Growth means shrinking grants for Palmer

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY-Frontiersman reporter

A 14-percent population increase is creating some growing pains for Palmer, bumping the city over the 5,000-population mark and out of some state funds.

According to numbers recently released by the Alaska Department of Community and Business Development, Palmer's population increased from around 4,500 to nearly 5,200 during the past two years.

The number is significant not just because of the rapid rate of growth it reflects, but also because it pushes the city into a different range when being considered for Department of Environmental Conservation grant funds.

Cities with populations 5,000 and less are eligible for water and solid waste projects in which DEC pays 70 percent of the costs and the city 30 percent. Exceed 5,000 in population and that ratio goes to 50-50.

"You can see that with larger projects it's a fair amount of money," Palmer City Manager Tom Healy said.

For example, a recent $3 million water project will cost Palmer less than $1 million compared to the $1.5 million it would under the new formula.

Healy said the DEC grant source has been significant to Palmer in recent years, providing millions of dollars to fund projects that might not otherwise be feasible.

"We've done very well with this program," he said.

Projects that are now in the works and grant applications filled out last fall will still be eligible for the 70-30 formula, and city officials are striving to avoid the 50-50 split in the future. City council members recently suggested working with the state to develop a new bracket for cities that fall between the 5,000 population and larger cities such as Anchorage and Fairbanks.

In the past, they point out, most Alaska towns easily fit beneath the 5,000 cap, but a growing number now exceed it, including Palmer and Wasilla.

"Over the years the pattern has changed," Healy said. "There may be other communities in the same boat … they're growing, too."

Healy said he understands the 5,000 number isn't set in legal stone but is instead a more administrative guideline, one city officials hope may be up for reconsideration.

"We're going to take a look at it," he said.