Decision on Green Belt gravel delayed to mid 2021

PALMER — The decision by the University of Alaska Fairbanks on whether or not to continue exploring revenue generating opportunities at the Matanuska Experiment Farm and Extension Center by extracting gravel has been pushed off until at least June of 2021, according to UAF Chancellor Dan White. White and UAF President Pat Pitney met with over a dozen community members and elected officials on Zoom to exchange dialogue about the nine bore holes dug within a 70-acre section of the Mat-Su Green Belt trails, the largest public green space in the Mat-Su Borough.

“I find it quite disappointing that kind of the vision to monetize the university resources and extract them has been so narrow. There’s a lot of ways to monetize your land and there are a lot of ways to extract resources and I think it’s a folly to really focus on the one that’s going to harm our community the most,” said Russ Johansen.

Johansen works at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center as an emergency physician. Living in a house built by Fred and Sara Machetanz on land that borders the green belt, Johansen commutes to work at MSRMC along the trails every day and said he has had to alter his route to avoid trail damage. While the bore holes were not dug on any active trails, the damage from heavy equipment traveling along the trails to dig the bore holes alarmed residents and trail users in August.

“I’ve received many calls and feedback on this, and besides people not wanting a gravel pit in the middle of their trails system, the lack of input solicited from the community has been part of that,” said Mat-Su Borough Assemblywoman Stephanie Nowers. “I really am optimistic that we could start to have a good serious conversation that I think can go beyond even what we sort of are talking about that kicked this off.”

The UAF experiment farm and extension center is under the Division of Facilities and Land Management and testing the 70-acre plot within the green belt trails has been part of the agenda since 2019. City of Palmer Manager John Moosey called on his previous experience as Mat-Su Borough Manager in relating the difficulty of getting the Division of Facilities and Land Management to listen.

“I was very surprised with the gravel extraction potential project and the reason is my past association as borough manager with the Mat-Su Borough. I’ve made past attempts to talk to UAF land folks about private business partnerships that we had and were completely shut down, they did not want to hear any opportunities that may arise,” said Moosey. “You’re looking at pennies compared to dollars. There is a tremendous opportunity, economic that would benefit everybody especially UAF. You have the medical center there, you have Mat-Su College, you have the experimental farm. It is really a gem of a location.”

On October 22, Chancellor White responded to questions that he had answers to, but offered no prepared comments, stating instead that he was there to listen.

“At UAF we will be looking for whatever alternatives there are,” said White. “We would submit again an alternative or two to the board. The board would discuss those. At one of our previous meetings we said that the earliest that could possibly be is February. It’s really unlikely it would be February, we’re probably talking about June.”

White applauded the research and guidance of UAF Experiment Farm Director Jodie Anderson and detailed the reach of the effect of her research, helping plants feed Alaskans from Homer to Whiteman. Among the issues of food security and the economic possibilities of trails, Senator Shelley Hughes noted the development on the A2A rail extension and pontificated at the future markets for shipping agricultural products from the Mat-Su through Canada.

“I look forward to an open door communication with the university and a chance for the community to weigh in and I believe that the farm land can be actually revenue generating, it can be a good asset and not a drain on the university system. If we all work together we can do that, so it’s beneficial to the agricultural community as well as our community overall,” said Hughes.

Mat-Su Health Foundation sponsored the Zoom and MSHF CEO Elizabeth Ripley spoke about the most recent Borough Economic Development plan which states that the future of economic development in the Valley is professional technical services as opposed to resource development. Ripley and others looked toward a future university medical district between Mat-Su College and MSRMC that preserves access to trails for resident health.

We are definitely interested in alternatives. Our interest in assessing the gravel resources is to find out what the value of this land is and alternative approaches to monetizing it are certainly very high on our list,” said UAF President Pat Pitney.

Among the elected officials who spoke on the zoom were Hughes, Nowers, Representative DeLena Johnson and Palmer City Councilwoman Dr. Jill Valerius. Johnson spoke of the historical significance of the property and the movement of the land to a trust over 100 years ago.

“As a functional medicine physician focused on health, certainly opportunities for people to be out of doors safely is really key to our health and wellness,” said Dr. Valerius.

Also represented on the call were numerous neighbors of the green belt trails, UAF Regent Cachet Garrett, Director Jodie Anderson and representatives from the Gateway Community Council, Alaska Farmland Trust, Greatland Trust and Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers, among others.

“We hope to convince UA leadership that the Mat-Su green belt is worth preserving,” said VMBaH Director Alida Van Amelo. “We hope to engage in a conversation that explores and encourages alternative solutions toward a win win situation for our community and for the university.”