Galena Air Base Comprehensive Reuse Plan

About the Project

The City of Galena, the Louden Village Council, the Galena School District, members of the community and representatives of various federal and state agencies have been meeting periodically since October 2006 to discuss reuse plans for the FOL. There was a strong consensus that the existing educational use should be expanded to become the anchor tenant of any reuse of the facilities.

In 2005, the City formed a committee, the Galena Economic Development Council (GEDC) to lead the local transition and to advise the city on all BRAC and reuse issues. The Committee includes representation from the City of Galena, the Louden Village Council, the Galena School District, and an at-large community member. Table 1 lists City Council, School District, as well GEDC board and council member names.

In May of 2006, architectural and engineering firm, USKH, completed a facility assessment of the air base. The report included aerial maps of the air base, as a building list with basic building dimensions, as well as a grade for each building (A = best condition to F = worst condition), including potential costs to upgrade selected buildings. The review also integrated an energy analysis, with a summary of energy requirements for each structure, as well as water requirements. This work was funded by a grant by a State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development National Emergency Grant. The grant money, of $113,000, was also used to hold a town meeting, and to pay for administrative costs associated with completion of the preliminary engineering assessment and GEDC and town meetings.

Location and Climate

Galena is located on the north bank of the Yukon River, 45 miles east of Nulato and 270 air miles west of Fairbanks. It lies northeast of the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge. The community lies at approximately 64.733330° North Latitude and -156.927500° West Longitude. Galena is located in the Nulato Recording District. The area encompasses 17.9 square miles of land and 6.1 square miles of water. The area experiences a cold, continental climate with extreme temperature differences. The average daily high temperature during July is in the low 70s; the average daily low temperature during January ranges from 10 to several degrees below zero. Sustained temperatures of -40 degrees are common during winter. Extreme temperatures have been measured from -64 to 92. Annual precipitation is 12.7 inches, with 60 inches of snowfall annually. The Yukon River is ice-free from mid-May through mid-October.