The outcome of the Tuesday election for Home Rule here in Soldotna was interesting indeed. Voter turn-out was low and there seemed to be more interest in this issue from folks in surrounding communities. I would wonder if there is mistrust for the city government but there doesn’t seem to be any glaring issues in that regard. I would suggest that there is a deeper issue, that being that Soldotna is centrally located to all the communities in the borough. Garbage from some of these towns have to be trucked to Soldotna for environmental reasons. Folks come from all directions to shop in Fred Meyer, or at sport and fishing stores and soon another franchised pharmacy. If we had a couple more box stores we would be the shopping hub for the peninsula.
We already are the Peninsula’s medical center. Soldotna’s number one product is its central location which should benefit the locals who live here. What is the next square for Soldotna? Was Home Rule a possible attempt to move forward? The future of Soldotna is not just the responsibility of a few but should be the concerted efforts of all of us. Is status quo OK for Soldotna or do we need to equip ourselves for the future? We elect and we hire folks to oversee the community and we need to support our choice with our votes. Unfortunately in this case the Special Election clouded the issue with a perception by the voters that the city is trying to pull a fast one.
True or not, some damage has been done and some transparency is in order.