Recently, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) appeared in the news for purchasing property on the Kenai River at far below market value last year from Alaska businessman Bob Penney. It turns out, the plot is nearby one of her more notable earmarks: a three-mile stretch of road that abuts the property of about 50 residents, for which Murkowski has secured $6 million in federal funds since 2003.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK) rounded up an extra $2 million for the three-mile road project, which is just under half mile from Murkowskiâs plot, which she sold back to Penney in the wake of the controversy. And even that’s not all. To cover matching costs required by some of the federal money, Murkowski’s father, then-Gov. Frank Murkowksi ponied up another $325,000 in state funds. Itâs unclear whether the project, construction for which is set to begin next year, will boost the value of the land.
Local residents initiated what they coined the Keystone Drive Project back in 2002. The 3-mile road leads to the National Kenai Wildlife Refuge, passing some 50 residents, one of whom is retired NBA star Karl Malone. The locals were fed up with the influx of tourists on their gravel road during the last two weeks in July, when nature enthusiasts come to fish, camp and visit the refuge. So, they rallied neighborhood support and first took their case to the local government. When that didn’t pan out, they pressed on to their federal representatives in Washington.
Keystone Drive resident Jane Madison, who spearheaded the effort, said a group of neighbors flew to Washington to take their case directly to the delegation in 2002. They had meetings with all three offices, and then, serendipitously, they sat in front of Murkowski on the flight back home.
“We discovered that this woman is a very, very bright, very, very focussed woman,” Madison said. “Even though other people were tapping her on the shoulder, she focussed right on us, so we told her the story of Keystone Drive. She said ‘I’ll do everything I can to help you.'”
And help she did.
Pleased with the results of Alaskan-style direct democracy, Madison said she thinks Murkowski has kept her word.
Madison cited a number of reasons why the road deserved the improvements — from better access for emergency vehicles to runoff prevention. But her chief argument remains that the increased traffic is caused by the public attractions, including the refuge and two public Kenai River boat launches, making the federal and state government responsible for the road. Madison claims that during the peak weeks in summer, they see as many as 1,000 additional vehicles on their road each day, though where those cars are going is unclear since there appears to be only two small parking lot at the end of the road.
To be sure, a nicer road would benefit those tourists, however many there are. But when I asked if any of the $8 million has been set aside for extra or improved parking lots, Madison was initially puzzled. The answer is no. The project is solely for the road, without any plans for other amenities that would benefit the public.
Though Penney lives just up the road, he doesn’t appear to have had a hand in the repaving campaign. It also appears that Murkowski would not have needed to use the road when heading to the main highway. But had she been able to hold on to her sweetheart land deal with Penney, her road-paving earmarks would have made her pretty popular in the neighborhood.
