Our next meeting is Thursday January 15 at 7:00 pm
at O'Malley Elementary School.

Agenda

7:00 pm Introductions and approval of December minutes
7:05 Presidents' & FCC reports
7:10 Assembly and Legislative report
7:30 Old Business
* Equestrian Ordinance Update
7:35 Undergrounding Utility Wires
8:00 O'Malley Road Design Study Report 9:00 Adjourn

SHOCKING STORY BURIED?!
Help us dig up the truth about Undergrounding Utility Wires

Janice Shamberg, one of our area's reps on the Anchorage Assembly expects to introduce at the Assembly meeting on January 20th an ordinance which would put into place a system which would gradually underground utility lines currently overhead. Utilities with overhead lines will have to spend at least 2% of their gross retail revenue burying lines.

According to an email from Janice Shamberg (12/22/03):

"Utilities are currently required by the State of Alaska to spend 1% of their retail revenues on undergrounding existing overhead lines within the State. The existing city ordinance requires the Planning Dept. to draft a plan for the utility companies to follow in undergrounding lines within the municipality. However, because this plan was never created, undergrounding of existing lines has not been taking place within the Municipality as intended when the ordinance was written in 1984.

This amended ordinance allows the utility companies to decide which of their lines should be undergrounded, and, like the existing ordinance, allows the increase in expense to be passed on to consumers. The increase could be as much as an additional 2% of each individual electric bill. The average electric bill is about $80, so that would amount to up to $1.60 extra per month. Under the existing ordinance, which has never truly been implemented, the rate increase would have been 1%. So my amendment actually increases the average electricity bill by 80 cents."

Last year, the Anchorage Assembly passed a law that restricts signs throughout our city. The intent is to pretty things up with the cost paid by business owners. This undergrounding law follows that up by cleaning up the cobweb of power lines overhead. In that case, the costs will be spread out among all electricity users.

We'll take a look at this electrifying ordinance at our January meeting. Find out watt is going on from Assemblywoman Shamberg, Phil Steyer from Chugach Electric and others.

IS THERE A ROUNDABOUT IN YOUR FUTURE?
COME SEE THE O'MALLEY ROAD DESIGN STUDY REPORT!
Can you find your home on the map at the left? O'Malley Road development looms over us. When Jim Sawhill came to our September meeting, he only had a few minutes to speak on this complex project. With less on the agenda this month, we can spread out the maps and take a closer look.

Like the DeArmoun Road report, there's a huge amount of info. It would be good to get ahead of this so you don't end up with big surprises.
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DEARMOUN RD. PHASE 2 PROJECT
AMATS committee (the group that prioritizes Anchorage road projects) moved the money previously set aside for Right-Of-Way acquisition this year on Phase 2, to other projects, including Dowling Rd.

Since the Phase 2 project is not ready for acquisition, moving the money to the Dowling project may help with the east to west traffic problems in town, and DOT can continue with the design and environmental process on Phase 2.
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TITLE 21 REWRITE! I know you've been on the edge of your seat waiting for the next round on this one! The rewrite resumes in January with public meetings on the detailed building and zoning codes. The Anchorage Citizens Coalition will again organize a number of committees who will meet weekly for about a month to review the codes. You'd be surprised at the impact that just a few people who show up can have! Contact Julie Jonas 783-0244 or julieacc@alaska.net.
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Birch Park: Once again a family park Submitted by Antje Carlson, Member of Friends of Birch Park.

Cheering, laughing, running, playing, jumping, sitting, watching, talking, enjoying…. These are just some of the family activities in Birch Park that can be observed. Birch Park is revived! It is once again an inviting place where families, dog lovers, horseback riders, ball sport players of all sorts, and the community can come together for a casual and leisurely hang-out.

This sense of community is what Bob and Arlene Cross had in mind when they donated the 10 acres of land that is now Birch Park whose story began in 1949, when the Cross-family homesteaded the 160 acres of property that is bound by Bainbridge, Huffman, and Birch roads on the lower Anchorage hillside. The entire area was deepest "jungle," scarcely populated and safe recreational places for children were not available. In 1955 some community members approached the Cross-family and asked them to donate some land that could be turned into a family park. Bob and Arlene liked the idea and saw it as one way of passing on their good fortune to future residents. Immediately, a non-profit organization was founded which later became known as Hilltop Youth Recreation Inc. In 1959 the Civil Defense donated three Quonsets and the lower Hillside Park turned into a community center that included in later years the Hillside Kindergarten Program with graduation ceremonies.

In the late 1960s, with the construction of roads, schools and ski areas in the vicinity of Birch Park, interest shifted away from the park, the park fell into disrepair and in 1978 the three Quonsets had to be removed. In 1993, Sue Cross, daughter of Bob and Arlene, felt compelled to do something about the forgotten park. Many of her letters to Hilltop Youth, that reminded the organization that the park's purpose, namely that it belonged to the children of the community, went unheard. And when Hilltop Youth suggested to community members to transfer the land deed to local little league baseball teams, people go on their feet! Sue organized a rather spontaneous clean-up work party. The many participating volunteer workers intended to keep the original purpose of the park alive. Through the efforts and expressed concerns of local community members, the land deed was transferred to the....

For the rest of this story, go to the Councils' website at www.weddleton.com/CC and click on the HISTORY button.

Most of what Community Councils do is look ahead at the issues coming at us. It's good to look back once in a while to remind ourselves of what makes living in Anchorage unique.

Mid-HillsideBoard Members
John Weddleton President 349-8370 john@weddleton.com
Brian Johnson Vice President 345-5883 brian.johnson2@akanch.ang.af.mil
Tom O'Grady Secretary 345-6948 ogrady@gci.net
Linda Perkins Treasurer 346-2558 miniaturehorses@alaska.com
Amy Johnson 258-0168 ajohnson@gci.net
Shirley McGrath 345-1606 smcgrath@alaska.net
James Perkins 346-2558 miniaturehorses@alaska.com
Hillside East Board Members
Tom Newins, President
345-8881 newins@gci.net
Bjarne Holm, Vice President
robinholm@ak.net