Valley booms; growing fast, growing up.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: TOWNS IN TRANSITION

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

As the Matanuska-Susitna Valley goes through the biggest growth curve any region in the state has witnessed in years, local leaders in the core communities of Palmer and Wasilla say they are doing everything they can to meet the challenge of providing more basic services while preserving the small-town pace and quality of life these communities want to keep, despite the accelerated growth projections.

Historically poked fun of by Anchorage-ites as hillbilly, rural redneck towns, today Palmer and Wasilla are watching these same big city snobs fuel the growth of these two communities as they move to the Valley in droves. This tremendous growth--most statistics become obsolete as soon as they are published--is mainly the result of skyrocketing land prices in Anchorage and residents there wanting to get more land and more home for their dollar. With recent improvements to the Glenn and Parks Highways, the 40- to 50-minute commute between Anchorage and Palmer and Wasilla is manageable for executives who once considered the drive an outing best saved for a day trip.

IN THE BEGINNING

Palmer Mayor John Combs' parents arrived in the Matanuska Valley in 1947, part of the first influx of people to move to the Valley participating in the Homestead Act following World War II. After attending Wasilla schools through fifth grade, his family moved to the City of Palmer where he has spent most of his life since 1969. Back then, he says, there were 6,800 people in the entire Mat-Su Borough. By the time he graduated from high school, this number grew to 80,000 and today there are 65,000 in the core area alone, which extends from the east end of Palmer to the west end of Wasilla.

Population growth in Palmer is not as great as that of the total Mat-Su Borough, though as the center of local government and a service and retail center in the borough, the city is being impacted by the region's population growth. The official population of those living within the 5.5-square-mile city limits is 5,506 and there are 21,000 in the greater Palmer area that live outside city limits, but rely on city goods and services. By 2018 there is expected to be more than 100,000 individuals living in the Valley.

While steady growth started here in the late 1980s, Palmer is mainly known for its small-town charm that reflects the history of the area. Since first being elected to the Palmer City Council in 2000 and then as mayor in 2004, Combs says his top priority is keeping up with the growth while...