Settlers Bay school plan could be amended

June 4, 2006

By DARRELL L. BREESE

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Voters who thought they approved bonds to build a new elementary school in the Settlers Bay subdivision may be surprised to find out the school could be built somewhere else.

The $39.7 million bond initiative approved by voter's during the May 2 special election calls for renovations to Wasilla Middle and High School. It also committed to constructing a new elementary school in the South Palmer area and the Knik-Goose Bay Area.

Many believed the Knik-Goose Bay school would be constructed on a parcel donated to the Mat-Su Borough by developer Chuck Spinelli just before Christmas.

However, the bond language didn't specify the Settlers Bay site, and the borough public works department has considered two other parcels. The department prepared a draft ranking for the School Site Selection Committee to consider during its meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

The Settlers Bay site ranks third on the list. Topping the list is a portion of the 40-acre parcel which already is home to Goose Bay Elementary School. Ranked second is a parcel recently purchase by the borough from the University of Alaska at the intersection of Knik-Goose Bay Road and Vine. The property currently is slated for an emergency services fire training facility.

Voters were right to think that the Settlers Bay site was the preferred location. That was the case until the middle of May, when concerns arose over the cost of developing the needed roads and utilities.

&#8220There was a question as to whether Davis Bacon wages would have to be paid for making the needed improvements,” borough planner Eileen Probasco said. &#8220The borough attorney asked the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and it was determined that since discussions between the borough and Spinelli have already begun, that the higher wages would be required.”

Upon learning this, Spinelli told borough Public Works Director Keith Rountree that having to pay the higher wage would make the venture cost-prohibitive. Based on that conversation, and already having the bonds approved by the voters, Rountree and the public works department began seeking other possible locations, eventually settling on the two additional sites.

&#8220One of the reasons for the two new location to be considered is that they are already owned by the borough,” Probasco said. &#8220That's the ideal situation unless someone wants to come forward with and donate another suitable parcel.”

The site selection committee meets 10 a.m. Monday in the second floor conference room at the Dorothy Swanda Jones borough building at 350 E. Dahlia Ave. in Palmer. A public hearing is scheduled before a vote will be taken on the resolution to prioritize the list of school sites.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@ frontiersman.com.