STEVENS, YOUNG TO ADDRESS BOARDS

Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young, both R-Alaska, will address a
joint meeting tonight with Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly,
North Pole and Fairbanks city councils, the school board and Interior
legislators, said borough chief of staff Jim Holt.

It's not often that the two are invited to such a meeting but they
will be in town today and agreed to do it, Holt said.

"They'll speak on whatever they feel is important to Fairbanks in
Washington, D.C.," Holt said.

The public meeting will be at 5 p.m. at the assembly chambers of the
Borough Administration Building, 809 Pioneer Road.

Following the joint meeting at 6 p.m. the assembly will debate two
controversial rezones of church property; a resolution urging voters
to vote against legalizing marijuana; giving breaks to businesses who
pay their alcohol, tobacco and bed taxes late; establishing tax zones
that encourage business development; and awarding $8,727.20 to the
Fairbanks Drama Association and Children's Theatre.

"It'll be a long night starting at 5 p.m.," said Hank Bartos, the
assembly's presiding officer. "I imagine we'll probably go to till 11
or 12."

The borough's Planning Commission forwarded two rezones to the
assembly for consideration: one, on Ballaine Road, was recommended for
approval while another, on Minnie Street, was not. However, during
public meetings on the rezones, neighbors said that they did not want
to see changes on the uses allowed on either property, as the changes
would dramatically affect the neighborhood with increased traffic and
lowered property values.

The marijuana resolution was sponsored by Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker,
Garry Hutchison, Charlie Rex, Cynthia Henry, Earl Romans, Bonnie
Williams and Randy Frank. Bartos said he would sign up to sponsor it
as well.

Assemblymembers Tim Beck, Eileen Cummings and Guy Sattley said they
would not sponsor the measure.

Last week Beck said he wanted to study the issue longer and Sattley
and Cummings said they didn't feel comfortable with telling voters how
to vote.

The resolution is more strongly worded than the resolution passed by
the Fairbanks City Council on Monday, which called for voters to
seriously consider the negative impacts of marijuana use before voting
on Ballot Initiative No. 2.

Whitaker has introduced an ordinance that would establish tax
increment zones in the Van Horn and College road areas. The zones,
called TIFs, would allow the borough to take out bonds to finance the
"acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, or development of public
improvements within the tax increment finance district." Once property
is developed, the idea is to repay the bonds with taxes collected on
the property.

A TIF zone could be used to encourage the development of the Chena
Riverbend Project, an idea forwarded by the Whitaker administration to
encourage development of land near the Carlson Center and Pioneer Park.

Luke Hopkins will be sworn in as the newest member of the assembly,
which will shrink to nine members. Assemblymembers Tim Beck and Eileen
Cummings could not run again due to term limits and Cynthia Henry
announced she would not run again because of work and University of
Alaska Board of Regent duties.