The City of Kenai will take public testimony tonight on awarding the construction of the new South Beach Access, with the project scheduled to be completed before this year’s dip net fishery opens.
City Manager Rick Koch says work will begin in March on the new route.
Koch: “You turn left on Old Cannery, then you turn north on Royal Street. Then at the end of Royal Street, a new roadway will be constructed along the very edge of the uplands, and the converse is it will be right along the edge of the wetlands, running to the beach.”
At their 6 pm meeting tonight, Kenai City Council will take public testimony on awarding the construction of that project to Big Mike’s, who submitted the lowest bid proposal of $116,745 for the work.
Last September council members approved using $1.6 million from a state grant to purchase seven properties to build the access to the south beach of the Kenai River.
Koch says the City of Kenai is working through the process to sell those properties as two tracts.
Koch: “Four of those lots have been consolidated into one tract, including the vacated roadway that went to that large home, and that will all be sold. So that will be the aircraft hanger, the shop, greenhouse, the 8,750 square foot home, and I think it’s six acres that will be sold as a single property.”
The money from those sales will then go back to the state, into the grant according to Koch, and be used to pave the new south beach access road as well as improve Old Cannery Road and Royal Street.
He says hopefully the construction of the new beach access will ease some of the conflicts with property owners that have been highlighted over the last few years.