Budget whittled

MAT-SU — Of the $300 million the governor cut from the state’s capital budget, $29 million relate to Valley projects.

The budget as the legislature submitted it to Gov. Sean Parnell totaled out at $3.2 billion. Parnell almost immediately started talking about cuts. Thursday, he announced his vetoes. Most notably, Parnell cut $22 million in the amount budgeted to build a rail spur to Port MacKenzie. The cut leaves $35 million in state money for the project.

The governor’s deputy chief of staff, Randy Ruaro, said that cut should still allow the project to proceed for the next 12 months.

“The reduction was based on finding a level of funding that allows the project to do everything that they need to do in the next year: construction of Segment I of the rail bed — which is $22.5 million — and their design, right-of-way, permitting and management activities for Segment II of the rail bed and then future segments.”

Parnell halved the money heading to arterial road and bridge improvements in the Valley, dropping the $2 million budget line to $1 million.

Parnell zeroed out four Valley projects: $3 million that would have gone to repair and maintain substandard Valley bridges, $1.4 million that would have funded Phase II of Palmer’s wastewater treatment plant improvements, $423,000 that would have built a new community health clinic in Sunshine and $2.3 million that would have helped improve Wasilla’s wastewater treatment plant.

But probably what’s most notable about the final budget is what Parnell didn’t touch.

For instance, there’s the $6 million that’s headed to the Palmer Senior Center. It’s hard to find someone willing to say something bad about that project. Sen. Linda Menard, R-Mat-Su, for one, said she was proud of that appropriation when the legislature passed its budget in April.

Reached Thursday, Rep. Carl Gatto was very pleased, saying the center is old, dilapidated and in desperate need of replacement. Senior center manager Rachel Greenberg was likewise elated.

“We’ll hopefully break ground first part of July,” she said.

She said the push for a new center has been a 17-year effort. The new center will be built across the street from the old one and will allow her to consolidate operations — center programs now are run out of two buildings — and expand services to meet the needs of a growing senior population. The $6 million puts the total amount of money for the project at $11.2 million.

“If everything goes as we hope, this should be the last of the funds that we needed,” she said.

In Houston, Mayor Roger Purcell was very happy to read the final budget. He pointed out that Houston didn’t lose a dime of the $540,000 it had in the budget, mostly for roads and fire equipment. An additional $100,000 went to the school district to finish installing lights on the football field at Houston High School.

“It was a hard-fought battle just to get this much, but he didn’t veto any of it. So, I’m pretty happy with that,” Purcell said.

Also still on the list: $1.7 million to build Sutton a Community Resource Center and library. The project has been one the community has been strongly pushing. Lynne Woods, who represents the area on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, has said previously that Sutton has simply outgrown its old library that’s housed in one of the Sutton Fire Department’s former equipment bays.

Also still in the budget are a raft of projects targeting the Glenn Highway. Included are lighting the last dark stretch between Anchorage and the Valley, installing new signage, rebuilding the stretch between the Old Glenn Highway and Parks Highway exits, and resurfacing miles 109-118. The total going to the Glenn is $44 million.

To see the complete budget, including a list of Mat-Su-area projects, visit the state’s Office of Management and Budget website at omb.alaska.gov.

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