Anchorage Daily News

City, operator study improving golf course

The Cleek Corp., a new company formed by people associated with Anchorage Golf Course, will be operating the course this year under an agreement recently approved by the municipality of Anchorage, the city said. Cleek is headed by Rich Sayers, longtime golf pro at the city-owned course.

Cleek and the city will consider upgrades to the course and buildings to improve energy efficiency, extend the life of the facility, and improve the quality of the golf course for increased use and speed of play, the city said.

The city built the course during the gush of oil revenue the state received after the Prudhoe Bay oil field started production. That was an era that also brought the city the Sullivan Arena, the Egan Center, the Performing Arts Center and the Loussac Library.

The city originally leased Anchorage Golf Course to Mountain View Golf Co. Inc. in 1984. Other companies have run it, including Seibu Alaska Inc., which owned the Alyeska Resort until a few years ago.

Feds seek comment on Gravina timber sale

The Forest Service recently announced that it is planning a 38 million-board-foot timber sale on central Gravina Island. The sale is located in an area alongside existing state timber sales and roads west of the Ketchikan airport, and covers about 1,250 acres of possible timber cuts. The agency is soliciting public comments on the sale; they can be mailed to Linda Pulliam, Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District, 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan, AK 99901; e-mailed to Comments-alaska-tongass-ketchikan-mistyfiord@fs.fed.us; or faxed to Linda Pulliam at 907-225-8738.

Timber harvest will require more roads

The Forest Service recently announced a decision to harvest 42 million-board-feet of timber about 12 miles southeast of Hoonah. The Iyoutug timber sales will provide 3,300 acres of timber over eight to 10 years, according to the Forest Service. The decision allows clearcutting on 554 acres and partial harvesting on 2,744 acres. The timber harvest will require construction or reconstruction of about 13 miles of road at a cost of about $2 million. For more information, go to www.tongass.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/projects/projects.shtml.

Communities join forces for growth

The Anchorage, Mat-Su and Kenai governments have crafted a economic development partnership, led by the Anchorage Economic Development Corp., to promote business in Southcentral Alaska. The partnership will focus on potential investors in retail, logistics and manufacturing. The AEDC will represent all three communities to potential investors and it plans to work with Mat-Su and Kenai government staff to identify new industries that can be tapped. One industry that has already been identified as a possible growth sector in Mat-Su and on the Kenai Peninsula -- if a North Slope gas pipeline is built to the region -- is petrochemical processing, according to the AEDC.

-- Anchorage Daily News

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