Borough buys Medow Lakes land, ambulance for Houstron

PALMER - The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly last week approved two ordinances geared toward public safety.

Introduced by Assemblyman Doyle Holmes, Ordinance 99-097 provides for the purchase of a 2.37 acre parcel in the Meadow Lakes area to house a new firehall. The tract, located on N. Church Road in McKenzie Estates subdivision, was chosen for its "excellent road access," allowing fire fighters to respond quickly to emergencies. The assembly approved $15,000 for the purchase of the lot.

A borough-owned parcel designated earlier as the site for a firehall was found to have a poor water supply. Borough officials began a of check other borough-owned properties in the area as an alternate site and found all of them to be lacking for one reason or another.

The only choice was to purchase a privately held parcel, Kevin Koechlein told the assembly. Koechlein is the director of borough Department of Public Safety.

In addition to requiring a reliable source of water, firehalls must be able to serve the area within a five mile radius. At present, the firehall nearest Meadow Lakes is more than five miles away on Pittman Road.

The assembly also voted to accept a grant from the State of Alaska for $157,000 for the purchase of an ambulance and a rescue unit and related equipment. The ordinance, No. 99-101, was introduced by Holmes.

The grant, which comes from the Alaska Department of Administration Municipal Capital Grant Program, must be matched with $67,286 from the borough.

The ambulance is a routine purchase, said Michael Scott.

"The borough has about 10 ambulances, and they've been replacing about two per year," he said. Which ambulance will be replaced will not be determined until later, in a decision to be made by the Emergency Medical Services council.

"It'll go to one of the stations that hasn't had a new one in the last three years," Scott said.

The rescue vehicle, on the other hand, will probably go to Sutton, he said. "Sutton's old one will probably be reconfigured and placed in service elsewhere. Possibly Meadow Lakes."