Former Talkeetna Public Library Building Removed

by: Katie Writer – KTNA

As new visions for community gathering centers develop, some Talkeetnans witnessed the sight of an old friend, the former library, heading down the road.

The familiar green building that used to be the Talkeetna library is now gone.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) conducted the abatement with grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. The grant was requested by the Mat Su Borough.

This past year, the Mat Su Borough, who owns the property, tried to sell the old building for $1. There were no takers, and for good reason. Anyone buying the building that had long been a well-loved community center would have an obstacle in converting the building to another purpose, asbestos.

Crews started removing the building after sunrise Wednesday morning. By the afternoon, the structure was removed. Once the building was gone, machinery dug out the foundation with crews dressed in protective clothing. Dust from the material was watered down as crews focused on getting all of the foundation and building scraps loaded and trucked away.

Talkeetna Skate Park Committee Chair, Lisa Shelby is excited to see this important step completed.

The site of the former library is planned to be turned into the Talkeetna Skate Park and with it now gone, Skate Park Committee Chair Lisa Shelby can also move forward with attracting people to get involved in the development of the Park.

Shelby said that the Mat Su Borough is going to spend the time and resources to backfill with dirt and gravel to create a building site for the Skate Park.