Assembly formally asks Corps of Engineers for hearing on Kinross trucking plan
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly officially asked the Army Corps of Engineers to hold a hearing on the proposed Kinross gold trucking plan, a sensible move.
The assembly approved the measure 5-4 with opposition by Tammie Wilson, who is Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Fairbanks representative. The other opponents were Jimi Cash, Frank Tomaszewski and Aaron Lojewski.
Assembly member David Guttenberg, sponsor of the measure, supported it, along with Matt Cooper, Savannah Fletcher, Kristan Kelly and Mindy O’Neall.
Lojewski claimed to have a conflict of interest because he has an aurora tour business and headlights on highways from the trucks would be bad for his business. That clearly does not constitute a conflict of interest, so perhaps he just didn’t want to vote on the measure. He was not permitted to abstain.
Guttenberg said people in Fairbanks want to have their voices heard, which is one reason why a public hearing is warranted.
Another reason is that the Dunleavy administration has failed to do an analysis of the proposed trucking plan.
Wilson spoke as if there has been state analysis, but provided no evidence. She asked one person who testified in favor of the measure, Garrison Collette, “Do you not believe that DOT has already kind of done those studies to realize that these roads and bridges can handle the wear and tear of this type of project?”
Collette responded, “I have asked that question of DOT many times myself and they are unwilling to share their calculations with us.”
As Dunleavy’s representative in Fairbanks, Wilson should provide the information to the public, if it exists.
On Friday, the transportation department posted on Facebook that no plan has been received from Kinross, so there has not been an analysis.
“Kinross has not shared a formal proposal with us yet, we are very interested in looking at it once it has been formalized,” the department claimed.
This is a misleading statement, as the department is aware of the informal proposal and should have performed due diligence. The department has sent mid-level officials to meetings to support Kinross and make generalized statements about legal loads and safety, etc.
But Commissioner Ryan Anderson, who has already signed on a a supporter of the Dunleavy reelection campaign, has not spoken out or called for an independent review. If he continues to block the necessary research about public safety and road maintenance, he should not be confirmed by the Legislature.