Borough Assembly Meeting Tomorrow, Thursday, June 8, at 6pm: Please Come
The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) and Borough Trails Plan are both being re-introduced to the Assembly. Please come and show your opposition/support. The meeting is likely to be lengthy.
The Fairbanks Daily News Miner ran an article the other day titled “As Assembly plans climate plan discussion; groups rally to expand it".
I think a better headline would have traded the word “expand” for “restore”.
As I’ve written before, the CAAP has been heavily gutted. What’s left is less than representative of the many years of work that our community has gone through.
There are efforts to propose amendments that would restore certain elements of the plan or otherwise delay it passing, spearheaded by the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition (FCAC) and The Alaska Center.
You can find additional information and resources on the recent Facebook event that FCAC and The Alaska Center put together.
Talking Points:
If you’re broadly interested in speaking against the new, watered down plan and are wondering what to say, here are some talking points from FCAC:
FNSB needs an effective plan for climate action, and it is critical that the Borough Assembly amends it to make it so before passing it:
Fairbanks is warming at twice the average rate of the rest of the country, and it’s directly and detrimentally affecting the region and its inhabitants. The area has seen a concerning increase in wildfires, ice storms, heavy precipitation, and permafrost thaw. These events endanger public health and safety, infrastructural and economic stability, and the future livability of Fairbanks as a whole.
The new Climate Action Committee members have chosen their own political agendas over public process and the needs of the people
The former committee was qualified, dedicated, and made up of community leaders and climate experts that were appointed via an extensive public selection process. The new committee was handpicked by Aaron Lojewski behind closed doors and had never attended a meeting, engaged in the planning process, or even read the plan beforehand, resulting in a months-long delay on them even working on the plan.
Select committee members were rude, condescending, and discouraging towards public commenters testifying in support of the CAAP. Despite many hours of positive testimony, they still decided to cut sections that garnered widespread support, such as goals to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
A handful of unaccountable individuals being able to throw out public input on a document that will impact the entire borough and its citizens is an affront to democracy. They have chosen to ignore the people, the independent science, and the immorality of their own actions by making such extensive cuts to a plan that was already in its final stages. The entire process since Aaron Lojewski summarily dismissed the entire original committee has been a disgrace
The CAAP must include the goals and provisions most important to our community
The Borough Assembly is tasked with representing the whole of Fairbanks and listening and respecting those with a broad array of experiences and expertise. Public plans like the climate plan ought to represent the gathered perspectives of hundreds or thousands of community members, and accountable leadership requires taking all these perspectives seriously.
If the CAAP is passed without including the goals and provisions that have been widely called for and supported by the FNSB community, if it does not include strong language to make it impactful and effective, it will be an unmitigated failure. Without direction to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; transition away from fossil fuels; prioritize equity and accessibility in processes; and invest in the safety, resiliency, and future of the FNSB, it cannot be called a climate action plan.
How to Testify:
The Borough Assembly is meeting on Thursday, June 8 at 6pm. You can find a copy of the agenda here. Here is how to testify, straight from the Borough website.
How to Provide Testimony
Written Testimony
To submit your written comments use the Written Testimony Form or send an email to Assembly@fnsb.gov.
In-Person and Telephonic Testimony During Regular and Special Assembly Meetings
Once the agenda has been published, call the Borough Clerk's Office at 907-459-1401 or complete the Sign-Up for Telephonic Testimony form by 4:30 p.m. on the day of the meeting to testify. Citizens Comments and Public Hearing testimony is limited to 3 minutes for each person.
Citizens may also sign-up in person the evening of the meeting.
To complete the form, enter your first and last name, email address, phone number for the Clerk to call you during the meeting, and subject. Subjects are:
Citizens' Comments A
Citizens' Comments B
Ordinance/Resolution Number, Liquor License Number, or Marijuana License Number for Public Hearing Items
Note: Citizens may also comment on Contracts/Bid Awards on the Finance Committee Meeting agendas.
What to Expect When Testifying Telephonically
Public testimony will be heard from citizens in the order in which they have signed up. The Clerk will call citizens who have signed up to testify at the phone numbers provided when it is their turn to speak. If you have caller ID the phone number will be an out-of-state number.
Once you are placed into the meeting, the Presiding Officer will ask that you state your name, spell your last name, and provide your neighborhood or place of residence for the record. Then your 3 minutes will begin.
Please note: If you do not answer the phone, then Presiding Officer will move to the next person on the list.
Current Meeting Agenda
After reviewing the agenda, you may sign up to testify or submit written comments directly to the Assembly.
When signing up to testify in-person and telephonically, indicate in the subject line either Citizens' Comments A, Citizens' Comments B, or a specific public hearing item. Comments are limited to 3 minutes.
Citizens' Comments A: Citizen may speak on agenda items not scheduled for public hearing:
Bid Awards
Contract Awards
Memoranda
Unfinished Business
New Business - Resolutions
New Business - Ordinances to be Referred to Committees or Commissions
New Business - Ordinances to be Introduced and Advanced to Public Hearing
Citizens' Comments B: Citizen may speak on any matter not appearing on the agenda.
Public Hearing:
Liquor Licenses
Marijuana Licenses
Resolutions and Ordinances Scheduled for Public Hearing
It would likely be most effective to come and testify in person, but you can also submit written comments using the Written Testimony Form or send an email to Assembly@fnsb.gov.
Reminder: in the letters I urge you to write, testimony you give, etc., I’ve found that personal attacks are not very effective. Tensions and emotions will understandably be high tomorrow…do with that info what you will.
Borough Trails Plan Also Up for Discussion:
The Borough Assembly will also take another look at the updated FNSB Recreational Trails Plan, which the Borough Platting Board (on which I serve) sent back with some additional recommendations. It’s also being introduced to the Assembly tomorrow, though it’s possible it will actually be voted on at a later date. As a member of the Platting Board, I think that’s all I’m allowed to say.
I hope to see you there tomorrow. It’ll likely be a long and emotionally charged evening, but an important one to witness, I think, no matter what the finals votes end up being.