Commentary: Girdwood resident authors ‘Holtan Hills’ poetry
By Krystal Hoke
Girdwood Resident
Holtan Hills, Holtan Hills,
Oh where do I begin …
When the community said,
We will need land for essentials,
Fill out the application,
Make it a potential.
So we did what they said,
Submitted it with some 70 letters of support,
We had a specific request,
Ball was in their court.
And what was their response?
An RFP for 150 acres,
Let’s sell off Girdwood,
There for the takers.
Meanwhile we asked,
What will Girdwood get?
Often finding ourselves left out,
But are you ready yet?
To let us have a say?
To speak without ridicule,
To be taken seriously,
Rather than the fool.
When you hear the testimony,
Is it all just nimbyism?
Or is it pot smoking hippies?
Depending on your prism.
We thought we had gotten our point across,
When it first got voted down,
The community showed up in droves,
We showed what it meant to be a town.
We asked for workforce housing,
And mentioned things we doubt,
But full page advertising budgets,
Really can buy one clout.
Then the project was re-introduced,
Just out of the blue,
By an assembly member in another district,
The powers that be decided what was true.
Five real estate directors,
Shuffled through the doors,
Yet the deal marched on,
Leaving us with sores.
My friends and neighbors,
Drug through the mud,
Feeling run over and hopeless,
Lack of representation leading to bad blood.
But let’s not forget the things,
That make Holtan Hills strange,
Like where are the other partners?
In the original RFP response exchange.
And here we have 60 acres of public land,
Transferred to CY,
The first 16 up for discussion tonight,
The community wondering why.
How much did she pay,
For the land in her corp name,
Oh yes, nothing,
Splitting profits is the game.
Oh but there is a benefit!
Girdwood gets two lots,
What a disappointment,
When you connect the dots.
Out of 60 aces and the first 39 lots,
Got to take the hint,
We will be lucky to get the two lots,
If you read the fine print.
I am an advocate for housing,
But this project is not what we need,
It’s built around self interests,
Focused on the greed.
But the muni said let’s not stop there!
Let’s build a road to the subdivision!
Public money 2.1 M for the road,
A for-profit developers dream vision.
Our voice didn’t matter,
When we spoke at HLB,
Always outnumbered at assembly,
Two of twelve votes can never set us free.
So here we are at P&Z,
Wondering if you’ll actually have the discussion,
What could be helpful to the community?
Or is it all a foregone conclusion?
If we tell you,
There won’t be places to live,
Unless you make a difference,
By the conditions that you give.
We are at the last stop,
The grantor of the PUD,
Only 2 lots for multifamily,
Mixed use barely visible to see.
I’m asking you to consider,
And really give it some thought,
Have you seen the project proforma?
Or is your vote already bought?
And if you vote yes without question,
I hope you understand what you vote for,
The muni having major obligations,
Second access a big financial chore.
If this were private property,
I simply wouldn’t be here,
But because this land was public,
A community benefit should be clear.