03/20/2025 01:00 PM House TRANSPORTATION

              SB  47-CHUGACH STATE PARK EASEMENTS                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
1:12:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  EISCHEID announced  that the  only  order of  business                                                                
would be SENATE  BILL NO. 47, "An Act  relating to Chugach State                                                                
Park;  and  providing  for  an  effective date."    [Before  the                                                                
committee was CSSB 47(RES).]                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:13:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR CATHY  GIESSEL, Alaska State  Legislature, prime sponsor                                                                
of  SB  47,  began  the  presentation  [hard  copy  included  in                                                                
committee packet] on slide 2  and stated that Chugach State Park                                                                
has 1.5 million  visitors per year.  To  slide 5, she emphasized                                                                
that the  park's fee station  brings in nearly $600  thousand in                                                                
revenue, $117 thousand coming from  the Glen Alps Flattop access                                                                
point, per  year.  She displayed  slide 6 and  explained that on                                                                
the  other side  of the  Glen Alps  Flattop is  the  Rabbit Lake                                                                
trailhead, which is accessed by Canyon Road.  She stated that SB
 addresses the unmaintained section of road contained in state                                                                
property, depicted in  green.  She asserted that  DOT&PF has not                                                                
maintained  the  road  in  Chugach  State  Park,  despite  being                                                                
required by statute, due to the difficulty.  The Municipality of                                                                
Anchorage is  willing to take on  the maintenance responsibility                                                                
and  to  make minor  road  improvements.    She added  that  the                                                                
Division of  Parks & Outdoor  Recreation has a grant  to enlarge                                                                
the parking lot due to the high volume of traffic.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:19:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
PAIGE  BROWN,   Staff,  Senator  Cathy   Giessel,  Alaska  State                                                                
Legislature, on behalf  of Senator Giessel, prime  sponsor of SB
,  in  response  to  questions  from  Representative  Carrick,                                                                
clarified that none  of the $4 million that  the Municipality of                                                                
Anchorage bonded is eligible to be spent on Canyon Road in state                                                                
land until SB  47 is passed.   She affirmed that  the $4 million                                                                
currently  is  planned  to  be  spent  on  improvements  in  the                                                                
municipality land.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GIESSEL clarified  that the road inside  state land near                                                                
the Rabbit Lake  Trailhead also needs improvement  but is solely                                                                
the responsibility of DOT&PF.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:21:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked for clarification on the language in                                                                
CSSB 47(RES) on page 2, line 26.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  GIESSEL replied  that  similar language  is already  in                                                                
statute and additionally repeated in section 2, subsection (c).                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:23:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCABE asked  if there are any  other state parks                                                                
where DOT&PF is responsible for maintenance of public roads.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:24:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
RICKY GEASE,  Director, Division of Parks  & Outdoor Recreation,                                                                
Department of Natural Resources, in  response to a question from                                                                
Representative McCabe, provided his understanding that DOT&PF is                                                                
responsible for the roads in  Chugach State Park and the highway                                                                
through Denali National  Park and Preserve.  He  stated he would                                                                
provide  the committee  with a  comprehensive list  of roads  in                                                                
state parks that DOT&PF is responsible for.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
1:26:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GIESSEL referred to  page 1, lines 7-13 of  the bill and                                                                
clarified  that existing  statute specifically  mentions Chugach                                                                
State Park and  the bill would move the  language to a different                                                                
section.