Real Estate Information

We woke up Sunday morning and the temperature was 2 degrees, 2.  It was sunny and there was a lite breeze.  Chilly would be an understatement.  Today was the restart of the Iditarod in Willow.  The start was scheduled for 2 pm. and by then it had warmed up to 14 degrees.  It was nice and sunny as we made our way to Willow.

 We arrived in Willow with plenty of time to visit the staging area, this is were all the musher's were with their dogs before the race.  Have you ever heard hundreds of sled dogs howling at once, Wow!

We wandered around and saw the sites.  We saw Martin Buser and Lance Mackey being interviewed.  Lance Mackey had a huge crowd and looked like the celebrity he has become.  It helps to win three Iditarod races in a row.

We saw DeeDee Jonrow getting her dogs ready for the race, they each had pink harnesses.  Mitch Seavey was there and his team looked very relaxed. 

There was so much to see and there were thousands of peop[le there on the lake ready for the start. Yes being on the lake was safe.  Ice is over 3 feet thick.

 We made our way to the starting chute to watch the teams begin their 1000 mile journey to Nome.  Many people had been out there for several hours waiting to see the first mushers go.  Many people were from the lower 48 and you could tell they had no idea it would be so cold.  It really wasn't that bad if you dressed for it.  The lite wind made it a little cool.  After a couple of teams started people started heading for the warmth of the Willow school.

We watched as Newton Marshall came down the start chute, he is the first Jamaican to enter the Iditarod Sled Dog race.  Pretty brave young man.  Although what possessed him to leave the beach for the snow?

The crowd cheered and everyone had fun.  there were good eats, we ventured over to the vendors and found Reindeer hot dogs and Buffalo Bratwursts w/ grilled onions.  These were very good.

We had a great time, and then caught the bus back to Wasilla, to the original re-start.  In the 80's & 90's the race left Wasilla and travelled down my grandmothers driveway to the lake before heading to Knik and then up the Yhetna River.  Those were the good ole days sitting on the deck watching the teams go by.

We had just as much fun this year and will go back again next year. 

Hope to see you there! 

I had the opportunity to visit one of the truly magnificent places in Alaska.  Let me start with "I Love Cooper Landing"  I would move there if I could.  The area is known for its biking and hiking trails, and of course the Kenai River.

My family and I visit friends that are lucky enough to have found Kenai Lake front homes.  We try to spend several weekends each summer floating the Kenai River.  The fishing can be phenomenal.  Last summer it was.  The river was clear, and the water was low, which made for great fishing.

Fishing is Alaska, and Alaska is fishing.  We love it, which is why Cooper Landing, Alaska is one of my favorite destinations.  The fishing here is great year round.

So this last month I was really happy when Ed Galvez came to me to assist him in marketing a property on the Kenai River, right in the middle of Cooper Landing.  My favorite place. 

The home turned out to be my personal favorite.  If I could live anywhere in Alaska, this would be it.  This home is tremendous, and with 600 feet of Kenai River frontage the views are awesome.

We finished our video on Wednesday and the link is just below.  Let me know what you think, and be sure to pass it on if you know someone that would like this home.

This wonderful log home has 2624 square feet of living space, a fire pavilion, a 3 car garage and a 200 square foot wood working shop.  The Garage and shop are 1392 square feet.  The home is easy to get to, which is very important.  The home is easily seen from the Bridge and public boat launch.  However the log home face south west down the river, so the views are great. 

Cooper Landing is a great destination.  Princess Cruise Lines thought so, they bought an old lodge and built the Kenai Princess Lodge.  1000's of visitors come to Cooper Landing.  Imagine if this was your home.  Wow. 

Can you look into a crystal ball and see the future?

Well, I cannot so today I attended the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation Annual forecast luncheon.  The ADEC is a group of business and business owners that work to drive the economy of Anchorage forward.  The investor luncheon is a great forum to see what the new year may bring.

This years event was the largest luncheon crowd ever in Anchorage Alaska; with over 1400 attendees.  There were several speakers, Governor Parnell, Mayor Sullivan, and keynote speaker Stephen Dubner, the co-author of 'Superfreakeconomics"

I visited Facebook prior to the luncheon and a good friend left me this comment:

"the ADEC Economic Forecast is going to be largely dependant on the pending legislative review of ACES (Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share, Alaska's state oil tax legislation). ACES is reducing new oil development projects on state owned leases. Yes, it drives up State Revenue, but it comes at the expense of new investment and jobs which ... See More largely drives real estate prices and demand for local goods and services. I'd be interested to know what assumptions ADEC uses regarding ACES future (it will probably be NO CHANGE since no one knows if we will be successful in lowering these tax rates). The good news is that oil development on Federal leases (Liberty etc.) are NOT affected by ACES as these are taxed on the lower MMS rates (Mineral Management Services). "

Governor Parnell did address this point and one of the hot topics in Juneau this year will be tax relief for companies that invest in Alaska.  Gov. Parnell also spoke about placing excess funds in an account for infrastructure maintenance in the coming years.  It appears we have good leadership for the time being.

Mayor Sullivan spoke to the issue of the city budget, and he likened it to the city being on a diet.  Less spending and minimal new bond packages for the short term will bring about some property tax relief.  The City is going to be hard pressed to provide the services everyone wants without raising taxes.  The City of Anchorage will be looking for federal money to match its investment in improving the Port of Anchorage; which will provide new jobs and growth.

The Keynote speaker, Stehen Dubner, was fantastic.  I will be reading his book 'Superfreakenomoics" tonight.  He mixed current economics with humor in a way that makes one really think.  Many of the national policies currently under review have great economic implications.  He covered global warming, monkeys, and prostitution; in that order but in a very funny way.  Mr. Dubner really got one thinking about possibilities, but as he explained we are creatures of habit, can we change?

It was a great lunch and the forecast is for job losses, approximately 1200.  Many of these are related to tourism; there will be a reduction by 10% in the number of cruise ships coming to Alaska.  Now this forecast does not include Military growth, or the self employed.  These areas are growing and will offset the losses.  The ADEC does expect to see moderate growth in the second half of 2010.  take a look at the documents I provided from the ADEC and feel free to comment below.

January 14th, 2010.  Eagle River Community Council Meeting; the meeting was held at the new Eagle River Town Center, just down the hall from the new Eagle River Library.  The Eagle River Community Council meets on the second Thursday of each month. 

Last night’s meeting was lightly attended, with a majority of the participants being from the local High Schools.  There were several persons visiting from other community councils; they were there to hear the gust spear from Land Design North, more about this later.

 Assembly women Debbie Ossiander was in attendance and gave a recap of recent developments.  Funding was restored for the Eagle River Library; they will open one more day during the week; although one full time position will be cut.  There maybe other budget concerns as the year progresses; they will be doing a quarterly review in April. 

Local roads are being plowed on a frequent basis; one concerned citizen spoke up asking that the plow trucks be a little more responsible about how much snow they dropped in his driveway (gating).  Michael Melielo is the council representative to the Road Board; he addresses this concern and provides the contact information to the homeowner so that the proper people we notified.  The discussion at this point was how our road board worked differently from Anchorages.  The end result was that Eagle River/Chugiak was more efficient and home owner’s property taxes were lower as a result; less mill rate for road maintenance.  

The next topic was the Master Plan for Beach Lake Park; guest speaker Mrs. S Doyle of Land Design North.  This discussion was very lively; there are many different uses for the park.  In the summer you have bikers as well as hikers, and there are several different areas within the park that are in use.  Beach Lake Park does see more traffic in the winter as there are miles of cross country ski trails; as well as several dog sledding trails.  For the most part these trails do not cross.  There have been several meetings to layout the master plan, and the next meeting is February 9th 2010, 6:00 - 8:30 pm at the Eagle River Town Center.  Click here for PDF Flyer of Event.

The meeting was concluded shortly after this lively discussion. The Eagle River Community Council meetings typically last between 1-2 hours.  There is always good information about the community.