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In character, they are more open and spread out than other Alaskan cities. Fairbanks, Juneau, Kodiak, Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell, and Cordova, which are trustee townsites, began as de facto mining, fishing, transportation, or administrative centers closely huddled along their water fronts. In their development, town plats too often came to be seen mainly as means of subdividing land for sale, resulting in cities not primarily as places to live, but as real estate, although in many lands were designated for public parks and municipal reserves. With the impact of defense construction, the largest communities of Alaska burst into the suburbs where speculation reigned. The few attempts of suburb builders to produce livable planned developments, have generally been overwhelmed by thoughtless building along traffic arteries.

USE AND OWNERSHIP

Townsites in Alaska have evolved under the administration of four separate acts, namely: Presidential (Government), railroad, native (de facto), and trustee (de facto). As indicated above, most have been developed as trustee townsites. Over the years, many townsites, including some of those of the larger cities, have been fully surveyed, platted, and lands patented or otherwise conveyed and are no longer of primary responsibility to the Federal Government. These include Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Nome, Seldovia, Skagway as well as a number of smaller communities. Not counting the additions, there being as many as four in some cases, there are 40 active trustee townsites at present in Alaska which have an average population of over 500 people. Of the active trustee townsites, 8 need immediate provision of townsite plans, 3 need subdivisional surveys, 3 are awaiting plat approval, 4 are awaiting patent to the trustee, 4 are awaiting awards of lots to claimants, and 16 are awaiting appraisal and sale of vacant subdivided land. Several new planned townsites, including Tok Junction, Buffalo Center, and Cantwell have been surveyed and are undergoing development under the Presidential Townsite Act.

PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES

1. Provision of effectively planned and platted new townsites or townsite additions and adaptations of form of de facto townsites in the survey and platting so as to provide community plans that take account of real living needs-economic, social, hygienic, and esthetic.

2. Provision of simplified and speedier townsite administration through the various processes of surveying, filing of plats, appraising and selling, and awarding of patents.

PROGRAM NEEDED TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES

1. Provision of a new and simplified townsite law to replace the existing cumbersome, and in some respects contradictory, statutes now in operation in Alaska. 2. Provision whereby city planning services could be contracted in order to effectively plan and plat new townsites or townsite additions and adapt the forms of de facto communities to more adequately serve urban functional needs. This would eliminate necessity of employing full-time townsite planner and permit fuller attention to other aspects of townsite administration.

3. Consolidation of townsite administration into a single office where all matters pertaining to townsite planning, surveying and platting, appraisal and selling, issuance of patent and awards, and maintenance of townsite records may be dealt with more expeditiously.

4. Provision for contract and payment of various townsite improvement projects out of townsite sale receipts remaining after payment townsite trustee expenditures in townsite administration.

5. Execution of townsite administration as follows, fiscal year 1956-60:

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Mr. O'BRIEN. Dr. Hubbard, do you have a written statement? Dr. HUBBARD. Yes.

Mr. O'BRIEN. Would you prefer just to place that in the record? Dr. HUBBARD. That would be quite all right.

Mr. O'BRIEN. What is the pleasure of the committee?

Mr. DAWSON. I suggest, Mr. Chairman, we accept it for the record. Mr. BARTLETT. You do not have any additional verbal statement that you think it is necessary to supplement that written statement with?

Dr. HUBBARD. No, I think not.

Mr. O'BRIEN. Without objection, the statement will be made a part of the record.

(The statement referred to follows:)

DR. HUBBARD ON ALASKA MENTAL HEALTH ACT

I am Dr. Oscar E. Hubbard, chief of the mental health section of the Alaska Health Department. I only came to Alaska to accept the position of chief of the mental health section on July 1. There are many things about the Territory and its problems I have yet to learn, but the care of its mentally ill is my serious

concern.

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It is my considered professional opinion

1. That the laws governing commitment of mental patients are in need of change to bring them up to date;

2. That provision for care of the mentally ill of Alaska in hospital facilities within the Territory is most desirable; and

3. That it is further important to furnish the Territory authority and means to conduct for itself a sound and comprehensive mental health program. I have carefully studied H. R. 6376, a bill to provide for the hospitalization and care of the mentally ill of Alaska. To me it appears to provide for a proper revision of the commitment laws in the Territory. Further, its grants would provide for hospitalization of the mentally ill in the Territory and for a program for their care. Finally it provides authority for the Territory to set up a comprehensive mental health program.

For these reasons I wish to urge your committee to use its resources toward the passage of this bill.

I have been asked if I think it would be possible to obtain professional staff for hospital facilities and the carrying out of a mental health program in Alaska. Given the hospitals in which to care for their patients and adequate funds for salaries which this bill provides-it is my opinion that the staff could be obtained.

Mr. ABBOTT. I have one other question of Mr. Stewart and Mr. Boyko. The memorandum, the subject of which is "Wholesale Power Supply of the Central Alaska Area," and a memorandum "Problems of Public Utility Relocation Incident to Highway Improvements in Alaska," was it your desire that they be placed in the record following your testimony?

Mr. BOYKO. Yes.

Mr. ABBOTT. Then I would so request.

Mr. O'BRIEN. Without objection, it is so ordered.

(The statements referred to follow:)

MEMORANDUM FROM CENTRAL ALASKA POWER ASSOCIATION, ANCHORAGE,

To: Congress of the United States.

ALASKA

From: Marlin S. Stewart, manager, Chugach Electric Association, Inc. acting manager, Central Alaska Power Association, Inc.

Subject: Wholesale power supply of the central Alaska area.

The history of local and area power, while comparatively short, is nonetheless poignant, and is to all practical purposes unique in some important particulars; for instance, there exists today in the minds of a great many people the feeling that this is still a construction camp, with attendant boom and bust complexes. The real upsurge of power needs reflected today stem from 1948 At that time the military commands started a program of reactivating, modernization and expansion of certain bases to meet changing world conditions. Perhaps the greatest deficiency in the utility setup was electric power and a brief summary of the situation found at that time may be helpful:

1. The United States Air Force had acquired the former United States Army Air Corps bases in Alaska and the Alaskan Command was under an Air Force general officer.

2. Criteria were required for rapid build up of Alaska defenses on both an interim and continuing basis until a level yet to be determined was reached.

3. Reconnaisance of all possible logistical support on the bases themselves, as well as communities contiguous thereto, was made at high priority by specialized personnel of the several services and their reports evaluated and forwarded to the joint chiefs of staff for use in overall planning.

The findings in (3) above should be of interest to your committee in connection with power and utilities. Some excerpts from that report submitted in 1949 to the Alaskan Air Command are quoted in part below:

(a) "There is no surplus power available in the Anchorage area-brownouts and, indeed, complete failures of the city's and other small electrical systems are not uncommon-the city of Anchorage has no desire to serve areas outside the incorporated city limits with power-a 2,000 kilovolt-ampere emergency tie line exists between the Elmendorf base and APU, but, its practical worth, except in actual emergencies is very low-there is no projected new construction" etc.

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