Fair hopes to expand boundaries

PALMER -- The Alaska State Fair is in negotiations with Alaska Demolition, an Anchorage-based company, in an attempt to expand its boundaries while giving Alaska Demolition a space to fill with inert debris.

The fair bought the Rebarchek farm and gravel pit two years ago and stopped active commercial extraction. While the fair extracts some gravel for fair-related construction, such as the commuter center being built this year, it has a nearly 20-acre, 80-foot-deep hole in the 80 acres it acquired for approximately $560,000.

Enter Alaska Demolition. This company is hoping to acquire the pit, which it would use as a mono-fill for work-related debris such as tree stumps, dirt, drywall and concrete. The pit would be filled in piece by piece, in 100-foot-by-50-foot cells.

"There is no trash, no seagulls, no trash blowing around," said Justin Green, owner of Alaska Demolition. "It would always be kept covered."

Through a plan designed by Development Managers Inc., the fair and Alaska Demolition hope to arrange a land exchange that would require Alaska Demolition to purchase the 40-acre recently closed Hamilton Farm across the street from the pit, and then exchange that parcel of land for the 40 acres surrounding the Rebarchek pit. Once this three-party exchange occurs, the fair retains the first right of refusal to purchase the 40-acre pit area after it is filled to surrounding grade, which is estimated to take approximately 10 years.

For this exchange to occur three things have to be done. First, the Department of Environmental Conservation must issue a permit to fill the gravel pit. Second, there needs to be a redesignation of the pit area from R-1 (single family residential use) to Industrial, which was the traditional use of the parcel. Third, Alaska Demolition would need to purchase the Hamilton Farm property to make the trade.

The fair requested the change of the designation of the property to the Palmer City Council last week, and are waiting for a decision. If favorable, the other steps are expected to fall into place.

The fair plans to keep the Hamilton Farm as an open space, available to the public for things such as soccer and dog training. It also has no plans to build anything on top of the Rebarchek pit once that is reacquired after being filled.

"We just think this is the greatest potential for that area," said Joe Lawton, general manager of the fair. "We want this to go through really bad."