Anchorage Mayor Bronson vetoes funding for low-income housing and other items in Assembly's relief spending package

Aug. 17—pandemic, covid, relief, housing,

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson has issued vetoes related to several projects in the city's federal relief spending package approved by the Assembly last week, including a veto of more than $11.8 million that members directed to the Rasmuson Foundation for purchasing low-income and supportive housing units.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bronson issued vetoes of 10 of the funding items in the Assembly's package of more than 65 projects. The Assembly passed the spending package last week in a supermajority vote, directing $51 million in federal relief to projects that prioritized long-term efforts to support housing, children and families, economic development and workforce development. It was the city's second and final round of federal COVID-19 relief dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Assembly needs a supermajority of eight votes to override a veto. Because the vetoed items were passed with eight or more votes, it is likely that the Assembly will override many or all of Bronson's vetoes.

At last week's meeting, Assembly members identified the Aptel Studio Hotel in North Anchorage as the likely building for purchase and conversion into low-income and supportive housing units.

Bronson opposed the spending at last week's meeting, saying he would rather use the money to pay fuel costs for city vehicles. Several of the city's departments have already exceeded fuel budgets for the year due to record-high gas and diesel prices. In Tuesday's veto, he said that the hotel has not undergone a due diligence process and said that the proposed purchase has not been vetted by an independent third party, stipulations he said the Assembly and administration had agreed to follow during a facilitated negotiation on homelessness plans. That negotiation process broke down in June.

"Additionally, having a 3rd party non-profit manage these taxpayer funds is a policy the Administration does not support," Bronson said in the veto.

By giving the $11.8 million directly to Rasmuson for the organization to coordinate the project, the Assembly cut the Bronson administration out of the deal. The Rasmuson Foundation will help facilitate the purchase by a selected third-party owner and an operator if the low-income housing project moves forward.

Assembly member Felix Rivera, chair of the Committee on Housing and Homelessness, said the foundation needs the money to begin a due diligence process on the Aptel or other possible properties and begin negotiations.

"It's fairly astounding to me," Rivera said of Bronson's vetoes. "The mayor continues to talk about homelessness and to state it as a priority, but I think the city needs a mayor that isn't just going to talk about homelessness, but is actually going to take action, positive action."

The tug-of-war over the federal funds comes as city officials are scrambling to stand up more shelter and housing before the onset of cold weather. An estimated 350 people live unsheltered in Anchorage, and shelter and housing programs are largely full. Walk-in, low-barrier shelter no longer exists — the only option is camping outdoors at Centennial Park Campground, where Bronson's administration directed and bused homeless people as it shut down the city's mass shelter at Sullivan Arena in June. About another 200 people who are homeless are staying at the Aviator Hotel in downtown, but funding for those rooms is slated to end after September.

[Efforts to help residents at Centennial Campground muddied by city's refusal to call it a homeless response]

Other vetoed items impact homelessness efforts. Bronson nixed $400,000 the Assembly had earmarked for Henning Inc. to provide transitional housing supportive services for people at the Aviator.

"The municipality has already funded this cause, through the Anchorage Health Department, to the tune of $2.8 million through September," he said in the veto.

He also vetoed $400,000 that had been directed to the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness for a housing transition coordinator and funding to help clients navigate barriers to housing, such as transportation, fees for ID cards, birth certificates and rental applications. Bronson referred to a recent Assembly package for homelessness relief that directed $1.7 million to the coalition.

"... Tremendous resources have been dedicated to addressing the homelessness problem in our city," he said in the veto. "The Administration has identified critical need for the use of these dollars to repair the Sullivan Arena, offset higher than expected fuel costs for multiple departments, and complete health & safety repairs on Municipal properties."

Other vetoes, among a few more, included $1.2 million to the Alaska Black Caucus for renovations and the creation of an equity center; $771,091 for improvements at South Potter Marsh; and $300,000 to Identity Inc. to increase staffing and expand Identity Health Clinic, which serves LGBTQ residents.