Former school building to be destroyed if use can’t be found

WASILLA — The building housing the old Iditarod Elementary School likely won’t serve as a joint public safety building for Wasilla city and state public safety officials, officials have said.

Borough manager John Moosey addressed the subject during a borough assembly meeting earlier this month, and said the results of a study jointly funded by the Department of Public Safety and the City of Wasilla revealed the 50,000-square-foot building will require about $8.5 million to turn into a suitable building for those purposes, according to Moosey and Wasilla mayor Bert Cottle.

That likely puts the building out of range of what the city can afford, Cottle said. He planned to discuss the matter with the city council at the June 13 city council building.

“At this time, I don’t have $8.5 million,” he said.

Cottle said if a new use can’t be found for the building, he’d prefer it be razed, rather than let the building become an eyesore and possible public safety liability.

Given the lack of funding available to repair the building to the requirements needed, the borough will also consider razing the building, Moosey said. Borough officials estimate the total cost of destroying the building where it stands is $600,000, though the building would likely be put out for a bidding cost at some point in the future.

The current building contains asbestos, a cancer-causing substance frequently used as an insulator in construction before 1980. The building will also require a new roof, Moosey said. The assembly can’t afford to maintain the building until a use could be found, nor are officials eager to keep the building for the long-term, Moosey said.

“It’s not cheap and inexpensive,” he said. “It does not make sense for us to invest in that.”

Borough assembly officials could consider a measure to raze the building by July 21, Moosey said. Were the building to be razed, officials would hold onto the property, valued at $1.3 million, as the possible site of a future school, Moosey said.

Officials had considered turning the building into a joint public safety building for the Wasilla police department and a consolidated Alaska State Troopers post. City and state officials spent $73,900 evaluating the building for that possible use.

The building was constructed in 1971. The building is valued at about $12 million, according to borough property records.

Iditarod Elementary school students will start classes this fall at the $18-million newly constructed building that sits near the old school.

Contact reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.