Palmer is moving into fall with several projects underway according to City Manager Kolby Zerkel.
She completed her annual performance review at the last Palmer City Council meeting. Zerkel says the review went well. The Council reaffirmed its support for her leadership of the City.
She notes that the Cedar Avenue extension is on track. The road is expected to open to traffic this week.
The city library construction continues. Zerkel says that the project remains on schedule and within budget.
The City is looking ahead. It’s thinking about the deferred maintenance on aging public buildings. Also, City Hall, the Police Department, and a few other buildings are too small for current staffing.
Several departments could be consolidated into a new public safety and civic building. Those departments could include police, fire training, community development, and City Hall. There is also discussion of creating a separate fire training campus.
Zerkel says the idea came from city staff.
She stresses that the idea is in the early stages. The City must find the right piece of land before beginning to design anything.
She notes that a piece of land might look like a great deal. The City would need to determine the cost of extending utilities to the property. That includes water, sewer, and electricity. The parcel may not make sense if it requires millions of dollars in utility improvements.
The City is beginning work on its 2027 budget. Zerkel says the process will look like last year’s approach.
Last year the Council added an additional work session. This gave Council members more time to ask questions and review the numbers.
Zerkel notes that the session built the Council’s confidence in the budget. This helped the budget move quickly through the approval process with the Council.
Zerkel does not expect major changes this year because the process worked well last year. The city finance team deserves much of the credit for the budget preparation.
The Palmer Municipal Golf Course continues to be an issue. Zerkel plans to give the City Council an update at its meeting tomorrow.
The report will include recent discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration. Those talks involve the City’s obligations connected to the airport, the airport master plan, and possible land lease arrangements.
The City is considering two options for the golf course next year. It could continue operating the course or it could seek private management through an RFP process.
Zerkel says neither option is simple.
Both must comply with FAA requirements, as well as state and local laws. City and private finances must remain separate if a private operator is selected.
The Council is expected to approve membership of the golf course advisory committee at its meeting tomorrow. The committee will select a chair. City staff will work with the chair and the committee to determine how members want to participate.
Zerkel also took a moment to recognize the Labor Day holiday. She says it is a good time to recognize the workers who keep Palmer businesses and government operating.
And she shared a personal highlight from the Alaska State Fair: her two-year-old son’s first pony ride.
This Page 2 is based on an interview with Palmer City Manager Zerkel. The full interview is on bigcabbageradio.org in Podcasts under Inside the City.
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Mike Chmielewski reported this Page Two article and yours truly, Lee Henrikson produced it. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Monday, September 7, 2026.
Image credit: Kolby Zerkel on LinkedIn.