The fate of a state owned public water source north of Fairbanks remains in limbo. The Fox Spring is a popular place for locals to get their drinking water, but the state wants to divest of the property to eliminate rising maintenance costs for the aging well. Sale to a neighboring landowner is in the works, while a citizens group explores other options.
The deadline for public comment on sale of the Fox Spring is Friday. The Alaska Department of DOT spokeswoman Meadow Bailey said the sale to a neighboring property owner is not a done deal in light of citizens fighting to preserve public ownership.
”People have commented about the desire to keep this well open and available for public use and we are very committed to helping that happen,” Bailey said.
Under state law, the closest neighbor, gets first right of refusal if land goes up for sale. Fox Spring neighbor Patrick Kohl said he’d rather the land and spring stay with the state, and is only interested in acquiring the property as a buffer for his land. He emphasizes that even if the sale goes through, he wants the water source to remain accessible to the public.
”My neighbors use it here and I use it myself you know to get water,” Kohl said. “You know, as long as I can work out some kind of use that people are comfortable with, I have not problem with doin’ this.”
The DOT resorted to private sale to Kohl after the North Star Borough and other public entities declined the Fox Spring. A task force, headed up by Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District is fighting to keep it in state hands. Coordinator Joni Scharfenberg said the group wrote the Governor’s office seeking delay of the sale. She said they’ve been told the real estate transaction will proceed, but slowly, giving the task force time to work on public access options.
”Trying to find out if this is or could be designated a historical site or a park some way and that way would be again a public entity,” Scharfenberg said.
Scharfenberg said the task force is also investigating liability issues and ways to cover maintenance expenses.
”People have suggested like a cooperative somehow,” Scharfenberg said. “Other people have suggested a membership. It was very interesting though when one of the public task force meetings was held, people said we don’t want people who can’t afford it to not be able to use it. So people were willing to pay but they weren’t going to make people who couldn’t afford it pay. But we don’t know how it’ll turn out in the end.”
Scharfenberg said a similar public well in Salcha charges users 5 cents a gallon to cover maintenance costs. She said the task force is still trying to nail down exactly what annual expenses would be at the Fox Spring, where the well is expected to need work to maintain adequate water flow.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
