DCC certifies election, releases FY27 budget

At its scheduled annual meeting on Friday evening, October 9, Deltana Community Corporation certified its recent election during which Kurt Schmidt and James Squyres were unseated by Justin Harris and Chris Jepsen. Two other new directors were elected – Barb Parker and Rick Stillie – both running unopposed for seats vacated by Schmidt and Squyres when the two changed the seats for which they were running late in the candidate certification window.

There was some confusion at the annual meeting over whether or not the ballots had to be recounted. DCC’s bylaws state “a final count shall be made by the board” at the board meeting held the Friday following the election. An amendment to the bylaws was attempted earlier in the Friday meeting, which would have changed the final count language to “may be made” instead of “shall be made.” However, in a vote of the board plus all attending DCC members, that amendment attempt failed in its third reading. Therefore, President Pam Goode made some initial movements toward recounting the ballots, which she picked up and put down several times. At one point she directed Board Member Bryan Hartmann to start counting, to which he replied that he would. 

Ultimately, no final count of the ballots was made.

Also at the annual meeting, Treasurer James Squyres went over the annual budget calculation, including the amount for FY27. The organization’s funding comes from state monies in the Community Assistance Program (CAP). This year, DCC received $59,598.62 for the Deltana region. The group also has a Permanent Fund. When the CAP funds are distributed in October, DCC takes half of the CAP funds received and puts that amount into the Permanent Fund. The remaining 50 percent is combined with 4 percent of the combined Permanent Fund plus cash reserves to calculate the annual budget amount. Additionally, any carryover from the previous fiscal year is rolled into the budget for the current fiscal year. The FY 2027 budget is $66,443.26. This is the amount the organization has to disburse into the community.

In the meantime between receiving the $59,598.62 CAP funds and disbursing them, the board voted to transfer $60,000 that is in the operating account earning no interest to the cash reserves account where it can earn some interest.

Squyres made a motion to transfer $60,000 from Mt. McKinley Bank operating account to First National Bank Alaska cash reserves account. Hartmann seconded. The move was unanimously approved.

Secretary Lena Barladyan gave a report on a project to clean up the fire department training and recreation area adjacent to Clearwater Fire Station. The area has a defunct playground and park that has fallen into grave disrepair. Barladyan reported to the board that a work day had taken place on September 25. Dean Bean, Sherman Stebbins, and Barladyan spent a day using a tractor and manpower to remove a broken slide, a decrepit outhouse, and other pieces of broken playground equipment. Bean dug a large hole on the property, and the broken equipment was buried. The trio also filled with dirt an old fuel tank that was buried beneath the outhouse. They also built a burn pile to be ignited at a later date.

Two bylaw amendments had third readings at the meeting, both of which failed. 

The first proposed amendment dealt with certifying the election and date. The original text of Article III Board of Directors, Chapter One, DCC Election Procedures, Section 19. Certifying the Election reads:

“A board meeting shall be held on the Friday following the election at which time the administrator shall present to the board the report of election results and deliver all ‘Questioned Ballots’, ‘Defective Ballots’, and ‘Absentee ballots’. A final count shall be made by the board and a ‘Certificate of Election’ shall be issued on a form prescribed by the board to each newly elected official at the end of the meeting.”

The proposed amendment sought to strike the phrase “on the Friday” and change the phrase “shall be made” to “may be made” regarding the final count of the ballots.

The second proposed amendment sought to strike language determining the exact timing of the board meeting to be held following the election. The original text of Article III Board of Directors, Chapter Two, DCC Election Administration, Section 8. Certifying the Election (B.) reads:

“At the board meeting held the Friday following the election, the administrator shall hand over a report of election results to the council and inform them of the vote of any ‘Absentee Ballots’ received after election day and the vote of any ‘Questioned Ballots’ cast by a voter whom the administrator has determined was eligible to vote. Board members shall examine any ‘Defective Ballots’ to see if they can determine for whom the voter intended to vote.”

The proposed amendment sought to strike “the Friday” from the paragraph, thereby allowing the board meeting to be held at any time following the election.

The DCC board meets monthly on the second Monday, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Mt. McKinley Bank conference room. The public is welcome to attend. At the November 9 meeting, the four newly-elected board members will take their seats and officer elections will occur.

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