FEBRUARY 26, 2015

Pad Thai and Politics this Sunday; House Votes to Expand Creamer's Field; Interior Gas Bill Advances

Dear Fairbanks Neighbors,

I’m coming back home to Fairbanks this weekend and I want to see you, hear your ideas, and answer your questions about the legislative session.  Sunday (March 1) I will be hosting Pad Thai and Politics at Lemongrass Thai Cuisine at Chena Pump Plaza (388 Old Chena Pump Road) from 1 pm to 3 pm.  I’ll be providing Thai food, and I hope you will bring your ideas and questions- and your appetite!

I also have a neighborhood survey on website.  You can go here to let me know your thoughts on the important issues facing our community.

House Passes Creamer’s Field Bill

On Monday the House passed my bill to expand the Creamer’s Field refuge in a 37 to 1 vote.  This bill would add four parcels totaling 240 acres that are already owned by the state to the refuge.  If you use these land for recreation right now you won’t see any immediate changes, but right now the Department of Natural Resources is in charge of managing these parcels while the Department of Fish and Game manages Creamer’s Field.  This bill will streamline management by allowing Fish and Game to manage these lands too.  This bill now goes to the Senate, where it will be heard in the Community and Regional Affairs and Resources Committees.  Today the Fairbanks Daily News Miner wrote an article about the bipartisan spirit that has gone into advancing this bill.

The final House vote on expanding Creamer’s Field

Energy Committee Approves Interior Energy Bill

This week in the House Energy Committee we unanimously advanced Gov. Walker’s bill to keep the Interior Energy Project moving forward.  In 2013 the Legislature authorized the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority to issue bonds to finance trucking natural gas from the North Slope to Fairbanks and to build a distribution system to connect homes and businesses in the Fairbanks area.  Negotiations to build a processing plant on the North Slope fell through, but with increase gas production in Cook Inlet it could be cheaper to bring the gas from the south.  This bill will give AIDEA the authority to negotiate for the lowest cost gas, regardless of whether it comes from the North Slope or Cook Inlet.

Representative Wool sharing a joke with his colleagues Rep. Tammie Wilson (left) and Rep. Cathy Munoz (right) on the House floor

As always, please send me your thoughts, ideas, and concerns. I hope to see you this weekend!

Sincerely,

Representative Adam Wool