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P E N I N S U L A
THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014 Soldotna-Kenai, Alaska
Vol. 44, Issue 85
Question Do you think the Legislature will have a productive session this year? n Yes; or n No. To place your vote and comment, visit our Web site at www. peninsulaclarion. com. Results and selected comments will be posted each Tuesday in the Clarion, and a new question will be asked. Suggested questions may be submitted online or e-mailed to news@peninsulaclarion.com.
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Tax exemption limit voted down By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
After more than an hour of public comment and discussion by Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly members Tuesday, the assembly voted down an ordinance to clarify the total amount of residential exemptions senior citizens can receive. The ordinance, sponsored by Borough Mayor Mike Navarre and assembly members Bill Smith and Brent Johnson, would have added language to
borough code to ensure senior tax exemptions do not exceed $300,000. In 2007 voters approved a proposition to limit senior citizen residential exemption to $300,000. This past election voters increased optional residential exemption from $20,000 to $50,000 via an initiative. Following the 2013 vote, the code states the first $50,000 of a residential property would be tax exempt, allowing seniors $350,000 total in tax exemp-
tion.
The ordinance would have revised the section to state it applies to the first $50,000 after all mandatory exemptions have been applied, capping the total senior tax exemptions at $300,000. The borough heard from 11 members of the public about the ordinance. The majority were against the passage of the ordinance. Soldotna resident Fred Sturman, one of the sponsors of the voting initiative
to raise the residential exemption from $20,000 to $50,000, said he thought if you owned a home you got $50,000 exempt in addition to other exemptions. “If you owned a house, you got $50,000. If you (were) 10 years old or 150 years old, you got $50,000 exemption,” he said. George Pierce of Kasilof said the voters said yes to the $50,000 exemption and now assembly members are saying adding that to seniors’ $300,000 wasn’t the intent.
Land lease for CIE OK’d
In the news Broker signs up about 800 Alaskans in 2013
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JUNEAU (AP) — A broker created to help enroll individuals in private health insurance under the federal health care law enrolled just over 800 Alaskans in 2013. Tyann Boling is chief operating officer for Enroll Alaska. She said the broker reduced its enrollment expectations following problems with the federally run website used to access plan information and enroll individuals. On a scale of one to 10, Boling had rated functionality of the site at one in October, four in November and seven around mid-December. The revised enrollment goal was 1,000 by the end of 2013. Boling says Enroll Alaska hopes to sign up 8,000 Alaskans by the end of the open enrollment period, currently running through March. The broker isn’t the only way for Alaskans to sign up for insurance under the law.
Inside ‘It’s hard to convey that through PowerPoint or on the phone. Often it’s through body language.’ ... See page A-5
See TAX, page A-10
By KAYLEE OSOWSKI Peninsula Clarion
Peninsula Clarion file photo
Levi Gibbs, Isaiah Munk, Stephanie Gibbs and others line up for Mexican food served by Karen Davis, Suzie Davidson (obscured), Sheri Cole and Marti Pozzie at The Way Café behind the Merit Inn in Kenai in November 2011. The café, which served meals to those in need, recently closed.
The Way Café shuts its doors Supporters look for other ways to feed people in need By DAN BALMER Peninsula Clarion
The Way Café closed its doors on Jan. 3 after months of dwindling patronage following the closure of the Family Hope Center at the Kenai Merit Inn. The First Baptist Church of Kenai ran the café, which opened in June 2011. When the Family Hope Center closed on June 30, many of the café’s frequent customers moved out of the area, said Al Weeks, pastor of the First
‘There were some nights we didn’t serve anybody. We felt like it was time to temporarily suspend service until we can find the best way to meet the need.’ — Al Weeks, pastor, First Baptist Church of Kenai Baptist Church of Kenai. Weeks said since September the numbers have dropped dramatically. The café used to feed kids from the Boys and
Girls Club until school started up. On Christmas Eve, volunteers prepared an evening meal, but nobody came. “There were some nights
we didn’t serve anybody,” he said. “We felt like it was time to temporarily suspend service until we can find the best way to meet the need.” On December 10, the ownership of the small building housing the café changed hands. Kenai Merit Inn sold the building to Kenai Catering, which operates out of the inn. Weeks said the new owners, Steve and Bobbi England, had no factor in the decision to close the café. “(The Englands) were very See FEED, page A-10
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed two oil and gas industry items during its Tuesday meeting. The first, consent agenda resolution to urge the United States Department of Energy to approve ConocoPhillips’ natural gas export license application. The second, an ordinance to approve a property lease for Cook Inlet Energy. ConocoPhillips closed its Kenai LNG plant in 2012 citing gas supplies shortages. According to the resolution, the plant previously produced more than $20 million annually in economic benefit. With recent developments in the Cook Inlet, the State of Alaska asked the company to reopen the plant, and in December of 2013, ConocoPhillips filed for a two-year Kenai LNG export license. The LNG facility is estimated to provide 50 direct jobs and 120 indirect jobs on the central portion of the Kenai Peninsula. Later in the meeting, the assembly unanimously authorized Borough Mayor Mike Navarre to execute a 30-year lease to Cook Inlet Energy for 4.7 acres north of Kenai for $5,700 annually; subject to 3 percent annual increases. The lease may be renewed for two additional 10year terms. The assembly previously approved a reclassification of See LEASE, page A-10
Marijuana initiative backers turn in signatures Index Opinion.................. A-4 Business................ A-5 Nation/World.......... A-6 Sports.....................A-8 Arts........................ B-1 Classifieds............. B-3 Comics................... B-6
Check us out online at www.peninsulaclarion.com To subscribe, call 283-3584.
By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — A citizens’ group hoping to make Alaska the third state in the nation to legalize recreational use of marijuana took a step closer Wednesday, submitting more than 46,000 signatures to the state election office. If enough signatures are verified — they need about 30,000 qualified signatures — the question of whether to make pot legal in the nation’s northernmost state will go before voters in the Aug. 19 primary. Signatures must come from at least 7 percent of voters in at least 30 House districts. “It’s clear that Alaskans are eager to have an opportunity to express their displeasure with
the current system and make a change,” said one of sponsors, Tim Hinterberger, a professor in the School of Medical Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage. “I have a great feeling today,” said another sponsor, Mary Reff, after she and other volunteers carried in 20 boxes of signatures to the state elections office in Anchorage. Voters in Colorado and Washington state last year legalized marijuana, and the language of the Alaska initiative is similar to the Colorado measure. “We have no reason to think our campaign will be any less successful,” Hinterberger said. State election officials have 60 days to accept or deny the initiative for the ballot, Alaska
Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said in an email to The Associated Press. The state has a complicated relationship with marijuana. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that banning home use and possession of small amounts of marijuana violated a constitutional right to privacy. Since then, activists and others have battled over the law and its implications. The 1975 decision did not mention a specific amount one could possess, but in 1982 the Alaska Legislature determined less than 4 ounces was fine unless there was evidence of sales or distribution. That amount was later reduced to 1 ounce. The law remains murky. In 2006, the Alaska Legislature See LEGAL, page A-10 C
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AP Photo/Mark Thiessen
Boxes containing more than 46,000 signatures for an initiative to make recreational use of marijuana legal in Alaska sit outside a hallway at the state Division of Elections office in Anchorage on Wednesday. If the state verifies there are enough valid signatures, the measure will appear on the Alaska primary ballot on Aug. 19.