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Vol. 49, Issue 230
Mayor vetoes bed tax By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Voters will not find a bed tax on the ballot this October, after Mayor Charlie Pierce issued a veto on a recent ordinance passed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. The ordinance — imposing a 10% tax on rentals of temporary lodging, including motels, hotels, bed and breakfast businesses and overnight camping facilities — was passed by the assembly June 18. The veto was issued in a June 27 memo from Pierce to the assembly. In the memo, Pierce said he did not support a dedicated or targeted tax on specific activities or services. He also said having too many tax proposals on the ballot can be confusing, referring to an ordinance introduced at Tuesday’s meeting that would increase the sales tax cap from $500 to $1,000. Pierce also said the tax wasn’t equitable and that cities should decide if they want to impose a bed tax. The vote was a tie, with assembly members Hal Smalley, Willy Dunne, Brent Hibbert and Dale Bagley voting to override the veto. With the new 10% rate, the borough would expect to gain $825,000 in additional revenues for FY 2020, and then $3.3 million in FY 2021 and FY 2022. The funds would be used to to support education. The bed tax, similar to ones defeated by the borough assembly in 2017 and 2018, was proposed to close budget shortfalls facing the borough. “Due largely to the state’s current economic crisis and proposed reductions of state funds to local governments, the borough is currently facing a budgetary shortfall estimated to be substantial,” Bagley wrote in an April 25 memo to the assembly. Bagley said he thinks there is a possibility the See VETO, page A3
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‘Everything is on the table’ Facing $135M budget cut, university contemplates drastic action By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $130 million in state funding for the University of Alaska system on Friday. Now, UA President Jim Johnsen said programs, faculty and entire campuses are at risk, and tuition increases are a possibility should an override to the governor’s veto fail. “We’re doing our damnedest to navigate through this so that it doesn’t impact our students,” Johnsen said. “Everything is on the table, $134 million is huge. This cut cannot be met by ‘oh, let’s close a program here, let’s tighten our belt here.’ It can’t be
Pioneer Hall at the Kachemak Bay Campus, Kenai Peninsula College, University of Alaska Anchoarge, as seen on Tuesday, in Homer. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
done like that.” Dunleavy’s funding cut is on top of a $5 million reduc-
tion already authorized by lawmakers. Johnsen said the veto was
a surprise. “It quite frankly was a surprise when we heard,” Johnsen said. “We met with the governor over the spring and we went over ideas on how to strengthen the university. We didn’t think he would persist in this huge cut to our budget.” Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai/Soldotna, said the cut to the university would be “financially devastating.” “How do you take $130 million from the university without an analysis?” Knopp said. Sen. Gary Stevens, RKodiak, also opposed the governor’s veto of the University of Alaska budget. A
See SMOKE, page A2
See FIRE, page A3
Mount Marathon officials to issue deferral option Due to forecasted smoke from the Swan Lake wildfire, racers registered for the Mount Marathon Race
announced Tuesday. There are a number of ways to earn a coveted bib in the race, which is capped at 1,000 racers — about 350 for the men, 350 for the women, and 150 each
By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
for junior girls and boys. The most common way for men and women to gain reentry is to finish in the the top 225. The 92nd running of the
See UA, page A16
Smoky Mountain on Thursday in Seward have the option of skipping this year’s contest up and down the 3,022-foot peak overlooking Seward and still keeping their spot in the 2020 race, race officials
Swan Lake Fire surpasses 77,000 acres The Swan Lake Fire continues to blaze through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and, at various times since first starting on June 5, has prompted smoke advisories, a fireworks ban, trails and campground closures, traffic delays and a temporary flight restriction. As of a June 2 update from the Alaska Incident Management Team, the fire is currently 77,732 acres in size and has a total of 454 personnel working to protect important infrastructure, the Sterling Highway, the community of Sterling and the Homer Electric Association’s transmission line that runs parallel to the highway. On Monday, crews focused on mop-up and suppression repair operations along 18 miles of fire break just north of the Sterling Highway. Meanwhile, the fire lines east of Sterling held strong after being tested by hot, dry weather. Personnel from the HEA worked with firefighters to inspect the transmission line, and further fire mitigation is expected to take place before the line is turned back on. The fire continues to spread primarily eastnortheast through thick strands of black spruce in the backcountry of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Protection of public use cabins in the area and the ENSTAR gas pipeline remains a priority. Daniel Patterson, public information officer for the Incident Management Team, said that the status of the fire can change on a daily basis depending on the wind, but the priority for firefighters on the ground is mopping up burned areas and securing established fire lines. Patterson said the fire will remain active until significant rainfall hits the area.
A haze of wildfire smoke hangs around the slopes of Mount Marathon in Seward on Monday. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
By JEFF HELMINIAK Peninsula Clarion
Country Foods
4th of July on the Kenai: what to expect By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Folks across the country will be celebrating America’s independence tomorrow with barbecues, parade floats and fireworks. In the city of Kenai, the annual 4th of July Parade and festival will take place start-
ing at 11 a.m. on Trading Bay Road in front of the Surgery Center of Kenai. Parade participants will start lining up at 8 a.m. and anyone interested in being a part of the parade can go the Kenai Chamber of Commerce’s website or register that morning before 10 a.m. “We don’t care if you’re in
a float or a four-wheeler, everyone is welcome to participate,” Johna Beech, president of the Kenai Chamber, said on Tuesday. Beech said that the parade typically gets between 75 and 100 participants each year with hundreds more watching along the sidelines. She suggested that anyone looking to score some candy
Pamyua to bring sounds of Alaska to Soldotna music series By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion
The latest installment of the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series will have a distinctly Alaskan feel, and a prestigious one at that. Week five of the burgeoning summer series spotlights Pamyua, a successful Yup’ik musical group from Anchorage that has become ingrained in the Alaska musical culture over
the past 20 years. Pamyua — pronounced “Bum-You-Ah” — is comprised of four band members: Karina Moller, Ossie Kairaiuak, Phillip Blanchett and Stephen Blanchett. The music they perform is primarily traditional Native Alaskan with a flair of modern sounds. Self-proclaimed as “tribal funk,” “world music” and “Inuit soul music,” Pamyua is one of the top-flight
names to have hit the stage at Soldotna Creek Park, where the show will begin tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. Soldotna Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Shanon Davis said the concert is expected to bring a vibrant Native Alaskan feel to the music series. “We’re incredibly excited to bring culture to the park,” Davis said. “Their diversity and styles is really See MUSIC, page A2
should find a spot close to the beginning of the parade’s route. “Your best bet for candy is probably going to be Willow Street,” Beech said. “That’s when everyone is still feeling generous.” Thanks to donations from the city of Kenai, Marathon Petroleum and other parade
sponsors, volunteers will be handing out 1,500 gift bags filled with candy, American flags, Frisbees and sidewalk chalk to keep kids entertained as they wait for the floats to pass by. After lining up on Trading Bay Road, the parade route will go down Fidalgo See 4TH, page A3
Move to remove voter OK on sales tax cap increase tabled By VICTORIA PETERSEN Peninsula Clarion
An ordinance removing required voter approval to increase the borough’s sale tax cap was withdrawn from Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting agenda. The ordinance, introduced by assembly members Kelly Cooper and Kenn Carpenter, would not raise the sales tax cap, which has been $500 since
1964 when the borough was established. Carpenter, who was a co-sponsor of the ordinance moved to take it off the agenda. He said he included it on the agenda to get voter feedback, and said he has received said feedback. Another ordinance to increase the sales tax cap from $500 to $1,000 was introduced at Tuesday’s meeting, and will be heard See TAX, page A3