03/30/2017 03:30 PM Senate STATE AFFAIRS

            SB 77-SECOND CLASS BOROUGH SERVICE AREAS                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:41:27 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DUNLEAVY called  the committee back to  order and announced                                                               
the consideration of Senate Bill (SB) 77.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:42:02 PM                                                                                                                    
RACHEL  HANKE,  Staff,  Senator   Peter  Micciche,  Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  Juneau,  Alaska,  sponsor  of SB  77  provided  the                                                               
following overview:                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Senate Bill 77 adds one paragraph to [Alaska Statutes]                                                                     
      Title 29 which would allow second-class boroughs to                                                                       
        establish non-taxable service areas within state-                                                                       
     highway  corridors where  no voters  reside; this  will                                                                    
     result  in  more  consistent  and  effective  emergency                                                                    
     services which  are often life-saving.  Currently these                                                                    
     areas   rely  heavily   on  volunteer-based   services.                                                                    
     Passage of  this bill  will give  second-class boroughs                                                                    
     the freedom  to provide  these emergency  services with                                                                    
     no cost to the state.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:43:03 PM                                                                                                                    
LARRY PERSILY, Chief  of Staff to Borough  Mayor, Kenai Peninsula                                                               
Borough,  Soldotna, Alaska,  testified in  support of  SB 77  and                                                               
explained  the  need  for  the  legislation  from  the  borough's                                                               
perspective as follows:                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     As  Senator Micciche's  office  has  explained to  you,                                                                    
     this  is  a  unique  problem  on  the  Kenai  Peninsula                                                                    
     Borough.  We have  about 100  miles of  highway, Seward                                                                    
     and  Sterling  highways, heavily  traveled,  year-round                                                                    
     average of  3,000 to 4,000  vehicles a day  with summer                                                                    
     peaks  of 8,000  to  9,000 vehicles  a  day. The  Kenai                                                                    
     Borough  does  not  have area-wide  emergency  services                                                                    
     powers. We  rely on volunteers  for Moose  Pass, Cooper                                                                    
     Landing,  Hope Highway,  Central Emergency  Services in                                                                    
     Sterling and Soldotna to do  the best they can to cover                                                                    
     that heavily trafficked area. The  last two years there                                                                    
     have  been almost  200-personal  injuries from  vehicle                                                                    
     accidents.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     What this would allow is  for the Kenai Borough a local                                                                    
     option, it  allows second-class boroughs,  by ordinance                                                                    
     by  their  assembly,  to create  an  emergency-services                                                                    
     service  area  literally  only  along  a  state-highway                                                                    
     corridor; no taxable  property in that corridor-service                                                                    
     area,  no   property  taxation,  no   private  property                                                                    
     owners, it  would just be  on the highway  corridor, in                                                                    
     this  case  Sterling  and Stewart  highways,  it's  DOT                                                                    
     right-of-way and  it's mostly  federal land  that would                                                                    
     give a  local option if  HB 148 or  SB 77 were  to pass                                                                    
     the   Kenai  Peninsula   Borough  Assembly   in  public                                                                    
     meetings,  public comment,  would  have  the option  of                                                                    
     setting up  this service area  deciding how to  pay for                                                                    
     it.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     The mayor's proposal  is to use federal  funds that the                                                                    
     borough  receives  payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILT)  and                                                                    
     those  federal funds  come to  the borough  in-lieu-of-                                                                    
     property-taxes on the federal  lands which underlie the                                                                    
     highway,  which  is where  we  would  put this  highway                                                                    
     corridor.  Certainly, if  this bill  were to  pass, the                                                                    
     mayor  was  to  propose  it, the  borough  assembly  to                                                                    
     approve it,  and use federal  funds that is  being used                                                                    
     elsewhere in the  budget, the borough is  going to have                                                                    
     to  decide, the  borough  assembly and  administration,                                                                    
     where  they would  cut to  make those  funds available,                                                                    
     they  are already  being  spent,  federal PILT  dollars                                                                    
     going into the  general fund, but that would  be at the                                                                    
     borough's responsibility.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     We  have   reached  out,  there   are  six-second-class                                                                    
     boroughs  in   the  state:  Kenai,   Ketchikan  Gateway                                                                    
     Borough,   Kodiak  Island   Borough,  Aleutians   East,                                                                    
     Bristol  Bay,  Fairbanks,   and  the  Matanuska-Susitna                                                                    
     Borough; there are  no objections from any  of the six.                                                                    
     For  example, the  Matanuska-Susitna Borough  has area-                                                                    
     wide-emergency services authority as it  is, so it is a                                                                    
     moot  issue  to  them.  In the  Aleutians  East,  their                                                                    
     response was, "I would be  happy to have roads," not an                                                                    
     issue for them.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:46:10 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL  addressed the Fairbanks  North Star  Borough and                                                               
asked if a disparity will be created by the bill.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR.  PERSILY explained  that  he has  spoken  with the  Fairbanks                                                               
North Star  Borough and  they did  not have  an objection  to the                                                               
bill. He pointed out that  Kenai Peninsula Borough's situation is                                                               
different because  there is no  private ownership and  no taxable                                                               
property in the service area on the highway corridor.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:48:16 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COGHILL noted that in  addressing the bill with his staff                                                               
that an issue would occur within municipal boundaries.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR. PERSILY answered  correct. He specified that the  bill is not                                                               
an  opportunity for  the Kenai  Peninsula Borough  to expand  and                                                               
take over parts of Anchorage.  He explained that the service area                                                               
would stop  at the Central  Emergency Services District  which is                                                               
Sterling and Soldotna.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:49:10 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  COGHILL  remarked  that   the  legislation  may  provoke                                                               
thought  in  others.  He said  the  emergency  medical  services'                                                               
response time probably could be shortened significantly.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.  PERSILY  replied   that  not  only  is   the  response  time                                                               
addressed, but the  time taken for long callouts.  He pointed out                                                               
that a callout from  Cooper Landing could take as long  as 4 to 6                                                               
hours. He  said the intent  is not  build new stations  or buying                                                               
new equipment. He  specified that the objective  is to coordinate                                                               
and manage  callouts, make  sure there is  backup, and  make sure                                                               
there is adequate staff when long callouts occur.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:50:14 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR GIESSEL noted  that the service area in  question used to                                                               
be in  her district. She pointed  out that the other  factor with                                                               
Cooper  Landing  are the  aging  volunteers  and the  significant                                                               
concern  about new  volunteers. She  remarked that  the more  the                                                               
volunteer  staff  can  be  bolstered,  the  better  for  all  the                                                               
travelers. She  pointed out that  public safety must  be provided                                                               
because Anchorage-based  drivers and tourists  travel extensively                                                               
to the Kenai Peninsula every summer.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:50:53 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DUNLEAVY  noted that the  Richardson Highway  was mentioned                                                               
in previous testimony  and specified that the  bill only pertains                                                               
to  boroughs and  not  unorganized areas  even  if the  organized                                                               
areas have highways.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. PERSILY  answered correct.  He specified  that the  bill only                                                               
applies to the six unorganized, second-class boroughs.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:51:15 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DUNLEAVY held SB 77 in committee.