Big ideas

PALMER — Where weather beaten buildings stand, a sparkling civic and convention center would rise up. Rusted equipment would be replaced with an agriculture museum. Oil tanks and weeds would be overrun by a building for non-profit agencies.

That’s the plan Palmer officials presented to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation in a pitch Thursday evening to acquire the board’s piece of land where the Matanuska Maid dairy bottling facility once operated. The 8.74-acre parcel also is home to six private lots the city wants to own as well so it can build what City Manger Bill Allen called the city’s crown jewel.

“It’s so important that we do this deal,” Allen said Friday morning. “There’s nothing over there but dilapidated buildings and unsightly tanks. This could be the city’s crown jewel. And it fits in with our transportation plan.”

Allen said the city’s in the process of building a couplet with the Palmer-Wasilla Highway that would traffic in and then route it back out Dogwood Street that now ends at the Carrs parking lot. Eventually, Dogwood would connect with Hemmer Road, reuniting vehicles with the highway from there. The incoming traffic could connect to streets that would lead right past the proposed civic campus.

Also, there are plans to rip up the rail tracks in town and create a greenbelt that would stretch to the state fairgrounds.

“It would eliminate that railbed hump,” Allen said, “and save us a lot of money by not having to have rail crossing. And the streets would be smooth.”

He said two things divide Palmer: the rail tracks and the Glenn Highway. The plan would fix one and he hopes a lower speed limit will ease the other.

As for the grand plan, here are a few nuggets:

• Civic and convention center — 25,000 to 30,000 square feet that would house a convention hall, meeting room, two classrooms, a visitors center, a video theater, warming kitchen and a museum gallery.

• Art and Cultural Center — It would include a fine arts center/gallery, performance hall and an education center.

• Agricultural museum — About 6,000 square feet is envisioned to hold state and local artifacts with outdoor space to display equipment. There would also be indoor displays that depict the evolution of agriculture dating back to the indigenous peoples.

• Building for non-profit organizations — The plan is to house most of the area’s non-profits in one, rent-free place so users could find them all there.

All this is expected to cost somewhere in the $10 million to $12 million range.

How to pay for that? Allen said much of it will likely have to come from bonds.

As for the Ag Board’s land, the city is willing to put up earnest money in hopes the board will see fit to sell the land. Right now, the parcel is up for sale, but takers are slim, given the asking price of $1.3 million for the 2.5 acres.

At the meeting, Allen told the board its asking price wasn’t realistic given today’s market and noted that the assessed value by the borough is $400,000.

“The real value is probably somewhere in between,” he said.

He also told the board Thursday that the owners of six other lots on the block have all been contacted and are willing to sell.

The board asked a couple of questions after the city’s presentation, but reaction was fairly mute.

Friday afternoon, board president Kristan Cole acknowledged the old ag facility in Palmer has historical significance, but said the city, “Won’t be treated any differently than any other prospective buyer. Does it make sense to consider their proposal? Yes.”

During the meeting, Palmer’s attorney, Michael Gatti, pointed out that the board isn’t obligated to sell to the highest bidder. He cited a board regulation that allows them to sell to anyone if the sale is for the greater good of the state or community.

Cole said the board will have the assistant state attorney general look into that for interpretation.

The city’s presentation must have made some kind of impression. Allen said the board has invited the city back for its April meeting.

Contact T.C. Mitchell at tc.mitchell@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.