Borough appreciates millions from state

I feel it is appropriate to give tribute to our hardworking legislators Sen. Charlie Huggins, Sen. Mike Dunleavy, Sen. Click Bishop, Sen. Fred Dyson, Rep. Bill Stoltze, Rep. Mark Neuman, Rep. Wes Keller, Rep. Shelley Hughes, Rep. Lynn Gattis and Rep. Eric Feige.

We greatly appreciate the $143 million in area funding for rail, roads, state highways, fire halls, schools, tourism and fisheries at a time when the state capital budget is tightening.

Funding

• The Mat-Su School District will receive $3,756,300 in capital appropriations and $2,410,327 for school safety

• Port MacKenzie Rail is expected to receive $25 million in state appropriations. The project will be a rail link from the mainline of the Alaska Railroad to Port MacKenzie. The rail link makes mineral deposits and bulk resources of the Interior 141 miles closer by rail to a deep draft dock. With this funding, the project will work on Segment 5 as well as actual track construction for Segment 6 where a siding and a Y will be built off the mainline near Houston.

• Bogard Road Extension receives $8.2 million. The extension will be an east-west corridor from Palmer to Wasilla parallel to the highly congested Palmer-Wasilla Highway. This project will also help reduce traffic on the Glenn and Parks highways. Construction begins this summer and will occur in phases. The project needs $11.3 million to be completed.

Fisheries

With the support of Rep. Bill Stoltze, Sen. Mike Dunleavy and Rep. Mark Neuman, the Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission presented its case of salmon woes to the joint House and Senate Fish and Game Finance Subcommittee. The volunteer commission’s talk gained traction.

In the final capital budget:

• $2.5 million for Mat-Su fisheries and fish protection

• $2 million for Chinook Salmon Enhancement in Northern Cook Inlet (in State Fish & Game budget)

• $2.5 million for salmon research, restoration and enhancement initiatives for the Susitna River drainage system. (in state Fish and Game budget)

Commissioners Larry Engel, Chairman Bruce Knowles, and Jim Colver explained to Legislators how sport fishing has plummeted to its lowest participation in 35 years in the Mat-Su. Historically sport fishing has significantly contributed to the Mat-Su economy. In 2007, Mat-Su anglers fished 300,000 days and spent $118 million and generated $31 million to $64 million in the local economy.

River Management

• $2.5 million is slated to go toward river management.

Emergency Services

• $2 million for a new Caswell Lakes Fire Station. Tens of thousands of visitors drive the Parks Highway on the way to Denali. This fire station will provide a station from which to respond to the many calls for help.

• $2.7 million for a new station in the West Lakes Fire Service Area.

• $350,000 for a warm storage fire station on the corner of Crystal Lakes and Shirley Lake roads in Willow.

• $470,000 for Willow Fire Service Area tanker

• $388,000 for warm storage fire station on Four Mile Road, four miles up Willow Hatcher Pass Road from the Parks Highway. This is an area in between two stations. It will hold an engine and a tanker for more rapid response to the area until a complete fire station is built.

• $300,000 will go toward a permanent emergency operations center. Since 2003, the Mat-Su has managed response on three federally declared disasters.

• $70,000 for Butte Volunteer Fire Dept. Mobile Treatment Center

• $1.8 million for aerial firefighting apparatus and equipment for Palmer

Port MacKenzie

• The Port will receive $2.5 million for cathodic protection, which will help extend the life of the docks, protecting them from wear and tear.

Roads and Bridges

• $2.5 million for substandard roads and bridges will continue the effort to rebuild bridges that were deemed unsafe by the state’s Department of Transportation and Public Facilities as well as upgrade borough roads.

State Highways

The Legislature approved the use of these federal funds.

• $4 million for Palmer-Wasilla Highway from Parks Highway to Knik-Goose Bay Road, pavement restoration

• $29 million to reconstruct Parks Highway, Mile 43.5 to 52.3, Lucus Road to Big Lake Cutoff

• $20 million for Parks Highway, Mile 194, Broad Pass Railroad overcrossing

• $1.5 million for passing lanes on the Parks Highway, Mile 163

• $3.65 million for Mile 53 to 56, Glenn Highway upgrade, Moose Creek

Tourism

• $1 million for site acquisition and design for the Mat-Su Borough Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Gateway Center project. The proposed site is the former Homestead RV bluff at mile 36 of the Glenn Highway. The center will welcome 100,000 visitors a year and serve as a jumping off point for information and amenities.

• $7 million for South Denali Visitor Center, a partnership between the borough, the state, National Park Service and private entities.

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Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell has 30 days to sign the bill from when the budget is transmitted from the Legislature. For a complete look at the capital budget go to this link and look under house district bit.ly/17aroxK.

Of necessity, this summary focused on numbers. There were many other bills addressing policy that will affect our future. I am pretty confident that this first half of the 28th Legislative Session was the hardest working and most productive that I have ever witnessed. Thank you team!

Larry DeVilbiss has been mayor of the Mat-Su Borough since January 2011.