A shoutout to resolving an issue

On Tuesday, July 2 our local assembly came together to unanimously approve Resolution 2019-42. This resolution encourages all parties to calibrate and work toward a common goal of improving the quality of life and the boating safety for the 2,145 private property owners along the Funny River Road corridor.

Today, there is not one public boat launch along the 36-mile Funny River Road corridor, although this corridor is just blocks away from the Kenai, Killey and Funny Rivers. This is of concern because only 16% of the property owners on these three rivers have property bordering these rivers.

With the state of Alaska owning over 15,000 running feet of riverfront properties along these river corridors with no bank fishing, compounded with the issues of no public boat access to this area, it is problematic at best — leading to trespassing, unsafe boat launch concerns and absolutely no place for the children in this area to simply “fish.”

Hats off to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, the Office of the Mayor, the borough attorney and the borough GIS employees for their time and input to formalize the resolution. Also, a round of applause for the testimony provided by the executive director of the Kenai River Sportsfishing Association for the Association’s positive affirmation of the resolution. Finally, a real thank you to Director Ricky Geese, Division of Alaska State Parks and Reaction, for providing the necessary written correspondence to begin a starting point to remedy the issues of recreational activities along the Funny River Road Corridor.

— Jim Harpring, Funny River Road