No prison for Palmer

Dec. 10, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

PALMER - It appears prayers were answered for some Palmer residents

Friday.

Officials involved with a proposed prison in the Mat-Su Borough dropped the south Palmer site from consideration, and named Point MacKenzie as their preferred location.

In recent weeks, residents of Palmer have been among the most vocal prison opponents in the borough, going as far as developing a Web site with the purpose of agitating against the proposed development.

That Web site, www.nopalmerprison.

com, now carries a banner at the top of the home page, stating, &#8220We won” in bright letters, with three verses from the Bible dealing with victory following the banner.

Ron Swanson, borough director of community development, said Palmer was taken off the list because of a combination of public outcry against the prison and some &#8220good technical reasons for it.”

&#8220The public process was very enlightening to all of us,” Swanson said.

Across the Valley, some Point MacKenzie residents recently made it clear they welcome to a prison in their community. Public opinion in that area is varied, however.

&#8220We're all for all of it,” Craig Trytten, a Point MacKenzie resident, said in a recent Frontiersman article.

However, Gordon Attaliades, the Point MacKenzie Community Council president, said the council is adamantly opposed to the development, and voted on the issue during a Nov. 25 meeting.

According to a borough news release, initial fears of high operating costs for the prison at Point MacKenzie were calmed when officials considered the planned ferry, which they say could &#8220reduce such costs and make operations at Point MacKenzie less than costs at South Palmer and Sutton.”

The release also cites the borough's ownership of the Point MacKenzie property, and less need for structural improvements there compared to other sites.

The Point MacKenzie preference goes before the borough planning commission Dec. 18 at Swanson Elementary School in Palmer. The meeting is a public hearing, and residents will be able to testify.

Assembly member Cindy Bettine, who represents Point MacKenzie, said one of her main concerns is making sure any negative affects of the prison are handled in a wise manner.

Bettine said she is curious about the state's commitment to mitigate a prison's impact.

&#8220Hopefully, all of the (Mat-Su) delegation will help out with that,” Bettine said.

The borough can expect help from the state, according to District 15 Rep. Mark Neuman, R-Big Lake. But, Neuman cautioned, the level of support needed would vary depending on the final site.

&#8220The state will do all it can to provide for the needs,” Neuman said.

Friday's decision leaves only Sutton as the second possible site after Point MacKenzie. The ranking in no way determines the final location of the prison, but will be taken into consideration when the assembly makes its final vote in January.

Nancy Dryden, who, with her husband Dan, circulated an anti-prison petition in Sutton, said they aren't comfortable yet, even with Point MacKenzie topping the list.

&#8220Everyone is just hoping no flaws are found at Point Mac,” Dryden said, adding she is worried unforeseen flaws will nix the site as it has at others, such as Houston.

Dryden said Sutton residents were impressed with Palmer's ability to pull together volunteers, time, ideas and finances, but the population just doesn't exist in her area to do the same.

But George Rauscher, another Sutton resident who Dryden said has taken up much of the opposition leadership, said he doesn't want to sit back and say the game is over.

&#8220Whatever we do between now and then is very critical,” Rauscher said.

For the borough, the ranking list is just the next step in what has been a long process.

&#8220I'm quite happy where we ended,” Swanson said, adding that officials are shooting for a June or July start date for

construction.

The medium-security prison is estimated to cost around $303 million, create as many as 1,800 construction jobs and up to 600 full-time jobs once the project is completed. Officials project 2010 as the year the prison will be operational.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.