Anchorage

Anchorage ombudsman faults process by agency in grant for tennis courts

After reviewing an Anchorage agency's recent gift of public funds to a covered tennis court project, the city's official watchdog says city boards and commissions need to do a better job of alerting the public to their actions, such as when money might be available for grants.

Municipal ombudsman Darrel Hess said he has been looking at the Anchorage Community Development Authority board's approval last month of an $800,000 grant for what was described as a "multi-use sports facility" at East Anchorage High School, prompted by several phone calls to his office about the grant. In its 10-year history, the quasi-governmental authority, which draws the majority of its revenue from city parking meters and parking citations, had never given a monetary grant to a community project. And in March, an official from the authority told a parks advocacy organization that it didn't offer grants.

Hess said he has found no evidence of wrongdoing by board members, development authority staff or city officials in the East High grant.

But he called it "poor public process" that underscored long-standing opportunities to improve public involvement among city boards and commissions. He said he plans to make recommendations to the incoming administration of Mayor-elect Ethan Berkowitz, on the grounds that public process generally falters when it comes to the posting and wording of agendas for city boards and commissions.

Unlike most boards and commissions, Hess said, Anchorage Community Development Authority staff did post the board's agenda ahead of the May 7 meeting. But Hess said the posted agenda did not clearly spell out that the board could be taking action to approve an $800,000 grant for a steel-framed roof cover over the tennis courts at East High School. He said it appeared from the published agenda that the board was simply hearing a presentation about the request from a representative of the Alliance for the Support of American Legion Baseball.

The authority's board also did not solicit other grant proposals in advance or advertise that money might be available for community projects, which Hess said gave the appearance that someone had floated "insider information." He also said it's too often the case that boards and commissions only hear one side of a proposal.

"Here's my point: Would the board have made a different decision if they heard a better proposal to spend the money? Or if there were people speaking in opposition?" Hess said. "Nothing was done wrong, but there's an opportunity to improve the process."

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In an email, the new executive director for the Anchorage Community Development Authority, Robert Shake, said it was his understanding that agency staff "followed all appropriate rules and procedures regarding public notice.

"As the new ACDA Executive Director, I believe it is timely to review those procedures and determine if any changes should be recommended," Shake said.

Lucinda Mahoney, former chief fiscal officer for Mayor Dan Sullivan and a longtime member of the authority's board of directors, said in an email that she "typically support(s) improved public processes" but couldn't comment until she had seen Hess's recommendations. Sullivan's office also declined comment.

On May 26, the Sullivan administration submitted a document asking the Anchorage Assembly to add $800,000 to the Anchorage Community Development Authority operating budget for a "multi-sport pavilion" that could accommodate various sports and outdoor activities.

A memo accompanying the request said the municipality and the Anchorage School District were developing an agreement about the ownership, operation and maintenance of the facility. The request was "laid on the table" at the May 26 Assembly meeting, meaning it wasn't available until just before the meeting.

The Assembly is scheduled to hold a hearing on the budget amendment, and by extension the authority's grant to the East High project, at its upcoming meeting Tuesday.

No history of grants

In late February, Beth Nordlund, executive director of the nonprofit Anchorage Parks Foundation, sent an email to Sue Lukens, the development director of the Anchorage Community Development Authority, saying she'd "heard through the grapevine" that the organization gives out grants. Nordlund wrote that she was concerned about the loss of state funding for parks projects in 2016, and asked what kinds of projects would be accepted by the authority, and when applications were due.

About a week later, Lukens emailed back, telling Nordlund the authority did not have a system for giving out grants, according to a record of the exchange provided by Nordlund.

"We do not have any funds in our budget for grants. We also do not have any process for accepting applications for grants, as we have not done them in the past," Lukens wrote. "We are reviewing a specific request that has come to our Board."

Lukens told Nordlund that if the parks foundation "wanted to do the same," board and committee meetings were open to the public.

In an interview Tuesday, Nordlund said that when she learned there wasn't a formal grant application, she stopped her inquiry about obtaining a grant from the authority.

About two months later, on May 7, the development authority's nine-member board of directors voted 6-3 in favor of the grant for the East High project, which at $800,000 comprises about 8 percent of the authority's annual budget. In a presentation delivered before the vote, the president of the Alliance for the Support of American Legion Baseball, Steve Nerland, told board members that his organization hoped to pursue $500,000 in matching funds from the Rasmuson Foundation if the authority grant was received.

Nerland said in a recent interview he'd attended numerous meetings with city officials about the project, but he did not recall who suggested that his nonprofit apply for a grant from the community development authority.

During the meeting, board members generally voiced strong support for the concept behind the $1.3 million East High project and for the Alliance's goals. But there was contentious debate about whether the development authority should help supply funding.

Of the six who supported the grant -- Mahoney, Sullivan chief of staff Larry Baker, city parks and recreation director John ?Rodda, and private sector representatives Matt Hemry, Rada Khadjinova and Patrick Rumley -- several said the project clearly fulfilled the organization's stated mission, which is: "To manage and enhance public parking and facilitate development for a vibrant community."

Those opposed included board chair Mike Mills, who said he questioned the political timing of the proposal and whether the authority could afford it. Then-executive director Ron Pollock, who did not vote but weighed in via teleconference, told board members that the organization had never before given out grants and was not equipped to do so. He said that if the organization were to give out grants, it should set up a grant program and solicit applications to be viewed by a judging committee.

In April, the East High proposal appeared before the community council in Russian Jack, the neighborhood where the school is located. At the council meeting, Assembly member Paul Honeman made a presentation along with representatives of the Legion baseball alliance. Honeman signed a letter to the Anchorage Community Development Authority board voicing support for the grant, along with Assembly members Elvi Gray-Jackson, Dick Traini and Pete Petersen.

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Minutes from the April 8 meeting don't show a formal vote on the item. But there was unanimous support for the project, said Russian Jack Community Council president Ed Leach, who added that the meetings usually draw about a dozen people.

He also said his impression was that money was mostly coming from the Rasmuson Foundation and other sources.

"As I remember it, (the Anchorage Community Development Authority grant) was mentioned as a possibility, but nothing was definite," Leach said.

Either way, Leach said, the council would have supported the project because of its promise to expand East High's capacity for recreational activities. Boosters have said the facility would accommodate a wide range of sports and community events apart from tennis, including youth football and soccer.

‘Poor public process’

Based on annual reports dating back to 2005, the Anchorage Community Development Authority has focused on maintaining parking meters and garages and pursuing redevelopment projects downtown and in Mountain View and Government Hill. In 2012, the authority sold four lots in Mountain View for community redevelopment.

Two lots were purchased by the Anchorage Community Land Trust for future commercial development; the other two lots were purchased by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. for multifamily rental housing, according to the authority's 2012-13 annual report.

While the authority has pursued public-private partnerships through land sales and development, its annual reports indicate it had never before given a monetary grant to a community project.

Recent leadership changes could portend new direction for the agency. This year, Pollock, who had led the organization since 2007, resigned. Shake, his successor, took over about three weeks ago. After years of little change, four new people have been appointed to the board of directors in the past six months.

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Municipal ombudsman Hess emphasized that on the path to the authority's approval of the East High grant, no one did anything wrong as far as city code or policies. But he called it "the poster child for poor public process," underscoring concerns he's developed over a number of years.

As another example, Hess recalled a Housing and Neighborhood Development Commission meeting several years ago involving a resolution on RuralCAP's proposed "Housing First" project, Karluk Manor. Members of the Fairview community only heard about the resolution because a member of the commission also happened to be a member of the Fairview Community Council, and they turned out to testify against the proposal, Hess said.

In the case of regulatory boards that allocate funding, such as the Anchorage Community Development Authority, clearly worded agendas and the availability of supporting materials are even more important, Hess said, just as they are for the Anchorage Assembly.

"Should they be held to a lesser standard than the Assembly when it comes to spending public money?" Hess said.

Hess said he plans to focus on strengthened requirements surrounding the posting of agendas for all city boards and commissions in future recommendations.

Devin Kelly

Devin Kelly was an ADN staff reporter.

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