September 12, 2013
Thursday PM

The views expressed here are my own personal views and do not represent any official position of the Borough Assembly.

At the September 5, 2013 Ketchikan City Council meeting, Matt Olsen made many assertions regarding Borough participation in the capital costs for the new library, that to use Mr. Olsen's own words "quite frankly were not true".

Mr. Olsen's claim that the Borough Assembly did not adequately discuss or give direction to the Borough manager in matters concerning library funding is incorrect. The minutes of the August 5, 19 and September 3, 2013 Borough Assembly meetings show that the assembly discussed and gave very specific direction to the Borough manager. The correspondence Mr. Olsen takes umbrage with accurately reflects the will and direction of the assembly for library funding as discussed in these meetings. If Mr. Olsen has issues with the letter's content, he should be addressing them to the elected body instead of maligning the Borough Manager.

Mr. Olsen claimed that since an assembly member participated on the library committee and two borough employees participated in walk-throughs of the project, the Borough had a "powerful voice" when it came to determining the size layout and location of the library. This assertion is questionable. The assembly member was an active participant on the committee and he did provide status reports on the project to the Borough Assembly. However, the Assembly did not take any formal action or provide any formal direction regarding the library design or location.

Public employees are asked for professional input for a variety of projects in the community consistent with their job duties. The employees in question did provide input that cautioned against selecting the Copper Ridge location for the new library. If this is speaking with a "powerful voice" perhaps they should have whispered.

My dealings with the Borough manager have shown him to be a man of great intellect and integrity. I believe Mr. Olsen owes this gentleman an apology.

Agnes Moran
Ketchikan, Alaska

About: "Involved local resident"

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