Palmer City Council moves ahead

PALMER -- The Palmer City Council took care of business at a particularly long and involved meeting Tuesday night. Public works plans and improvements dominated the discussions, evidencing a busy construction season still in progress.

The city's planned expansion of Dogwood Avenue across the Glenn Highway to connect with a future extension of Shelton Street has been delayed for the time being. Sara Jansen with the Community Development Office in Palmer said there was little hope of the project proceeding this year due to a few complications (including the loss of Section 115 earmarked transportation funds), but that she was hopeful for next year.

"We're working diligently on design and trying to obtain the right of way across the street," Jansen said.

Rick Koch, Palmer Public Works superintendent, said work on the new Palmer ice arena was a little behind schedule, but that he was working on ways to make up for lost time. Koch presented a free proposal for constructing locker rooms and toilets for around $4,300.

The council accepted three grants as well: one Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance grant on the order of $72,000 from the Alaska Department of Public Safety, to support improvements to the drug control and statewide strategic plans; a $500,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation to aid in the ice rink construction and a $6,250 grant for the Palmer Public Library, to improve its facilities.

The Eagle Avenue road-paving project, a topic of concern for residents in the area, is under way and is scheduled to be completed by the end of August. Pavement, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, street lights, and a storm- drain system are being installed. Access to driveways along First, Second, Third and Bonanza streets will be maintained in the evenings, but during work hours (7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday), residents will have to park on Bailey, Alaska, Chugach or Denali streets.

Palmer City Hall is slated for upgrades sometime in the near future, and the city has contracted Gary Wolf of Wolf Architecture to handle the construction. In a letter to Palmer City Manager Tom Healy, Wolf said the work he was preparing to do would include office improvements, internal circulation upgrades, code upgrades on the main level, and accessibility upgrades. Wolf estimated that these additions would take approximately 30 days to complete and would run about $125,000.

The council also welcomed a new appointment to the planning and zoning commission, Guy L. AlLee.AlLee, a retired Army sergeant and school counselor, brings to the planning position decades of experience implementing alternate solutions and preventing stalemates among co-workers.

"I have always had an interest in local government, and feel I can offer some valuable contributions," he said.

AlLee received multiple commendations from the city council members on his excellent track record and they shared their wishes for a successful period of public service ahead.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.