Traffic Light Riverside/Stephen Richards

On Tuesday the Planning Commission had an interesting issue regarding traffic and Thunder Mountain High School. The permit allowing the high school to open says that they have to have a traffic light at Riverside and Stephen Richards. The city asked the planning commission to repeal that condition because 1) they would not be able to do it before school is supposed to open in September and 2) they argued we don't need it anyway, since the school is smaller than originally planned.

Now a light has just been installed at the entrance to the HS on Riverside. And Stephen Richards has been a problem intersection, even before the HS. The city staff argued they could cover the traffic problem with a no- left-turn sign from Stephen Richards to Riverside. But that wouldn't solve the issue of pedestrians (especially children going to Floyd Dryden or Glacier Valley).

Ultimately, the Planning Commission overruled the city and said a light (or a roundabout) would have to be installed, but in the meantime they could have a stop sign or crossing guard.

I agree with the decision. A light (with a button for pedestrians) is a much better solution to that intersection.

Quiet meeting but exciting proposal

Our Monday 7/14 meeting seemed fairly quiet. You can read the draft minutes HERE. Planning Director Dale Pernula presented a report on building permit activity that was interesting. You can view that HERE. Next Assembly meeting is August 11.

The city just received a letter from the Goldbelt Corporation asking to start negotiations on configuration of a road around the end of North Douglas. I am enthusiastically supportive of moving forward on this. Juneau has a severe shortage of land that can be used. If we are going to flourish as a community we need to develop our resources in an environmentally responsible manner. We have a starting point with the previously approved West Douglas Conceptual plan.

This is a way for Juneau to move forward together. Juneau is not pro or anti development. We are pro responsible development. The West Douglas plan provides Juneau an opportunity to show what we can do if we work together. I promise you I will work hard to move this forward.

Why I will run for a second term

This is the time of year for elections and my three year term is over in October. I have pretty much decided to run for re-election. The official filing time with the city is between August 8 and 18. A potential candidate needs a petition form from the city clerk and 25 persons to sign on to support them. I just picked up that form yesterday and will be collecting the signatures. You can find out more about the candidate process at http://www.juneau.org/clerk/elections/

There are three Assembly seats up and two School Board. Besides myself, Merrill Sanford and Bob Doll are up for re-election to the Assembly. I think (but not sure) that Margo Waring and Mark Choate are up for the School Board. No one really knows who will actually run for re-election until they file their petitions. And nobody knows who else might file against them.
But I have made my decision and now I must convince the citizens of Juneau that they should support me for another term.

I believe my biggest qualification is my commitment to personal integrity. Being true to myself, to my God and to others is extremely important to me. The second is my willingness to work hard on the issues. My day job is being a professor of public administration at UAS. I study public policy for a living. I put in the time to understand the background and am constantly asking questions. Third, I am not afraid to stand up and speak out against what I see as wrong-- and more importantly to speak FOR what I see as right. I see no need to play politics.

The biggest issue I see for Juneau is to develop an economy that is not so dependent on state government. If Juneau is to survive as a vibrant and growing community, we need to nourish responsible development. And to be successful we need to come together. We need to leave behind the divisiveness that has been so strong in the past and that is so destructive for Juneau. We need to find ways to go forward together, with a unified vision of a great community. I hope to put more effort into that unifying direction and to oppose efforts to divide us into stereotypical groups-- pro this or anti that. Those labels are not helpful. We need to find ways to move forward together, not to fight each other. And to that end I will devote my efforts.

How much time does it take to be on the Assembly

One of the things I discovered is that Assembly members can devote as much or as little time to city matters as they choose. You can simply show up at regular meetings and vote-- or you can dig into the background, talk to staff, read up on the law etc. etc. The amount of background work you can do is infinite. So there is this balance between doing nothing and devoting your every waking hour, and nobody is measuring you. Nobody is holding you accountable. You can do as much or as little as you choose (and have time for). City staff - as good as they are (and I do believe they are good) -- would just as soon Assembly members didn’t do that much and simply accept whatever staff recommenda. [And that is, indeed, what some members do. ]

And what do citizens know? They don’t know if Assembly members do their homework or dig into things. They just know an election campaign slogan or maybe the endorsement of an organization they trust. Maybe, just maybe, they contact their Assembly member and see how they respond. I hope citizens do that more.