South Ames set for paving

Due to the efforts of neighbors working together, property owners along South Ames Road in Kenai will come home to a paved street in the near future.

The Kenai City Council approved the proposal, substitute Resolution 2008-47, at Wednesday's meeting at Kenai City Hall.

Councilman Hal Smalley complimented all residents living in the area. "It shows that the process does work," he said.

Ditch and roadway reconstruction and culvert replacement as needed, preparation of existing road surfaces and other related work is also listed in the resolution.

The resolution was first proposed more than a year ago but disagreement on shares of the cost between property owners retarded the process. With 16 properties located on one side of Ames Road and only two across the street, determining an appropriate method of cost assessment for the project was difficult.

Neighbors met with city administrators and an amount of approximately $8,500 will be charged to the 16 property owners southeast of the road. Angler Enterprises, the owner of the larger of the two pieces of land across the street, will be charged $27,450, and $22,400 will be charged to Michael Pelch, the other large parcel owner.

City manager Rick Koch said the two owners of the larger tracts were assessed based on the square footage of their land along Ames Road, extending 200 feet from the road. Angler Enterprises agreed to the assessment method whereas Pelch did not, Koch said. Only one of the 16 owners across the street objected to the $8,500 price tag.

Land owners' assessments can be paid in annual installments over 20 years at 10 percent interest, Koch said.

The Council also approved an $81,820 contract to ECI/Hyer for design of the Kenai Community Library expansion. Smalley said ECI/Hyer ranked highest out of other companies during the interview process and also was the lowest bidder on the project.

Koch said ECI/Hyer was recently involved in the design and construction administration for the Homer Public Library. Koch said he expects about 35 percent of the schematics for the project to be completed by the end of February.

With Resolution 2008-64, the council approved an alternative allocation method for the state's shared fisheries business tax program. Koch said the city must ensure the allocation method is fair.

The amount of tax the city receives varies depending on the total commercial catch. Kenai, Anchorage, Homer, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Kachemak, Seldovia, Seward and Soldotna all share the Cook Inlet Fisheries Management Area allocation amount.

This year's total amount to be shared is a little more than $60,000.

Koch also reported on the well project located at Spruce Street and 2nd Avenue. Koch said the well is an attempt being made to find water with low arsenic and low color. Though he said the project is encouraging, the production of the well still needs to be determined.

Koch said he was "cautiously jazzed up" about the project.

A $31,200 bid was awarded to Saginaw Implement Co. Inc. for a parks mower at Wednesday's meeting. A $54,280 bid to Bob's Services Inc. was approved for a flared-end runway plow for the Kenai Municipal Airport. Rainbow Builders Inc. received a $47,155 bid to replace the flooring at the Kenai Police Department.

The council also recognized Linda Swarner for her 21 years of service as a council member.

The council's next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19 at Kenai City Hall at 7 p.m.

Mike Nesper can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.

Phil Hermanek can be reached at phil.hermanek@peninsulaclarion.com.