Alaska State Troopers announced Wednesday that they will maintain their presence in the Southcentral ski town of Girdwood despite previous warnings of closing its post there starting next year.
The troopers have extended their stay by at least six months, until June 30, 2016, troopers' information officer Beth Ipsen wrote in a release. They previously cited budget cuts across state departments as the reason for pulling out.
Troopers' Director Col. James Cockrell said ongoing discussions with multiple stakeholders resulted in the decision to delay the closure of the post. It will allow everyone more time to decide the best option, he said.
"One sergeant and four troopers will continue to operate out of the Girdwood post located near the junction of Alyeska and Seward highways," Ipsen said. The post is responsible for covering an area with an estimated 2,500 residents, who live in the roadside communities of Girdwood, Indian, Portage and Bird.
No additional funds were used to keep the post open, Cockrell said. The positions are funded through the fiscal year. The intention of the Girdwood post's closure was to improve services on the Kenai Peninsula, where troopers at the Soldotna post are having troubling keeping up with calls for service as five troopers have left in the past two years, he said.
The aforementioned roadside towns are considered part of the Municipality of Anchorage but don't get services from the Anchorage Police Department. The Girdwood Board of Supervisors, the town's version of a community council, Anchorage Assembly member Jennifer Johnston and others have worked toward solutions for maintaining a police presence in the town since troopers announced their departure in February.
Board co-chair Sam Daniel said the troopers' announcement to temporarily keep the post open gives Girdwood and its residents more time to figure out how to keep the community safe.
"This is a great big sigh of relief to Girdwood, as well as all of Southcentral, because many commuters use the highway," Daniel said in a phone interview.
Several options for local policing have emerged from the woodwork in recent months. Among the options, the board is continuing talks with the City of Whittier Police Department. Whittier is about a 30-minute drive on the Seward Highway, southeast of Girdwood, and through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel.
Daniel said that option would increase the maximum mill levy in the service area, currently 6 mills, by 1 mill. That would mean an increase of about $100 per $100,000 of property value, he said.
An Anchorage Assembly ordinance calling for a special mail-in election to allow Girdwood residents to decide if they want Whittier police to replace troopers has been put on hold, said Johnston.
In the process of searching for a solution, Girdwood residents came to realize they enjoy having the troopers in and around town, Daniel contended. They're pleased with the provided services, despite tradeoffs like longer response times at night when the officers go home to Anchorage.
"Everything's a compromise when you live in a small town," he said.
The Girdwood post also responds to calls in Hope, outside Whittier and other unincorporated areas of the Prince William Sound, Ipsen said.
Outlying communities are voicing concerns, as well. The Turnagain Arm Community Council voted on Sept. 10 to request the state keep the same number of troopers in the area.
TACC represents the communities along Turnagain Arm, including Rainbow, Indian and Bird Creek. In a late-September letter to Department of Public Safety Commissioner Gary Folger, the council asked a trooper to attend its next meeting in December "to address community concerns."
Cockrell said the troopers position is the Girdwood post will close at the end of the fiscal year. They have no intention to keep it open longer, he said.
Amid the budget crisis, "Our contention is APD has an obligation to patrol the area," Cockrell said.