The Anchorage Assembly meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the bottom floor of the Loussac Library.
Items on the agenda include money for a new greenbelt trail through Spenard and a fix for chronic flooding on Chester Creek near Valley of the Moon Park.
The Assembly will also consider whether to add a nonvoting youth member to the body.
The full version of Tuesday's agenda can be found online at muni.org. Here's some highlights.
Nearly $1 million to expand Anchorage's greenbelt in Spenard
The city plans to award about a $951,000 contract to JTA Construction LLC to build a paved trail and footbridge along Fish Creek in Northwood Park in Spenard. It will be the only continuous greenbelt corridor through Spenard from Northwood Drive to Northern Lights Boulevard, according to a project fact sheet.
A 1985 trails plan identified the proposed extension. The route became final in 1996. More than two decades later, the city found a way to pay for it, through a state "alternative transportation" grant program. It's mostly federal money, said project manager, Russ Oswald.
With more people than ever biking to work, the city expects the new greenbelt connection to draw a lot of cycling commuters, Oswald said.
Expected Assembly action: Vote
A fix for chronic flooding in Valley of the Moon
Winter flooding from Chester Creek damaged several homes in the Valley of the Moon Park area in 2013. An ensuing study by the city offered up some solutions, including a pricey realignment of the creek.
[Unusual winter flooding sends water into homes along Chester Creek]
But city officials have decided to go with a less expensive option: a wider culvert and heat below the stream to prevent freezing. The overall price tag is estimated at roughly $2 million, according to Oswald, who will manage the project. The Assembly is being asked to approve the first phase of financing.
Expected Assembly action: Vote
A youth rep on the Assembly?
The Assembly has been debating for months a proposal from former Assembly member Patrick Flynn to add an Assembly youth representative between the age of 16 and 19. The youth member would not be able to formally vote, but could question witnesses and participate in discussions.
The latest version of the ordinance clarifies that the youth member would be governed by the city's ethics code, be removed for bad attendance and receive all meeting materials, except for matters deemed confidential or nonpublic.
Expected Assembly action: Vote
Coming soon
Ordinances that propose to declare mold in Anchorage hotels a public nuisance and to change the name of the Port of Anchorage to the Port of Alaska are being introduced Tuesday.
Expected Assembly action: No votes. Public hearings will be set.