Fairbanks Mayor Presents Alternative Fairbanks Plan

[The Mayor presented via audio.]

10:50  Mayor Luke Hopkins, and Chris ???

Mayor:  I hope you have our maps printed before you.
Torg:  yes we do
Mayor:  Don't need full 1/2 hours.  Sent letter in April, some of those conditions and comments are no longer relevant for this presentation.  But submitted Fairbanks NSB - similar to Rights Coalition plan.  Tweaking within NSB boundaries and what I want to discuss today.
Issue wherever possible Muni's excess population should go into one group.  All the parts have problems with the excess going off to other groups with out the SEconomic connections to our borough.  Every other piece wants part of us.  But tied to different Socio-economic groups.  Different cultures, different economic basis, no urban concerns, different lifestyles, and other issues.
Our census population is how I want to pull the concerns of our residents back within our burough.  Half districts - 8,000 Fairbanks citizens grouped with off road rural communities with no se similarities and off-road, is of concern to me.

Geo and road boundaries and cohesive neighborhoods, reducing to possible neighbors along ??? streets.  Not sure what final plan you have, can't see from here.  Our map, as we go along Chena Hotsprings road, separates t2o rivers area into 2 separate districts, our plans puts them back together and makes more sense of Geo boundaries - pipeline, major roads, sloughs, meeting requirements of deviations, but dist 6-10 wholly in borrough, and 5 matches with road district that includes NPole, agricultural areas along Eilson, Military and road access all the way to Valdez.
Looking at population changes that Rights group post, we offer different plan - can have all within Borough except for the 8,000 that is tied economically/work with highway to Valdez.

Looking at other plans we heard and viewd - things like school districts, utlities etc. all point to issues FNSB that we've taken ?????  I know that in boradest sense, concluding here, our ecoomic consideration not similar to Ketchikan or Holy Cross when I look at our population.  Also don't mix well with Matsu which has its connection to anchorage economy.  We have cohesive grouping within its boundaries.  When have to divide up a borough and must take it out of borough, excess should go to brouping with similar characteristics.  Every plan excepts Rights plan has paired Fairbanks residents who drive ten miles to work on paved roads, running water, shopping centers, do not match.

We hope you consider this carefully in your next plan.  Thank you

11:03
Chris:  Our plan does not take in any other boroughs, no Matsu, no parts of Denali, trying to stay within our boundaries and serve our citizens.
Torg:  Questions.  Legal counsel has questions.
White:  I'm looking at the maps.  In our grouping. Map3.  The broadest overview.  You combined.  Coming up from South Valdez district - you went left to fill out the district.  Why not go right?   Why combine Eilson?
Mayor?  Criteria for that area.  I don't believe it addresses the concentrated population we have in the borough.  Not a lot of agriculture, military or pipeline employment in the right.  That's the reason, if I understand question and map.
White:  We had testimony that said keep Eilson with Fairbanks not Valdez.
Mayor:  that's when we were looking at some of the plans.  Finally had Rights plan - that testimony to now, when we do it, not the way the Rights plan did it, this is the best for people who have similarities.
Chris:  going to right, just bombing ranges.  Voting precincts would have huge disconect.  That area is nothing.  Had gone off to left side and combined it with Salcha south, huge discontinuous area.
White:  Can you tell us how much of North Pole you put into 5?
Mayor:  Yes between 5 and 6 along pipeline route.  Both are tied in same Senate district.  We have different house districts.  Took from Coalition plan.  Moved approximately 2 blocks addressed two rivers along hot springs road.  Within 6 the entire NP city - took the entire zip code.
White:  Senate pairings?
Mayor:  5&6  7&8, 9&10
White:  Deviation in 5 3.??% over.  Why so high?
Mayor:  Within the allowable.  When tried to move that half district around, felt being within the acceptable deviations, it matched the socio-economic aspects of the borough.  There could be some tweakings of 5 in the Rights plan.  Portion around Tok might rduce some of that.  Our balance for our proposal, thought you'd find it acceptable.
White:  Thank you very much, we appreciate all the work you did.

11:10