Federal appropriation covers cost of expansion

MAT-SU -- With help from the business community, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly appropriated $1.6 million in federal dollars from the U.S. Economic Development Administration at its Dec. 17 meeting.

The money came from a grant borough officials had been working to secure during the past year, and will fund the construction of the new cell at the landfill the borough is planning to open. A large portion of the excavation work needed to clear space for the cell was done this fall, when the borough revamped 49th State Street from the Palmer-Wasilla Highway to the landfill. Jim Swing, the borough's director of public works, said that project was completed with a $1.6 million grant obtained last year from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Initially, borough officials were concerned that, if the remaining $1.6 million needed to complete the project was not found, either tipping fees would have to be increased to offset the expansion costs or the borough's mill levy would have to be increased to absorb the expense. With this grant, Swing said, tipping fees won't need to be increased and there should be no effect on the borough's mill levy.

"We're in good shape, financially," Swing said.

Borough manager John Duffy said the grant was not easy to secure. Since it was applied for through the Economic Development Administration, borough officials had to prove that the landfill expansion was integral to economic development in the borough.

"We had to show that it would result in new job opportunities," Duffy said.

To do so, the borough called on community businesses to help. They requested letters from area businesses to help demonstrate how the landfill helps their business run smoothly. Evergreen Resources, Valley Hospital and North Star Behavioral Systems were cited as three primary examples of new job opportunities being tied to the borough's landfill expansion.

Evergreen Resources, Duffy said, was a prime example because the new expansion would provide a key needed element, an industrial waste facility that can accept the residue left from Evergreen's drilling.

"Without it, they wouldn't have been able to operate," Duffy said.

Expansion of Valley Hospital and the children's mental health facility planned by North Star, Duffy said, would also need the industrial waste dumping site. But existing businesses, he said, had a large part to play in the receipt of the grant.

"We asked a number of existing businesses to write letters of support," Duffy said, "and we got a large number of letters."

With about 30 such letters in hand, Duffy said, he, Swing and Greg Goodale, a solid waste engineer with the borough, presented information to EDA staff.

"We flew down to Seattle to make a presentation to the regional administration," Duffy said, "and we were able to document the specific number of jobs it would provide. We made a pretty good case, and it was because of the private-sector support."

The funding, Swing said, will cover the cost of construction of the actual cell, lining it, installing a leachate tank and the other details that must be in place before the tank is ready for use. The work, Swing said, will be bid out in January or early February and construction will begin in the summer.

The need for expansion can be directly linked to growth in the Valley. Swing said the new cell is expected to be usable for five to seven years -- only half the time the existing cell was in use.

Most people using the landfill will never notice the change, Swing said.

"The only people who will see the effect are the garbage truck [operators] and people hauling larger loads," Swing said.