Anchorage

Anchorage Assembly delays key issues at Mayor Sullivan's last meeting

Appearing at his final Anchorage Assembly meeting as mayor Tuesday night, Mayor Dan Sullivan thanked Assembly members and called his tenure "the best six years of my life."

"I've enjoyed every moment of it," Sullivan said, adding jokingly: "Maybe one thing I won't miss is certain Tuesday nights."

Sullivan's remarks prefaced an otherwise anticlimactic meeting, where Assembly members punted several key issues into the incoming administration of Mayor-elect Ethan Berkowitz.

Those included funding for a covered tennis courts project at East Anchorage High School, alcohol restrictions for frequent users of the Anchorage Safety Center and a land swap agreement between the city and the airport.

The Assembly also did not vote on a measure that would make changes to city land use regulations, which include suspending requirements for apartment building design. People were still testifying when the meeting adjourned at 11 p.m., and two attempts by Assembly members to extend the meeting failed.

Berkowitz, who takes office July 1, did not appear at Tuesday's meeting. Spokeswoman Nora Morse said Berkowitz was attending his transition committee's town hall meeting in Spenard.

To mark his departure, Sullivan gave Anchorage Centennial-themed gift bags to each of the Assembly members. The bags included a copy of the legacy book by Charles Wohlforth, "From the Shores of Ship Creek"; a DVD copy of the Centennial movie "Anchorage Is"; a bar of milk chocolate with an Anchorage Centennial wrapper; Anchorage Centennial mints; and a glass mug.

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Controversial measures delayed

Citing legal issues, the Assembly decided to postpone until September a proposal that would restrict alcohol purchases for three-time visitors to Anchorage's emergency sobering center.

In a May letter to Assembly members, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska warned the measure would likely lead to a court challenge. At the meeting, Assembly member Patrick Flynn acknowledged unresolved legal issues but said he hoped the city would find a way to make the measure work.

"The 'frequent fliers,' so to speak, have a significant impact on neighborhoods," Flynn said.

City attorney Dennis Wheeler told the Assembly that one issue associated with the measure is that data for who uses the Anchorage Safety Center is confidential.

A proposal for the Anchorage Community Development Authority to build an all-weather structure over the tennis courts at East Anchorage High School was postponed indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the Assembly ran out of time to begin taking testimony on a proposed agreement between the city and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport that included a requirement for a ballot measure to strip Point Woronzof Park of its parkland status so the land could be traded to the airport for a snow dump and other real estate.

Last week, four former Anchorage mayors -- Tony Knowles, Jack Roderick, Rick Mystrom and Mark Begich -- sent letters asking Assembly members to hold off on a ballot measure to strip Point Woronzof Park of its parkland status until there was more public involvement.

A new public hearing was automatically set for the Assembly's July 14 meeting. A second public hearing had already been set for later in August.

Assembly members also voted to delay funding several contracts relating to the SAP software project, saying the Berkowitz administration should have a chance to weigh in.

Land purchase for Birchwood shooting range approved

The Assembly did take action to approve an agreement to purchase a 34-acre land parcel next to the Birchwood Shooting Range for the future site of a tactical training facility for law enforcement.

The city will pay Eklutna Inc. up to about $1.9 million for the land, according to the agreement. City officials have worked since the end of last year negotiating the land sale.

The land buy is the most recent step in an effort that's been underway since at least 2004, when a coalition led by the Anchorage Police Department requested expanded training facilities, prompted in part by increased restrictions on the use of facilities at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The project is estimated to cost about $13 million overall, and the state Legislature has allocated grants totaling about $8.3 million.

The state did not grant funding in 2015. But city spokesman Bryce Hyslip said ownership of the land gives the city the option to bond for the remaining money.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that a public hearing on a land trade involving Point Woronzof Park has been postponed indefinitely. Because time ran out on for a public hearing Tuesday, the hearing automatically moves to the July 14 Assembly meeting.

Devin Kelly

Devin Kelly was an ADN staff reporter.

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