Point Mac pit gets go ahead

PALMER — Two opponents to a borough-sought interim materials district for the 6-million cubic-yard Alsop East gravel pit could not prevent its passage through the Mat-Su Borough Planning Commission Monday.

Despite the objections, the commission voted 5-1 to recommend the gravel pit to the full borough assembly for approval. Commissioner Tomas Anderson cast the lone vote against it.

Borough officials sought the interim materials district on the grounds that having a source of gravel near several ongoing and planned public works projects would lower the costs of those projects. A nearby gravel pit known as the Alsop Pit is nearly exhausted, and additional gravel near the source of the funding would mean not having to truck in gravel from other places, borough staff told the board. The borough doesn’t have a contractor lined up, but multiple contractors have expressed interest in operating what would eventually be a single pit, said Ryan Johnston, a lands management specialist for the Mat-Su Borough.

Borough officials had also hoped that approving the pit, and the subsequent extraction of large amounts of gravel may serve as an area of prime development for the planned Point MacKenzie town site. However, there was enough demand for gravel in the area — the Port MacKenzie rail extension and Alsop Road improvements were specifically listed — to drive the pit’s creation anyway.

“Town site or no town site, there’s a big demand for material in this area,” he said.

Glenda Smith, who works at the borough’s land management office, said the need for more gravel became apparent during a site inspection, when borough officials noticed several excavations on borough land. On subsequent visits, Smith said she noticed the excavations had gotten deeper.

“Eventually, we thought that somebody’s using the borough gravel for something,” she said.

Commissioners added one condition for approval: that hours would be limited from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Commissioners added a clause requiring a performance bond to cover damage to local roads incurred by heavy machinery. They also added a standard dust control clause that had been accidentally omitted from the original resolution.

Commissioner Tomas Adams said a gravel pit wasn’t an amenity required under borough law. Demand for the project should drive the creation of a gravel pit, and prospective operators should appear before the commission, not the borough, he said.

“The borough’s got an obligation to provide education,” he said. “We got an obligation to provide safety, fire, otherwise. Nowhere have I found the borough government has an obligation to provide gravel.”

The pit’s presence would affect taxpayers by lowering the cost of construction projects for which they paid, said commission chair John Klapperich.

“They have an obligation to keep the mill rate low,” he said.

The pit is located in the vicinity of Alsop Road in the Point MacKenzie town site. Two people showed up to testify against the pit. One was Eugene Haberman, who accused commissioners of prejudicing the proceedings by stating their opinion before the hearing began.

The other was property owner Garvin Bucaria, who opposed the gravel pit as a potential hazard to wildlife and property in the area. Bucaria also pointed out that funding for the railroad project and the Knik Arm crossing, two projects that would encourage population density to accelerate, are on questionable financial footing in the upcoming budget year.

“The Port MacKenzie Town site is difficult to justify,” he said. “The site sucks.”

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