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Kenai extends hazardous tree mitigation measures

Courtesy Mitch Michaud

The city of Kenai is continuing efforts to mitigate spruce bark-beetle hazard trees. The city council last week approved extending agreements with the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection that were set to sunset at the end of December.

The extensions allow the city to continue operating the public slash disposal site on the north side of town, along the Kenai Spur Highway near the Kenai Sports Complex. The original agreement with Forestry made up to $150,000 available to provide a way for the public to dispose of slash cleared from private property. City Manager Terry Eubank says about $85,000 remains to continue operating the disposal site this summer.

The city also wants to continue clearing hazardous trees around town. Eubank says the original agreement made $385,000 of state funds available for tree removal on city property, which accessed federal funds.

“That memorandum was the city’s match share to a federal grant of the same amount," he said. "So, in order for us to continue to utilize the remainder of that federal grant, we need this memorandum and that funding or we have to come up with our own funds to provide that match.”

Eubank says the original agreement was for work on 105 acres, which covered the gulley east of Forest Drive and the gully east of South Spruce Street that runs north toward the airport. That work is now complete.

“A lot of removal that we’ve done has been through two of the larger drainages here in town, which had some steep slopes where trees had to be removed, which required hand falling and things like that, which are certainly more expensive,” he said.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough also has done hazard tree clearing on city property, along the Kenai Spur Highway next to the middle school, around the golf course and Oiler’s Park, the green strip along Lawton Drive and down Marathon Road. Eubank says the borough’s help frees up the city to now focus on other areas.

He says the council can expect to see a future amendment to the memorandum with state Forestry expanding the acreage on which the city proposes work in the upcoming year. He anticipates targeting the gully just west of the senior center that runs north behind Safeway and Home Depot toward Marathon Road.

The council unanimously supported extensions of both agreements.

Jenny Neyman has been the executive director of KDLL since 2017. Before that she was a reporter and the Morning Edition host at KDLL.
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