The ski resort hamlet of Girdwood could be left without police protection, if a contract with the city of Whittier is not finalized before October first. The state will close it’s Alaska State Trooper post in Girdwood in a little over two weeks, while contract negotiations between the municipality of Anchorage and Whittier for law enforcement services for Girdwood have yet to be completed.
Sam Daniel heads the public safety and utilities committee for the Girdwood Board of Supervisors. He told the Anchorage Municipal Assembly this week that contract negotiations need to be speeded up.
“The Whittier contract is down to about the last 5% or 10% of negotiations between the city of Whittier and the municipality of Anchorage. And there is renewed sense of urgency in requesting the city’s assistance in helping us to push this over the finish line.”
Daniel says the sticking point now is in how 911 calls will be forwarded from APD dispatch to Whittier.
He says another complication lies in how Whittier’s city government requires its city council to approve the contract at two different council meetings, adding to the timeline for contract approval.
“If we don’t have the contract finalized by the first, because of Whittier’s timeline for approval, then we may very well try to put together an interim agreement similar to what we had for the Girdwood Forest Fair, so that Whittier can be our interim police coverage until we have the police contract finalized.”
Municipal attorney Bill Falsey, fresh from a meeting on the issue on Wednesday afternoon, says there’s no reason there won’t be a smooth transition for Girdwood.
“There’s no technical reason that should preclude a person from calling 911 in Girdwood ultimately being routed to a Whittier police officer for a response. There have been open questions about how 911 handoffs and dispatches will work. I think we are well down the road in solving those open questions, and now I see no reason why that can’t be completely resolved.”
Falsey says the contract would provide two officers for Girdwood’s service area at all times, although how they would be dispatched is up to the Whittier police chief.
However, Falsey said Wednesday, contract negotiations are not finalized yet, and may not beat the October 1 deadline because Whittier’s city council may not approve the contract in time.
“That is not likely to happen before October first. But as an interim measure, as I understand it, the Whittier council can adopt a short, straddle contract which would cover us for a month or two.”
Sam Daniel says he is optimistic that the negotiations will be successful. If an interim agreement is necessary, Daniel says it will mean only regular patrols in Girdwood, not 12 – 16 hours a day of police coverage.
During the muni’s April election this year, Girdwood residents approved a local tax assessment to pay for the $618, 000 law enforcement contract.
Girdwood’s Board of Supervisors public safety committee meets this Friday, September 16, in a special meeting to discuss the contract.
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
