October 30, 2025, by Seward Folly Staff

On Wednesday night, more than 60 residents gathered at the Bear Creek Fire Station for a meeting that may shape the area’s future. The turnout was so strong that it exceeded the fire station’s safe occupancy limit, which was clear evidence, organizers say, of widespread interest in forming a Community Council.

The meeting, facilitated by Bear Creek resident Lori Landstrom, was the first in a series aimed at evaluating whether to establish a council that could advocate for Bear Creek in matters before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. “It was incredible to see how many people turned out,” said Kirstie Willean, another local resident. The mood in the room reflected both curiosity and urgency: many felt the time has come for Bear Creek to claim a united, louder voice in decisions that affect the community.

One issue drawing intense interest is the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s acquisition of 80 acres atop Blueberry Hill, above the Questa Woods subdivision, for new housing development. Despite providing feedback last winter, Bear Creek residents say they’ve had limited opportunities for additional input, even as the Borough moves ahead with plans and road construction.

Residents also discussed the future of Community Assistance Program grants and other improvement project funding. This year, unincorporated towns like Bear Creek received only a few days’ notice before critical decision meetings — something Mayor Micciche acknowledged needs improvement. He has suggested that non-profits and tribal groups should have time to coordinate ahead of such votes, and many see a community council as the ideal platform for that coordination.

Landstrom sent an email letter to her neighbors, which is reprinted here in full:

Hello neighbors,

We had a great meeting Wednesday night.  Thank you to everyone who came, listened and spoke.  It blew my socks off how many people came out on a stormy dark night.  Approximately 60 people came to the Fire Station.  We are looking for a larger facility for future meetings.  There were no minutes taken.  These are my recollections. 

Yes, we are moving forward with exploring the option of forming a community council and what it would look like.  Thirteen of your neighbors and friends volunteered to be on this exploratory committee.  

We discussed ideas the community council might address, nothing was decided.

We discussed how we might like our community council to look.  Again nothing was decided.  Stay tuned to future meetings.

Speaking of future meetings, the next meeting is possibly Nov. 19.  We are currently searching for a larger venue (Spruce Lodge will be the location).  Stand by.  At the next meeting we will review draft documents, discuss our purpose, mission and possible bylaws.  Voting will be by those in attendance at the meeting.  Perhaps we will vote at that meeting to form our Bear Creek Community Council, perhaps we won’t.  And more discussion is needed.  This is our process, together we decide.  Nothing rushed but we do want to keep the momentum going.

We need your help in reaching more people in our area.  Please share this email with friends and neighbors who live in the Bear Creek area.  Anything north of city limits to and including Grouse Lake Road.  

For now, the major form of outreach will be emails.  Click this link to enter their email to be included in our master email list.

Please feel free to send your questions and concerns to this email.  bearcreekcommunitycouncil@gmail.com

your neighbor,

Lori Landstrom

Whether the Bear Creek Community Council will formally take shape depends on upcoming discussions and votes, though organizers aim to keep the energy going. For now, they encourage residents to spread the word and stay tuned for updates as Bear Creek works toward building a stronger, collective voice with the Kenai Borough.