The Kenai Peninsula Borough building, pictured Sept. 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

The Kenai Peninsula Borough building, pictured Sept. 12, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Service board elections vote delayed

The vote was moved to November in order to allow the service area boards to weigh in.

An ordinance changing service board elections to appointments was postponed until November at Tuesday’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting.

The move was made to allow for local service area boards to make recommendations on the ordinance.

The borough has 12 service boards, of which seven boards include elected positions. Historically, it has been difficult to find qualified candidates willing to run for service board seats, an Aug. 22 memo to the assembly from assembly members Willy Dunne and Brent Hibbert said.

“The borough is one of the few boroughs, if not the only, in the State of Alaska with elected service area boards,” the memo said.

Changing from elected boards to appointed boards will significantly reduce the time and expense involved in borough elections, the ordinance said.

The assembly was scheduled to vote on the ordinance during Tuesday’s meeting, but assembly member Hal Smalley moved to postpone the decision until the Nov. 5 meeting, allowing the service area boards to weigh in.

Earlier this summer, the Election Stakeholders Group — a group established by the assembly to research ways to increase voter participation — published their final report and recommendations.

One of their six specific recommendations asks the borough to appoint service board members, rather than hold elections.

“Appointed boards have proven to increase public interest in service on a board as potential board members would not have to run or otherwise comply with the election process requirements,” the memo said.

The clerk’s office has indicated thousands of dollars could be saved by eliminating the seats from the election process.

Cost savings would come from a reduction in printing costs and the time required of election officials and the clerk’s office when it comes to reviewing ballots, the memo said.

The ordinance said the appointment process will remain a public process, where openings will be advertised and the mayor will appoint interested applicants and the assembly confirms the appointment.

More in News

The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska, as seen on April 1, 2020. (Peninsula Clarion file)
HEA rates to increase Jan. 1

The cooperative’s last rate increase took effect in April 2020

AP Photo/Erin Hooley
An eight-week-old sea otter rescued from Seldovia, Alaska, peaks out of his enclosure at Shedd Aquarium Wednesday, Dec. 6 in Chicago. The otter was found alone and malnourished and was taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward which contacted Shedd, and the Chicago aquarium was able to take the otter in. He will remain quarantined for a few months while he learns to groom and eat solid foods before being introduced to Shedd’s five other sea otters.
Seldovia sea otter pup has a new home at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium

The northern sea otter was found alone and malnourished and taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward

Students from Nikiski Middle/High School and Kenai Middle School join Jesse Bjorkman, Ken Felchle and volunteers from the Kenai Peninsula Chapter of Safari Club International on an educational moose hunt in Nikiski, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. (Photo provided by Jesse Bjorkman)
Lessons in big game hunting

Students learn to ethically and responsibly harvest a moose and process its meat for food

Cook Inletkeeper Energy Policy Analyst Ben Boettger presents information about retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Inletkeeper turns focus to energy for next community climate solution

The meeting marked the official kickoff of Cook Inletkeeper’s fourth installment in its local solution series

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Woman arrested after allegedly shooting neighbor’s house

The woman had been trying to break up a dog fight, troopers said

A pie chart shows Kenai Peninsula Borough School District expenditures by object for the current fiscal year. (Chart via KPBSD)
Explanation of how KPBSD organizes funds caps ‘Budget 101’ series

Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes delivered the presentation to school board members during a Monday work session

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, answers questions from constituents during a legislative update at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Ruffridge predicts school funding, energy security will be top issues in Juneau next session

Ruffridge has represented District 7, which includes Kenai and Soldotna, in the Alaska House of Representatives since October 2022

Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education meet on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
New school board group will study 4-day school week

The group will meet regularly until next July, when committee members will present their findings to the full board

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Advisory committee supports protections for lake trout and king salmon

Advisory committee recommendations will be weighed by the State Board of Fisheries alongside public testimony as they deliberate on each proposal

Most Read