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What the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly requested more of in postponing action on a proposed utility special assessment district was the one thing Enstar couldn't spare -- time.

When Resolution 2008-089, proposing a south Kalifornsky Beach Road utility special assessment district, was presented to the assembly, it postponed action on the USAD until March 3. At the same Dec. 2 meeting, the assembly passed a different USAD, at the Cardwell subdivision located between Soldotna and Kasilof. Accessed by Margretta Street, Marty Lane, Voyager Street, portions of Cardwell Road and Kalea Avenue, property owners of the approved USAD will receive a natural gas main line courtesy of Enstar, the same utility sought after by the K-beach residents.

The major difference between the two similar USADs was opposition. In the Cardwell USAD case, no one spoke against it, said Assemblyman Gary Knopp. However, the proposed K-Beach USAD drew testimony from some parcel owners wishing to be excluded.

Knopp said some spoke out against the USAD because they didn't want gas and others because they wouldn't have had access to it. One such property owner was Paul Zimmerman. According to Kenai Assemblyman Hal Smalley, Zimmerman has three lots within the USAD in question that he cannot build on. His home also stands in an area where he would be unable to receive gas from the main line.

Though Zimmerman would have no benefit from the gas line, he would have been responsible to pay the nearly $3,000 per-parcel fee had the USAD passed.

Smalley said another property owner testified to spending thousands of dollars transferring their home to wood heat and though they met the criteria to use gas, didn't want to.

Smalley said that there was a workable solution between those that wanted the gas line and those neighbors that didn't, but more time was needed to work through those issues. However, due to the Dec. 31 expiration date set by Enstar, adequate time was not available for this project.

On Sept. 16, Enstar wrote a letter to the borough stating that if the south K-beach USAD was approved by Dec. 31, they would build the gas line at the 2008 approved prices, said Assemblyman Charlie Pierce.

Pierce, who works for Enstar, said all of Enstar's pricing is reviewed and approved each year by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

On Oct. 10, Enstar drafted another letter, changing the dollar amount but keeping the statement the same about honoring the 2008 pricing even though the project would be built in 2009. Pierce said when a project is carried over to the next year, Enstar absorbs the increased costs, hence the reason for the Dec. 31 ultimatum.

After the assembly postponed action on the USAD until March at the Dec. 2 meeting, it asked Pierce to request an extension from Enstar. With the upcoming assembly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Enstar said it would extend their offer until Wednesday, if the USAD did not pass by then, the price would increase by an estimated 40 percent.

According to Knopp, the estimated increase would have come out to an approximately additional $12 per gas hook-up per month.

"It's not an issue of money, it's more an issue of process," Smalley said.

Pierce said Enstar's ultimatum was not intended to create a situation of urgency.

"We can't just leave these things open ended forever," he said.

Before Tuesday's meeting, Borough Mayor Dave Carey vetoed the postponement of the USAD in question. He said he did so to bring it back in front of the assembly and keep the price down for the property owners.

The assembly's vote to override Carey's veto failed, putting the resolution back in front of them. The resolution failed on a tie 4-to-4 vote, with Pierce abstaining.

Knopp said he opposed the USAD because he didn't want to create inequities but would like to see residents from the proposed USAD re-write another resolution. "I'm still hoping we can rework it and get it back on the books."

Mike Nesper can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.