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State consolidates Dillingham, Manokotak annexation requests

Dillingham's annexation petition is on hold to let Manokotak's catch up.

DILLINGHAM: The competing annexation petitions from Dillingham and Manokotak will now be considered on the same schedule. KDLG's Molly Dischner reports.

Audio Transcript:

The state's Local Boundary Commission unanimously agreed to consolidate the two petitions during an hour-long meeting in Anchorage Friday. That will slow down the process for considering Dillingham's request, but shouldn't change when the matter eventually could go to the Legislature for approval. Dillingham Mayor Alice Ruby has long fought to see the Nushagak commercial fishing district annexed to collect a raw fish tax for the city:

“We were disappointed because we had hoped that our petition would stay on track and keep moving forward. We’re anxious to see if they can follow the schedule that they described and that the commissioners even questioned. You know. Will it slow down the petition? The LBC staff seemed to think that it would only be a short period and that it would still be in front of the Legislature in 2017.”

After Dillingham's annexation was overturned in 2014, the city council voted to resubmit a new petition in January 2015. The City of Manokotak submitted its own request to annex part of the fishing district in September. The two petitions overlap in the Igushik section of the Nushagak district.

Manokotak asked to have the petitions merged. Mayor Melvin Andrew said after the meeting that now the two communities can work together:

“With the previous petitions that were submitted they were going to be worked on separately, so we’d be like, in competition with Dillingham. But now, with the petitions consolidated, on the same schedule, we can work together.”

Dillingham’s petition is now on hold while Manokotak’s catches up. Manokotak’s request is still being reviewed by the state, but the city told the commission that if it’s sent back for technical corrections, they’ll make them as quickly as possible so as not to delay the process.

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