Cordova residents who favor using a city lot at the entrance to the harbor as a covered public picnic area are out gathering signatures on petitions to bring the matter before the Cordova City Council for consideration.
“The hope is if we can get 300 signatures and present it (to the City Council) that they will see how strongly the public wants it,” said Paula Payne. “What a wonderful thing it would be to have a covered picnic space, a beautiful community space right at the entrance to the harbor. It’s the best in town to watch the fleet come and go.”
The petition specifically asks the Cordova City Council to designate the harbor entrance lot a public green space with covered picnic shelter and food trucks. The City Council has still not issued a request for proposals, and the group is seeking 200-300 signatures.
Should the City Council approve the plan, the group would then hold fundraisers to construct the picnic area, including the weather-proof covering and picnic tables.
“The idea is to keep the lot multiple use,” said Payne, who also serves as the city’s cultural program leader. “It could have food trucks and six to eight picnic tables. It is just a matter of declaring it a public use lot and keeping people out of the rain.”
Multiple volunteers are already collecting signatures all over town, she said.
Mayor Kristin Smith said the city is planning to solicit community feedback about what they want to see from the lot.
“The city recognizes that there’s a lot of interest in this ‘unicorn’ lot, both from people like the petitioners who want to see it dedicated as public open space and from others who would like to explore the possibilities of multiple uses (e.g. some public space and some commercial use),” she said. “We’re going to schedule a ‘mug up’ session to hear from more community members about what uses they would to see on that lot. Not sure yet when that will be, but soon.”
A similar covered picnic area at Child’s Glacier is no longer accessible because the road to that area washed out.
Former Cordova resident Margie Johnson, who served as mayor of Cordova from 1993-1999, said she favors the idea.
“It’s a crown jewel and the city should hold on to it. It should best be owned by the city itself,” Johnson said. “Times change. Situations change. The city should have ownership of things like that as part of the future.”
Others have already tried to purchase the approximate 120- by 100-foot lot, which is prime real estate, for commercial use.
Camtu Alaska Wild Seafoods submitted a letter of interest to purchase the lot for a cannery, and another party submitted an interest letter as well – but the City Council hasn’t made a final decision on the future of the site yet.
“We need to step up our lobbying and make it a public space,” Payne said.
Correction: This story was updated to clarify that the Cordova City Council has not issued an RFP for the lot, and that Camtu and another party had submitted letters of interest for the site.
