Mat-Su Needs New Lawmakers

As a kid sitting in the back seat of the family car, I would always look forward to a favorite landmark along the Parks Highway, Archie’s ice cream stand. That was thirty years ago. Today, this is ain’t your parent’s Matanuska Valley.

Over the last decade the Mat-Su Borough has been the fastest growing region in Alaska, growing by more than 60 percent. In 1990, 39,000 people called the borough home. Last year there were over 65,000 residents. State forecasts predict by the year 2010, the Mat-Su Borough will surpass Fairbanks in becoming the third largest city in Alaska.

The main forces driving the migration to the Valley are accessibility and affordability. A decade of dramatic highway improvements coupled with the average single-family home priced at $48,000 less than Anchorage has allowed a growing number of Alaskans to call the borough home. Thirty five percent of the labor force in the Mat-Su commutes outside the borough to work.

But with the benefits of growth come challenges. And government must address many of these challenges. Ironically since 1994, the Mat-Su area has been represented by legislators who say they don’t need government. The facts show otherwise.

The Alaska State Troopers are the primary source of public safety in most areas of the Mat-Su borough. According to the Commander of the B Detachment, Captain Dennis Casanovas, each one of his Troopers currently carries an open caseload of twenty to twenty-five cases. “Since I’ve been here, our open case audit hasn’t been below 900 cases” he stated.

According to State Trooper records, in 1999 there were 38 officers assigned to the borough. Today there are 39. So while the population has been exploding, Troopers have been stretched thin. Neighbor’s frustration with public safety has led to discussions about creating a sheriffs department. But public safety needs won’t stop there.

The population growth has not only strained enforcement, but court and corrections personnel as well. Over the last ten years the state court system has seen its caseload grow by more than 76% in the Mat-Su. Increases in both Palmer District and Superior courts have created a burden so heavy, that for years Anchorage District Court judges have been traveling to Palmer four days a week, two weeks a month.

The now for-profit Valley Hospital has announced plans to build a new  $87 million facility to serve the growing health care needs in the Mat-Su. Growing to meet your customer’s needs, demands growing a profitable customer base. But according to a hospital official, the fastest growing segment in their customer base is the unprofitable government health program, Medicaid.

There’s more. Last year the hospital wrote off $1.2 million in non-collectible services. And it’s not getting any better since local legislators just created new burdens on Valley health care providers. Nugen’s Ranch in the Mat-Su Borough offered the only detox program in the valley. In 2002 their caseload grew 17%. This past legislative session, Valley legislators voted to eliminate funding, causing the demise of the Mat-Su’s only program.

Now, when the Troopers have a detox situation, their only option is to take them to Valley Hospital. However, the hospital isn’t set up to handle these types of special intakes and will have minimal success in recovering costs for services. Being forced to accept risks and costs they can’t recover will do nothing more than burden their bottom line and make health care more expensive for all Valley residents.

Public education is another important government service in high demand. The Mat-Su School District has opened four new schools in the last three years and is by far the largest employer in the borough. Growing student populations equate to more demands from government in the form of per student allocation, busing and bond debt reimbursement.

So how can the Mat-Su Borough continue to meet the needs of the fastest growing population in Alaska with legislators who say they don’t need what government provides? It’s like trying to stop along the Parks Highway and get a dip cone at Archie’s; it’s not possible anymore.