April McCarthy Area Council Meeting

Porphyry Ridge and McCarthy. Photo by Michelle McAfee.

By Michelle McAfee

The McCarthy Area Council (MAC) held its first meeting of the season on Friday, April 26, at the new EMS building. Zoom attendance was available as a listen-only option, with eleven members attending online and twenty in person.

MAC President Nick Merlino opened the meeting by listing the organization's accomplishments in 2023, which consisted of two audits by the State's grant department, which reviewed operations, bylaws, and the funding apparatus of MAC. Merlino said the audits went very well and were stressful but validating for the organization and gave a shout-out to MAC Treasurer Matthew Shidner and Secretary Erin McKinstry, followed by Mark Vail acknowledging all the years of Tamara Harper's excellent record keeping.

Merlino reported MAC accomplishments in 2023, including contributing $16,000 to Nizina Road improvements through the Essential Community Infrastructure Grant Program, $10,000 to various small grant projects, and raising the cap for each small grant project from $2400 to $3000. He also provided a breakdown of MAC's funding distribution since he took the president's position with the organization in 2021 and said that in the last three years, MAC spent $158,000 on local projects.

Merlino announced this would be his last year as President of MAC and will step down after 2024. He said he enjoyed his time as MAC president and believes that strong and resilient organizations include change. Merlino encouraged the attendees to learn more about the position that will open up in 2025. 

MAC Treasurer Matthew Shidner shared the 2023 financials and reported that the organization spent about $40,000 and took in about $27,600 in revenue. MAC spent approximately $12,900 more than it took in, a similar trend to the last couple of years. MAC has approximately $160,000 in savings.

Stephanie Severs gave an update from the Mail Shack Committee on the Mail Shack improvement project to add more space for packages. "Cubbies" will be built outside the mail shack to house business packages, particularly in the busier summer months. Businesses will fund the project, and there will be continuing discussion on broader mail shack improvements. 

Greg Fensterman kicked off the Community Partner Reports by stating he reached out to Chad Heller from DOT regarding road maintenance between Kennicott and the footbridge, requesting additional maintenance in the summer months. Heller said DOT is in conversations with the National Park Service (NPS) about working together on road improvements for that stretch of road. 

Joshua Scott from NPS added that they want to implement an environmentally friendly dust suppressant to mitigate health concerns for pedestrians. Mark Vail suggested that they expand the area to include the McCarthy Road information station on the west side of the Kennicott River all the way to Kennicott since the entire stretch is pedestrian. Scott said they will seek community input on this discussion. Hannah Rowland asked them to consider adding more gravel to the roadbed in addition to blading and dust abatement. 

Joshua Scott reported that the NPS hired a new Kennicott Management Assistant. The position is dedicated to addressing issues for community members from Chitina to Kennicott. The assistant arrives in June and will be the community liaison for NPS. Scott also mentioned the Planning and Environmental Linkages study process (PEL) currently underway to evaluate concerns and improvements for the McCarthy Road and said they received over 700 comments. Two meetings are planned this summer regarding McCarthy Road improvements: July 30 from 6–8 pm in Chitina and July 31 from 6–8 pm at the McCarthy EMS Building. 

Board member Julie Truskowski said she attended the most recent PEL meeting, and the main takeaways were concerns about safety and resilience/maintenance. The entities involved with the PEL study are the State of Alaska Department of Transportation, the Federal Highways Commission, and the National Park Service. They are currently gathering data, developing and evaluating improvement options, and will create a report with their findings. 

Lidar technology was used for the study along the entire road, yielding data that could help the community determine areas where the road could be widened or improved. Areas of greatest concern are Mile 58 and the Kotsina Bluffs. The Mile 58 section may need drilling, which would require land-owner permission. 

EMS President Stephens Harper gave an update on behalf of the current EMS Board. They are happy to continue hosting MAC meetings and have received several requests recently to host other meetings and events. They now have a reservation calendar. The EMS Board is continuing to improve and finish the building. Their primary mission is emergency services and hosting trainings, including SAR and Emergency Medical Training. A veterinary first aid and triage class will be hosted at the EMS building on June 1 from 11 am - 4 pm, run by 2Tails veterinarian Julie Stafford. The clinic is free, but donations are welcome. RSVP via Text to 907.521.4292.

Wrangell Mountains Center Executive Director Jon Erdman announced WMC's annual workday party on Saturday, May 25, followed by Mark Vail's annual Bird Walk the following day at the Hardware Store on Sunday, May 26. Erdman added that the WMC created a community safety page for the Visitor's Guide that provides emergency resources for visitors and locals. Jeremy Pataky did the design work, and MAC helped provide financial support for the advertisement. 

The WMC Storytelling Festival will be the second weekend in August. Erdman said this year will be a little different, with workshops on Friday, the competition on Saturday, and a new event on Sunday where community members can tell stories of the local area. If you want to nominate a local storyteller to share, email jon@wrangells.org. 

Hannah Rowland from the Kennicott-McCarthy Recreation Alliance distributed a plan and estimate for the playground project. The organization is accepting donations and searching for grant funds. 

Bob Cyr, Director of Operations at Copper Valley Telecom, stated CVT applied for a federal grant in the fall of 2022 and received it in the spring of 2023 to bring fiber internet from Chitina to Mile 56 on McCarthy Road. They're working on the initial phases of the project and estimate it will begin in the summer of 2027. Cyr said they would like to add a connection from Mile 56 to McCarthy, but the current funding opportunity won't cover it since it requires the population to be unserved.

Other business covered in the meeting was a PEL Committee member stepping off and another member stepping in to fill the position, recapping and reporting back on small grant proposals from 2023 that are now closed, and reviewing and discussing changes to the 2024 ECI & Small Grant Guidelines, but no motion was made, and the discussion was tabled until a later date. Mike Murphy presented a small grant proposal for road maintenance on Nizina Road.

MAC announced that their Admin position was filled by Amy O'Connor, who has extensive experience working for nonprofits in Alaska. She'll replace Erin McKinstry as the council's paid admin. President Nik Merlino presented a Bylaw change approved by the board, reducing the number of board members from 11 to 9.

The next McCarthy Area Council meeting will be held on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at 6:30 pm at the EMS building and via Zoom.

Disclosure: Michelle McAfee is a dues paying member of MAC.