City Spending
Dear Editor: I would like to see the Assembly to put before the voters an addition to the charter that states the Assembly/City cannot borrow any money without a vote of the people.
I propose this addition to the charter based on the Assembly/City having borrowed monies to pay for the Blue Lake dam expansion far beyond what the vote to approve the job was. I don’t believe voters if given a choice would have allowed the Assembly to borrow the additional 100 million dollars they did to expand the dam that has resulted in our high utility rates.
Who on the Assembly would be willing to sponsor and approve such an ordinance.
Clyde Bright, Sitka
Plastic Bag Encounter
Dear Editor: Last week as I was driving on Lake Street between SMC and Degroff, I saw a plastic grocery bag caught by a gust of wind rapidly moving across Lake Street towards the lake. I immediately pulled over, exited my car then dashed across the street hoping to catch it before it made its way over the edge and into our beloved town lake. I was unsuccessful. I glanced over the embankment, and there was the bag entangled in the reeds and emerging lily pads. I couldn’t reach it and properly dispose of it.
I understand that the Assembly/City is drafting an ordinance to put a 25-cent fee on bags at our local stores. I’m in full support of local policy efforts and the educational efforts of Bags for Change as they try to reel in the amount of plastic in our environment. A quarter is worth it, if it keeps one more bag out of Swan Lake, Indian River or the ditches that are the home to numerous bags in Sitka.
Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Sitka
