MEMORANDUM

TO: Pete Sprague, Assembly President

Members of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly

THRU: Dale Bagley, Borough Mayor

Craig Chapman, Acting Finance Director

Max Best, Planning Director

FROM: Bonnie L. Golden, Grants Manager

COPY: Mary Toll, Platting Officer

DATE: August 7, 2003

SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 2003-19-10: Accepting and appropriating a $70,000 grant from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for research and mapping of section line easements

The Planning Department has found that identifying correct section line easements can be very challenging, especially when the information is not always readily available or is sometimes inconsistent. Currently, research of section line easements is confusing and time consuming, and must be undertaken on a case-by-case basis. Due to staff limitations, many questions regarding section line easements are referred to the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") or the Alaska Department of Natural Resources ("DNR"), both located in Anchorage.

Planning would like to hire a full-time employee for one year with land research abilities to research and identify the section line easements. In addition, a full-time GIS mapping technician would be needed for six months to input the information. The researcher will review all Borough parcels, creating a database with information for each section. The mapping technician will use the information to graphically depict the section line easements on the Borough's GIS parcel base map.

In order to fund this project, the Planning Department applied for a grant through the Alaska Cadastral Project administered by DNR. Attached is a copy of the grant proposal, providing details on the project and the expected results. Planning recently received notice of a grant award in the amount of $70,000. (See attached notification letter.) The grant is for a full-time researcher for one year, a mapping technician for six months, and research trips to Anchorage on a bi-monthly basis. Enactment of the attached ordinance will allow the project to go forward. The expected completion date is September 30, 2004. If additional work is needed to complete the mapping beyond the six-month period, other funding sources will need to be identified.

Attachments:

Grant Proposal

Notification Letter

Ordinance