Robert Morris: Candidate for FNSB Mayor 2012

Recieved the following letter in the mail:

"Do not forget the following facts and do not let your friends and neighbors forget them:

* There is a strong push by a majority in our borough government, through persistence and incremental action, to control the very methods by which we heat our homes. It is obvious that it does not matter how the citizens vote.

* Our borough mayor failed to stop a large GVEA rate increase - in the middle of winter! His job entails dealing effectively with organizations like GVEA and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, so this was within his responsibility.

* We recently saw an attempt to introduce an automobile tax, with the ridiculous justification that it would lower property taxes. If they really think that property taxes are too high, why don't they just lower them?

My name is Robert Morris, and I am running for mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

Perpetual growth in power and revenue has been the natural long-term tendency of every government that ever existed, and is only consistent with current trends of the federal and state governments, but action at the borough level does not have to follow trends originating in Washington and Juneau, and can have great immediate impact on our quality of life.

We are in an era when our government is facing reduced revenue, but this reduced revenue is due to the reduced prosperity of the people, here and all across the western world, and this reduced prosperity means that basic necessities of individual life - food, housing, medicine, transportation, clothing - require an ever greater struggle. Every attempt to deal with revenue problems should be with methods that decrease our burdens, not increase them. Perhaps lower borough government revenue, and fewer powers, should just be accepted!

But it is plain that a majority of our elected officials at the borough level do not see it that way. They have proven that they will increase government authority and expense at every opportunity, while failing to protect the interests of the people.

I am 51, have lived in Alaska for most of my life, and have have (sic) never before run for any public office. I am running for borough mayor to protect my people and my home from a local government that, with its current makeup of personalities, cannot represent our interests. To put someone in office who is as incensed by the above facts as you are, vote for me in October.
Please email, write, or call if you have suggestions or questions.

Robert Morris
P.O.Box 57402
North Pole, AK 99705
368-1693 robert_write@yahoo.com
This communication paid for by Robert Morris, P.O.Box 57402, North Pole, AK 99705"

The race begins!

2012 Election Dates and Hours

State of Alaska
http://www.elections.alaska.gov/ei_ed_2012_dates.php

Primary Election
Election Day - Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Registration and Registration Updates Deadline – Sunday, July 29, 2012
Early and In-Person Absentee, Special Needs and By-Fax Voting Begins –
Monday, August 13, 2012
Absentee By-Mail Application Deadline – Saturday, August 18, 2012
Absentee By-Fax Application Deadline – Monday, August 27, 2012, 5:00 p.m. Alaska Time

General Election
Election Day - Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Registration and Registration Updates Deadline – Sunday, October 7, 2012
Early and In-Person Absentee, Special Needs and By-Fax Voting Begins –
Monday, October 22, 2012
Absentee By-Mail Application Deadline – Saturday, October 27, 2012
Absentee By-Fax Application Deadline – Monday, November 5, 2012, 5:00 p.m. Alaska Time

Fairbanks North Star Borough
http://www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/elections/ElectionInformationandCurrentElectedOfficials.htm

The next Regular Municipal Election is October 2, 2012.

Up for a vote (Names listed are current seat holders, some are term limiting out):

Mayor: Luke Hopkins

Borough Assembly Seat A: Matt Want
Borough Assembly Seat F: Nadine Winters
Borough Assembly Seat G: Mike Musick

School Board Seat A: Silver Chord
School Board Seat B: Wendy Dominique

Propositions 1 and 3 School Bonds: Questions to Consider

FNSB Proposition 1 - $9,900,000 General Obligation Bonds for Ryan Middle School Capital Improvements (Ordinance No. 2011-39)

FNSB Proposition 3 - $10,390,000 General Obligation Bonds for Capital Improvements to Salcha & Woodriver Elementary Schools, North Pole Middle School & North Pole High School (Ordinance No. 2011-39)

Fact Sheet link: http://www.k12northstar.org/sites/default/files/2011_school_bond_fact_sheet.pdf

Both bonds are grouped together in the ordinance and fact sheet.

Passage of bond will result in:

Proposition 1
Ryan Middle School: renovation and system upgrades particularly to gymnasium wing (to include a weight room & dance floor according to Ryan Smith – I have not verified), preliminary design of future phased renovation and upgrade alternatives.

Proposition 2
Salcha Elementary: Replace and upgrade roof and building envelope.

Woodriver Elementary: Upgrade gymnasium interior, finishes, and mechanical, electrical and other systems.

North Pole Middle: Replace and upgrade roof and clearstories.

North Pole High: Renovations and mechanical, electrical, and other systems upgrades to the vocational wing.

If you’re not sure what a bond actually is read this article first: http://interioralaskavoterguides.blogspot.com/2011/09/repost-bonding-101.html

The estimated additional property tax amount due per $100,000 assessed value of property per year is $5.69. This is based on if the State reimburses 70%. If it doesn’t then the additional tax increase could be $18.96 per $100,000/yr.

I have not had time to research out the answers to the following questions but I believe they have merit to consider in deciding how to vote, especially considering our world economic variations.

• If my home is valued at $150,000 will my property tax be pro-rated accordingly?


• When is the state expected to reimburse the 70%? What if the state can’t or won’t reimburse the 70%?


• What if the number of property owners changes significantly? Is the “approximate amount” taxed redistributed every year?


• How many years will we be paying for this? When is the bond “due”?


• Who buys these bonds? What if no one wants to /buy them?


• How many school bonds are we paying on already?


• If I vote no can I opt out of the property tax increase and the accompanying “mortgage” responsibility? (I did find the answer to this: NO)


• According to the ordinance (2011-39) Section 2 it states: “…the Borough will levy ad valorem taxes* upon all taxable property in the Borough without limitation as to rate or amount to pay when due”. I am very uncomfortable with the idea that the borough can levy a tax on me “without limitation as to rate or amount” if need be. Essentially, a yes vote on this is putting up “our” property as collateral.


• Is the return for my risk acceptable?

Ultimately the bond litmus test question is:
Do I have a right to force a mortgage on my neighbor?

*Ad valorem tax: tax based on the assessed value of property.

School Board Seat G: Ryan Smith Round 2 Q & A

What is your day job?
I am an Advisor for UAF Engineering Students. I see many of them entering UAF with a 7th to 9th grade math level. They then need to take remedial math courses to get up to the level they need to be at to begin work on their degree. This is why I’m running.

What is your stance on the propositions?

1) School Bond Ryan: I don’t like it. Too much money is going to a weight room and dance floor. The science part good. If it was separated I would vote yes on the Science part and no on the weight room and dance floor.

2) Healthy Air Now Citizens Initiative: No, it is poorly written, too vague, and too open to opinion/interpretation.

3) School Bond Salcha, Woodriver, North Pole schools: Yes, it is obviously needed.

Who is responsible for educating?
This is a 3 tier response: teacher, parent, student. If all three are not working for same goal success will be limited.

Should sex education be part of the public school system? If so when should it start and what should it encompass? If not, why?
Definitely not in K-6, middle school should consist of health informative classes due to puberty. High school yes. The High School level should have an “opt in” for parents with a notice as to what will be taught. The program can’t overlook abstinence and should also touch on preventative measures.

What is school for? What is education for? Are they the same?
They are not the same, School is more a body or place, you go to the school. You don’t need the structure of school to get an education. You can find education at school to achieve and take with you.

School Board Seat G: Ryan Smith Round 1 Q & A

Here are the answers from your first round of questions.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know those of us running for election this year. I am running for School Board seat G:

For me the most important attributes for a candidate are integrity, honesty, and responsibility.

It is difficult to think of the five principles that I live my life by because it is not something that I really think about it is simply how I was raised. I guess I would have to go with reliable, trustworthy, respectful, honest, and caring.

Reliable is a must because I feel follow through is very important. When I tell someone I will do something or work on something it is important to me to know they feel comfortable knowing I will follow through with what I said.

Trustworthy is something everyone should hope to be. For me my word is my bond, it is probably one of the most important and valuable assets a person can ever have.

Respect is something that should be shown to everyone. I have seen a lot of people who resort to name calling when they have a disagreement with another person and I feel that is counterproductive. There is no reason to treat anyone as less important or their ideas as worthless. There is a civil way to disagree with anyone and it is simply professional to do so.

Honesty goes hand in hand with trustworthy. I think it is vital to be able to look out at a group and tell them the fact and have them know in their hearts that you are telling them the truth. Once anyone starts to become dishonest they lose all credibility and they will no longer be able to make an impact until they earn that credibility back again.

Caring is a must when running for any office. It is hard to be fully engaged in any action when it is not a high priority in daily life and that is one reason so [many]items seem to fall through the cracks. I do think anyone running for school board has [this] principle or at least I hope they do because there is to much at stake to go at this half way.

I think what makes a community a great place to live is the people. When looking at the involvement of those around the community and the different kinds of fund raising that takes place for a variety of causes I would have to say Fairbanks is one of the kindest communities I have ever lived in.

This is the first time I have done anything in the way of politics so I am unsure if I have taken any missteps yet or not but one thing is for sure, we will find out in October.

I would say experience can be a great asset or a great hindrance depending on the office one is seeking. When it comes to the School Board I don’t see experience as any kind of golden goose. The test scores for the school district have been stagnant for years with very little movement up or down. I think it is time to try something different. As an academic advisor up at UAF, I think I am the only person running for the School Board that actually has experience with these students once they get out of the system. I see the test scores and I know how college ready the students really are. I know for the engineering department (where I work) of the students that are not college ready only 7% graduate with an engineering degree. That is a real life vision of what happens when students are not held to a higher standard while they are in school, a more profound vision is the fact that about 40% of our students are not college ready when they get here. I see the results of a just pass them through system and I feel I can help get things back on the right path.

As I said above I am new to this so I don't have a blog of anything set up but once I find out how to do that I will pass it along to you.

Thanks for being part of the election process and if you have any additional questions or know anyone that does please fell free to send me another message.

Ryan

Proposition 2: Real Numbers and a Prediction

Okay, this should be my final post on the Proposition 2: PM2.5 issue. Post before last I mentioned a coal boiler. This boiler is running with more heat output and less fine particles per million BTU of heat then the wood pellet stoves that are still "approved" according to Prop. 2. Here is the test result:

Note the heat output of 273,041.69 BTU’s/hr with Average Emission of 0.035 lb/MMBtu.

Now compare this number to several of the EPA approved wood pellet stoves link here. The top two listings are:

1) Northwest Manufacturing, Inc. Flex-Fuel 30 KW indoor/outdoor Heat Output 110,167 BTU/hr and Average Emission Level 0.04 lbs/million BTU output

2) Central Boiler Maxim M250 Heat Output 212,453 BTU/hr and Average Emission Level 0.06 lbs/million BTU output

The Titan II has better heat output with lower emissions then the EPA list of "Cleaner Hydronic Heaters" using wood pellets. If meeting EPA PM 2.5 requirements really is part of the goal of Prop. 2 why are less efficent wood pellet stoves still approved under this proposition yet coal burners for homes are not. Why are the various coal burning commercial industries accetable and how did the research delineate the difference of PM 2.5 from these commercial sources from individual home devices? Update 9/30/11 Mr. Muir sent a link to video footage of the Titan II.

Information above provided by Mark Sanford of Alaska Interior Transport and North Pole Gravel Products who had his commercial Titan II Coal Boiler tested.

Did you know that the scientific paper recommendations used as the basis for Proposition 2 was written in part by Mr. John Davies who is running for Borough Assembly Seat H? You can find the paper here. The title is Reducing PM2.5 Emissions from Residential Heating Sources in the Fairbanks North Star Borough: Emission Estimates, Policy Options, and Recommendations.

Here is a screen print:



According to the report (Table 4 p. 25) estimated numbers of Hydronic heater devices is 1500. I have personally contacted know dealers of coal and wood outdoor boilers and the actual number of known hydronic heaters sold in this borough is 389. About 6 in the past 3 years from Ken Hansen the WoodDoctor. No more than 200 units from Don Trometter of North Pole Pipe and Supply (a Central Boiler Dealer) since 2004. Mr. Kelsch, a former dealer for Alaska Warm Wood in 2008 sold 12 combined coal and wood boilers, 1 to someone in Delta Junction. Robert Dibble of Arctic Spas and EcoWater Systems (no longer sells hydronic heaters) has sold 125 combined wood and coal boilers since 2008. Ron Muir and Mark Sanford have sold 46 coal boilers since 2008, they are part of North Pole Gravel. Granted there is potential for wood/coal boilers to have been purchased outside the limits of dealers in the area and outside the quoted business operation years so lets add 10% to the numbers. That gives us a potential of 428 actual outdoor heaters in the non-attainment area, still less than 1/3 the estimated number used by the white paper.

What does all this mean? The actual number of Hydronic Heaters is much less then what the white paper research is based on - which is the template for Prop. 2. So the real impact of removal of banned heating burners and fuels will not be enough because there were not that many to begin with. It means that no matter what is implemented with this proposition we are destined to fail reaching the EPA goals. None of this takes into account the particulates we get from China in the spring, how will we stop that?

So, here is a prediction if this passes. The EPA PM 2.5 goal will not be attained in the non-attainment area by the due date of April 2014. There will be a push within that time frame to do more to meet the requirement. This push will bite into home owners’ indoor fireplaces and woodstoves. Although Healthy Air Now proponents claim this proposition will not affect woodstove owners many woodstove owners will face fines regardless of proper burning technique. Opacity limits of smoke plumes will be lowered from 30% to 20% or less. More outright bans will be instituted; this could be bans of ever increasing home heating devices and/or fuel types, burn days (think super cold days), even particular areas of the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole (think School zones). In fact, I predict that all of this could happen even if Prop. 2 doesn’t pass!

The long term effects of FNSB trying to attain the ever changing, unattainable, and arbitrary requirements of an entity of the Federal Government manned by appointees will crush us. We need to tell them to go fly a kite! We do, can and will do our best to educate and voluntarily adapt to keep our air as clean as we can reasonably do so.

This is not about PM 2.5; it’s about filling the Borough coffers with revenue. This is not about healthy air now; it is about producing greater reliance on expensive fuels and government. This is not about safe breathing, this is about warm homes. This is not about EPA; it’s about our liberty to choose self-reliance.

No on Prop. 2

Update 10/4/11 Just found an article for No on 2 view. I found it because it had a link to this site. I didn't read it all, just browsed it; it appears to be all Q & A format. So here is the article: Where's The Smoke?

More Info. on Proposition 2: Alaska Pride

Another blogger down in Anchorage has done a post on this issue check it out:

http://alaskapride.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-facts-and-stats-about-2011.html

2010 Borough Election Assesments

This post originaly posted by me on a different blog in Oct. 2010. It has since been removed from that blog and put here.

For the 2Nov2010 Unoffical voter guide go to: http://interioralaskavoterguides.blogspot.com/

This Tuesday Oct. 5th is a city/borough vote. As I am not in either city areas I am only sending out information I’ve gathered about the borough vote. I hope my hours of research thru original documents and interviews with candidates will benefit you and help you be a informed voter. Thomas Jefferson said, “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.” We must be informed voters. I know many say, “I vote for the important vote (usually meaning the President of the USA, Senators, and Representatives)”. In truth, this vote is more important as it more immediately impacts you.

ASSEMBLY (SEAT B)

Diane Hutchison: My impression is that she is more liberal in her political views although not as arrogant as some other candidates. Spoke with her briefly, she is supported by the NEA and some other unions. She answered 3 questions I asked her about federal funding, PM 2.5, and energy on her facebook page Diane borough assembly Facebook page

*Eric Donald Grabber: Spoke with him 40 minutes. He is conservative, thinks the PM 2.5 science is wrong and will vote Yes on Proposition A, pro-2nd Amendment and property rights. He is an entrepreneur and is against trucking in gas (thinks there are better solutions). He does not have a web site, blog, or facebook page. His number is 488-3850.

Joshua Bennett: Constitutional conservative. For smaller government and people’s rights over bureaucracy. We spoke briefly and he addressed several of my questions on his facebook page in the discussion area Bennets For Borough Facebook page


ASSEMBLY (SEAT C)

**Natalie Howard: I saw her at a recent Road Service meeting and she had good input to share there. She was open and listened and did not have an attitude of she knows best. She has a website: nataliehoward.us She is for:
• Transparent and Accountable Borough Government
• Responsible Fiscal Policies
• Limited Government that Respects Individuals
• Respect for Individual Property Rights
• Air Quality

Kelly E. Brown: was also at the Road Service meeting I attended and had an attitude toward us as being ignorant people who didn’t understand the government. I was unable to get a hold of her or even leave a message. In regards to the PM 2.5/Proposition A issue she said, “It needs to fail. Part of our [Borough] control plan needs to have some restriction, or we’ll lose local control.” Home: 452-5870 Cell: 590-9106

ASSEMBLY (SEAT D)
I didn’t do as much research here as I have listened to Michael Dukes on the radio many times and know his views on issues are in line with mine. Both Michaels are conservative and more for limited government.

Richard E. Tallant: I heard Richard Tallant at a forum last night. He appears to be conservative also. Home: 490-4811 Cell: 347-9898

*Michael Dukes: It appears three conservatives are running against one more liberal (Bartos) candidate. In all honesty I think Dukes has the best chance to win of the conservative candidates due to better name recognition. Home: 490-2434 Cell: 378-8499

Michael Palembas: I will say that I listened to some forums and Michael Palembas also sounded in line with conservative views. Cell: 347-4807

Hank Bartos: You can glean some information from an old website of his http://www.hankformayor.com/ This was all I found. Home: 488-3366 Cell: 347-4498


ASSEMBLY (SEAT I)

*Guy Sattley: Don’t know much about him and did not yet try to contact him. Eric Grabber (Seat B candidate) indicated he is more conservative then Kassel but less so then the Bennet brothers. 457-4149 Cell: 347-0384

Frank W. Turney: I don’t think he is serious about geting a seat. During one forum he kept answering with a bit about how Alaska needs to become the Hemp Hub and it can be used for fuel, fiber, etc. Home: 457-2333 Cell: 799-2156

Karl Kassel: I found these two websites for info on him, I noticed he is supported by several unions: http://kasselforassembly.com/ and http://politics.kosmix.com/topic/Karl_Kassel


*Aaron Bennett: Joshua’s brother. Constitutional conservative. For smaller government and people’s rights over bureaucracy. His views are in line with his brothers. Bennets For Borough Facebook page


SCHOOL BOARD (SEAT C)

Sue Hull: Knew her from church, you can glean information from this site: http://vote-ak.org/Intro.aspx?State=AK&Id=AKHullSue Home: 479-5729 Cell: 378-7139

Dean Ash: All I know about him I learned from Eric Grabber. He is a homeschooling dad and is conservative. He did not return my call Cell: 750-9902

SCHOOL BOARD (SEAT D)

Kristina Brophy: Spoke briefly; she does not have any website, blog, or facebook page. As far as I can tell from forum answers she has an “experts and experienced people know best” mentality. Home: 457-1178 Cell: 314-800-8477

**Michael D. Ames: Know him personally and fully endorse him. He has a blog: http://michaelamesforschoolboard.blogspot.com/ Cell: 388-1588


Proposition A:

Basically this is to say, “The borough shall not ban, prohibit, or fine residents for the use of home heating devices.” As it stands now with PM 2.5 or Ordinance No. 2010-28 the borough can fine $30-$50 per infraction. They will employ Air Quality Control Officers who will visually determine if a household is in compliance or not by watching the “smoke” plume emanating from a home. If the opacity level is greater than 50% for more than 15 minutes per hour (except a 20 minute startup from cold unit) the household is in violation. Only first time violations will be warned, subsequent violations will have no requirement of warning. Also the ordinance states, “C. PM2.5 Emissions Crossing Property Lines. No person shall cause or permit emissions from a solid fuel combustion appliance to impact the resident(s) of an adjacent property through the creation of an emissions plume that:
crosses the adjacent property line” . Get that?! Your smoke plume cannot cross property lines or you will be in violation. Also, “It shall be unlawful to install or fail to remove a solid fuel burning appliance installed in violation of this section.” Finally, the last section sounds contradictory to me. It states, “… shall have only prospective application” Prospective means, “relating to or effective in the future” which implies to me the concept of grandfather rights. But then the section immediately states, “meaning no provision shall apply to any act, including installation or purchase of a solid fuel appliance completed prior to the effective date.” This statement seems to negate the grandfathering rights concept.

**Vote Yes: http://www.northstarlandowners.com/ Borough Assemble members running now who voted noes on the Ordinance No. 2010-28 and subsequently support this Proposition are: Natalie Howard and Guy Sattley

Vote No: http://cleanairfairbanks.wordpress.com/ Borough Assemble members running now who voted Ayes on the Ordinance No. 2010-28 and subsequently do not support this Proposition are: Kelly Brown and Hank Bartos. Though they have no power in the Assembly, School Board candidates who are in line with this position are: Sue Hull and Kristina Brophy.

Proposition B:

This is to reenact a tax cap. The people have to get signatures to put the Proposition up for a vote to maintain the tax cap requirement on the Borough every two years. It’s been going on a long time. No other information.

*Yes
No

FNSB 2011 Election

Election time again. I have my list from the borough and have emailed to all candidates my first set of questions. Here they are:

What would you say are the top 3 attributes in a candidate?

What top five principles do you try to live by? Why?

What makes a community a great place to live?

Have you ever made missteps in your political career? Care to elaborate or say what you would do differently today?

Many politicians (whether they run for Senate or School Board) always claim their best for the job due to “experience”, is experience all its cut out to be or are there more attributes we should be looking for?