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.
TRUCK DELIVERING DIESEL FUEL SPILLS 590 GALLONS AT ALYESKA RESORT
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
A fuel transfer accident at Alyeska Resort in November caused one of Girdwood's largest ever fuel spills when an overfilled tank spewed nearly 600 gallons of diesel onto a gravel pad near a popular ski trail and above a small creek.
The spill has been mostly cleaned up, according to a state report, but a wooded hill near the site descends into a small creek and an oil sheen could be seen on the water weeks after the spill was reported. The creek, Moose Meadow Creek, flows into Glacier Creek.
"They're not done with [the cleanup] yet," said Mike Evans, an environmental program specialist for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Read the entire story at:
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/truck-delivering-oil-spills-590-gallons-at-alyeska-resort
https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/truck-delivering-oil-spills-590-gallons-at-alyeska-resort
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”.
Planning Maps Stir Controversy
On a mid-week night in early October, a young couple left the Girdwood School after sitting through two hours of presentations laying out options for the community's future.
They moved to Girdwood a little over a year ago, have decent jobs and are outdoorsy. They just want a home to buy.
They said they were frustrated with all the zoning and planning planning particulars, but, also with what they see as a contradiction between a call for affordable housing and resistance to development proximal to existing homes.
Low turn out for HLB open house
A low-publicized Heritage Land Bank open house to solicit input on its 2024 work plan drew only a half dozen residents to the community center Monday afternoon.
Though its first meeting with Girdwood had little public notice, the meeting is only the first of three, said Nicole Jones-Vogel, a former HLB land manager whose company, Rise Up Coaching Solutions, was contracted to help with planning.
Of about 10,000 acres HLB controls in the Municipality of Anchorage, a little less than half of those lands are in Girdwood.
GCVA hosts show featuring Anchorage Clay Arts Guild
The Girdwood Center for Visual Arts hosted the Anchorage Clay Arts Guild on the evening of Oct.7 in a well-attended community opening reception titled “Thrown Together” featuring pottery works of art from numerous local artists.
Could Girdwood's Forests Burn?
As I sat on my back porch during the summer of 2016 , thick smoke from the McHugh Creek fire blowing through my own mature forest of trees, I began to wonder, “could Girdwood ever burn?”
Metaphysically, the answer is “yes.” Forever is a long time. The better question to ask is, “what is the likelihood of wildfire being able to spread in Girdwood?”
Enstar agrees to further review controversial gas line plan
Following a groundswell of local opposition, an official for the gas company planning to clear cut a nearly mile-long corridor through wetlands and rainforest in Girdwood's lower valley stated the project required "further review" and "dialogue".
Girdwood’s Grizzlies prepare for the new school year
Summer is soon coming to an end for Girdwood’s Grizzlies who will be coming back to the classroom at the Girdwood K-8 School.
Girdwood’s K-8 Principal Kari Anderson said she is looking forward to a positive year ahead and talked about what families can expect for the new school year and what’s new for the first quarter.
Plan for gas line sparks heated reaction
A planned gas line that would slice a 20-foot wide, nearly mile-long clearcut swath across undisturbed forested land and trails in Girdwood has drawn criticism for its short comment period, potential rate increases, harm to old-growth forest, and lack of consideration of alternatives routes.
Alyeska Drops Employee Housing Plan
Following sharp community criticism, Alyeska Resort has paused its plans to develop employee housing below a mountain known for risks of avalanche…
Annual Potato Patch Planting Includes Unique Spud
Local families gather at the Forest Service office in Girdwood to plant this year’s community potato garden, which benefits the Girdwood Food Pantry.