ITEM TITLE:
Report to Council on Shooting Range Property Issue
SUBMITTED BY: Paul Nylund - Senior Planner/GIS Technician
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file report
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
The PRCS Department of the City of Valdez is planning to do improvements on the public shooting range located off of Airport Road. During the design process for these improvements it was discovered that a portion of the existing shooting range extends beyond the boundaries of the city owned parcel that it was intended to be located on. The shooting range was built in 1982 with grant money from Fish and Game, and has been a popular public facility since it was established.
Discussions with representatives of the AK Department of Natural Resources have led to the conclusion that the City of Valdez should apply to purchase the state property that the shooting range encroaches upon. This process will begin with the City of Valdez submitting an Application for Public and Charitable Use Purchase of State Land (AS 38.05.810) application. If the application is successful, we will be bringing this item back to the City Council with a request to purchase the needed property from the DNR.
This report is to let the City Council know the status of the shooting range property issue, and the Planning Department’s intent to apply for a land purchase with the DNR, on the behalf of the City of Valdez. The exact acreage of the property that we would need to get in order for the public shooting range to continue to operate with the appropriate land interest secured will be determined through further discussions with the DNR. The ~17 acres that are proposed in the application is an estimate in order to get the application filed and the negotiations started.