Six parcels of land totalling 360 acres in Willow near the Nancy Lakes Recreation Area were removed from this year’s proposed competitive bid land sale. That leaves two parcels in Willow and one in Talkeetna to be sold.
The six parcels were brought forward as part of the proposed land sale at the February 20th Assembly meeting. Willow area residents opposed it because of the land’s recreation potential. They also requested time to put together a plan to purchase the parcels at fair market value. The Assembly voted to delay the approval of these and the three other parcels at that time.
Vice-chair Greg Jones of Willow Area Community Organization, or WACO,
says that not even two years ago, the Assembly proposed logging these same parcels. However, the land was not in the logging plan and the community was not consulted on the proposal before it went to the Assembly. That plan was scrapped and the Borough reclassified the land as General Purpose to sell it.
During public comment at last week’s Assembly meeting, Jones requested additional time for the community to gather the money. He says donors often take their time deciding whether to support opportunities and WACO is still looking for funding.
District 7 Assembly Member Ron Bernier proposed an amendment to the legislation. He asked that the six Long Lake parcels be removed from the list of land for sale specifically to give the Willow community additional time to gather funding to purchase them. That amendment passed.
Nancy Lakes State Park shares about a mile and a half of boundary with the Long Lake parcels and submitted a letter of support on behalf of WACO. If the group succeeds in getting the funding and purchasing the land from the Borough, it will be given to State Parks to expand the trail network.
Jones says he’s pleased the parcels were pulled so WACO has time to explore funding opportunities. He says the Park is an economic and employment driver for the Valley and this would only enhance it.
Borough Manager Mike Brown says he will not bring these parcels forward again, but an Assembly Member might do so.
NOT FOR SALE CLIP (19 secs)
“Uh, for the Long Lake parcels, just to be clear with the way that was amended and moved forward, staff will not be bringing back Long Lake parcels in a year. Okay, that’s done unless an Assembly Member wants to pick it up. We’ve taken multiple shots at it and I frankly think I would be a fool to pick it up again. So that’s where we are.”
The Long Lake parcels have widespread community support. If able to purchase today, the community would need at least $830,000. They expect the process to take at least a year, maybe longer, to gather the funds.
