Assembly removes Pat Daniels from Big Lake RSA 21 after members and public raise conduct concerns

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted on May 20 to remove Pat Daniels from the Big Lake Road Service Area (RSA) 21 Board of Supervisors, after a heated process that began as a proposal to remove all five board members and was amended to target Daniels alone.

Assemblymember Bill Gamble moved the original resolution to remove all board members from RSA 21, then offered and carried an amendment narrowing the action to a single member, Pat Daniels. Gamble said he had attended an April RSA 21 meeting where public attendees left after a meeting discussion “digressed” into allegations about borough administration spending and the meeting became “embarrassing.” He told the assembly that four of the five board members had “stopped engaging in activities and tactics” cited in the information memorandum, but that Daniels had not.

The amended resolution recited multiple concerns: allegations that Daniels had continued to “sow discord,” used borough staff time on personal matters, advocated individually without board concurrence, and otherwise disrupted public participation. The amended resolution removed Daniels from RSA 21 and declared the seat immediately vacant.

Deputy Borough Attorney John Ashenbrenner told the assembly the public notice for the removal was adequate because the original resolution had listed removal of all board members; narrowing the target to one individual did not require a new notice period. The mayor’s concurrence reduced the required assembly votes for removal; the motion carried with Assemblymembers Bill Gamble, Maxwell Sumner, and two others voting in favor. Assemblymembers Dimitri Fonoff and Ron Bernier voted no. (See vote record below.)

Members of the public and RSA 21 callers testified both in person and by phone before the vote. Garland Morrison, an RSA 21 board member, urged the assembly not to dissolve or remove members and described the board as exercising differences of opinion rather than dysfunction. A caller representing RSA 21 said the board’s members were “quality people” and deserved to finish their terms. Gamble and other assembly members said they had seen one board member’s conduct continue after the resolution was introduced and that the amendment was intended to remove the source of disruption while keeping the other four members.

The assembly’s action removes Daniels and declares the seat vacant; the mayor and borough administration will follow the borough’s appointment process to fill the vacancy.

Votes at the meeting showed strong debate over whether removal of board members is appropriate mid-term and whether the assembly should intervene directly in RSA composition. Several members said the late timing of previous notices and the public meeting behavior justified targeted removal; others said the assembly should not remove members for disagreement or for conduct short of statutory cause.

The assembly also discussed how the action might set precedent for future removals and whether alternative remedies (warning letters, mediation, or requiring certain procedural changes) would have been preferable. The borough’s information memorandum and the RSA 21 meeting minutes were cited repeatedly during debate.

Ending: The seat declared vacant is for Big Lake RSA 21; the mayor will follow standard appointment procedures. The assembly’s resolution and the supporting information memorandum were entered into the record; several callers indicated they would submit written comments and documentation to borough staff following the meeting.