Swearing in ceremony

Last night newly elected Assembly Members Mark Ewing and Cindy Bettine were sworn in by Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie. Ewing is a former Borough Planning Commissioner and former Councilmember for the city of Wasilla. Ewing will represent District 4 in the Wasilla area. Assembly Member Bettine begins a second term representing District 5, which includes Big Lake, Point MacKenzie, and the Knik-Fairview area. The terms are for three years.

The Assembly bid farewell to Assembly Member Mary Kvalheim, who served the Wasilla area for eight years. Mayor Curt Menard gave Kvalheim the Borough Seal with words of appreciation for her service.

The Assembly also certified the results of the Oct. 7, 2008 election. Among the approved propositions: residents agreed to tax themselves part of the cost of building seven road projects and a bike path. The Borough is asking the Legislature to fund 70 percent of the costs.

 Residents also agreed to pay for 30 percent of security and school improvements in projects across the district; voters struck down an attempt to repeal a Borough ordinance that lays out rules for power plants, voters in the Big Lake and Meadow Lakes areas agreed to unify their fire service areas; voters in Caswell Lakes agreed to create a fire service area. The Canvass Board confirmed that 9,329 votes were counted, some 17.2 percent of registered voters in the Mat-Su.