 100-megawatt "clean coal" plant and a 100-megawatt natural gas-powered plant, both designed to start operating in 2015.

MEA spokeswoman Lorali Carter said MEA officials expect to spend about $1 million on soil, water and other tests at the preferred site. If the selected site has a flaw that prevents construction, Carter said, the next most popular site on the list would be tested.

Carter said the utility plans to break ground on new facilities in three years. The two new plants are expected to cost $300 million to $350 million to build and will likely employ 30 to 40 people, she said.

By the Wednesday ballot deadline, a little more than 12 percent of 5,366 members returned ballots.

The MEA board of directors is expected to review the results of the advisory vote when it meets at 4 p.m. Monday at MEA's Palmer office.

"I cannot speak for what the board will do with the results of the advisory vote," Carter said. "But I'd be very surprised if they go another way."

Another 267 ballots were sent to UtilityWatch, a once-dormant utility watchdog group that recently reactivated to fight MEA's coal plant plans. UtilityWatch started an alternative ballot campaign to collect ballots from MEA customers who wanted to vote on whether, not where, a coal plant should be located in the Valley. Of the 267 ballots sent to the watchdog group, 263 were clearly "no" votes according to a tally by UtilityWatch volunteers Tuesday.

Four people who sent ballots to UtilityWatch had ranked the five choices. All four preferred the North Glenn Highway gravel pit.

The UtilityWatch group said MEA should have let members advise whether coal was the right option, not just where to put the plants, group president Jim Sykes said.

"It should have been an open process," he said. "What we're trying to say here is, we're wanting to hear everybody's voice."

MEA officials did not count ballots that aren't properly filled out or recognize statements such as "nowhere" or "no coal" if they're written on ballots. Letters sent with ballot envelopes were collected, however.

MEA officials called UtilityWatch's vote drive invalid. MEA elections volunteers verified that an MEA member signed each ballot envelope, Carter said. UtilityWatch didn't have a way to verify signatures on their ballot envelopes, Sykes said, but he noted that members had to take extra steps and pay postage to get a ballot to the watchdog group.

"I think it's a clear indication people are wanting to explore other options," Sykes said.

Daily News reporter Rindi White can be reached at rwhite@adn.com or 352-6709.