Mat-Su Planning Commission backs Oil Well Road community council district

The Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission recommended Monday that the Borough Assembly create a community council district for property owners along remote Oil Well Road. The district would let a landowners' group seek state Community Assistance Program grants if it becomes state incorporated.

The commission passed the resolution without objection after a public hearing. Paul Clark, the borough's long-range planner, said the commission has no official role in the decision. The Assembly decides. Its resolution "would show your recommendation that the assembly do approve this district," he said.

The Greater Oil Well Road Community Association would not become an official community council. Clark said its bylaws base membership on property ownership, not residency, so it fails borough code's definition. The bylaws resemble those of the Louise Susitna Tyone Community Association, also not an official council, but one that still receives presentations on borough activities.

Clark described the area as "predominantly rural remote recreational." A resident of Mile 10 Oil Well Road testified that the boundary takes in properties reached from the road or its ATV and snowmachine trails, more than 400 in all. The borough mailed 243 notices for the group's first meeting in May 2025. She said the effort began in 2023, when the Trapper Creek Community Council sought to extend its boundaries, and that most owners are part-time residents who wanted a vote tied to property. The group has met three times: at a road maintenance turnaround, her garage and her pole barn.

Sylvan Morgan, the association's chair, said he lived full time at about Mile 14.5 from 2000 until a back injury moved him to Wasilla. He said 40 to 50 people attended the first meeting. The group now has more than 30 paid members.

"A while back, we had a series of robberies, you know, and we just don't have any police presence out there," Morgan said. He also cited road and trail maintenance. "Maybe we have a little louder voice," he said.

A caller from inside the boundary also urged approval. No one testified against it. A borough memo lists the recommendation for the Assembly's Oct. 20 meeting.