Capital Improvement Projects Set for Discussion

Each year, the Mat-Su Borough receives a number of nominations for Capital Improvement Projects. These are large-scale projects that need more than $20,000 in funding and will benefit the local community in some way. In the past, parks and trails, buildings, and campground upgrades have made it through the Borough’s hurdles.

The Talkeetna Village Park Accessibility project ranked number one this year. If funded, it will provide accessibility to the new Talkeetna Village Park restroom facilities. They currently have a pea gravel pathway, which is difficult to access for those with mobility issues. The $40,000 project would improve the accessibility of those restrooms.

Several other projects in the area were nominated, such as the Petersville Community Safety and Trail Operations Center, the Talkeetna River Park Campground Renovation, and the Trapper Creek Multi-use Park and Trail Grooming Headquarters, though they did not rank among the top projects.

Borough Planning and Land Use Director Alex Strawn says once the nominations are received, a Committee of Borough staff representing various departments review and rank the projects. They must fall under Borough powers, cost between $20,000 and one million dollars, have a life span of at least five years, and must align with a Borough adopted plan.

The recommended projects are presented to the Planning Commission for review. They may change the rank of any project on the list. Their recommendations are presented to the Assembly for further review. The Assembly may also move forward with the initial recommendations, those of the Planning Commission, or change the rankings of the projects as they choose.

About $500,000 each year will go toward these projects, says Strawn. He stresses that public support for projects is important and that they are much more likely to be funded if there is ample support. The Planning Commission is set to review the CIP project list at their meeting on Monday, October 20.