Borough’s wish list includes millions for road projects

PALMER — It’s a yearly ritual. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly puts together a wish list of projects it would like to see funded by the federal government.

This year there is a twist.

Borough Manager John Duffy said his contacts in Washington, D.C., have told him, “There’s going to be an economic stimulus package and it’s going to move very, very fast.”

Reacting to the steep downturn in the economy, the federal government is hoping to fund some public works projects to create jobs and goose the economy.

That means, Duffy said, there might be an opportunity for Alaska’s delegation to Congress to pick a few projects to include in the package. And they’re asking for a list.

But there’s a catch — actually two: The projects need to be ready to be awarded to a contractor in 120 days and Duffy needed the list by the end of Tuesday night’s meeting.

So the Assembly set to work hashing out a list of projects. When the dust had settled they are:

• $7.5 million to build an agricultural products processing facility in Palmer.

• $25 million for the South Denali Visitor’s Center.

• $6 million to build the lodge, parking area, roads and trails for the eventual Hatcher Pass ski area.

• The state’s portion of the road projects passed by ballot initiative in October. The state’s portion is estimated to be $35 million and will join $15 in borough contributions for a 70/30 split.

• Upgrades to Burma Road ($38 million), Trunk Road ($27 million), Seward Meridian Parkway ($17 million) and South Big Lake Road ($25 million).

• $1.46 million to for tourism infrastructure projects.

• A $30 million landing for the borough’s ice-breaking ferry. The ship is due to arrive in 2010.

• A new $2,350,000 library and community center for Sutton.

• $500,000 to improve passageways for fish.

Three more projects made the cut, but were deemed lower priority: $500,000 to repair the water and sewer system in Talkeetna, $6 million to upgrade Oilwell Road near Petersville and $3 million to fix drainage problems on Chisana Road in Big Lake.

Assemblywoman Michelle Church expressed reservations about the Hatcher Pass project.

“I don’t think we’re ready to sit on Santa’s lap and ask for that money,” she said, noting that there is still quite a bit of work to be done hashing out how the facility will run.

Assemblywoman Cindy Bettine disagreed.

“Let’s just say a building gets put up in that parking lot. What a wonderful resource we would have for our community,” she said, even without a completed ski area.

The borough’s list for projects for funding through the standard budget process at the federal level include some of the same projects — the fish passages, South Denali center, Hatcher Pass and the agriculture processing facility.

Two additional projects are on that list — a slate of road and bridge improvements and $6 million for a natural science center at the Palmer Hay Flats.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.