Sutton Library project gets funding boost

SUTTON — Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. has joined the list of corporations making financial gifts in support of the new Sutton Library and Community Resource Center.

In January, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly accepted $50,000 from BP-Alaska, $2,500 from Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union and $7,500 from Friends of the Sutton Library for the Sutton Library and Community Resource Center project.

And most recently, Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. and The Usibelli Foundation announced a $25,000 donation to sponsor the Children’s Library in the new facility.

Usibelli Coal Mine has active coal leases in the Sutton area called Wishbone Hill. It launched a feasibility study to analyze further development of the mine in 2010. The company is undergoing final analysis to determine the best course of action to further develop the mine.

Upgrading the library has been a community priority for more than a decade, and the community has raised $30,000 toward the project.

Other funding will come from the Mat-Su Borough, a possible library matching grant from the state, grants from the Rasmuson Foundation and a $125,000 grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation.

The new $3.2 million, 5,000-square-foot library is adjacent to the Alpine Historical Park near the U.S. Post Office and is expected to open this spring.

Architects Alaska designed the new Sutton Library Community Resource Center, and the contractor is Collins Construction.