Land Selection Committee Report 10-13-2005

Land Selection Committee Report

to the

Gustavus City Council

Land Selection function-

It is the function of the Land Selection Committee to research land selection options for the City of Gustavus and to provide the council with viable options and alternatives in that pursuit. The committee will also be available for management of the Land Survey processes from Advertisement to finding a surveyor suitable for the job, to the final awarding of a contract for a successful bid.

To date the committee has:

1.      Secured a Resolution from the City Council to secure the land within the Boat Harbor/Landfill area, Parcel #3 through AS 38.05.810 Public and Charitable lands provision. (This was done to assure State and Federal agencies and those supplying grants, that the city will actually own the land on which the Salmon River Launch ramp facility will be constructed)

2.      Applied for Survey Instructions from DNR for the survey of Parcel #3 with the Landfill being a subdivision of the Parcel. (Usually this takes between 3 and 5 months to be returned to the city.)

3.      Requested the Municipal Entitlement of land for the City of Gustavus under AS 29.65.030. (This is 10% of available land in the Gustavus area.)

a.       27 + acres of land to be owned by the city.

b.      Developed scenarios for the selection and use of the lands.

                                                                           i.      Scenario for gravel pit ownership and use.

                                                                         ii.      Scenario for land sales along the Salmon River in the same area, Parcel #1

                                                                        iii.      Scenario for the ownership of the entire Salmon River Boat Harbor area.

                                                                       iv.      Scenario for the ownership of a portion of Parcel #5 (either

22-1/2 acres across from the Whalesong Lodge or 27 + acres of land along the east side of Wilson Road between the road and the airport. Both are triangular pieces of land.)

c.       Once this request is certified, the City of Gustavus will have one year from the date of certification to select the land.

d.      Certification should be secured in 30 to 60 days from the date of request.

What the committee has yet to accomplish:

            Salmon River and Land fill survey.

1.      Receive the Survey Instructions for the Salmon River/Landfill area.

2.      Advertise in local papers for interested Surveyors to complete the job.

3.      Hold a Pre-bid meeting with the several surveyors.

4.      Put out a RFP (Request for Proposal) to those interested in bidding on the job. Set time limits and make up the RFP document.

5.      Formulate the contract that will be let for this project.

6.      Make suggestions to the City Council regarding the evaluation of the bids and the Proposals and recommend a winning surveyor.

7.      Make recommendations to the City Council prior to the Awarding of the contract.

8.      Monitor the survey work as needed.

9.      Follow the procedure until the deed for the Landfill subdivision is recorded and the city owns the land.

Municipal Entitlement Land selection

1.      Select the best 2 or 3 scenarios for use of the Municipal Entitlement land.

2.      Make recommendations to the City Council with pros and cons for each scenario.

3.      Final acceptance of the land to be selected by the City Council starts the survey process all over again. These lands selected under AS 29.65.030 may be utilized almost immediately after the initial description of the land are described to DNR. Surveying begins later.

Any other lands the City wishes to have conveyed will be pursued by the Land Selection Committee. 

There is a finite number of acres the City of Gustavus may select under the Public and Charitable land provision in Alaska Statute.  Most likely the city will want to acquire the lands around the boat harbor (36.65 acres), the lands under the City Hall & Fire Dept. (28.36 acres) and possibly some of the lands within Parcel #5 which are the lands East of Wilson Road (45 acres) and the lands across from the Whalesong (221/2 acres).

The above mentioned lands may be acquired by the city well into the future and it may be prudent for the city to take its time selecting and acquiring land due to the high cost of surveying. (Survey costs may range from $15,000 to $30,000 for each parcel depending upon the size, the complexity and the vegetation cover existing on each.

Land Selection Committee members:

Mr. Ponch Marchbanks

Mr. Thomas Imboden

Ms. Rita Wilson

Mr. Hayden Kayden

Mr. Ken Klawunder