In a borough update to the joint Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche described borough accomplishments, priorities for the future, and the need for “a disciplined focus on efficiency and cost control.”

Micciche pointed to updated anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies, improvements to Solid Waste, and providing funding for education as positive developments since he took office in 2022. He also described the ways the borough is soliciting feedback and seeking to further identify problems and solutions — such as the “Your Better KPB” survey or the creation of a subcommittee on housing and the cost of living.

“We’ve really dedicated our efforts to fostering partnerships with the folks that we serve and the folks that join us in serving others in the community,” he said.

Micciche also gave brief updates on the bond projects for Central Emergency Services and school maintenance.

“We’re on track in some way, we’re responsibly delayed in others,” he said. “I’m not sure that anyone was prepared for the escalation in construction costs that we saw from the date the bond was approved until you start processing what it’s actually going to cost.”

He said the new CES fire station is “on track” and soon going out to bid, that a bid is about to be awarded for Seward High School’s track, and that other projects are “moving forward.” Construction of a new facility for Soldotna Elementary, he said, is “a challenge.”

“We’ll get there,” he said. “We’re evaluating what those costs look like from today’s realistic lens, and different ways to go about meeting them.”

Also on the horizon is renewed construction along the Kenai Spur Highway, including the addition of streetlights between Kenai and Soldotna.

A focus of the borough for the future, Micciche said, is the development of a land plan.

He pointed to housing shortages, especially in the eastern and southern communities as hindering the borough’s ability to “grow responsibly.”

“We need to have a vision for our land,” Micciche said.

He said the borough is working to understand the land that it has, then categorize it. That land can be used for “institutional use,” for industrial or commercial development and for residential. The goal, Micciche said, is that sales of land for residential purposes will “prioritize borough residents.”

“We want people to raise their families here; we want them to build their homes here,” he said. “That is the maximum value for the borough.”

In the absence of such a guiding principle, he said the borough in the 1990s sold 1,400 acres of land near Hope to a California resident for $200,000, roughly $143 per acre. Land in Hope today is “often” sold for $150,000 per half acre, according to information in the presentation.

“An entire community could have fit in that space,” he said.

Another example of “vision,” Micciche said, is the borough’s budget. He echoed statements he made when the fiscal year 2024 budget was passed in June, saying that it was balanced, unanimously approved by the borough assembly, and that it was designed with a “guiding principle” of keeping the perspectives of taxpayers and businesses in mind instead of the needs of the government.

That means, Micciche said, focusing on the services the borough provides. Looking to the future, he said that much consideration is being put into combining service areas to consolidate expenses related to needs like fire safety.

“Firefighters are expensive,” he said.

Combining fire departments in places like the eastern Kenai Peninsula can “spread the cost.” He pointed to Central Emergency Services as proof that the method works.

“Remaining sustainable overtime matters,” Micciche said. “If you don’t have your finger on the pulse and discipline to budget responsibly every day in every department on every line, you will lose control.”

In focusing on those services, Micciche said the borough is focused on “providing quality affordable services for borough residents through the sensible use of our resources.”

The success of the borough in providing those services, he said, ultimately hinges on its employees.

It’s borough employees, he said, who are dedicated and invested in a vision for the future and work every day to provide the borough’s services. He pointed to Purchasing and Contracting Director John Hedges, who’s been with the borough for 20 years; three women in the planning department who together bring 50 years of experience; two CES firefighters who boast 10 years each.

“Our employees are out there every day for you,” Micciche said. “They work for you, and they make it work for the rest of us.”

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.