A map shows the original property boundary (in red) of Nikiski North Star Elementary and the boundary of the new property (in yellow) the borough is set to purchase. (Courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough)

A map shows the original property boundary (in red) of Nikiski North Star Elementary and the boundary of the new property (in yellow) the borough is set to purchase. (Courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough)

Borough to buy property adjacent to Nikiski North Star for possible development

Nikiski North Star is on a 28-acre parcel bounded by private land and Salamatof Lake

The Kenai Peninsula Borough will purchase nearly 5 acres adjacent to Nikiski North Star Elementary School for $59,000 after approval this week by the borough assembly.

According to the text of an ordinance adopted within the assembly’s consent agenda on Tuesday, Sept. 17, Nikiski North Star is on a 28-acre parcel bounded by private land and Salamatof Lake.

A 4.62-acre parcel located adjacent to the school was listed for sale “by a local real estate agent,” and the borough’s Land Management Division identified it as “necessary” to purchase “proactively” to allow for “future management options.”

Funds for the purchase, the ordinance says, come from surplus land sales by the division that are used for acquisition of other property “to satisfy current and future KPB realty needs.”

The ordinance was adopted on the consent agenda without any public testimony or discussion by the assembly. In addition to authorizing the purchase, the ordinance reclassifies the land for “government” use.

The purchase price, according to an attached memo by Land Management Officer Aaron Hughes, says that the purchase price is $53,000, compounded by an additional $6,000 for “due diligence costs and closing fees.”

The purchase agreement, included with the ordinance, says that the borough will purchase the land from Brenda and Paul Dale, who have owned the property for 34 years, with a closing date of Oct. 31.

A full recording of the assembly meeting and the text of the ordinance and purchase agreement can be found at kpb.legistar.com.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

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