Builder plays Santa

Developer donates land for Settlers Bay school

December 23, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE\Frontiersman reporter

SETTLERS BAY - The holidays are a time for giving, and in the spirit of the season, one of the Valley's largest developers has donated a parcel of land that will one day be the site of Settlers Bay Elementary School.

Homebuilder Chuck Spinelli announced Tuesday that he has entered into an agreement with the Mat-Su Borough, designating a 13-acre parcel of land in the Settlers Bay subdivision, valued at an estimated $750,000, as the future site of a new school.

Located just north of Settlers Bay Lodge and behind the existing post office, the majority of the students at the school will not have to cross Knik-Goose Bay Road to get to school.

A condition of the borough accepting the gift requires both the borough and Spinelli Homes to split the cost of developing the infrastructure.

Assembly member and school site selection committee chairman Jim Colver said the timely Christmas gift is a win-win for taxpayers.

&#8220It will save a lot on the cost involved with land acquisition, road development, utilities and the busing of students related with the construction of a typical new school,” Colver said. &#8220Being able to locate the school within the Settlers Bay community, where families live, is a great gift this holiday season.”

Locating the school within a new subdivision defrays costs related to developing roads, water and sewer systems, most of which will be paid for by Spinelli Homes as part of its property development.

&#8220Mr. Spinelli's offer comes at a time when reducing cost for construction is nothing less than a mandate from the taxpayers,” school district chief administrator Bob Doyle said. &#8220In this case we have an opportunity to demonstrate fiscal responsibility while at the same time acquiring an ideally located site for a new school.”

Spinelli indicated that he has plans to construct 100 new units in the subdivision by the end of 2007.

&#8220Being able to build homes around a new school is a great opportunity for my company,” Spinelli said. &#8220People say they want to live in safe communities with good schools and this plan will provide both. Homebuilding, kids and schools all go together, I am happy to be able to do my small part in meeting the growing needs of the community.”

Colver called the arrangement a ground-breaking new way of doing business for the borough.

&#8220Typically we look only to borough-owned land when seeking a new school site,” he explained. &#8220Accepting this land as part of what will be a planned neighborhood with a private developer is unprecedented for the borough.”

The borough has accepted land donations in the past for the construction of Sherrod and Snowshoe Elementary schools, but neither of them involved jointly developing the subdivision simultaneously.

School board member Linda Menard was also on hand and couldn't believe Spinelli's generosity.

&#8220This is a wonderful Christmas gift for the school board to receive,” Menard said. &#8220Now all we need is the help of the voters to unwrap this incredible package.”

Menard was referring to a drive for a special election that is under way to revisit a question on October's ballot, in which borough voters narrowly rejected a $12.7 bond issue that would have paid for the construction of the school. The measure failed by 260 votes.

&#8220We need to get the bond issue back before the voters,” Menard said. &#8220The best way is through a special election either in April or June. I hope this generous contribution will help people realize how serious the need is for a new school in the area.”

Goose Bay Elementary, the nearest school, currently has just over 600 students enrolled. It was constructed for 450.

The borough began examining possible sites for the school well over a year ago. It published a public notice prior to the October election, seeking the donation of a parcel large enough to house a school and centrally located in the Knik-Goose Bay area to meet the needs of the growing community.

But it took the involvement of Prudential Jack White/Vista Realtor Paddy Coan to put together the private/public arrangement.

&#8220Nine or 10 months ago I began discussing the idea of having a private developer donate land for a new school,” Coan said. &#8220I realize that it is not the typical way of doing business for the borough, but I believe that this is the wave of the future.

&#8220I think that the example set by Spinelli will encourage the involvement of other developers,” she continued. &#8220I hope more will come forward and donate land for future neighborhood development projects like this one.”

The donation of the site still needs to gain acceptance from the borough planning commission and the assembly to be completed.

Menard said that if it passes the assembly and voters approve a bond measure in a special election, that it would take approximately 24-28 months to complete construction of the school.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at

352-2267 or darrell.breese@

frontiersman.com.