Fairbanks borough weighs $1-a-year land lease for a Salcha American Legion post

Veterans in Salcha and Harding Lake would get an American Legion post near the Richardson Highway instead of a drive to downtown Fairbanks, under a lease Mayor Grier Hopkins is sponsoring. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly takes up the proposal at its Aug. 20 worksession.

The proposed rent is $1 a year for about two acres of Tract E of the Grieme Farm Subdivision, at Grieme Road and the Richardson Highway near milepost 331.5. The term is four years with one four-year renewal option. The measure is a discussion item at the worksession, with the ordinance scheduled for introduction Aug. 27.

Borough code allows a lease below fair rental value only with a written finding of compelling public purpose. A memo from Natural Resources Development Manager Daniel Welch recommending adoption states the borough has a substantial per capita veteran population and only one other American Legion post, near downtown Fairbanks, where most veteran support services are located. "Our Borough has

a robust veteran community and not only will the Post 99 location support the planned

cemetery, it will also provide support for veterans not in or near the City of Fairbanks," Welch wrote.

Borough code also requires a competitive process to lease borough land suitable for commercial or industrial use. The ordinance finds the parcel unsuitable for those uses because of an existing state gravel extraction agreement, so the competitive process would not apply.

The Alaska Interior Delegation, in a letter to Hopkins and Assembly members, wrote that Post 99 "plays a critical role in supporting veterans across a wide geographic area, as many veterans live in rural communities where access to critical services can be limited." The letter names Salcha and Harding Lake and is signed by seven Interior state representatives and three senators.

The State of Alaska Office of Veterans Affairs identified Post 99 as "an outstanding potential partner" for the Interior Alaska Veterans Cemetery in Salcha. The ordinance lists an anticipated construction completion date of October 2027. Prime contractor HC Contractors is under a final completion deadline of Sept. 30, 2027. The project is billed as Alaska's first state veterans cemetery, a 257-acre site funded by a $16.7 million VA grant and expected to serve more than 12,000 Interior veterans. U.S. Rep. Nicholas J. Begich III, in a letter to the Alaska American Legion State Convention, wrote, "At the local level, posts like Interior Alaska Post 99 in Salcha exemplify the organization's dedication," citing the post's work connecting veterans to benefits, employment assistance and medical equipment.

The parcel carries an indefinite gravel extraction agreement with the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities dating to 1964. The department has agreed to lift part of that encumbrance for the lease. The packet contains no letters in opposition.