The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly approved a resolution that authorizes the acquisition of real property located in Soldotna on behalf of Central Emergency Services for the purpose of a replacement site for their CES Station #1. Station #1 is central to the entire operation of CES and its initial construction dates to 1957 with major additions in 1971 and 1982. The existing location, near McDonald’s and Safeway in Soldotna, is deemed unsuitable for further upgrades necessary to meet the operational needs going forward.
A site selection committee was created in 2017 to evaluate possible sites according to the design and operational criteria specific to the purpose and need of replacing CES’s Station #1. Over eleven potential locations were evaluated, which were selected as the best-available location by meeting CES’s operability, point-of-service, and long-term needs.
The subject site is adjacent to land the Kenai Peninsula Borough already owns in the 240-block area of Reger Avenue. $788,000 will be used to purchase the properties – $680,000 for parcels owned by S&B Properties and $108,000 for parcels owned by the Jane Phillips Beer Trust. The land runs parallel to Reger Avenue and Wilson Lane with six parcels located at the corner intersection with Warehouse Drive, where Foster Construction is located, and the other two parcels located on Reger Avenue near West Riverview Avenue, directly behind Bishop’s Attic.
The aforementioned land is zoned commercial pursuant to City of Soldotna zoning code and, as a result, it is not proposed to further be classified under Kenai Peninsula Borough code.
Central Emergency Services will make efforts to recover land acquisition costs through grants or other funding assistance when eligible. Previously appropriated funding, not to exceed $838,000, is available in the Central Emergency Service Area Capital Project Fund.
