MEMORANDUM

TO: Pete Sprague, Assembly President

Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly

THRU: Dale Bagley, Borough Mayor

Jeff Sinz, Finance Director

Max Best, Planning Director

FROM: Bonnie L. Golden, Grants Manager

COPY: Crista Cady-Hippchen, KPB Planner

Gary Davis, Roads Director

DATE: May 8, 2003

SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 2002-19-41: Accepting a grant from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources in the amount of $30,000 for Jacob's Ladder Drive trail.

Jacobs Ladder is a platted borough right-of-way that is 1,800 feet long and located in the northern region of the Peninsula, lying approximately 4.5 miles from Captain Cook State Park. It provides access to about 363 borough parcels in Moose Point and Gray Cliff Subdivisions, plus an additional 8,000 acres of borough land in the Point Possession area. (See attached map.) The area is used by a number of different users, including residents hauling materials, surveyors, hunters, fishermen, and other recreational users.

The initial trail was constructed in 1990. In 1997, the Road Service Area provided upgrades by clearing and improving the right-of-way, but that has deteriorated. Currently the access is unusable, leaving no public access to/from the beach and the subdivisions in the area. It can be easily upgraded using typar and gravel to provide safe access for both residents and recreational users.

The Borough Planning Department applied to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for grant funding to improve the Jacob's Ladder Drive trail. The proposed improvements will establish a uniform 10-foot wide trail that is topped with geotextile and gravel fill. The grant application included numerous letters of support from the community, as well as a resolution from the Borough Assembly (Res. 2002-113) and a resolution from the Road Service Area Board (Res. 02-04).

Recently, DNR notified the Borough of an award of a grant for this project, conditioned upon the receipt of a recordable document guaranteeing recreational access for ten years. That document, a Reservation of a Recreational Access Easement Within Jacobs Ladder Drive Right-of-Way, was recorded with the Kenai Recording District on March 19, 2003. A copy was provided to DNR.

The total cost of the project is expected to be $49,630. The grant will cover $30,000; the remaining $19,630 will be provided from the Land Trust Fund balance. This will provide sufficient funding for the project, plus meet the matching requirement of the grant program. (The minimum match requirement is 20% of the project cost.) Reconstruction of the trail is planned for the winter of 2003/2004, when an ice road can be used to access the construction site. The project should be completed within 30 days from start of construction. Responsibility for maintenance of the trail will rest with the Borough.

A hearing on shortened time is requested because the grant agreement must be signed and returned to DNR by June 6, 2003.

/bg

Attachments

Map of trail area

Notification letter from DNR

Reservation of recreational access easement

Ordinance appropriating project funds