Good news! Progress is actually being made on using the former Golden Lion hotel! But bad news! The Bronson administration canceled a security contract on the building in July 2022. So the building was left empty without security and without anything to alert the Administration that the heat was off. As a result, a pipe froze and burst. The result is $479,000 needed in repairs.
Good news! The administration chose a contractor to run the facility. Bad news! Despite a warning from Meg Zaletel to Alexis Johnson in May, the administration planned to move tenants into rooms this week, before presenting the lease for Assembly approval. MOA’s Legal Department thought it was kosher to use a short-term use agreement instead of a lease, which does not appear to be the proper vehicle for this process.
Good News! The Assembly, led by Meg Zaletel, moved to postpone the appropriation to stand up the Golden Lion until after the Assembly receives and can review the short-term use agreement and the lease and clarify if the facility will fall under state requirements for an assisted-living home. I’m having a deja vu reaction to this news.
The last time the administration made this kind of error in not properly seeking Assembly approval, it resulted in a $2.5 million legal settlement.
— Joanne Kell
Anchorage
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