LUC votes down Alyeska Plan
Alyeska Plan to develop Upper Valley rejected by Land Use Committee
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Girdwood's land use committee dealt a blow to Alyeska Resort's development plans Monday when it voted against a housing complex planned in a popular recreational area.
The committee supported the Resort plans to develop areas near its hotel, but rejected a third phase a subdivision between its hotel and Glacier Creek.
Without a guarantee of development of nearly 100 acres of municipal land, the rest of the plans, for an "Alyeska Village" and "Moose Meadows" complex are all but dashed, according to Willam Laurie, a land manager for Pomeroy Lodging, which owns the Resort.
"For the whole project to be completed, it all needs to be done," Laurie said, referring to a three-phase $350 million expansion planned over the next nine years.
The proposed housing, near Glacier Creek, would cap other developments near the Resort's hotel such as a convention hall, a 9,000 square foot ski school, condos, community housing, and what it calls "workforce housing". It would lease land to contractors for an ice rink, recreation center, and childcare center.
Read the entire story here:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/alyeska-plan-to-develop-upper-valley-rejected-by-land-use-committee
Avalanche at Alyeska Resort prompts Closure of Tram and two lifts
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A small avalanche broke loose in the early morning hours from Alyeska's headwall prompting the ski resort to close two ski lifts and its tram on the last day of the company's spring Slush Cup carnival.
"Just in the manner of safety," said Duane Stutzman, mountain manager for the Resort. "There were no injuries, no damage, nothing like that. Just a pure safety and cautionary move on our part to enhance the safety of our guests and our resort employees."
The slide, which occurred at 2 a.m., will not impact Sunday's Slush Cup activities and the Resort will still have its "Passholder's Day" Monday, albeit with only Chairs Three and Seven open, Stutzman said.
He said closing the lifts and the tram was a collaborative decision of the Resort's snow safety team and its mountain operations department.
"It's not how we wanted to end the season," he said. "We debated whether to not continue those two events [Passholder's Day and an employee party] and thought we should just go ahead and continue it just on a limited basis."
The slide is the second on the mountain in a year. An avalanche May 11 swept down the mountain from its north face to just behind Alyeska's hotel, displacing pond water from two kettles above.
In its final forecast for the season, the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Centerhas rated avalanche potential as "considerable" for the area.
"This is a spring wet slide, mother nature-triggered," Stutzman said.
Girdwood 2023 Budget Shows Surplus
By: Brooks Chandler
TN Contributor
Girdwood's local government had a surplus of nearly $400,000 in its 2023 budget, savings that are a result of lower than expected costs for road maintenance, lower expenses for parks and the fire department's decision to hold off on buying a new fire truck.
Actual expenses for the Girdwood Valley Service Area in 2023 were $388,288 under budget.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-2023-budget-shows-surplus
Getting ‘In The Loop’ for Girdwood’s First Friday Art Walk
By Chase Berenson
TNews Contributor
On the first Friday of every month, six businesses on Girdwood’s Olympic Mountain Loop welcome the new month by opening their doors from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday evening for an art walk titled Girdwood’s First Friday in the Loop.
Typical participants are Alpenglow Coffee House, Girdwood Center for the Visual Arts (GCVA), Jack Sprat, La Bodega, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, and Powder House Ski and Bike Shop. The businesses are going to try to maintain these events on first Fridays through the summer, and we checked out the event on Friday, April 5, to see what the experience is like.
There is no wrong way to approach the Loop on a first Friday, but we planned on starting at GCVA since it is arguably the most arts-focused of the participants and it’s conveniently located on the top of the Olympic Mountain Loop. We were surprised to see that GCVA was closed and wasn’t participating in this month’s event, and that feeling was shared by many people we ran into throughout the evening.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/getting-in-the-loop-for-girdwoods-first-friday-art-walk
POACHER’S LAST RUN
By Jim Sweeney
TNews Contributor
The helicopter hovers eighty to hundred feet above the valley floor creating a tornado of snow. Each time it tries to land, it is engulfed in white, so that the pilot has to pull back to see.
The helicopter is small, with a blue bottom, a white top and an Alaska State Trooper badge on its side.
The helicopter flies off, circles once and comes back for another try. No cigar this time, either. The obnoxious bird takes off on another loop and this time slows down as it flies over. The garble from the helicopter’s loudspeaker is swallowed by rotor wash but Mark Norquist and Matt Howard get the message. It’s too dark and there is too much snow flying around for the helicopter to land.
Dave "The Poacher" Pettry will spend the night of March 14 next to Tincan Creek.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/poachers-last-run
Girdwood Trails Plan Gets Assembly nod
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
The Anchorage Assembly adopted a trails plan for Girdwood last week that maps out a network of interconnecting trails in the valley.
The decision follows four years of wrangling a continually morphing plan through dozens of public meetings, competing demands of different user groups and a sometimes bitter public process that resulted in ethics questions and charges of harassment.
In the end, the plan comes closer to a future when residents can "leave our cars in our garage," Girdwood Nordic Ski Club President Deb Essex told the Assembly.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-trails-plan-gets-assembly-nod
Girdwood Homeless Population Doubles
By Brooks Chandler
TNews Contributor
There are more than 47 persons living in tents, trees, cars, trucks, trailers and campers on the street or in the woods of Girdwood, according to a local survey.
A year earlier the number was 22.
The 2024 “count” was conducted January 29 through in person interviews, Girdwood resident Linda Mankoff told the Girdwood Board of Supervisors at Monday's meeting.
Only persons who volunteered their names were included.
Mankoff, who is a patient assistance program coordinator at the Girdwood Health Clinic, coordinated local participation in conjunction with a nationwide homeless survey.
She estimated another 20-25 unhoused residents declined to be counted.
The official count will be reported to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development by the Clinic. Based on the data, homeless Girdwoodians may qualify for federal assistance later in 2024.
Who are these people? Ms. Mankoff said many are employed in the Valley—in the service industry and as young professionals. She said some of the working homeless told her market rate rents would consume 50 percent of their income.
Mankoff told GBOS many live with some fear of being forced to leave their “spot”.
Three candidates file for open GBOS seats
Three candidates will appear on the ballot for Girdwood Board of Supervisors in the April 2 municipal election.
Well-known locals, Brian "Burntski" Burnett and Brett Wilbanks, have filed for—appropriately—Seat "B", while current GBOS co-chair Jennifer Wingard will run unopposed for Seat A.
Both Burnett and Wilbanks are fixtures in local governance and are running in for a seat left vacant by out-going member Amanda Sassi.
Burnett, who filed for the open seat 11 days after Wilbanks, is the former mountain manager at Alyeska Resort and is currently a ski technician at Powder Hound Ski Shop in Girdwood.
Wilbanks, owner of Polar Marine in Whittier, is serving as chair of Girdwood's Housing and Economic Committee.
Editorial: Bury Holtan Hills
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Once again, a short-sighted and terrible land use plan comes marching in from a few Anchorage personalities.
And, once again, it must be stopped.
The idea to level a significant chunk of Girdwood rainforest for an ugly eye-sore of subdivisions, many more times larger than "Cabana Land", caught all of us off-guard a year ago.
The plan came from nowhere--a small group of selected "investors"--and was unanimously rejected at every public meeting, in surveys, through hours and hours of testimony, and by our local Land Use Committee and Girdwood Board of Supervisors.
And it wasn't just Girdwoodians who were abhorrent to Holtan Hills. When local volunteers fanned across Anchorage to speak at community councils, the idea was ridiculed. Girdwood was supported by resolutions from 20 community councils.
Read more of the editorial. at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/editorial-bury-holtan-hills
Public Hearing for Holtan Hills Scheduled for Jan. 9 and 23
By David Nyman
TNews Contributor
Anchorage Assembly Chair Chris Constant and co-Chair Meg Zaletel announced public hearing dates for the controversial Holtan Hills real estate transaction on Jan. 9 and 23.
The press release is as follows:
"Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel introduced a new proposal to dispose Heritage Land Bank (HLB) property in Girdwood to CY Investments for a multi-use residential development, “Holtan Hills," at the December 19 Regular Assembly Meeting. The new version would require the developer to designate a multifamily unit to a future Girdwood housing trust or non-profit entity and the(n) engage the Girdwood Board of Supervisors throughout the project."
Holiday activities in Girdwood and Alyeska Resort
By James P. Sweeney
TNews Contributor
Girdwood and Alyeska are a winter wonderland right now. New Years is right around the corner and this is a list of activities in Glacier Valley for your enjoyment..
On December 29, the Jeffries will be playing the Sitzmark Bar. 9 pm $10, 21+.
On December 30, the Tyson James Band will be shaking the Sitzmark Bar. 9 pm $10, 21+.
Jack Sprat’s and The Spoonline will be serving a New Years Eve dinner with reservations.
On December 31, New Years Eve the annual Alyeska torchlight parade winds its way down the mountain between 9 and 10 pm!
Also on New Years Eve The Roland Roberts Band will be rocking the Sitzmark Bar starting at 10 pm.
Gear Up! Gear Exchange Buys and Sells
Calling all gear lovers! Gather up your gently used outdoor gear and clothing. Girdwood has a new business in town. The Girdwood Gear Exchange opened this past summer giving Girdwoodians an opportunity to buy and sell gear.
It is owned and run by Mara Hall who followed the consignment model when creating her new business. This model benefits the consignor, who makes money by selling used items, while the buyer gets quality gear at a discounted price.
Mara, who loves thrift shopping and clothes, started her career selling women’s clothing at markets. When the commercial space at her current location opened she bought it hoping to expand. Instead of going to Anchorage, her hope is that locals will utilize her store.
The Gear Exchange is located at 599 Alyeska Highway. December hours are: Friday & Saturday 11-5; and Sunday & Monday 11-3.
The Gear Exchange is currently taking winter clothing and gear, but will transition to summer gear when the seasons change.
Go check out the Girdwood Gear Exchange and you might just walk out with a new Patagonia jacket that you didn’t know you needed
CoasT Pizza Goes Bigger
CoasT Pizza is renovating its Old Girdwood location and hopes to serve beer and wine in the future.
The pizzeria has expanded its kitchen, removed walls and scraped away an old, tiled floor to give employees more room to work and customers more room to dine.
For its signature bar, it took owner Amanda Tuttle “months of time and a lot of extremely hard work” to culled and reclaimed lumber from a nearby property.
"The end of the bar is a perfect place to watch the sunset," said CoasT manager Jen Morse. "It's the corner where locals hang out.”
Girdwood hosts Homer Police forum on ‘Parenting in the Digital Age’
On a recent Friday evening in Girdwood, a much anticipated guest speaker came to Girdwood thanks to outreach and support from the Public Safety Advisory Committee and Girdwood Board of Supervisors. Lieutenant Ryan Browning of the Homer Police Department engaged parents and youth in a frank conversation about the real life risks of youth social media usage, cyberbullying, sexting.
Lt. Browning’s time as a police officer, and personal experience as a father of two teens himself, inspired him to create his two hour presentation “Parenting in the Digital Age.” Over the last year Browning has traveled all over the state of Alaska sharing his thoughtful, engaging, and at times provocative, two hour program with the goal of helping parents and teens open up a dialogue about what they’re seeing and experiencing online.
Girdwood's Ava Earl Releases New Album, Helps Power Northwestern U. Running Team
In fourth grade at Girdwood Elementary, Ava Earl had to write a self-reflection on her school performance: "What are you good at? What are your weaknesses?"
Assessing her strengths wouldn't be hard, she was an exemplary student, star runner and already showed a proclivity in music.
But there was one thing she scolded herself on, something that could cause her teachers' "mild frustration", and something, as it would turn out, for which women are typically chided for more than men.
Talking--being--too much.
That accusation became the title of Earl's latest album, her fourth, released Sept. 15