Soldotna Alaska

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#6666CC" TEXT="#080000" background="49301573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>AST2</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AST2"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="alaska_directory.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alaska Directory"><B><IMG SRC="0010e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><A HREF="sitka_alaska.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sitka Alaska"><B><IMG SRC="0020e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>  </B><A HREF="solomon_alaska.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Solomon Alaska"><B><IMG SRC="0030e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#6666CC" TEXT="#080000" background="005d2013.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Soldotna Alaska</I></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="627" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> <B>Current Population:</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="434"><div> 3,807 (2006 DCCED Certified Population)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> <B>Incorporation Type:</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="434"><div> 1st Class City</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> <B>Borough Located In:</B></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="434"><div> Kenai Peninsula Borough</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 WIDTH="186"><div> <B>Taxes:</B></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="434"><div> Sales: 3% (City); 2% (Borough), Property: 1.65 mills (City); 6.5 mills (Borough), Special: None </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B><IMG SRC="09966000.gif" border=0 width="358" height="256" ALT="alaska map of Soldotna Alaska" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="0"></B><B>Location and Climate</B></div> <div> Soldotna is on the Kenai Peninsula, 150 highway miles south of Anchorage, at the junction of the Sterling and Kenai Spur Highways.</div> <bR> <div> It lies 10 miles inland from Cook Inlet, and borders the Kenai River.</div> <bR> <div> The community lies at approximately 60.487780° North Latitude and -151.058330° (West) Longitude. (Sec. 32, T005N, R010W, Seward Meridian.)</div> <bR> <div> Soldotna is located in the Kenai Recording District.</div> <bR> <div> The area encompasses 6.9 sq. miles of land and 0.5 sq. miles of water.</div> <bR> <div> Winter temperatures range from 6 to 24; summers range from 45 to 66.</div> <div> Average annual precipitation is 17.4 inches.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Organizations with Local Offices</B></div> <div> <B>Chamber of Commerce</B> - Greater Soldotna Chamber of Commerce</div> <div> 44790 Sterling Hwy.</div> <div> Soldotna, AK 99669</div> <div> Phone 907-262-9814</div> <div> Fax 907-262-3566</div> <div> E-mail <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >info@soldotnachamber.com</FONT></div> <div> Web <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >http://www.soldotnachamber.com</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>City</B> - City of Soldotna</div> <div> 177 North Birch Street</div> <div> Soldotna, AK 99669</div> <div> Phone 907-262-9107</div> <div> Fax 907-262-1245</div> <div> E-mail <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >tfahning@ci.soldotna.ak.us</FONT></div> <div> Web <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >http://www.ci.soldotna.ak.us</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Other</B> - Kenai River Center</div> <div> 514 Funny River Rd.</div> <div> Soldotna, AK 99669</div> <bR> <div> <B>Regional Organizations</B></div> <div> <B>Borough</B> - Kenai Peninsula Borough</div> <div> 144 North Binkley Street</div> <div> Soldotna, AK 99669</div> <div> Phone 907-262-4441</div> <div> Fax 907-714-2377</div> <div> E-mail <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >assemblyclerk@borough.kenai.ak.us</FONT></div> <div> Web <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >http://www.borough.kenai.ak.us</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Regional Native Health Corporation</B> - Southcentral Foundation</div> <div> 4501 Diplomacy, Suite 200</div> <div> Anchorage, AK 99508</div> <div> Phone 907-729-5235</div> <div> Fax 907-729-4972</div> <div> E-mail <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >katherineg@scf.cc</FONT></div> <div> Web <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >http://www.southcentralfoundation.com/index.cfm</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Regional Development</B> - Kenai Pen. Econ. Dev. District</div> <div> 14896 Kenai Spur Hwy. #103-A</div> <div> Kenai, AK 99611-7000</div> <div> Phone 907-283-3335</div> <div> Fax 907-283-3913</div> <div> E-mail <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >jparker@kpedd.org</FONT></div> <div> Web <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" >http://www.kpedd.org</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Facilities, Utilities, Schools and Health Care</B></div> <div> All homes are completely plumbed.</div> <div> Water is derived from four wells, is treated, stored, and piped throughout the community.</div> <div> A new million-gallon steel tank and a second 500,000-gal. tank, built in the 1970s, now provide sufficient capacity.</div> <div> Piped sewage receives secondary treatment with an activated sludge process; effluent discharges into the Kenai River.</div> <div> Individual wells and septic tanks are used by a few households outside of the core area.</div> <div> Refuse is collected by a private company, and disposed of in the Borough's Class 1 regional landfill and baling facility at mile 98.5 Sterling Hwy. in Soldotna.</div> <div> Recycling and hazardous waste disposal are available.</div> <div> Natural gas from Enstar is primarily used by residents for home heating.</div> <div> Homer Electric Assoc. operates the Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project and is part owner of the Alaska Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative, which operates a gas turbine plant in Soldotna.</div> <div> It also purchases electricity from Chugach Electric.</div> <div> Electricity is provided by Alaska Electric G&T; Homer Electric Assoc.</div> <div> There are 8 schools located in the community, attended by 3,030 students.</div> <div> Local hospitals or health clinics include Central Peninsula General Hospital (907-714-4404) www.cpgh.org; Central Peninsula Health Center (907-262-4120).</div> <div> The hospital is a qualified Acute Care facility and provides Critical Care Air Ambulance Service.</div> <div> Long Term Care: Heritage Place.</div> <div> Specialized Care: Frontier Training Center (health care, counseling, lodging); Family Recovery Center. Soldotna is classified as a small city, it is found in EMS Region 2J in the Kenai Peninsula Region.</div> <div> <B>Emergency Services</B></div> <div> Emergency Services have highway, airport and floatplane access.</div> <div> Emergency service is provided by 911 Telephone Service and paid EMS Service Auxiliary health care is provided by Various physician clinics.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Economy and Transportation</B></div> <div> The area economy is highly diverse.</div> <div> Kenai and Soldotna residents are employed in oil industry services for Cook Inlet oil and natural gas drilling and exploration.</div> <div> Oil refining operations occur north of Kenai in Nikiski.</div> <div> Other important economic sectors include sport, subsistence and commercial fishing, fish processing, government, timber and lumber, agriculture, transportation, construction, services and retail trade.</div> <div> 173 area residents hold commercial fishing permits.</div> <div> It is the site of the Central Peninsula General Hospital, the Kenai Peninsula Community College, the State Troopers' Headquarters, The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and the Borough and School District offices.</div> <bR> <div> The Soldotna Municipal Airport provides facilities for charter services and local air traffic.</div> <div> There are two paved runways, one is 5,000' long by 132' wide, the other is 1,500' long by 50' wide.</div> <div> The Kenai Municipal Airport, located 10 miles away, offers scheduled flights and float plane facilities.</div> <div> Seaplanes may also land at nearby Mackeys Lakes.</div> <div> There are four additional private landing strips in Soldotna, and a heliport for medical emergencies at Central Peninsula General Hospital. </div> <div> The Sterling Highway provides access to Anchorage, the George Parks and Alcan highways.</div> <bR> <div> <B>History, Culture and Demographics</B></div> <div> The Peninsula has historically been the home to Kenaitze Indians, and was developed by non-Natives for its rich resources, including fish, timber and oil.</div> <div> Soldotna was named for a nearby stream; it is a Russian word meaning "soldier."</div> <div> Others believe it is derived from an Indian word meaning "stream fork."</div> <div> The first homesteaders were World War II veterans, given a 90-day preference over non-veterans in selecting and filing for property in 1947. </div> <div> That same year, the Sterling Highway right-of-way was constructed from Cooper Landing to Kenai.</div> <div> Soldotna was the site for the bridge crossing the Kenai River.</div> <div> A post office opened in 1949, with stores and a community center shortly thereafter.</div> <div> Soldotna continued to develop because of its strategic location at the Sterling-Kenai Spur Highway junction.</div> <div> <I><B>In 1957, oil was discovered in the Swanson River region near Sterling, bringing new growth and development.</B></I></div> <div> Soldotna was incorporated as a city in 1960. </div> <div> The population of the community consists of 6.9% Alaska Native or part Native.</div> <div> <I><B>The Kenai River offers top trophy king salmon fishing during June and July.</B></I></div> <div> A 97 lb. 4 oz. world record king salmon was taken from these waters in 1985, and catching kings of over 60 pounds is not uncommon here. </div> <div> The Central Peninsula Sports Center provides an ice rink, racquetball courts, weight room and meeting facilities.</div> <div> During the 2000 U.S. Census, total housing units numbered 1,670, and vacant housing units numbered 205. Vacant housing units used only seasonally numbered 59. U.S. Census data for Year 2000 showed 1,687 residents as employed.</div> <div> The unemployment rate at that time was 8.91 percent, although 36.89 percent of all adults were not in the work force.</div> <div> The median household income was $48,420, per capita income was $21,740, and 6.59 percent of residents were living below the poverty level.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ast2.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ast2.com"> <img src="HTMLobj-203/aniGif.gif" alt="Rent this Space" border="0" align="bottom" width="468" height="60">  </A></div> <bR> <div> Web Site by: <A HREF="http://www.AST2.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.AST2.com">AST2.com</A>   Low Cost Business Sites</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>