Ski area gets a lift

Feb. 11, 2007

By Russell Stigall

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - The Mat-Su Borough is taking advantage of a federal earmark in an attempt to revive the fading dream of a Hatcher Pass alpine ski area.

At Tuesday's meeting of the borough assembly, members unanimously passed a resolution to award an environmental and design contract to DOWL Engineers of Anchorage and Palmer. DOWL won out of the four proposals submitted on Nov. 1.

The award is for $374,116 of federal earmarked funds from legislation for the Hatcher Pass Ski Development and Transportation Development Project. Funds for the entire project come to approximately $850,000, depending on inflation. The federal funds are matched by $85,000 in borough funds.

This first payment will go to conduct a federally required environmental assessment or environmental impact statement and engineering report for a public roadway between existing Hatcher Pass Road and the borough's planned Hatcher Pass ski area, according to a summary statement by Borough Manager John Duffy. The report may include a bridge across Little Susitna River, a new parking area, trails, other transportation-related improvements and landscaping for the alpine ski area and day lodge.

The Hatcher Pass ski recreation area is listed as the No. 2 priority in the borough's 2007-2012 capital improvements

program.

Jennifer Payne, public involvement manager for DOWL, said the engineering firm has yet to undertake negotiations with the borough. So the engineers' full scope of duties is still a question.

&#8220The level of what will be required is just to early to say,” Payne said.

However, Payne said DOWL does plan to get input from the Army Corps of Engineers, the state departments of Environmental Conservation, Natural Resources and Transportation, as the federal Fish and Wildlife Service and local government. The goal is simple.

&#8220To move a project forward that is environmentally sensitive and which includes public involvement,” Payne said.

Other projects currently under DOWL's supervision are the Bogard Road project, East Dowling Road extension and work on the Seward Highway. For more information about DOWL, visit www.dowl.com.

Not everyone thinks the project's direction is right. School board member and former assembly member Jim Colver, who lives in the Hatcher Pass area and has long been an advocate of a ski area, said he thinks the federal earmark funds could be put to better use.

An alpine ski area is capital intensive, Colver said. He would like to see the project broken up into doable chunks.

J.L. Properties brought to the assembly in 2005 a plan for an alpine ski area, a commercial village along the Little Susitna River and a residential area to help finance the ski area's development, Colver said. Although J.L. Properties' full project is on hold, the plan called for a world-class Nordic ski trail system on a portion of 3,000 acres of borough-owned land.

The trail system was designed by former Olympian Bill Spencer and is similar to Anchorage's Kincaid Park. The borough still owns the Nordic ski area plans.

&#8220We just need a rough road from Edgerton Parks to the Nordic area” on the south slope of Government Peak, he said.

J.L. already had power put in up to Hatcher Pass and conducted water availability and soil-sampling tests, Colver said.

Colver said he is worried the environmental and design phases will use up all of the federal earmark.

&#8220Let's do something with the money that we can actually use,” Colver said. &#8220I don't want to see all of our money eaten up in design studies.”

Contact Russell Stigall at

352-2267 or russell.stigall@

frontiersman.com.