Mat-Su Assembly indefinitely delays talks on annexing Eagle River, Chugiak

What you need to know:

• The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted 6-1 to indefinitely postpone a resolution that would have allowed formal discussions about annexing the Chugiak-Eagle River area into Mat-Su
• The Annex Now group offers an alternative to the ongoing Eaglexit effort, which seeks to peel the Chugiak-Eagle River area from Anchorage and form a separate borough. Eaglexit is currently awaiting a state decision on whether it can submit signatures for a ballot initiative to advance the plan.
• Eaglexit supporters urged the Mat-Su Assembly to halt any annexation discussions. A state commission decision regarding whether Eaglexit can move towards a ballot initiative is expected next month.  

• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

PALMER — The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly this week voted to indefinitely delay a resolution that would have allowed formal talks with a group seeking to annex the Chugiak-Eagle River area into the Mat-Su Borough.

The resolution would have authorized the borough to enter into official “discussions and considerations” with Chugiak and Eagle River residents who want to separate from the Municipality of Anchorage and instead join Mat-Su.

That effort, known as Annex Now, is led by seven Eagle River and Chugiak residents, organizer and former Eagle River-Chugiak Rep. Ken McCarty said in an interview Tuesday.

Annex Now is separate from a longer-term push known as Eaglexit, which aims to peel the region away from Anchorage and create a new independent borough. That proposal is currently under review by the state’s Local Boundary Commission. A decision on whether Eaglexit can submit signatures for a ballot initiative on the matter is expected next month.

The Mat-Su Assembly voted 6-1 to indefinitely postpone the resolution supporting annexation discussions — a move that effectively kills the proposal — and instead wait for the commission to decide whether Eagle River can form its own borough.

“I don't want to do anything that is going to give the boundary commission the idea that we want to get involved in annexing Chugiak and Eagle River,” said Assembly member Bill Gamble, whose district includes Big Lake. “I think it sends a very confusing mixed message.”

Assembly member Dmitri Fonov, who sponsored the resolution, voted no because he wanted to delay the discussion rather than dismiss it completely, he said. Fonov’s district includes portions of Palmer and Wasilla.

McCarty said the Annex Now effort offers Chugiak and Eagle River residents an alternative option if the commission rejects Eaglexit’s stand-alone borough plan. Any final decision to annex the area would require voter approval both there and in the Mat-Su Borough, he said.

Supporters of Eaglexit told the assembly that even greenlighting official discussions about annexation could confuse Chugiak and Eagle River residents and potentially hurt their chances of winning approval from the commission.

“We worked so hard on this, and I just beg you to table this indefinitely — give us a chance to get this done,” said Matthew Hickey, an Eagle River businessman who supports the Eaglexit effort, during public comment Tuesday. “This is like our worst nightmare happening, and we don’t get it.”

Regardless of whether the commission allows the issue to move forward, breaking away may not be financially viable, one Anchorage city official warned.

Not only would residents need to fund their own school district, but they would likely need to buy out the city’s assets in the area, Anchorage Assembly Chair Christopher Constant told the Anchorage Daily News in an interview last month.

“The cash-out costs would be extraordinary. They would need to go into massive debt,” Constant said. “It’s going to be very, very, very, very, very expensive. Five verys.”

How much annexing the region into Mat-Su could ultimately cost the borough or Eagle River-Chugiak residents — or what the legal path for doing so would involve — was not immediately clear. Borough Attorney Nick Spiropoulos said his office is focused on other matters and has not looked into the issue.

“I don’t have the time or the inclination to chase things that we’re not involved with,” he said during Tuesday’s meeting.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com