The City of Soldotna will use about $220,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds to finish design and bid work for the Soldotna field house project following a vote in favor by city council members Wednesday.

In all, the City of Soldotna received just over $1.1 million through the American Rescue Plan Act. Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis and Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen said, of that amount, about $760,000 has not been designated. The council approved earlier this year the use of up to $150,000 for a grant writer, only about $70,000 of which has been encumbered.

The scope of work to be completed with the funding, to be done by Burkhart Croft Architects, will include finishing design work and creating bid ready project documents, among other things. The scope also includes engineering work associated with moving the building east and creating conceptual plans. That’s per a Dec. 6 memo from Project Manager C.O. Rudstrom to Queen.

Kornelis said during Wednesday’s council meeting that design work for the field house is 95% complete from when the project went up for a vote in 2019. The majority of the design work to be completed, he said, is of the new connection between the field house and the existing regional sports complex.

Kornelis has previously stated that because so much of the design work is already completed, construction on the field house could begin as soon as next summer.

Voters in October approved a proposition allowing the city to incur up to $15 million in debt to build the field house.

Queen told council members Wednesday that she, Kornelis and Soldotna Finance Director Melanie Imholte last week attended a meeting of the Alaska Municipal Bond Bank. It’s that meeting, Queen said, where the board of directors review projects — including the Soldotna field house project — and the credit worthiness of the groups seeking to incur debt.

“It was a very quick approval,” Queen said. “There were no questions for us. With that official approval, we will bring forward a resolution at your next meeting formally authorizing me to execute the documents for bond issuance, which we believe will happen in January.”

Wednesday’s city council meeting can be streamed on the city’s website at soldotna.org.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis, left, talks about the Soldotna field house project during a Soldotna City Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)