T U R N A G A I N
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VOL. 20 NO. 10
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TIMES
Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & South Anchorage
FIRST CRUISE OF THE YEAR
May 18, 2017
Land-use projects and
zoning top GBOS agenda
Board’s supervisory roles
change along with new co-chair
By Jon Scudder
Turnagain Times
Photo courtesy of Bill Rome
A blue sky greeted passengers aboard Phillip’s Cruises Klondike Express on the first
cruise of the year on May 5, in Prince William Sound.
The Girdwood Board of
Supervisors met Monday,
May 15, focusing on a diverse array of land-use,
recreational and zoning topics, along with their regular
agenda of monthly supervisor reports.
New leadership and supervisory roles were announced.
Co-chair Jerry Fox began by
introducing himself and his
new co-chair Robert Snitzer,
along with their fellow supervisor’s responsibilities.
Fox supervises Roads and
Grounds and Snitzer, focuses
on the Fire Department. Additionally, former GBOS co-
chair Sam Daniel will oversee Public Safety; Supervisor
Eryn Boone, Parks and Recreation, and Cemetery will
be overseen by Supervisor
Mike Edgington, who also
manages Land Use issues.
Excused from the evening’s
meeting were Snitzer and
Daniel, who were both on
vacations.
Fox continued his opening remarks by publicizing the Friends of the Skate
Park Work Party scheduled
for 10 a.m., May 20. “Come
help build new ramps for the
Skate Park,” he said. He also
told the audience the BeautiSee Page 10,
GBOS Meeting
Hope Village Council seeks to curtail illegal camping
Owners of private lots focus on tidal flats near mouth of Resurrection Creek
By Doug Pope
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
The Hope Village Council has entered into agreements with owners of private lots on the tidal flats
near the mouth of Resurrection Creek to curtail camping. On the original Map of
Hope Townsite, surveyed in
1923, private lots were platted in large blocks north to
the edge of Turnagain Arm.
The north half of the Townsite then became submerged
by Turnagain Arm tides after the land sank nearly eight
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
ANCHORAGE, AK
PERMIT NO. 353
ECRWSS
Postal Customer
feet during the 1964 earthquake. The lots are still subject to tidal influences but
remain in private ownership.
In the past, visitors occasionally camped on high
spots facing Resurrection
Creek. These spots were
outside the boundaries of
the camping area for the
Seaview Café, an historic café on Main Street that
presents live music on weekends on an outdoor deck.
For years, this camping was
generally tolerated by the
community even though it
was understood the campers
were trespassing.
Inside this Issue
Gwin’s Lodge......................................2
Comic................................................2
Paddy Waggin’....................................3
Hope Happenings..............................5
South Anchorage News......................6
Cooper Landing News........................7
Mountain News..................................8
Lively Arts...........................................9
The recent agreements between the Village Council
and owners of the private lots
curtailing camping on those
lots are the culmination of
numerous public meetings.
Beginning in 2014, because
of numerous complaints
about a “party atmosphere”
developing on Main Street
in Hope, the Village Council
appointed an Ad Hoc Planning Committee to address
concerns by residents and
landowners about the impact
of significant increases in
traffic, parking, and camping. As a result, the Village
Council determined to cease
renting the Hope Social Hall
on Main Street for weddings
and other large events.
Traffic in the village and
camping on the wetlands increased during 2015, and by
the summer of 2016, there
See Back Page,
Illegal Camping
Photo courtesy of Doug Pope
New signs were posted earlier this month to deter illegal
camping on private property in Hope, which includes
land on tidal flats.
Page 2
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Cooper Landing’s historic Gwin’s Lodge gears up for
another summer of fun and concerts
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
Keith Mantey and his wife
Wei Wei Jeang are entering
their sixth year as the historic
lodge’s owners. Mantey lives
part of the year in Parker,
Tex, but is officially an Alaska resident, spending most of
his time now in the Greatland.
His wife, though supportive of
the business, visits during the
summer but leaves the lodge
business to her husband.
Mantey, 52, spotted Gwin’s
back in 2011 during a visit
and saw that is was for sale.
He began negotiating to buy it
and closed the deal in January
of 2012. It was a leap of faith
and a dream for him to run an
lodge in Alaska – especially an
historic landmark like Gwin’s
Lodge, which first opened in
1952. He admits the whole
experience has been quite a
ride. “We wish would have
filmed our experience from the
start,” he said. “It would have
made a great reality show. It’s
been trying because I didn’t
really have a background in it
– I have an engineering background.”
Despite the sharp learning
curve, Mantey has remained
innovative and continues to introduce new amenities. “This
year we are excited to have a
restaurant that is adjacent to
the lodge with a different variety of food with reasonable
prices instead of a sit down
restaurant like Gwin’s, and it
has a separate kitchen.”
In addition, he has expanded
the accommodations to include
an RV area, however, no electrical hook ups are available,
and he offers campsites, which
he started in conjunction with
a summer concert series he
launched four years ago. Tents
sites rent for $15 per night, and
charges $20 for RV overnight
parking.
“You can camp anytime
during the summer, not just for
the concerts,” he said. “So if
Photo courtesy of Gwin’s Lodge
Gwin’s Lodge in Cooper Landing kicks off its summer concert series with a Saturday,
May 27 free concert starting around 8 p.m.
the Russian River campground
is booked then we are available.”
In addition, there are 17 cabin rentals ranging in price from
$150 to $275 double occupancy with an additional charge of
$20 per additional person, and
kids under 12 are free up to
two children per cabin.
From the start, Mantey envisioned offering wine, beer and
spirits on the property and that
part of the business was finally
fulfilled last year. “We opened
the package store and that went
well,” he said, “and we offer
reasonable prices for this area.
See Page 4,
Gwin’s Lodge Summer Concerts
COMIC
By Phone:
(907) 783-1135
By Email:
[email protected]
By Mail:
P.O. Box 1044
Girdwood, Alaska
99587-1044
T U R N A G A I N
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Publisher & Editor
Ken Smith
Associate Editor
Jon Scudder
Production Artist
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Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & South Anchorage
The Turnagain Times is published the first and third week of each month by Midnight Sun Communications, LLC, Girdwood, Alaska.
© 2016 Midnight Sun Communications, LLC
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Page 3
Opinion
PADDY WAGGIN’
Executive order opens drilling in Arctic waters as tribal
elders are muffled and U.S. representatives silent
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order titled “America-First Offshore Energy Strategy.” That
order reversed a prior Obama
executive order titled “Northern
Bering Sea Climate Resilience”
that President Obama signed in
December 2016. With Trump’s
order, he didn’t just open up
Arctic waters for drilling in the
near future, but he also closed
the doors on the Tribal Advisory
Council made up of elders who
would have been able to have a
say in how their waters, and, in
turn, their lives were treated.
The Tribal Advisory Council would is made up of elders
who reside in the coastal communities whose wellbeing and
that of their families depends on
subsistence hunting. Obama’s
executive order directed the
federal government to work in
conjunction with the advisory
council when it came to discussing new shipping routes
through the 112,000 square
miles of waters in the northern
Bering Sea.
Basically, the elders would
have had a say in when ships
could pass through as well as
Paddy
Notar
other federal government activities in the waters so it didn’t
interfere with their subsistence
hunting. They want to be able
to hunt and not have their food
swimming away due to drilling
or a 250,000-ton ship coming
through. It isn’t important, it’s
vital so that coastal community elders are involved to let the
feds know what needs to happen so there isn’t a disconnect
that could potentially destroy
their subsistence way of life.
All too often in this country,
we have had the idea of “Eminent Domain” where the federal
government has the right to expropriate property for public use
and pays compensation. That
doesn’t apply here. The Bering
Sea as well as the Gulf of Alaska is considered federal property. They don’t need to pay. Why
would they? Instead, our federal
government has a history of just
taking things over from Native
Americans and anyone else that
is in their way and putting them
on reservations.
What I don’t understand is
why none of our U.S. Senators
and Congressman did not stand
up for the Tribal Council. After
all, Don Young’s late wife, Lu
Young, was an Athabascan native from Fort Yukon. I contacted all of the representatives and
only received a response from
Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s spokeswoman Karina Petersen. Sen.
Murkowski , which enables her
to negotiate a better deal for the
Alaska natives and the president.
Sen. Murkowski plays an
important role in this process
because she is the chairman of
the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee and Senate Appropriations Interior and
Environment.
Sen. Murkowski did not respond to me directly, but instead, her press office responded, stating, “Senator Murkowski
supports a fair and open federal
decision-making process that
seeks input from all affected
stakeholders. She believes the
Bering Sea Elders Group and
other local stakeholder groups
should be consulted by federal officials, and that both their
views and traditional knowledge should be incorporated
into federal decisions affecting
the region. The Senator expects
that to be the approach taken by
every administration – but recognizing that local voices have
not always been heard and respected, she has been working
and continues to work on legislation to ensure sufficient consultation, greater engagement,
and the incorporation of local
knowledge.”
That sounds fine, but why
didn’t she stand up to the President and say that? Instead, Murkowski accepted a pen from
the executive order he signed
and looked like she was about
to cry. Her words seem sincere
but her actions say, “I don’t care
what the coastal communities
think. Trump likes me and my
lobbyist friends like me even
more.” Let’s just be honest.
Rep. Young and his office
are very good at ignoring everyone or making strange accusations. That’s what people
do in their elder political years.
Sen. Sullivan has been smart to
avoid speaking in general as he
sounds like a sixth grader with
wealthy parents. His office is
probably going to be quiet until
he is one year from seeking office again.
In the end, I think it’s a
no-brainer that native Alaskans should have a say in how
their water and lands are treated. They were here well before
any of us, and they depend on
subsistence for their livelihood
and culture. Our representatives
should defend that right regardless of who is president.
I think President Obama stated it clearly in his executive
order of December 2016 when
he said, “The preservation of a
healthy and resilient Bering ecosystem, including its migratory
pathways, habitat, and breeding grounds, is essential for the
survival of marine mammals,
fish, seabirds, other wildlife,
and the subsistence communities that depend on them. These
communities possess a unique
understanding of the Arctic
ecosystem, and their traditional
knowledge should serve as an
important resource to inform
Federal decision-making.”
A visit to 9/11 Memorial is a remembrance of innocent
lives lost and our country’s heroes
By Jon Scudder
Last week, I returned to Alaska from a visit to New York
City. Although it was a business
trip, I made time to visit the
9/11 Memorial and Museum,
a solemn place in the glaring
reflection of One World Trade
Center, built on the ground of
the former Twin Towers. The
memorial brought back vivid
memories of the 3,000 innocent
civilians and first responders
who died at Ground Zero nearly
16 years ago.
As I stood before the two waterfalls and reflecting pools of
the memorial, touching the engraved names of the deceased
engraved on the walls, I paused
in solemn silence before entering One World Trade Center.
As one walks through the main
lobby, videos play of those involved in the construction of
the building, men and women
reflecting on lost loved ones on
ill-fated day. I grieved for them
and the enduring pain.
As Memorial Day approaches, and as a former member of
the military, the 9/11 Memorial
felt very personal, recalling the
impacts of war, trying to comprehend what veterans from earlier wars endured and those who
have lost their lives in service.
Some of my friends still bear the
ugly physical and mental scars
of war, and we need to do more
for these vets. Some of these
warriors have decided to take
their own lives, seeing no other
options – and I mourn for them.
Over the years, it has been
life-changing to listening to surviving veterans from World War
II, Vietnam, the Korean War and
my peers in Desert Shield and
Storm. Now a new generation
of warriors spearhead our country’s missions oversees. Memorial Day is a day to remember
fallen warriors, but it is also
a day to honor those currently serving and veterans of past
wars.
Most of us know someone
serving our great country, many
deployed thousands of miles
away to places we barely know.
Southcentral Alaska is home
to the bravest men and women
in the world. Army, Navy, Air
Force, Coast Guard and Marines – they are all here.
Behind them are their supportive families living amongst
us in our communities. They are
your neighbors, they are in your
congregation, at your community meetings, and in your schools.
Remember these family members and the who need our support and their trying times as
they are vital to our country’s efforts to maintain our safety and
democracy. I salute these people
and the groups who honor them
and help them during their times
of need. These are the true heroes of our communities.
Americans troops will remain
deployed for the foreseeable future and when the opportunity
avails itself, you can make a dif-
Turnagain Times reporter and columnist Jon Scudder
stands in front of the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero.
ference to that deployed service
member and family by reaching
out to them.
Memorial Day does not have
to be a sad day, but can be one
of quiet reverence for those who
have lost their lives in the line of
service. Memorial Day weekend is a cause for the gathering
of family and friends, enjoying
the freedoms that our country
affords us.
So on Monday, May 29, I will
be offering prayers for those
who gave their lives to defend
our country, and will be thinking of those service members
and families who fight for our
freedom everyday. I am not
only moved to honor the past,
but steadfast to changing the future for those who put our country first.
Happy Memorial Day to each
of you on this national day of remembrance.
Page 4
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Gwin’s Lodge Summer Concerts
Continued from page 2
We don’t mark up the prices as
much. I try to keep everything
budget friendly.”
Another aspect of the business that elevated the notoriety of the lodge is the summer concert series he started
back in 2014. It has grown to
a weekly event, although he
scaled back the venues this
year from last year to make it
more manageable. “When we
first started out, our first concept was to have music with an
annual pig roast,” he said, “and
we have done that every year,
but it has grown every year
as well with acts every week.
This year we scaled it back to
mostly Saturday evening concerts. Last year we did have
some on Fridays and Sundays.
It seemed a bit too much and
too much to staff, and we got
spread thin.”
This year he also brought
high profile international act,
the Clinton Fearon Trio, which
will kick off the summer concert series June 3. “That’s a
bit of a change,” Mantey said.
“We usually focus on Alaskan
musicians, though some are
not from Alaska, but they are
popular in Alaska We’re also
having something new this
year that is not on the schedule;
we will have Tim Easton from
Nashville.”
Typically the first concert of
the year is for the staff and locals, he said, and it is very popular, in part because it is free.
That concert is May 27 featuring Juno Smile, Ava Earl and
JP DeBruhl. “The tourists aren’t really in yet, so it’s a lot of
resort staff and the staff at different companies in town that
focus on tourism who attend.”
During the summer concerts,
he said, it’s split between locals and tourists. “I don’t think
as many tourists know about it
as need be; it’s still not as established as I would like. We
need more Anchorage people
to come down.”
Mantey said the concerts do
not create much in the way of
profits, but it’s good for publicity, and there’s a limit on the
cover he can charge, leaving a
slim bottom line. “We’re not
really making money on it,” he
said. “Typically these staffers
are on a budget, and I’m not
sure if it would go over well if
I charged more for the cover.”
A concert season pass is offered, which Mantey says is
well worth the $50 purchase
price. “It’s a real good deal,
and we’d like people to be
committed and have their Saturday nights blocked out each
week and come down.”
The concerts typically start
Photo courtesy of Gwin’s Lodge
Gwin’s Lodge once again will be staging weekly concerts this summer, including it’s
annual pig roast and reggae dance party July 22.
around 8 p.m. and continue
until midnight or 1 a.m. – depending on the band.
Traffic and security has not
been an issue at the concerts,
despite the location of the
lodge adjacent to the Sterling
Highway, and the crowds, hesaid, are well behaved. “A lot
of people like to dance, and it’s
been nice with no problems.”
The local brew featured at
concerts is Kassick’s Brewery
out of Kenai, however, food is
not typically sold on the concert grounds. “We have food
every time at the pig roast and
reggae music during our annual dance party (July 22),”
Mantey said, “but we might
serve pulled pork sandwiches
this summer at the concerts –
we’ll see – but it hasn’t really
been worthwhile in the past
because not a lot of food is eaten at the concerts.”
As for the pig roast, there is
an additional cost as an optional purchase to the regular ticket price. Gwin’s last concert
of the summer is scheduled
for Aug. 12 with a national
headliner, the Derrel Gleason
Trio out of Austin, Tex, which
Mantey touts as a great closing
concert for the summer.
New report confirms tourism is still a massive
economic driver for Alaska
Over 1.8 million visitors came to the Greatland between May and September
A total of 1,857,500 million out-of-state visitors
came to Alaska from May to September 2016, according to the Alaska Visitor Statistics Program 7
(AVSP 7), the most recently released report by the
Alaska Tourism Industry Association (ATIA) and
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED). This sets the record for visitor volume since the AVSP began in
1985, and it marks a 4 percent increase from the
same period in 2015.
In summer 2016, Alaska visitors spent an average of $1,057 per person on their trip, which shows
a 4 percent increase in spending from the previous
year. Spending a total of $1.97 billion in the state
last summer, tourist spending was up 31 percent
from 2011. The significant economic growth is representative of an increase in per-person spending as
well as the growth in visitor volume.
A large portion of the bump can be attributed to
an increase in air volume, which went up by 6 percent. Cruise ship passengers still make up the majority of Alaska’s visitors, however. Those arriving
by cruise ship accounted for 55 percent of visitors,
totaling 1,025,900 people in summer 2016. The
highway/ferry market saw the biggest jump, going
up 10 percent over the past year and now accounting for 5 percent of total summer visitor volume.
The Denali Highway is open
for public travel
Drivers are urged to check road conditions
In the TESORO MALL
We are now open 7 days a week
Sunday-Thursday 11AM-10PM
Friday/Saturday 11AM-11PM
Delivery still starts at 3 PM
The Denali Highway is now open from
Cantwell, on the Parks Highway, to Paxson, on the Richardson Highway.
Beginning in mid-April, maintenance
and operations crews with the Alaska
Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities (ADOT&PF) removed snow,
thawed culverts and completed repairs
along the 135 mile road.
ADOT&PF cautions travelers that there
might be delays due to ongoing maintenance activities, including bridge work
at Seattle Creek, Denali Highway MP
111. Before traveling, please visit511.
Alaska.Gov, or call 511 for the latest
road conditions and construction information. Seasonal weight restrictions are
in effect.
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Page 5
Hope Happenings
By Jeannine Jabaay
Turnagain Times
Hope Correspondent
It isn’t the green leaves,
blooming dandelions or extended sunshine that tells
Hope locals that it’s summer. Nope – it’s the sudden
surge of visitors to town, the
opening of shops, galleries
and restaurants, and the music each weekend at the end
of Main Street in downtown
Hope that is the sure indicator that summer has arrived.
And, while many businesses and locals look forward to the town wakening
for the season, several longtime residents are less than
thrilled about how widely
popular Hope has become.
Some are saying that Hope
is being “loved to death,”
with campers pitching tents
on the flats, dancing in the
streets, and leaving traces
of their visit behind with
trash and litter. It’s a debate that has taken up much
of the conversation at the
Hope Inc. meetings and has
even become a more public
topic on social media. Regular visitors are questioning
newly posted signs about
where they’re allowed to
camp, and many locals are
discussing how to protect
the sensitive land-use areas.
One of the issues is the
lack of official governing
in town. Although deemed
a rural area, Hope does not
have a safety patrol officer,
and the sitting of a state
trooper is rare indeed (and
often not well received).
So, as the town’s folk discuss the issues at-hand,
decisions must be made as
to how to direct traffic and
parking while still allowing
business owners to make a
living. People on both sides
of the camp are speaking
up, and some are calling for
a vote as to how to answer
the questions: does Hope
continue allowing public
camping, is there a way to
protect the state land without stopping tent pitchers,
and how does Hope embrace the changes that seem
inevitable with the town’s
discovery?
Fire Department
Offering Home
Inspections
With summer in the
winds, the fire risk is also
upon us. Several members
of the Hope Volunteer Fire
Department recently returned from a training in
Soldotna to help the community minimize the fire
dangers around homes and
structures. Stop by the Fire
Hall to pick up information
on how you can protect your
home from a wildfire, or
give Brendan Maguire, Fire
Chief, a call at 907-2299232 to schedule a complimentary home inspection.
“Simple steps, taken early,
can protect our wonderful
community,” said Maguire.
Photo courtesy of Rob Cushman
Adrenaline junkie, Chris Seaman, attempts to catch the bore tide in the Turnagain Arm
near Hope as he rides an inflatable unicorn pool toy. While he was ultimately unsuccessful
in the attempt on May 14, Seaman and many other die-hard Alaskan surfers can be found
in the Arm throughout most of the summer and on nearly every bore tide.
Seaview Café and
Live Jams
The Seaview Café is both
a family-friendly restaurant
and a hippy-friendly bar.
Serving great food and only
beer and wine on the liquor
menu, the café boasts some
of the best dancing and
live musicians to be found
in the state each weekend.
Envision a deck filled with
Extra Tuf donning campers
bouncing and cheers’ing
with perfect strangers while
taking the sounds of musical artists, both local and
nationally acclaimed. A
line-up of the café’s musicians can be found on www.
SeaviewCafeAlaska.com/
events. And, be sure to never miss the local’s scene on
Thursday evenings from 7
to 11 p.m. at the Jamn Night
with the beloved Andy Mullen. Grab your guitar or maracas and join in the singing
at open mic.
Museum News
Memorial Day weekend is
the official opening of the
Hope and Sunrise Historical Museum opening day.
Admission to the museum
is free (at-will donations
received), and many of the
tour guides are local children with a passion for the
community and the town’s
history. If you haven’t
checked out the museum, be
sure to this season, and visit the new additions to the
charming display.
Church News
The
Hope
Christian
Church invites guests to
share in an interdenominational time of worship every
Sunday at 3 p.m. The third
Sunday of every month is a
mouthwatering potluck luncheon immediately following the service. For those
in need, the church’s food
bank is open on Thursdays
at noon (or by appointment), followed by a 3 p.m.
Bible study. All are invited
to join.
Page 6
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
South Anchorage News
By Amy Newman
Turnagain Times
South Anchorage Correspondent
Between the last day of school
this Wednesday and Memorial Day just around the corner,
summer has finally, officially
arrived. I know many people
start loading up the RV or heading out to the cabin - and just as
many who’ve already started
- or spending most of their free
time fishing or out on the trails,
but there’s plenty of good reasons to stick around the next few
weeks, or at least keep you busy
if you find yourself unwillingly
stuck in town.
Burger & Brew at
Anchorage Golf Course
If hitting a bucket of balls followed by a burger and a frosty
pint sounds good, then plan on
the Anchorage Golf Course being your summer Friday night
hangout. Every Friday from 5
p.m. to 8 p.m. this summer, enjoy golf, burgers, and beer from
a rotating list of Alaskan breweries for only $18. Call 5223363 to find out which brew is
on tap that night.
Kempton Hills Garage
Sale
Get ready for the granddaddy
of all Anchorage garage sales,
the annual Kempton Hills Garage Sale this Saturday, May 20
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you haven’t been, prepare to be wowed
by the sheer number of families
participating and the number of
friends you’ll encounter as you
weave your way through the
neighborhood. And don’t forget
the wagon to haul all your newfound treasures home.
Equifest 2017
Ever seen horses play a game
of soccer? Have you bobbed for
apples as part of a horse relay
team? Or if that’s not your speed,
how about entering a stick horse
race? All this and more will be at
Equifest 2017 on Saturday, May
20 at the William Clark Chamber Equestrian Center, located at
3900 Abbott Rd. Sponsored by
the Anchorage Horse Council,
the annual event brings Alaska’s equestrians together to perform, celebrate and share their
love of these beautiful animals
with family friendly activities,
classes, horse rides, even a tack
swap. The event runs from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
International Migratory
Bird Day
Every summer Alaska attracts
as many birds as it does tourists,
acting as a stopover for migrating birds from around the world.
Join the Alaska Zoo in celebration of our many feathered
friends on Sunday, May 21 from
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for International Migratory Bird Day. Learn
about bird conservation through
bird activities and games, visit
booths hosted by event partners, and visit with bird handlers
from Bird Treatment and Learning Center for an up-close look
at rehabilitated birds. All event
activities are free with paid zoo
admission.
French Desserts at the
Spice & Tea Exchange
Take some infused sugars,
add a dash of creativity and mix
in with some instruction from
Anchorage Spice & Tea Exchange owner Liz Eldridge and
nutritionist Suanne Sikkema
and – voila – you’ll have some
easy, elegant French desserts
to sample, and the know-how
to recreate them for your family and friends. The $30 class
fee includes everything you’ll
need to learn to make chocolate mousse and traditional meringue cookies. Visit the store at
10950 O’Malley Centre Drive
or call 222-4832, to register for
the Wednesday, May 31 class.
First Friday at the Spice
& Tea Exchange
Oil painter and local artist
Carlos Pereira will be the featured artist at the Anchorage
Spice & Tea Exchange’s First
Friday event on Friday, June 2
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Enjoy live
music and an open sangria bar
hosted by The Bubbly Mermaid
Oyster Bar, and enter to win an
original painting by the artist.
The Spice & Tea Exchange is
located at 10950 O’Malley Centre Drive.
Potter Marsh Discovery
Day
Enjoy arts and crafts, handson science explorations, animal
encounters, nature activities,
archery, food vendors and more
at Potter Marsh Discovery Days
on Saturday, June 3 from 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Bird TLC will release
a rehabilitated bird at 3:30 p.m.
Visit tinyurl.com/pottermarsh to
learn more.
Feast for the Beasts at
the Alaska Zoo
The Alaska Zoo will host
its annual Feast for the Beast
fundraiser with an elegant picnic-themed dinner catered by
The Bridge on Thursday, June
15. The evening affair will focus
on just what goes into caring for
the Zoo’s animal residents, and
includes animal encounters, live
and silent auctions, and live music. Tickets cost $125 and can
be purchased online at direct.
alaskazoo.org/feast-beasts.
Summer Camp
Registration
Whether you’re looking for
a summer-long camp or a just
few days here and there to keep
the summer boredom blues
Photo courtesy of Jeaneen McWilliams
Come rain or shine, the annual Kempton Hills Garage
Sale is happening Saturday, May 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
at bay, there’s a variety of options around South Anchorage
to keep the kids occupied and
learning something new.
The Alaska Zoo’s summer
adventure camps begin May 25
and are open to children ages
6 to 12. Focused on a different
animal related theme each day,
every camp includes hands-on
activities, a zookeeper talk and
animal encounter. Day camp
costs $70 for zoo members,
$85 for non-members, with discounts for weekly enrollment;
snacks and lunch are included.
QUaLity eyecare
Your vision is important
Trust yours and your family’s eyes with us.
From routine eye exams to emergencies, we
exceed the standards. Most insurance accepted.
Walk-ins welcome. Saturday hours too.
MIDTOWN 341 West Tudor / CALL 770-6652 / makareyecare.com
OptOmetric physicians Dr. Anthony Makar, Dr. Rebecca Makar, Dr. Elizabeth Lane
Dr. Alyxandria Morey, Dr. Rowena Rivera, Dr. Eliza Salvo
For a complete list of camps and
to register, visit direct.alaskazoo.org/adventure-camps.
Your children will have so
much fun interacting with the
animals they won’t even realize
they’re doing actual work at The
Learning Farm’s summer farm
camp, which runs daily May
30 through Aug. 18. Campers
will help feed and groom the
farm’s resident animals, gather eggs from the chicken coop,
make cheese with fresh goat
milk, make wool from a freshly sheared sheep, learn about
organic gardening and more.
Camp size is limited to 10 children per day with full day (9
a.m. to 5 p.m.) and half-day (9
a.m. to 1 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 5
p.m.). Sessions available; signup for multiple days to receive
a discount on the $100 ($60 for
half-day sessions) registration
fee. A one and one-half hour
preschool session runs Tuesdays
through Fridays starting June
6. For more information, visit
thelearningfarm.net, or e-mail
[email protected]
to
register.
Kids ages 8 to 12 will learn
how to make waffles, omelets,
roast chicken and macaroni and
cheese at South Restaurant’s
four-day kids’ cooking camp,
scheduled for June 20-23 or July
18-21. Each session costs $200;
register at www.southak.com/
events.
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Page 7
Cooper Landing News
By Susanna LaRock
Turnagain Times
Cooper Landing Correspondent
Spring Time Work in
the School Garden
With the coming of
spring, students at Cooper
Landing School are spending time working in the
school garden. Students
in kindergarten through
eighth grade have been digging up garden beds, cleaning out the green house,
and readying the school
garden to plant potatoes,
peas, and all of the plants
that they started from seed
in February. When students
come back to school in the
fall they will have many
vegetables to harvest and
enjoy at snack time.
Cooper Landing
Museum and
Historical Society
Meeting
All interested are invited
to the Saturday, May 20,
2017 CLHS Board meeting
at 1 p.m. in the Museum
at Mile 48.7. The Museum
will open May 27 at 1 p.m.
Volunteers to greet visitors
are sought for this season.
Knowing Cooper Landing
history is helpful, but there
are quickly accessed history resources available. It is
most important to welcome
visitors who often enjoy
talking about their home
areas. Our hours will be 1-5
p.m. Wednesday through
Monday. Several past volunteers have moved from
Cooper Landing. If you are
interested in helping on a
regular basis, or occasionally, please contact Mona
Painter 598-1042 [email protected].
Don’t Forget to Join
in the Fun of the
Annual Snug Harbor
Snail-A-Thon
The 2017 Snug Harbor
Snail-A-Thon will start
at the Catholic Church
at Mile 1 of Snug Harbor
Road on Saturday, May
20 at 10:45 a.m. Walkers
and runners will utilize the
new path, established by
Cooper Landing Walkable
Community
Committee,
and go to the Post Office
near the beginning of the
paved path, turn around
and go back to the Catholic
Church, then turn around
and go back to the Baptist
church at the beginning of
Snug Harbor Road. There
will be a total of 3 miles
walked or ran by participants.
There will be no bikes
this year in order to avoid
collisions between bikers
and folks on foot. As usual
participants are encouraged
to leave their dog family
members at home for this
event. There will be a community potluck and hotdog
roast following the race at
the Baptist church at noon.
Everyone is encouraged to
bring a dish and join in the
picnic. This race has never
been about who is the fastest runner, that’s why it’s
called the Snail-A-Thon. It
has always been about getting the community together for some fun and family
time before the chaos of
Cooper Landing Summer
ensues.
Annual Cooper
Landing School
Authors Tea and
Kindergarten
Graduation
The Community is invited to join in the fun on
Monday, May 22 at 1 p.m.
This event has been a fun
tradition in Cooper Landing School for many years.
The students have all written and illustrated their
own books, and this is their
chance to share with a community audience. The Kindergarteners will have a
ceremony promoting them
on to first grade. There will
be cake and tea following.
There are few things cuter than a kindergartener in
a cap and gown! Students
and staff hope to see many
smiling faces.
Cooper Landing
Softball Tournament
The annual Cooper Land-
ing Softball Tournament is a
great community tradition,
which includes teams from
Cooper Landing, Moose
Pass, Avalanche Acres, and
Summit Lake Lodge. Traditionally this tournament
has always been a fun way
to celebrate the last days of
spring before fishing opens
and everybody goes running in all directions. The
2017 tournament is taking
place at the ball field on
Bean Creek Road near the
Community Hall Thursday,
May 25 through Saturday,
June 3. CLES will be running a silent auction fundraiser for the duration of
the tournament, and concessions will be run by
different non-profit organizations during the tournament. This is good family fun, so bring the whole
family, have some hotdogs
and hamburgers and cheer
for your favorite team.
endars for Sunday, June
4th. We’re once again
walking and running the
safety trail to support and
fund raise for the Cooper
Landing Walkable Community Project.
Registration starts at 9:30 a.m.
at the Community Hall.
Donations are accepted
at registration. Walkers
begin at 10:30 for the 5K
course. The runners begin
at 11:00 a.m. for the 10K
course. The route will be
the same as before, starting at the Cooper Landing
Community Hall and following the Safety Path to
end at the overlook near
Our Point of View for the
5K where a shuttle takes
participants back to the
hall. The 10K runners start
and end at the hall. Goodies are available at both
finish lines. The cookies
are famously good. For
more information please
go to walkcooperlanding.
org. If you don’t join the
walk/run, perhaps you can
cheer them on as they go
by.
Check out the Turnagain
Times website
Log on to:
Gwin’s Lodge Open
for the Season
Gwin’s Lodge is now
open for the 2017 season
with limited service and
hours until Friday May 26.
The liquor store will be
open also. Gwin’s Summer
Concert Series will be happening again this season.
The concert series kicks
off this month on May 27
with performance by Juno
Smile, Ava Earl and JP
DeBruhl. This concert is
a free show, but all other
shows will be $10 cover
fee or you can by a season
pass for $50.
Cooper Landing Trail
Run 2017
Please mark your cal-
turnagaintimes.com
FREE PDF available
for download.
T U R N A G A I N
TIMES
Page 8
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Mountain News
By Britta Perry
Special to the Turnagain Times
Fiddlehead Festival
The 2017 Fiddlehead Festival takes place June 3 and
4, and the musical lineup has
been announced. World’s Finest, from Portland, Ore., headlines the summer festival this
year. The five member World’s
Finest possesses a unique ability to transcend every genre,
though their songwriting style
is rooted in Americana. They
started as an acoustic duo in
2011 and have grown to five
members and multiple instruments, with bluegrass-inspired compositions merging
seamlessly with their affinity
for punk and ska.
Joining World’s Finest on
the Fiddlehead stage are perennial favorites Todd Grebe
& Cold Country, JUNOSmile,
and Ava Earl, with newcomers Beth Marlin and the Danny Booth, Garren Volper &
Amanda Kerr Trio rounding
out the lineup. World’s Finest
will also play the first Sitzmark show of the summer,
with Steve Norwood opening,
on Saturday, June 3, at 10 p.m.
In addition to the live music,
the Hotel Alyeska courtyard
hosts a distinctly Alaskan festival, with delicious fiddlehead
dishes from Alyeska chefs,
arts and crafts booths, food
vendors, and a beer and wine
garden. There’s also a fun run
on Sunday, June 4, so lace up
your running shoes for the first
Girdwood race of the season.
The festival is family friendly,
held from noon to 8pm each
day, and entry is free.
Aerial Tram Open
The Aerial Tram is now
open! Operating daily from
9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The
tram serves the Bore Tide
Deli & Bar as well as Seven
Glaciers, and both restaurants
are also now open. The Bore
59 yearS!
on Sale now!
celebrating
2017/18 SeaSon PaSSeS
SPring Sale - Price reduced!
$
1059
adult Full SeaSon PaSS
$559 adult midweek PaSS
Sale endS june 4
get tram acceSS all Summer!
oPening may 18
907-754-2275
alyeSkareSort.com/ttimeS
Tide operates daily starting at
11am, and Seven Glaciers is
open daily for dinner at 5pm.
Come check out the new summer menu from Chef Aaron
Apling-Gilman, incorporating
many local and Alaskan ingredients.
Next Year’s Season
Passes on Sale
Have you bought your season pass yet? As soon as you
do, you’ll have tram access
for the rest of summer. The
Spring Sale lasts until June 4,
so buy early to get in on the
season’s best pricing. Adult
full season passes are priced
at $1059 and midweek passes at $559 to celebrate Alyeska’s 59th year in operation.
You can buy your pass online,
call 907-754-2275, or visit the
ticket office, now open daily
from 9am to 9pm.
Now that the tram is open,
the Spring Tram Package is
available at the Hotel Aly-
eska. This package includes
a one-night stay and up to 5
tram tickets – two adults and
three kids under 18 and starts
at $159. The package is available until June 8, and is perfect for visiting friends and
relatives.
Check out the Turnagain Times website
Log on to:
turnagaintimes.com
FREE PDF available for download.
T U R N A G A I N
TIMES
Place your ad now!
For the
Turnagain Times
Summer Recreation Guide!
Call 783-1135
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Page 9
Lively Arts
By Ron Holmstrom
Turnagain Times Correspondent
While many local theatre
companies do not try to compete with our days of nearly
non-stop sunshine and all the
outdoor activities available in
our great state, there are still
plenty of workshops, classes and events throughout the
summer. For these, you can
check out the websites of our
theatre companies and maybe
get involved yourself in some
of the many summer activities.
One
theatre
company
that continues with shows
throughout the summer is
Cyrano’s Playhouse downtown. Now running is At Wit’s
End by Alison Engel and Margret Engel, which we covered
here in the last edition. Directed by Krista Schwarting
and starring Ursula Gould,
this very funny one-woman
show depicts an evening with
Erma Bombeck and continues
through June 4. Tickets may
be had at centertix.net or by
calling 263-ARTS. Next up at
Cyrano’s is Theresa Rebeck’s
provocative comedy Seminar,
which opens on June 30. For
more about this and the other
summer offerings from Cyrano’s, go to their website at
cyranos.org.
There are also only a few
performances left for Things
My Mother Taught Me, which
we also featured here last issue. The comedy by Katherine DiSalvo and directed by
actor/director Carl Bright will
end on May 28. This production will close the season for
ACT, but there will still be
summer projects happening
there, so check out their website at actalaska.org.
It should be mentioned that
both shows at Cyrano’s and
ACT have been selling out, so
book those tickets now!
Returning again this summer is the perennial favorite
3 Barons Renaissance Fair
June 3, 4, 10 and 11 at the
Dozier Sled Dog Track on
Tudor Road. This is the 25th
Anniversary of the fair and it
just seems to grow each year.
You can meet the Barons,
watch exciting sword fights,
enjoy refreshments and period craft exhibits and so much
more. This is truly “fun for
the whole family” and there
are so many activities that
you really must go to their
website to see all they have
in store for you. If you have
never attended this event, you
will certainly be glad that you
did, If you have, you already
know this. Check them out
http://www.3barons.org It is
a very entertaining site in it’s
own right.
Now, for the past couple
of editions, I have been mentioning the big Birthday Celebration planned for our 4th
Avenue Theatre. In recent
days, there has much concern
that our beloved old landmark
could vanish in the face of new
development. Consequently,
the Friends of the Fourth Avenue Theatre are presenting
this celebration, which will
take place on Memorial Day
weekend and there will be a
lot of really fun things to do.
Beginning on Saturday,
May 27, there will be a big
street fair on 4th Avenue right
in front of the old Anchorage
Landmark. There will be live
music from Anchorage Jazz
Ensemble, The Blue Notes
and the Blackwater Railroad
Company; food and refreshments; Cemetery Stories, featuring theatre builder ‘Cap’
Lathrop and other figures
from Anchorage’s colorful
past.
Also on Saturday, there will
be film presentations at the
Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, including at 3
p.m. The Sword and the Stone,
which was playing when the
’64 earthquake struck. The
story is that just as the young
future King Arthur pulled the
sword from the stone, the
whole theatre began to shake.
Then, at 4:30 p.m. there will
be a screening of The World
in His Arms starring Gregory
Peck, Ann Blyth and Anthony Quinn. This Alaska-based
film had its world premiere
at the 4th Avenue with some
of the stars in attendance, including Ms. Blyth.
On Sunday May 28 at 2:30
p.m., the Anchorage Museum will present a one-time
screening of The Chechahcos, (yes, we know - bad
spelling!) This was the first
silent film shot entirely in
Alaska and produced by Cap
Lathrop when he envisioned
Alaska as “The Hollywood of
the North.” In 2003, this film
was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the United States
Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry – an
informative talk about the
making of this historic film
will be given at the screening
by Chris Beheim.
Then, on Monday May 29
at 7 p.m. again at the museum, there will be a Design
Forum panel discussion of
architects who will speak to
why the 4th Avenue Theatre
is such a unique treasure. For
this event, enter at the 7th Av-
Photo Courtesy of Frank Flavin
Actress Ursula Gould with Ron Holsmtrom. Gould plays Erma Bombeck in At Wit’s End by
Alison and Margret Engel and being performed at Cyrano’s Playhouse downtown Anchorage.
enue entrance. There is paid
parking available in the museum garage. During all three
days of the weekend there
will be special displays in the
museum of the interior art and
history of the theatre with the
bonus of political cartoons
about it by cartoonist Peter
Dunlop Shoal.
There are other weekend
activities being added all the
time, so check out the 4th Avenue website for the dates and
times of everything: friendsofthe4thavenuetheatre.wordpress.com. This is going to be
a terrific weekend of celebration of our grand old downtown theatre with fun events
for the whole family. Please
come out and celebrate!
As always, thank you all for
reading Lively Arts here ev-
ery edition and for tuning in
to Your Entertainment Link
each Thursday evening on
FOX-4 at 9 p.m. and ABC13 at10p.m. You can also go
to the website www.youralaskalink.com for my up-to-date
entertainment news. It is up to
all of us to support our local
lively arts and I hope to see
you all around town at all the
fun stuff.
Page 10
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
GBOS Meeting
Continued from page 1
fication and Weeding Day is
Saturday, June 3, beginning
at 10 a.m. with a BBQ afterwards.
Beginning reports started
with Proprietor Seth Molen
from the Turnagain Herb
Company, who updated
the GBOS on the construction of the Turnagain Herb
Company’s marijuana retail
store. “We will begin messing with the dirt as soon as
we can get on Crow Creek
Road,” said Molen, noting
the current legal road-use
restrictions. He expects the
store to open later this summer.
Lewis Leonard updated
the GBOS about the Girdwood Area Plan Review
now underway. Their meetings will be held every
two weeks with the next
one scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, at 6 p.m., in
the Girdwood Community
Room. “This is like the Bible that we are going to be
using in the future for the
development of Girdwood,”
said Fox. “It’s kind of critical that we get everybody in
the community involved in
this process at some point.”
In the police report, Whittier Police Chief David
Schofield, was absent due
to other duty obligations, so
Kyle Kelley, Girdwood Valley Service Area Manager,
updated the GBOS on the
impacts resulting from the
trooper withdrawal and the
on-going Alaska legislative
process to fund $200,000
for highway enforcement.
Since the first of May,
Kelley said nine calls from
outside the Girdwood Valley have exposed confusion
on the part of Anchorage
Police Department on the
boundaries of the Girdwood
Valley Service Area and
Whittier Police contracted
service. “Dispatch initially didn’t know where the
boundaries were, which can
be very confusing,” he said,
noting several of the calls
up Crow Creek, which lies
outside the GVSA. “They
have been working through
that,” added Kelley, who
said Schofield now has a
direct line to the APD shift
supervisors.
Discussion ensued about
the ongoing lack of law
enforcement and funding
on the Seward Highway.
“This is a multi-user corridor which serves the Kenai
and elsewhere, and the state
is trying to shove it onto to
one area to take care of it,”
said Kelley. “Until a legislative remedy is found, the
municipality will work under their partnership with
Alaska State Troopers.”
He added that calls will go
to the trooper’s dispatch,
which will go to APD. “At
the discretion of the police
chief, he can send officers
out to respond to situations,” said Kelley.
For the fire Girdwood
Fire
Department,
Ken
Waugh, representing the
board of directors, said
there were 170 responses
through April 17, including
four fires, 95 EMS/Rescue;
39 service call, 24 false
alarms with good intent, six
hazardous condition; and
seven mutual aid calls. “In
April, we had an out-ofservice area, multi-agency,
multi-victim fatality accident,” said Waugh, addressing the spike in the mutual
aid responses.
Construction at the fire
station continues to progress with occupancy now
moved to July 1, a two-week
delay, attributed to the heating system switch assembly. Waugh said future GFD
Fire Chief John Banning is
enroute to Alaska. Prior to
his arrival. “Terry Kadel
has been appointed Interim
Chief,” he said, “along with
Manch Garhart, as Interim
Deputy Chief.”
He also advised residents
to make sure you call the
Burn Hotline at 267-5020
for an updated status, noting the existing burn suspension due to the current
danger levels. Waugh said
the station has received a
limited number of child
bike helmets, available for
parents by stopping by the
station with their child.
Additionally, there are free
Hands Only CPR Training
sessions between 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m. May 22 and 27 at
the Girdwood Community
Room. The training takes
about 15 minutes. He added the Wood Lot is open for
Girdwood residents on Saturdays through June 3 from
9 a.m. to 6 p.m., in the Industrial Park.
In old business, several
repeat presentations were
made. First was Eric Lowman from Girdwood, seeking a Resolution of Support
for a variance at his residence. “Mr. Lowman acquired this property from
his parents, and neither
built the original property,
nor brought it into violation through additional construction; and has received
the verbal support of his
neighbors on Cortina Road,”
cited Edgington. “Therefore, the GBOS resolves
to support the request for
a Dimensional Variance to
allow a single-family home
to encroach in the required
setback in the GR-2 District
at 365 Cortina Road.”
“Thank you very much,”
said Lowman, in response
to a unanimous vote of
Jon Scudder/Turnagain Times
The Winner Creek hand tram was recently refurbished
and awaits a helicopter deployment for installation in
preparation for the summer season.
approval. Seeking a letter
of non-objection was Tim
Stallard from Alien Species
Control, who is contracted by the municipality for
the application of herbicides to mitigate invasive
weeds in Girdwood. Earlier
this month, the Land Use
Committee voted in favor,
recommending the GBOS
grant the non-objection letter. Within the letter, Boone
said, “Application dates
will be posted in advance of
spraying and will be coordinated with Girdwood Parks
and Recreation. Follow up
spraying may be required
in 2018.” The GBOS voted
unanimously for approval.
Nick Georgelos from the
Classified Advertising
Girdwood Mountain Bike
Alliance returned presenting the conceptual trail plan
for flow trails again to the
GBOS, following receiving full support at May’s
Trail Committee and Land
Use Committee meetings.
“We’re here tonight to move
ahead with the process,”
said Georgelos, who will
be seeking grants and fundraising. Their plan calls for
using the Girdwood Nordic
Ski Club’s 5K Nordic Loop
for uphill biking access and
trail access.
Boone and her fellow supervisors were united in
their Resolution of Support
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Tel: (907) 783-1135
P.O. Box 1044, Girdwood, AK 99587
All classified ads must be paid in advance either by including payment when placing the ad or charging it to a VISA or Master Card. Please mail,
email or fax your order with payment.
Summer Employment at Portage Glacier Day Lodge: Need kitchen, restaurant, cashier staff, $12/$14 hourly depending on experience.
Guaranteed 40 hours or share position part time. Call (907) 783-3117.
Furnished apartments for rent in Whittier: Studio $900, 1 BR $1,100, 2 BR $1,350, 3 BR $1,600 including utilities. Call (907) 472-2398.
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Page 11
GBOS Meeting
Continued from previous page
of the Girdwood Mountain
Bike Association in acquiring the easement for construction and maintenance
of trails on Heritage Land
Band land in the Lower
Winner Creek zone. “Trails
built by the GMBA are to
be built within accepted design standards as a Class 3
mountain biking trail,” he
said, “approximately fourto-six feet in constructed
tread width, clearing width
of 10 to 12 feet, with a hard,
predictable and smooth surface,”. “The trail design
calls for two single-use
mountain bike tails and on
multi-use connector trail.”
In new business, Robin
Ward, from the Heritage
Land Bank, briefed the
GBOS on the Heritage Land
Bank Wetland Analysis.
HLB owns about 10,000
acres of land in Girdwood,
of which 2,000 are wetlands, explained Ward.
HLB wants to create a wetlands mitigation bank, to
provide credits for purchase
for construction projects
that disturb wetlands.
She said mitigation banks
operate under a credit/debit system. Restored or preserved wetlands are credits;
debits represent wetland
impacts. For instance, if
a project to build a road
impacts wetlands, a proponent would compensate
for unavoidable impacts to
wetlands by buying credits
from a mitigation bank located within the same general geographic area.
“The goal of a mitigation
bank is to provide options
to help achieve no net loss
to wetlands,” said Ward.
She added that in this preliminary stage, working the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is to provide a more
detailed evaluation of four
parcels in Girdwood as
potential mitigation bank
sites. Ward anticipates returning this fall to present
the outcome and request a
GBOS resolution of support.
Lead Architect Marco
Zaccaro from Z-Architects
presented a project introduction for a multi-family,
4-plex housing project on
Taos Road, Lot 12. “There
are no specifics on it yet”
said Zaccaro. “As soon
as we flesh it out to see if
we can put a 4-plex on the
property with the stream
setbacks, we will come back
and show you what the site
layout and building looks
ROAD
PROBLEMS
HOTLINE
Girdwood Service Area
Road Maintenance
Department
To report a road problem
please call:
343-8374
like. Right now, we’re not
sure if we can get a 4-plex
on it. The site is extremely
tight.”
Last presentation of the
evening, again by Zaccaro,
was an update on the review
of Municipal Code, Title 21
Chapter 9. Edgington outlined the guiding principles
for its evaluation. “Ultimately, the goal here is to
make development reasonable in terms with effort required, costs involved and
outcome to benefit the community.”
Zaccaro said they are
breaking it apart and reviewing its individual segments.
Currently, they are looking
at off-street parking standards. “Those are the landuse regulations that add the
most cost to a project and
the hardest to make work
on your site plans,” Zaccaro
said, specifically identifying working with small lots.
He added current parking
standards don’t necessarily
apply to Girdwood because
it’s a pedestrian-focused
town. Parking standards applied from Anchorage create too much parking which
sits empty much of the time.
“This encourages a feel of
urban sprawl,” he said.
Jon Scudder/Turnagain Times
Heritage Land Bank Executive Director Robin Ward
provides wetland analysis to the GBOS of areas for
potential mitigation credit in the Girdwood Valley. HLB
is conducting a more detailed evaluation of parcels in
Girdwood as potential mitigation bank sites. This initial
presentation will be followed with their review and findings
in another report to the Land Use Committee and GBOS
in the fall.
Page 12
Turnagain Times
May 18, 2017
Illegal Camping
Continued from page 1
Photo courtesy of Doug Pope
Campers pitch tents on private land by the Seaview Café, a popular camping area.
the “Hope Village Council believes that the time
has come to try and regulate camping on the wetlands as a public safety measure and in order to
protect the wetlands from further degradation.”
Skogstad encouraged the landowners to contact
the Council to discuss a proposal where the Council would have the authority to regulate camping
on your lot. He said five property owners responded, giving consent to Hope, Inc. Subsequently,
written agreements were entered into with key
landowners. In those agreements, the Council is
authorized to take measures to curtail trespass
camping and fire building on the owners’ lots,
including authorization to put up signs advising
that the land is private property and camping is
not allowed. Signs stating “Private Property, No
Camping--Hope Village Council” were installed
on May 11.
There is not universal agreement in Hope on the
Council’s efforts. Johnnie Sorenson, a long time
Hope resident who’s wife Dru owns a gift shop on
Main Street, worries the issue is divisive. He felt
the Council’s efforts to work with landowners to
ban trespass campers was “a step backward.”
“I don’t see the purpose of precluding people
from camping on the tidal flats,” Sorenson said.
“It’s a regulation from above. I see more the beauty than the negativity in the camping. People playing guitars, people taking photos at sunset, and I
want to make sure people are welcome here.”
Over the weekend of May 13 and 14, Seaview
Café staff worked cooperatively with Village
Council representatives to smooth the transition.
Skogstad said one small group didn’t see the signs
and started to set up camp, but were happy to move
when he informed them about the camping ban.
©RAlphkRistopheR
were over fifty tents pitched on the tidal flats on
some weekends. More public meetings were held.
With respect to camping, concerns were expressed
that the situation on the tidal flats was unsafe because campers were building fires in dry grass
conditions.
Former volunteer fire chief Scott Sherrit said
that, “early in the season, it’s a fire hazard.” There
were also reports of conflicts resulting from campers parking their vehicles along private property
in the village, and concerns were expressed that
campers were degrading the wetlands where migratory waterfowl frequent and nest. Larger issues
were also discussed. Some residents expressed
that campers were contributing to an atmosphere
inconsistent with a family oriented small town.
Todd Bureau, who owns Discovery Cabins with
his wife Barbara and is president of the Hope and
Sunrise Chamber of Commerce, said Hope’s reputation on social media had evolved to “anything
goes” on the tidelands. “We don’t want an ‘anything goes’ reputation,” he said.
It was a concern echoed by Jim Skogstad, president of the Council. The sentiment was widely
shared by residents attending the public meetings,
and the Council was urged to contact the landowners to express concerns about the increased
trespass camping on their lots and to see if they
were interested in curtailing it.
At an April 1 meeting, Skogstad said that letters
had been sent out to property owners on the flats
just past the Seaview to ask permission to mark
the area for no camping. In that letter, Skogstad
referred to the various complaints and said that
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