Kenai Peninsula Borough to pursue design services for Kachemak Selo school amid budget uncertainty

The Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor said the borough will proceed with design services for a proposed school in Kachemak Selo to determine whether construction can be completed within available funding.

The mayor said the borough has “been, sort of promising them a school for a very very long time” and that “they deserve to have a school.” He added that the borough will evaluate the design to determine whether the project can be built at budget and that he “will not be coming before this assembly for more money.” The mayor said he expects the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development (DEED) to work on a solution related to deed requirements and that, if DEED cannot provide a workable solution, “we're not building a school.”

Planner and borough staff described the cost assumptions behind the design contract after an assembly member questioned whether the design estimate was unusually high. Mr. Hedges, a borough staff member involved in project planning, said the proposal from Architects Alaska is for a new location and that the design fee is roughly 10 percent of the borough’s current construction budget for the school. Hedges said the administration has set a target to meet or come in under that construction budget and that staff expect to discuss options such as reduced square footage at upcoming meetings.

Assembly member Miss Cooper said school-district budget shortfalls and possible consolidations make the Kachemak Selo proposal “a different conversation” because the school is remote. Mr. Basden asked whether deed and state requirements would constrain the project; the mayor said those requirements are a major factor and cited a statewide effort to pursue “reasonable rural Alaska standards for school buildings” to address limitations that have previously left students without adequate facilities.

No formal assembly motion or vote on contract award or construction funding was recorded during this committee discussion. The mayor characterized the current step as executing design services to test whether a build is feasible within the borough’s available funds.

Background: staff said previous efforts to build a school in the community were constrained by deed or state restrictions and by location changes; the current design proposal reflects a new site and scope. The assembly and administration plan further review meetings with the consulting firm to refine scope and costs.

The administration also emphasized that, if the design shows the project cannot meet budget and DEED cannot provide an acceptable solution, the borough will not proceed to construction.