Transcript:
Molly Sherman: Running for Borough Assembly Seat A are Miguel Ramirez and David Gutenberg. For Assembly Seat F, we have Garrett Armstrong and Tammie Wilson. And for the third seat, seat G, the candidates are Jimmy Cash and Kristen Kelly. A reminder, when candidate has 15 seconds remaining, you will see this sign and then a stop sign when the time is up.
You will hear a bell when your time has expired, if it does. We'll now have each candidate give a 30-second brief introduction, beginning with Miguel Ramirez.
[00:00:35] Miguel Ramirez: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming out. My name is Miguel Ramirez. I'm a husband, a father, a grandfather. I'm a retired combat veteran from Afghanistan and Iraq.
I fought for you, now I want to serve for you. Thank you.
[00:00:48] Molly Sherman: That was Miguel Ramirez. David Guttenberg.
[00:00:51] David Guttenberg: Thank you. Thank you. My name is David Guttenberg. I came to Fairbanks in 1969 to fight forest fires, found an amazing place, and stayed an amazing community. I retired as a laborer, construction laborer, after 25 years.
I retired out of the state and being a legislator for 16 years. And I've thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this community.
[00:01:15] Molly Sherman: Thank you David Guttenberg. Garrett Armstrong.
[00:01:18] Garret Armstrong: Good evening everyone. My name is Garrett Armstrong. I'm running for a borough assembly seat F. I was born and raised here in Fairbanks proud graduate of West Valley class of 2005 and now I have the honor of teaching at Woodriver Elementary the same school I myself attended and I'm running today and I'm running today on a campaign of stronger schools a growing economy and support for seniors. Thank you.
[00:01:38] Molly Sherman: Thank you, Garrett Armstrong.Tammie Wilson.
[00:01:41] Tammie Wilson: Hi, thank you so much for having us. Sorry, try that again. Hi, my name is Tammie Wilson and thank you so much for having this. Um, I'm a mother, grandmother, um, by day I work with children and families trying to keep them out of the care of Office of Children's Services. So that's interesting each and every day as well as heartbreaking.
Um, but the best job I have in the world is being a grandmother when you can just take them, spoil them, Give ‘em back and go on your way. What better life can you have? Thank you. Uh, thank you
[00:02:11] Molly Sherman: Tammie Wilson. Jimmy Cash.
[00:02:13] Jimi Cash: Thank you. Uh, thanks for having us all, everybody. Uh, my name is Jimmy Cash. I was born and raised here in Fairbanks.
Uh, my wife Kristen and I have been married for 20 years and we have 6 kids. Our oldest is attending UAF and our youngest is 2. So, we have the whole range. Um, I'm running for assembly because this is my home and I want my children to be able to grow up here and live here and enjoy the, the life that I've been able to, to have and then be able to stay here and afford to live here.
[00:02:37] Molly Sherman: Jimmy Cash. Thank you. Kristen Kelly.
[00:02:40] Kristin Kelly: Thank you to the League of Women Voters for hosting. And hello to all, and all of you out in radio land, hello. I'm Kristen Kelly, running for reelection. I'm a registered nonpartisan with a common sense approach to government. I'm the lady with the boots on her sign, extra tough for Fairbanks.
Professionally I've worked as a teacher and counselor in Fairbanks schools for the last 25 years. My husband Tim Mowry and I have raised our family here and I'm running again because I love it here and I want to make and keep the Fairbanks North Star Borough a great place to live and raise your family and grow old.
Molly Sherman: Thank you Kristen Kelly.
Shari George: Okay, this next question you'll have 30 seconds to answer and we'll start with David Guttenberg. What do you think the borough's budget priorities should be for the next fiscal year?
[00:03:32] David Guttenberg: Well, thank you. That's always a question, a relevant question. Well, after education, which kind of comes off the top, we get our budget from the Board of Education and we look at that.
After that, the most important thing is to, is to supply the services that the people of the borough have come to expect and enjoy, whether it's pools, transportation, planning and zoning, all those things have to be delivered in a nonsensical, plain, cost efficient way.
Shari George: Thank you, David Guttenberg. Garrett Armstrong, you're next.
[00:04:05] Garret Armstrong: Well, I say from personal experience, of course, schools are our number one investment, and I think the greatest investment the borough can make in our future. And after that, of course, I support, uh, I support investment in our parks and recreation, which are a wonderful thing for all of us to enjoy.
Shari George: Garrett Armstrong. Thank you. Tammie Wilson.
[00:04:26] Tammie Wilson: Well, just like you, the borough has to start living within its means. We've taken on a lot of powers. Second class borough starts very small, and then it grows as we vote and we put things in. I think it's time we go back to you, the voters, and find out what we're giving, is that what you're worth paying for, because this is the year you're going to have to start making those types of decisions.
[00:04:45] Jimi Cash: Thank you. In my previous four years on the Assembly, every year, education is always the number one thing that we need to fund. It's required, it's what we need to do to have a strong economy, a strong community. Um, next after that is, uh, facility maintenance, deferred maintenance.
Right after, right before I got on the Assembly, the, uh, I'm sorry, I'm forgetting, um, Capital Improvement Plan. Man, I'm stumbling all over myself. Capital Improvement Plan deals with deferred maintenance and improving our buildings and our schools because the borough owns all the school buildings. And I'm running out of time.
[00:05:25] Kristin Kelly: My answer will probably echo what you've already heard. First and foremost, we have to solve this school funding crisis. We have to get off this panic cycle that we've been on since the last six, seven years. Like Jimmy, I think deferred maintenance is super important.
At our last meeting we heard North Pole maintenance men come to us with um, they're concerned that their boilers might not even make the winter. We we can't have that We have to have a plan and we have to be funding for these major repairs
Shari George: Thank you, Kristen Kelly. And finally Miguel Ramirez.
[00:06:03] Miguel Ramirez: Uh, thank you for the great question.
Um It's the people of our borough that have to decide where we put our monies and stuff. Of course, we have to fund education, but probably deferred maintenance, but we must do it in a fiscally-responsible way. Uh, we must do it in a way that it doesn't hurt our community and our people and that's why I support the tax cap.
Shari George: Thank you, Miguel Ramirez.
Jack Barnwell: Question number two. Uh, you will have 45 seconds to respond. We will begin with Garrett Armstrong. If the Borough Assembly faces revenue reductions, what criteria would you use to make those cuts?
[00:06:40] Garret Armstrong: Well, that is a great question. Um, I would say it's difficult because, of course, all of the borough services, excuse me, it's difficult one answer, unfortunately, because all the borough services are used.
And it's unfortunate to see any of them go. I would say starting, of course, with checking with our budget to make sure to see, to get exact figures, as well as consulting with the community, having listening sessions, inviting public comment, of course, and having committees to make sure we do so in a methodical and thoughtful way.
Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Garrett Armstrong. Tammie Wilson.
[00:07:13] Tammie Wilson: Well, the obvious one is 33 million for an animal shelter. So that's a pretty easy one. We're talking about deferred maintenance, yet building something that's 33 million. Not that we don't need a new animal shelter, but that's way over what you need to have here.
And the other says it's not just about listening sessions, right? It's about hearing people, helping them to figure out how to go through. And to use Parks and Recreation, we used to have a time where organizations took on those parks, and we have a lot that still do that. Why is government since then taking on their own?
There's so many ways to involve the public to have the things that they want to have.
Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Tammie Wilson. Jimmy Cash.
[00:07:49] Jimi Cash: So the wonderful thing about the capital improvement plan is we get to see what we're gonna do a few years coming and one of the main things that Tammie mentioned was the animal shelter.
If we are short on our budget and we need to cut somewhere, that's a wonderful place to start. Um, but the be the benefit of the capital improvement plan is we can look and see what's coming next and we can plan for those things and budget as we go.
Jack Barnwell: Thank you Jimmy Cash. Chris and Kelly.
[00:08:14] Kristin Kelly: Thank you for the question.
Um, having served as the finance chair this year for our budget, we had lots of information given to us. So the thought that the public isn't involved, um, I really would challenge that because it, we do everything in a very open, um, way. One thing that I. We've thought about a lot this year that if we had to next year, a really good place to cut would be those unfilled positions.
That the borough hasn't been able to fill those positions to go ahead, if we need to, to cut those positions in order to keep the level of services that we need to provide in our borough at the level that our residents expect.
Jack Barnwell: Thank you Kristen Kelly.
[00:08:57] Miguel Ramirez: Miguel Ramirez. Thank you for the great question. We have to start with this animal shelter is over 33 million, okay.
Bye bye. Um, I love animals. We all love our animals. Uh, the public comment has been amazing. I think there have been even some community members that can do it for a lesser price in our business sector. So that's where I start. You know, we have to look, uh, have to agree. We have to look at our positions that are not filled to get rid of them, to get our money back.
But everything has to come back. We have to get our budget in order. And then, um, Listen, uh, to our, our people and, uh, go from there.
Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Miguel Ramirez, David Guttenberg.
[00:09:38] David Guttenberg: You know, when we put something on the table, whether it's transportation or the Carlson's pools, this room will be filled with the constituents for that.
Every, every week that that's up, the public is a, is a participant in this. They're here. They show up. They're very interested. They come in and we listen to them. It's a public process. It's pretty transparent. I think the people that don't think it's transparent, they're not engaged in it, but they should be, but we have to live within our means.
We have to evaluate what it is. If we're going to cut transportation routes, we have to realize that people have, have moved to be on the transportation routes and they can't get to work. So if we do something like that, what's the ramifications on that? We deal with seniors and the polls and the clock runs out.
Shari George: The next question you'll have 30 seconds to respond and we'll be starting with Tammie Wilson. What can the borough assembly do to preserve a citizen's freedom of speech but lower the amount of rancor in public testimony?
[00:10:50] Tammie Wilson: Thank you so much for that question. You know, one, the assembly cannot attack people who are trying to testify and give their opinion.
You know, when people testify, asking clarifying questions is fine, but if you attended the last few meetings, there's been anything but that. Decorum has really been an issue and we need to take care of that and it starts with a strong presiding officer.
[00:11:16] Jimi Cash: Completely agree. So, the thing that got me to run the very first time. Was twice I came to assembly meeting and watched assembly members question the testifier in a way that that was clearly they were asking them a question they knew they didn't know the answer to and it was to discredit what they had just testified and that's unacceptable.
There was many times that I'd sit here in this in this dais and listen to somebody testify about something I completely disagreed with and if I couldn't agree with them, I just choose to not say anything and that starts as us as leaders being leaders.
[00:11:52] Kristin Kelly: I really appreciate this question.
I've been thinking a lot about this. Um, there was testimony last night about my questions that I asked it. And after that testimony was finished, I'm like, wow, were we at the same meeting? But it's just a difference of perspective. And I think the way we can solve this is what other municipalities do, is they don't allow the Assembly to ask any questions.
Clarifying or not, after someone has testified, that's the end. Everyone gets the same amount of time to testify. And nothing is lengthened by someone asking a clarifying question.
[00:12:31] Miguel Ramirez: Yes, thank you for that question. You need to have order in the assembly between the assembly and public.
That starts with the presiding officer, bars, uh, pointing point of orders to any assembly men or women. We have to have a line where we openly respect each other. Public comment is there, but it's not there to be debated between the assembly person and the public comment. Okay. Um, and I believe that if there is a question that needs to be asked, it just should be one question from the Assemblyman or woman. Thank you.
[00:13:04] David Guttenberg: Well, I'm glad people are talking about managing the time because there is kind of a difference of opinion on where some of the comments are coming from and how rancorous it can be. Uh, Juneau and Anchorage don't allow their Assemblymembers. To question the testifiers so many times the questions are leading misguiding got your questions if we need to consider that the next assembly need to consider that if we should stop that practice, if they testify, they go on to the next person.
[00:13:38] Garret Armstrong: Well, thank you for this question, first of all. So I can say, as a teacher, I've heard all the coarse language thrown at, you know, sent in my line of work, and I've had to just stand and say, thank you for expressing that. I would say bring that to the borough assembly as well.
I agree, I think, I respect people's right to freedom of speech, and I'm glad they're participating in the public process. I think it would be worth considering simply giving everyone equal amount of time for public comment with no further questioning from the assembly. Simply let them speak their piece.
[00:14:11] Jack Barnwell: Our next question will be 30 seconds you have to respond? We will start with Jimmy Cash. Uh, if the borough were able to add a program to its services, what would it be and why should it be added? Please explain your answer.
[00:14:29] Jimi Cash: They shouldn't. That’s all I have.
Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Jimmy Cash. Uh, Kristen Kelly.
[00:14:43] Kristin Kelly: So hard to choose. Um, well I, I would say I just have, um, a soft spot and a real enthusiasm for trail development in our borough. And there is one trail that I think will bring incredible economic development, opportunities for business owners to start a business. And that's the connector trail that we're very close on establishing, which would connect the east side of town to the west side of town. Looks like I'm out of time, but talk to me. I'll bend your ear about it anytime.
[00:15:18] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Kristen Kelly. Miguel Ramirez.
[00:15:22] Miguel Ramirez: I would leave that to the people to present us with what they would want in our borough, and then we'd have public forum about it, and then we would vote on it, and then that way the people as a whole will come together, and then we'd vote on it, and whatever the people want, we would get. Thank you.
[00:15:41] David Guttenberg: So before I wouldn't add anything, but I would make sure that the programs that we have now are staffed, that we have, we don't have enough lifeguards to operate the pools for the hours that the public wants them to add lifeguards. We cut transit routes because we don't have enough drivers.
Let's get, let's fund, let's fill the positions for our transit drivers. Let's make sure we're fulfilling the obligations that we already have.
[00:16:09] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, David Guttenberg. Garrett Armstrong.
[00:16:11] Garret Armstrong: We'll have some great responses today. So, I would say, I would side with Mr. Guttenberg and say that I would like to see all services fully funded and staffed first, if there are funds left over.
My personal wish list would be, would be on the top of it, would be expanding Vantrans services out further out of the borough. My mom and dad still live in the borough, my dad has been bed bound for the past year, my wife and I have been assisted with caregiving, and transporting him is extremely difficult.
Thank you.
[00:16:39] Jack Barnwell: Thank you Garrett Armstrong. Tammie Wilson.
[00:16:41] Tammie Wilson: Interesting question, just after the borough wasted 125, 000 of our money. For an election nobody wanted to increase our property taxes by 10 million. What would I increase? Absolutely nothing. Thank you.
[00:16:53] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Tammie Wilson.
[00:16:57] Shari George: Okay, the next question, you'll have 45 seconds to respond. And we'll be starting with Kristen Kelly. The borough is losing young working age residents while our senior community is growing. What should be the borough's response to this demographic change?
[00:17:17] Kristin Kelly: I would look at that two-fold, um, with young people. The major reason many of them are leaving is lack of affordable housing and lack of meaningful work. Um, I can talk to this myself, my son is living down in Idaho right now, um, working there rather than, um, living here and, um, being able to build a home here.
For seniors, since I only have 45 seconds, I'm going to keep going here. For seniors, I think we, um, really need to be paying attention. This is our, um, fastest growing population and we are not providing. Enough services for them. We are not providing enough swim time. We're not providing the services they are coming and asking us for, such as pickleball courts, and things to keep them healthy as they age.
So I would listen to them and work that into the budget to find a way to build those things in.
[00:18:12] Shari George: Thank you, Kristen Kelly. Miguel Ramirez?
[00:18:15] Miguel Ramirez: Uh, awesome question. Yeah, we do have a housing problem. That's the field I work in as a civilian now. We need more affordable homes for our young, uh, educated people who have graduated university or high school and they want to work.
We need to make affordable housing, affordable homes, affordable apartments for our young people. for our youth to stay here and create generational, um, wealth and income of our family. Our seniors are growing by four times their population. We need to work with our senior citizen advisory committee and see what more we can do for them.
Thank you.
[00:18:46] Shari George: Thank you, Miguel Ramirez. David Guttenberg. Thank
[00:18:48] David Guttenberg: you. Well, I think we're all on the same track. Um, for the youth, it's, uh, it's affordable housing. You know, we have a variety of it. The military needs it as a, and I don't know what the answer is. The kids needed affordable housing. Transportation for in those housing and the seniors, they come to us.
They want the pool staff. They want, they want the hours there. They want their, um, uh, the services that are available to them. The, the seniors are an incredible asset. The people of the borough because they volunteer, they babysit, they fill a lot of functions that people don't normally have time to, and we need to make sure that we keep them around.
Little self demographics.
[00:19:33] Shari George: Thank you, David Guttenberg, Garrett Armstrong.
[00:19:36] Garret Armstrong: Well, as a young ish resident of Fairbanks, I will second what everyone said already. We need more affordable housing, first and foremost. And I'd say that'd also be a boon for the borough, because it can facilitate more construction, create new jobs.
So I would make that a priority. As for seniors, that's also personal to me, too, because my mom is still very active. And funnily enough, I was just teaching a lesson today on cardiovascular health, and why cardio exercise is so important. So What spaces we can create for cardio, whether it's for swimming, an indoor walking space, pickleball courts, and see what we can do with the funds we have.
Thank you.
[00:20:12] Shari George: Thank you, Garrett Armstrong. Tammie Wilson.
[00:20:15] Tammie Wilson: So for the last several months, I've been doing a lot of door to door, thousands of doors, I've literally knocked on and talked to people. And the number one issue is property taxes. And being able to afford to actually continue to live here. People are now making decisions on that.
And, I mean, what's worse than an Alaskan having to leave Alaska because property taxes continue to grow more than their income comes. So, if you really want to hear what Alaskans have to say, go out there and ask them. You would be really surprised about their answers.
[00:20:45] Jimi Cash: Thank you, Tammie Wilson. Jimmy Cash.
So I'm on the board for the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, and I'm also on the Alaska Real Estate Commission. And so housing is a big thing that everybody knows about. But also what people aren't really talking about is commercial real estate. Commercial land, commercial buildings. There's a real need for that right now because not only do we have a shortage of, of housing, we have a shortage of warehousing so that companies can expand and they can offer more jobs and expand their companies which would then pay more and, and uh, grow the economy.
So it, it all comes right down to that and a big part of what developers look at is how much are their taxes going to be. That's what's going to make it, whether, you'll hear them say a lot of times when they're trying to figure out if they're going to build, whether a subdivision or a warehouse, will it pencil out? And taxes is a big issue on that.
[00:21:55] Jack Barnwell: We will return with our next question. You will have 45 seconds. Please, and we will start with Miguel Ramirez, please explain your position on the planned Animal shelter replacement.
[00:22:11] Miguel Ramirez: Yes, my position is it does not cost 30 over 33 and a half million dollars to redo an animal shelter. We could be more fiscally responsible and it could be done for much lesser cost. So we can still take care of our animals and use the rest of that money more for more critical needs within our borough. Thank you.
[00:22:30] David Guttenberg: Thank you, Miguel Ramirez. David Guttenberg. Yeah. So, the animal shelter's been in the works for, for more than 15 years. Recognize that we need a new one. It's decrepit, it's falling down, it's falling apart.
Um, the plan, uh, right now is the estimated cost of 33 million. But I need to ask you, have you bought sheetrock lately? Sheetrock is, is five times the cost of what it used to be. I mean, we need to evaluate what the borough needs. We need to build Not, we're not building a palace, but we need to make sure that we're getting our dollars worth because it is tax dollars We need to be conservative about how we spend them But we need to get to a point where we actually can evaluate it and have comments on Because it's it's um, it's just in the beginning of the design work But, we need, it's, the one we have is falling apart and inefficient.
[00:23:25] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, David Guttenberg. Garrett Armstrong.
[00:23:28] Garret Armstrong: Well, I, I certainly agree that, with Mr. Guttenberg, that something needs to be done for it. If anyone's been visiting the animal shelter, it's definitely, it's showing its age, to put it nicely. And I'd argue that a more humane site is needed for animals. And I would also say, like, this reminds me a bit of a friend of mine who, when they bought their house up here on the west side of town, they had to have their driveway regraded, and the initial bid from the contractor was really high.
They said, well, that's nice, but I think we're going to go shop around, and, of course, a back and forth, and soon they got a better deal. I would say, point out, yes, housing costs and construction are expensive here, but we can also, you know, continue, I encourage not to abandon the process, but to see, what can we get?
Thank you.
[00:24:10] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Garrett Armstrong. Tammie Wilson.
[00:24:13] Tammie Wilson: So the borough just approved over another 200, 000 for this animal shelter and we hear up here we need to listen to people. Our amazing veterinarians have come in and had testimony. Awesome testimony about exactly what's needed, why the ones that's being planned right now would be detrimental to our animals, not good for our animals.
We've actually even had a veterinarian say, here's my place, I'm not going to be doing any more for about an additional 10 million dollars, you could have a nice facility. So back to that people are coming in and they are giving great testimony, yet we, we see our assembly just sit there and ignore it. So the ideas are there, it doesn't need to be a 33 million dollar price tag.
[00:24:51] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Tammie Wilson. Jimmy Cash.
[00:24:53] Jimi Cash: So, while I was on the assembly, I worked on a couple different ordinances for animal control. The biggest issue we have is not the facility. It's enforcement. We don't have the guys, the people, I should say, to enforce animal control issues that we're having. So that's a big part of it.
The building is old, and it does need to be repaired or replaced. Absolutely don't deny that. But I'm in commercial construction. That's what I do for a living. And 33 million is ridiculous. There's no reason you can't take an existing building, like the one that one veterinarian proposed and renovate it and make it what we need.
It's a newer building already, it's got the land, it's got the resources, it's very irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars if they move forward with this current facility.
[00:25:32] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Jimmy Cash. Kristen Kelly.
[00:25:34] Kristin Kelly: This has really been a very, very difficult issue for the Assembly and I do want to say that we are listening.
But we are listening to three different camps. We have one camp that comes and says we need a new animal shelter. Our veterinarians are doing the surgery on the floor. Then we have another camp that says this is too expensive, we want it to be cheaper. Then the third camp says You're not giving us enough.
There aren't enough, um, kennels. There aren't enough this. There's not enough that. So we have these three very different needs and, um, testimony. We've had tons of testimony about this. And so, what we came to in our last meeting, because there was quite a bit of disagreement about that extra design money, but what we came to is that at 65 percent design is when we can actually make a decision on whether to stop the project or not.
[00:26:31] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Kristen Kelly
[00:26:35] Shari George: Okay, you'll have 30 seconds for our next question and we'll be starting with David Guttenberg Without social service powers can or should the borough address homelessness in our larger community? Well,
[00:26:49] David Guttenberg: that is a difficult how do you do something when you don't have the power to do it but I think it is something that the um That the borough needs to work with the city who does have powers to supply some of the needs.
You know, if they're not going to, if you're going to kick them out of your community over here, they're going to show up over here. It's not an isolated, just within the city. It's it's, um, it expands out into the borough. So it needs to be a collaborative effort across the board. And, and, um, if the city has the powers, the boroughs, the borough can participate with them to come up with answers because it isn't just the city.
[00:27:28] Shari George: Thank you, David Guttenberg. Garrett Armstrong.
[00:27:31] Garret Armstrong: I think the borough should work with the city on this issue because this is a matter like, as people move around, that need to be addressed. I also would like to see the borough work with the state of Alaska and see what services the Department of Social Services could provide as well. Thank you.
[00:27:46] Shari George: Thank you, Garrett Armstrong. Tammie Wilson.
[00:27:49] Tammie Wilson: So we do have health and social service grants, so we do have that already. That goes into a lot of our non profits. But the one thing I don't want people to forget that when we're talking about homelessness, we're also talking about teens. You know, I don't think we think about that, but look at the door and the other shelters that are constantly full.
So this is a community problem, not a city or the borough, and until we attack it together, it's not going to get any better.
[00:28:15] Shari George: Thank you, Tammie Wilson. Jimmy Cash?
[00:28:18] Jimi Cash: Absolutely. Tammie hit the nail on the head with the grants and the fact that we do have, uh, non-profits in town that are doing what they can. The city has programs, the state has programs, the borough is doing what we can.
I don't think that anybody's not working together. I think that what we need to do is try to get the community more involved and see where we can, as a borough, as a government, as a city, get out of the way of the, of the city and the, the different programs and the non-profits so that they can actually solve this this problem.
Churches, you know, The Door, all these different organizations that really want to try to do something good for these people.
[00:28:51] Shari George: Thank you, Jimmy Cash. Kristen Kelly?
[00:28:54] Kristin Kelly: Well, everyone's already said what I was going to say. We don't have that power, but we do indeed have grants and we have grant writers, too. So if we identify a very real need and a solution to some of this homelessness, I think we can work with our partners.
We can work with the schools. The schools do an excellent job of identifying what we can do. Homeless teens and giving them um, supplies and extra money to get to school and I think we can work with the state and of course with our partners in the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole.
[00:29:27] Shari George: Thank you Kristen Kelly and finally Miguel Ramirez.
[00:29:30] Miguel Ramirez: Well Tammie, Jimmy, everybody's pretty much hitting on the help, uh, the hammer on the head. Uh, we got health and social service. What we need to do is not harm our non-profits. We gotta allow them to expand and contract. To help our citizens like in the summers for fathers, um, for fires, that happen or the cold in the winter, uh, with our non-profits, we have to stop over-assessing them and allow them to do what they need to do.
[00:29:57] Jack Barnwell: We now come to our closing comments, please. have one minute to provide said closing comments. We will begin with Tammie Wilson.
[00:30:06] Tammie Wilson: So thank you again for having us here and the one thing we didn't touch on was our assessor and and what they're doing to our non-profits. One of the first things I will do when elected is to make sure that we are not taxing our church's nonprofits who use those funds that are given to them to help those people for whatever it is, whether we're talking about housing, we're talking about food, but for an assessor, one person to interpret state law in a way that's never been that way before and that being okay, it simply isn't.
And then as a borough, we need to decide how much government should be doing and how much we should just be helping others be able to help themselves. Government wants to grow. This last assembly increased the budget by 10 million, even after the 70%, 30 percent vote saying we can't afford anymore. We have to get back to the way things were, start listening to people who come, and realize that our decisions are not ours, but we're representing the people.
[00:31:01] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Tammie Wilson. Jimmy Cash.
[00:31:04] Jimi Cash: So if you guys noticed, I stumble a lot as I'm talking. That's because I'm not a politician. I'm a guy that happens to be involved in politics. I don't plan what I'm gonna say. I'm never gonna tell you what you want to hear just because I know that's what you want to hear.
I'm gonna tell you exactly what I feel and what I think and what I feel is best after talking to people and listening to what they have to say. Um, what I feel like is happening in the borough right now is that the people aren't being listened to. And maybe they are, the assembly members here have said that they do listen, but that's not what the citizens are feeling.
There was overwhelming testimony that they didn't want the special election in May, but they did it anyways, and it lost 3 to 1. They were doing the same thing with the mail in voting, but thankfully, by that point, after three days of testimony, they finally decided, okay, well maybe we should listen to the people.
So my promise to you is I will always listen to you. Even if I don't agree with you. I'm going to let you have your voice, and I'm going to listen to you, and I'm always going to tell you how I really feel.
[00:32:01] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Jimmy Cash, Kristen Kelly.
[00:32:05] Kristin Kelly: I think we're pretty lucky with this election. We have a very clear choice.
We can vote to improve our community, or vote for candidates who will take away the things that make us great. I've been talking to a lot of people, too, from all different walks of life, from hunters to vegans to gearheads to berry pickers. And if there is one thing that unites us, it's that we value the outdoor lifestyle of the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
It is a reason many of us call Fairbanks home. This next election is about protecting that. Vote for me, and you'll be voting for a leader with a vision of a healthy community with a robust economy. Or you can vote for those who will take away things like trails. They will call it property rights. But what I've heard from the people of Fairbanks is they too believe in Fairbanks.
Excuse me, in property rights and in common sense. And those aren't the only things we value. We value the right to send your child to an excellent public school. The right to have trails, broadband, recycling. And finally, we value the right to a government based in reason, not fringe politics. Vote for me for assembly.
I'm Kristen Kelly.
[00:33:13] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, Kristen Kelly.
[00:33:15] Miguel Ramirez: Miguel Ramirez. Uh, yes, thank you. I, I should vote for me. I'm, I'm a new face. I've been over here with my family over a decade in Fairbanks. This is home. What made this home for us was community, listening to each other, that the neighbors help each other no matter what.
I support the tax cap. I insist on a cost effective government. I believe in neighborhood integrity and property rights. I want to stop the over aggressive assessment of our taxes on our non profits and of us, our citizens. The burden does not lay on the citizens to pay for everything. Our property taxes do not need to go up.
Like I said, I'm a retired combat vet. I know how to fight for you. I want to serve for you and I want to be here for the community and door knocking has been amazing whether you've been on one side or the other. I am very grateful to all the door knockers that have taken the time to speak to me to share their values and opinions and thought within our borough.
Thank you.
[00:34:12] Jack Barnwell: Thank you. Miguel Ramirez. David Guttenberg.
[00:34:15] David Guttenberg: Thank you. I want to talk about listening to people. When we finished the budget last year, we heard overwhelmingly We want to fund education. You need to fund education. There needs to be more money for education. The only way we could do that is to put it on the ballot and the people spoke.
The taxpayers, the property owners, don't want to pay more. That's the law of the land. That's the way it goes. But we listen to them. You go door to door, you see people in school bus lines, you see people in the grocery stores. They still want us to fund education. The borough is about solving practical problems.
It's not a place for great philosophical ideas. It's a place for funding schools, fixing boilers, getting trails done, getting the transportation done, getting the pools ready. It's a place for practical ideas and practical solutions. And we need to make sure that the borough stays that way instead of being run by some, by political ideologies.
It's about practical solutions for people's problems.
[00:35:19] Jack Barnwell: Thank you, David Guttenberg. Garrett Armstrong.
[00:35:22] Garret Armstrong: Well, first of all, I want to say thank you to the League of Women Voters for hosting us tonight and thank you for this opportunity to be here. So in closing tonight, I was thinking about yesterday night where I was at, at the running club meet up at Birch Hill, wonderful park, you know, that part of our parks and recreation system where we had hundreds of kids, hundreds of adults up there, we were all celebrating the kids running.
So, Yes, there was first, second, third and fourth place and so on, but what I love there is what I love most about Fairbanks and the borough as a whole that I think we all appreciate is the sense of community. So I'm running for borough because that's something I truly appreciate and I cherish. And that's why I'm excited to be here.
So once again, I'm running because I think the things that make a community so strong schools, parks and rec, caring for one another the borough can provide and still have a balanced budget for. So, as they say. A vote for, so a vote for Garrett Armstrong is a vote for a stronger borough. Thank you.
Molly Sherman: Thank you to the six borough assembly candidates who are committing their energy to serving our community.
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KUAC appreciates corrections to typos in the above transcription.
The entire forum can be heard here: https://fm.kuac.org/local-government/2024-09-15/lwv-hosts-municipal-candidate-forum
Candidates for Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and Mayor, Fairbanks and North Pole City Councils and North Pole Mayor, Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board and Interior Gas Utility Board are running in the October 1 municipal election.