The Mat-Su Borough Assembly approved Tuesday a five-year contract for a large timber harvest in the Trapper Creek area.
Under the contract timber will be cut, trucked to Port MacKenzie and shipped to China.
More than a dozen Trapper Creek residents and property owners attended the two hours of testimony and debate. Nearly all of them shared concerns about the contract.
While almost everyone testifying said harvesting the timber could be a good thing, they also believe that the road infrastructure, specifically Oilwell Road, is simply not up to the task.
Its construction was one of expedience in the oil drilling days, said Chris Wood, who lives on Oilwell Road.
“They cut trees down, laid them across a road on top of frost heaves, and put dirt on top of it. If the trucks didn’t sink through, they moved to the next spot,” Wood said. “That is Oilwell Road; 105,000 pounds (the estimated gross weight of a loaded timber truck) isn’t going to fly.”
Those trucks also will need about 12 feet of space to maneuver safely down the road.
Oilwell Road isn’t much wider than that in many places, making passing difficult.
Plans for turnouts and clearing to increase visibility have has not been made public.
The public process in general also is a cause for criticism for some in the area of the timber harvest.
Donna Massay, who serves on the Trapper Creek Road Service Area advisory board, said the locals should have been a bigger part of the process for the new contract.
“Why can’t we have a public hearing in our community with the community council — be listened to?” Massay said. “If it had happened at the beginning of this, we would not be there tonight. It would have been solved on a local level. You would have had a good process. This is not a good process.”
What happened last time Chijuk Creek was leased is a third source of criticism.
Evidence of poor execution of the last timber contract is right out in the open as you travel the road, said Ronnie Bell, who owns property on Oilwell Road.
“You’ve seen all the logs laying out there, all the waste, and it’s still laying there,” Bell said. “Is this going to be a summary of the next thing? It’s going to happen again?”
Not everyone spoke against the contract.
Mat-Su Economic Development Corporation president Don Dyer said revenue from the contract, particularly to Port Mackenzie, is very important.
“A million dollars a year of revenue to this borough, revenue that supports the lifestyle in Trapper Creek and Talkeetna,” Dyer said. “For the rest of the borough, it pays for our schools.”
The public testimony had a clear impact on the borough assembly.
Assembly Member George McKee supports the concept of the contract, but that there are too many unanswered questions.
“It has been fast-tracked, and there are real problems that could have been addressed and should be addressed,” McKee said. “The transportation problem is something that has to be addressed.”
Once the borough’s planning department approves a transportation plan the approved contract will go into effect.
A lengthy debate surfaced over whether that approval should rest with the assembly instead of staff.
Borough Manager John Moosey promised to report on the public feedback regarding the plan before its approval, which was enough to sway all but Assembly members George McKee and Jim Sykes.
The public has 30 days to comment when the borough releases the proposed transportation plan.
