Lack of funding for storage facilities leaves Creamer's ripe for thieves
Published Friday, April 4, 2008
The Alaska Legislature’s reluctance to fund a $2 million storage facility for the Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks means not only that the agency will likely continue to lose thousands of dollars to thieves but also that a nonprofit group trying to open the historic Creamer’s Dairy barns for public viewing has suffered a setback.
“It’s a critical first step to opening the barns to the public,” said Alexis Runstadler, development director for Friends of Creamer’s Field. “We can’t do anything until that storage is removed.”
The sooner a new storage facility is built, the better, as far as the Department of Fish and Game is concerned, spokeswoman Cathie Harms said. The department has lost thousands of dollars as a result of thefts from the current storage compound, which is nothing more than a chain-link fence around the back of the Creamer’s dairy complex. The complex sits in the middle of the 2,000-acre refuge and is located behind the department’s offices off College Road.
Harms didn’t have a monetary value on what has been stolen but said it’s “well into five figures.” Thieves have swiped everything from a six-wheeler and boat motors to chainsaws, tools and generators.
While the department supports the idea of opening the barns to the public, the agency is more concerned with protecting its equipment from thieves. The Fairbanks storage facility ranks No. 4 on the department’s statewide capital improvement project wish list, Harms said.
Funding for the storage facility was stripped out of the capital budget last week and has not been reinserted. The department also requested money for a storage facility last year.
Currently, the department uses the inside of the dairy barns for storage, as well as a fenced-in area around the barns. The outside compound houses everything from boats to pickup trucks to ice fishing houses to several Conex units. The inside of the barns are filled with miscellaneous equipment and old office supplies.
Because the dairy barns are listed on the National Historic Register, the department is limited to what it can do to secure them, Harms said.
“We can’t just add steel doors,” she said.
Friends of Creamer’s Field has sent letters and brochures to legislators explaining why the storage facility is important for the community and the state. The group is encouraging its members to contact legislators to voice support for the project.
Lack of money isn’t the only hurdle standing in the way of a new storage facility. At this point, the department doesn’t have a spot picked out for it yet. The department is considering several possible sites, both on and off the refuge, Harms said.
Though it prefers the storage facility be located off refuge land, Friends of Creamer’s has suggested a spot for the storage facility on the west edge of the refuge that borders the Tanana Valley State Fairgrounds, board president Joy Morrison said.
“Our dream would be to get them off the refuge all together,” Morrison said of Fish and Game’s presence on the refuge.
Even though some members of the Interior delegation — she didn’t provide names — assured Morrison that funding for a new storage facility was “a slam dunk,” that’s obviously not the case, she said.
“The Legislature could care two hoots about (a new storage facility),” Morrison said. “I’m not real optimistic at this point.
“The only thing we can hope is that so much stuff gets stolen that they will have to build a new storage facility,” she said.
The ultimate goal of Friends of Creamer’s is to turn the old dairy’s creamery into a visitor center and open the barns for public viewing, as well as events like barn dances and weddings, Morrison said.
“It’s a big project, a long-term project,” she said. “It’s going to cost a lot of money.”
Friends of Creamer’s has money to pay for a code review of the barns to determine what repairs are needed before the barns can be opened to the public, Runstadler said. Once it has a list of needed repairs, Friends of Creamer’s will begin seeking grants and donations to make those repairs, she said.
“We are going to go ahead with our plans with hopes that the rest of the pieces of the pie will fall into place,” Morrison said.
Friends of Creamer’s is holding a membership drive to help raise money. The goal is to increase membership from about 250 to 1,000, Morrison said.
But she acknowledged that “it’s harder to raise funds when you can’t tell people when anything is going to happen.”
Community Discussion
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It's a good thing thieves don't read the newspaper. This article would certainly point them in the right direction.
Thieves will find something to steal without the newspaper's help, but sometimes it takes a boot in the butt to get folks to take action to prevent theft before it happens.
You are correct. There was a lot of sarcasm in the above. I don’t believe that the Newsminer should hesitate to report on any worthy issue.
Great...let's not only tell the thieves where the goods are, hell, let's show them what they will get! Morons.
....or we could ignore the issue and just let things get continually stolen.
I live reallllllly close to Creamers. There are plenty of thieves in this area. My hubbys boat parts, boat gas can, a chain, wood, all stolen last year. He put out another gas can full of sugar water...sure enough, that was stolen too. Why wont someone steal our old rusty Weber grill? I caught 2 kids trying to steal our lawnmower at 10pm RIGHT IN FRONT of our living room window with me sitting there last summer. As far as the barn being fixed up...Hasnt this conversation been going on since 1966, when the dairy was closed?
It sure is hard to type on my new computer while wearing my black gloves...maybe i should take my ski mask off, too. I gotta run real quick, i'll be back.
I would like to add to my comment. Everytime I go for a walk over there at Creamers, I see this equipment. I see the same ol equipment year after year. I know some of it is used (?), but most of it, I never even see moved. Why do they need all of this?
Sorry about that, Right; the old sarcasm detector was broken. Those responsible have been shot.
Honeyhi, I'd respectfully submit that most work goes on behind the scenes. I might've been over to your house dozens of times and never seen you mowing the lawn. Doesn't mean you never mow it.
locks only keep honest people honest
I have to agree with honeyhi, there is so much stuff there hasn't seem to have been moved over the past few years. Maybe the excess could be sold off and the funds applied to securing what is needed.
Amazing how the security solution for that stuff is millions of dollars. Most people I know spend $20 on a chain and padlock. Chainlink fencing though is just wire. Takes a whole minute to cut a door through it with pliers.
$2 million for a storage facility is what I'm talking about. Is it just me or is anyone else wondering why the Fish n Feathers folks can't move the storage yard to a more easily monitored area, say out in front, with some lights and maybe a camera or two? When Ms. Harms can't even come up with a close estimate of the value of stolen items I have to wonder how much of this need is real and how much is just State employees wanting more, more, more.
I like the way Joy Morrison says she hopes so much stuff gets stolen that she gets her way and the state will build a $2mil storage facility. That way the nonprofit Friends of Creamers can add the barns to their tour and charge the public for the pleasure of viewing them.
$2,000,000 dollars for a storage facility for chainsaws, tools, generators, six-wheeler, and boat. For $2,000,000 dollars I could store my family in a very, very nice house, with another storage building to keep the theives from stealing the toys I bought with the money left over.
What would be wrong with getting a few $2,000 dollar connex's to keep things from walking away. In the future instead of purchasing more stuff to be stolen, use those funds on a few connex'es. I hope our interior legislature reads these posts and sees the waste. purchase,
I was just wondering again, what is creamers field doing with the boats and six-wheelers anyway. Maybe they need the equipment to get the cattle to the milk house.
One thing I've learned in life, stay away from any group that uses "friends of....(fill in blank)".
I was going to comment, but all previous comments covered every thought I had, you people must get out of bed quite early.
What other property do they have? Df&G has had the same office on college for years and the fenced in area is behind that building behind the barn. I gotta say, the connex idea is the absolute best I've heard on this one, outta sight and in metal containers for a reasonable price.
2 million is rediculous. The only reason they let the stuff be stolen is because they don't care. Everyone has to deal with protecting their own stuff but all f&g has to do is buy more. Their effort to save stuff is to sit down and write proposals. They didn't even own that area 25 years ago and all it's done is cost money. If they can't protect their equipment it should be sold.
The Barn is part of Fairbanks History. Fish and Game has used it for cold storage for years. The barn should be preserved and I like the connex idea for storage of F & G is great, economical and fire proof. I doubt that they would be thief proof, but it would be a good start.
Pad-locks, chain, and tarps shouldn't cost anywhere near $2M
Because the dairy barns are listed on the National Historic Register, the department is limited to what it can do to secure them, Harms said.
“We can’t just add steel doors,” she said.
Actually, if you wrote it up correctly, yeah, you could. If the chain link lie down yard attached (?) to the back of the Dairy Barn isn't historic chain link, well, you've gone ahead and altered the viewshed and context of the Dairy Barn anyway. Is the chain link figured into the context? Not to be jerky about it, but all the National Register listing does is require that a controlling entity consider their project's impacts on the structure. It doesn't mean you can't alter it radically (especially for life/safety, security, or even ADA compliance). National Register listing doesn't even protect a structure from demolition (gasp!). One just has to look at what the NPS is doing at Kennecott to see how much wiggle room there is in the NRHP (National Register of Historic Places), and that's a LANDMARK, for cryin' out loud. They've completely gutted the Kennecott Store, are ripping out one of the most interesting features (where the candy and tobacco were kept under lock and key) to add an elevator to make the building ADA compliant. Oh, and they're adding flush toilet bathrooms to the lower level. Sorry, NPS, but those changes just infuriated the heck out of me. It was such a cool, unique space.
A connex or 2 is really the way to go. Why do they have to be sited close to the barn at Creamers? What's wrong with some of the space around Fish and Wildlife? If you think they'd be eyesores, then just cover them with plywood, invite school kids to come over and paint murals on them, and call it good. :-)
Fish and Game has many tasks that require huge amounts of equipment. Boats, ORV, aircraft, hovercraft…you name it. They count fish, do wildlife surveys, re-stock lakes, collate and analyze data…oh and enforce that game regulations on trapping hunting and fishing. All this for the northern half of the state from a rinki dink facility. Currently they have only limited covered storage and almost no warm storage. The 2 million everyone is whining about is but a drop in the bucket for the support needs of Fish and Game. CONNEX? You have got to be kidding me. I don’t want shipping containers stacked willy-nilly like a patchwork quilt at some port in a picturesque pastoral setting. Creamers is a wildlife refuge and a community gem for recreation and education. Crapping it up will reduce its tourist value to zero and make it a eyesore. Fairbanks history is fading fast with few exceptions we need to preserve Creamers. My interactions with Fish and Game has mostly been with its jack boot’s out in the bush. I respect the job they are trying albeit most abrasively. They deserve our support and need a place to put the gear they need to do the job. Also where do you think they store all the equipment confiscated from illegal hunts until they go to trial? I will hop off my soap box for now but just one more thing when they do build it I hope its near the new shooting range and doesn’t impact Creamers.
I can't believe they don't have secure, climate controlled storage for evidence needs. What's wrong with looking at partnerships with the University or other federal/state agencies so they could get together and address all the storage/facility needs at once? Why do we have to build structure after structure and piecemeal everything? I'd support an overall, comprehensive plan highlighting needs from all the state agencies in Fairbanks (including estimated needs 10 years out so it's not obsolete the moment they break ground) that would lead to the construction of a single facility somewhere other than Creamer's (if that's a possibility).
Give me a break. Plywood + murals=tacky. Sometimes simple is not the best way to go. Yes, a short-term solution is necessary, but this article was not asking how to get around the limitations of the National Historic Register. Stop-gap measures like Connexes should be considered as a step toward security WHILE a more permanent and well-designed, well-funded solution is in the works.
AKSoul must have thought better of her plywood plan.
You usually don't have a sense of humor. That was totally tongue in cheek. If I were a state agency, I'd be looking around town for vacant short-term storage options while lobbying like heck for a consolidated plan. I bring up the National Register because it's scapegoated by so many people who don't understand what it protects and doesn't protect.
Ahhh the smell of fuel in the afternoon. Yes, that is the smell you smell in the hot summer afternoons out there. Why you ask? Because they park their equipment fully fueled. And yes, it does get that hot and the tanks overflow; into the boats, onto the ground and onto other equipment. Did I do anything about it, you ask? Yes, I went and alerted the front office but the same equipment was out there again, oozing and spilling? Funny stuff. YouMustBConfused
$2,000,000 everybody is whining about
The $2,000,000 is a drop in the bucket
A connex will reduce tourist value to zero
A connex being an eyesore
my interactions with fish and game has mostly been with there jack boot's out in the bush, I respect the job they are trying
Sean white are you a contractor with a bid in for that project or something. Ms. Harms didnt mention any of the stuff you are talking about. I think she would have if was as bad as you write about.
If it is an eyesore for the creamer field site, then fish and game needs to move it to another location like the Department of Transportation area which have great security.
If fuel prices weren't sooo high and global warming on the rise, we would all love each other and share everything so no one would ever steal again, ever. Never.--HA
I was out walking behind the Creamer's barns this morning. If you haven't been back there, please go and take a look. There are at least 10 conex containers there already. The picture in the paper showed a very small part of the "stuff" that is stored in the enclosure. What is stored in the barns and other buildings is not open for viewing.
For the record, I have been on a "walk" with the Friends of Creamer's Field volunteer and there is no charge to participate.
With ALL the empty, vacant buildings in Fairbanks, I think one building can be acquired for rental and storage. Geesh, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. What's wrong with vacant buildings in the Van Horne Rd area?
As far as thieves.......I've had 9 bicycles stolen in 4 years. The police say I CAN'T wire a bicycle to electricity (darn). Thieves CUT locks on bicycles. That's all right we're stetting a trap this summer,...so we'll probably end up in jail for averting theft.
Fairbanks needs better punishment for thieves,...like HARD LABOR
I am going to have a walk around the area as soon as it clears up... as a true alaskan I gotta wait for better weather. Maybe they need something more permanent... maybe not
One somewhat cheap plan might be to add those green strips that goes on chain link fence(privacy fence).The "out of sight" reference I think would help those "honest" people stay honest.
May as well announce to the world where to find some good boats for free if you choose the right time of night!
It always amazes me how the Media will blatantly ANNOUNCE with pictures and street names and towns where a person who turned in a criminal lives.. like point the murderer in the direction of the snoop.. real smart!! its scary..
or how about announcing to all the people and kids HOW to make a bomb by showing what a criminal did to do what he did... or making Meth ... and what products are being used..
just pave the way Media.. sometimes I wonder where the Media's brains are!
Without reading the first sentence of the story or reading any of the comments about the story, I thought to myself, what is the Newsminer thinking? It's one thing to do a story such as this, but to post pictures of the available loot for which the underbelly of society can take their pickings from, come on Newsminer?!?! Now I'm no lawprofessor by any stretch of the imagination, but I would think that if any property comes up missing, the Newsminer could potentially be partially responsible. Not only did the Newsminer give "the dog" the bone, it practically shoved it down "the dogs'" mouth.
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