Anchorage Assembly Public Health and Safety Committee Update - August 6, 2025
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Anchorage Assembly Public Health and Safety Committee Update - August 6, 2025
The committee received updates from the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the Anchorage Health Department, and the Anchorage Police Department on ongoing programs, facility improvements, and new technology contracts. No formal votes were taken, but several upcoming actions were outlined, including a behavioral health RFP, a food code ordinance, and a proposed Axon contract for police technology.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jamie Lopez (East Anchorage): Commented on a recent task force meeting, noting attendance drop-off. Expressed concern about data retention policies for police technology, potential contractor backdoor access, and the risk of mission creep into pre-crime uses of AI. Suggested adding an outreach/risk mitigation component between public safety and fire, particularly regarding Chester Creek abatement.
Discussion Items
Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Update
- Alert and warning updates: OEM reported a busy July, including high wildfire danger (early July) and two significant earthquakes (July 16: 7.3 near Sand Point; July 29: 8.8 on Kamchatka Peninsula) that triggered tsunami warnings. Anchorage was not in danger, but some residents received wireless alerts due to cell tower overlaps. OEM used its RAVE text/email system (37,104 opt-in users) to communicate. Encouraged residents to text "Anchorage" to 67283 to register.
- Stakeholder review: OEM is conducting a phased review of the Municipal Emergency Management Program through October 2025. July focused on the comprehensive emergency operations plan; August will cover all-hazard mitigation, prevention, risk analysis, training, and public education.
- Emergency Management Awareness Month: August 2025 is the inaugural Emergency Management Awareness Month, sponsored by the International Association of Emergency Management. OEM noted that emergency management is becoming more response-oriented (previously 95% prep/5% response) and that disaster frequency in Alaska has increased from once every 90 days to more than once a month.
- Question from Chair: The chair asked about overlapping alerts causing public confusion. OEM responded that they consider overwarning not a failure, but are working with the National Tsunami Warning Center on a fix. The chair expressed concern about public trust in the system.
Anchorage Health Department Update
- Golden Lion Facility (1000 E 36th Ave):
- History: Sale of ML&P to Chugach Electric in 2020 required $15M toward the Alaska Center for Treatment. The facility currently houses transitional housing (84 units) operated by Henning Inc. under a month-to-month lease (rent $800/month, deposit $250). Zero vacancies, ~6-month waitlist. Henning provides 24-hour security, no-smoking, pet-free, alcohol/substance-free environment.
- Current updates: ADA exterior improvements began August 5, expected completion August 22. Construction documents submitted. MO is finalizing ITB for second-floor renovation (treatment rooms, offices, restrooms), first/second floor public restroom ADA upgrades, third-floor staff rooms, new HVAC, fire alarm system. Award recommendation expected at September 10 or October 7 Assembly meeting.
- Behavioral health RFP: AHD will issue RFP in next few weeks for a community behavioral health provider to develop outpatient substance use disorder treatment and recovery supports at the facility and other locations (low-barrier shelters, Safety Center, mobile teams). RFP timeline: 4-6 weeks out, award recommendation by end of 2025. The plan meets settlement document requirements.
- Discussion: Members clarified that the 84 units are transitional housing, not residential treatment. Outpatient treatment services will be layered on, and residents can access them. There is no plan to convert units to inpatient treatment. The chair noted the successful housing model currently costs no taxpayer money. Member Brawley expressed support for the plan.
- Food Code Changes (AMC 16.60):
- Purpose: Align with state statute (HB 251, effective September 2024) exempting certain homemade foods from permitting/inspection. Repeals municipal cottage food license for non-potentially hazardous homemade foods sold directly to consumers at approved venues (farmers markets, fairs, roadside stands, homes). Requires labeling (producer name, address, phone, business license, ingredients, allergen/inspection advisory). Signage required. Enforcement becomes complaint-based for homemade foods.
- Mobile food unit updates: Clarifies equipment must be stored securely within the unit, replaces fixed 200-ft toilet access with "conveniently located" standard, prohibits chemically treated towelettes for hand washing (aligns with FDA), reinforces hand-washing stations with warm water. Requires visible business name and permit number.
- Member Silvers asked about seasonal food permits (e.g., Alaska Baseball League snack shacks running longer than 3 days). Health Department agreed to look into it. Member Brawley expressed excitement about the ordinance.
- Timeline: Ordinance expected to be introduced at end of August, requiring two meetings.
Anchorage Police Department Technology Update (Chief Case)
- Current technology contracts: APD has existing Axon contracts for dash cameras (3 years remaining), body-worn cameras (3 years), interview room cameras (3 years), and video analysis software (2 licenses, expired). Tasers have been purchased a la carte (no contract) for ~$50,000-$100,000 annually, but the current X2 model is discontinued and parts are no longer available. New academy class has no tasers.
- Proposed new Axon contract (5-year): Resets all contracts; includes tasers (Taser 10 model), unlimited video analysis licenses, free data migration ($200,000 value), two body-worn camera refreshes (cell-enabled, with instant language interpretation for 250+ languages), one dash camera refresh, one taser refresh, two virtual reality training systems (for de-escalation and taser training, saving $250,000 grant), FUCSIS real-time crime center software, three free roof-mounted drones (with hive capability), drone detection technology, and free license plate readers.
- Taser 10: Effective range 1–45 feet (vs. X2's 20–22% effectiveness). Velocity improvement for better clothing penetration. New cartridge being tested for thick clothing (Alaska-specific).
- Real-time crime center (FUCSIS): Integrates video feeds from business/ring cameras, dash-cam, body-cam, dispatch. Provides real-time information to officers. Studies cited: Hartford, CT (442% more cases solved); Miami (long-term success). APD will not use predictive policing tools. Will have human monitors who verify data.
- Drones: Roof-mounted, launch in ~30 seconds, can respond to 911 calls with cell location. Used recently at Ben Boeke incident with thermal imaging; prevented potential use of deadly force.
- License plate readers: Use primarily for immediate crime response (not long-term data collection). Retention period short; policy and code will govern use.
- Costs: Current annual costs ~$514,000 (tasers, licenses, data migration). New contract costs ~$800,000 for upgrades. Chief stated APD will not request budget increase; contract will come to Assembly for approval.
- Questions: Member Brawley asked about data security and sharing agreements. Chief responded that data is owned by MOA, stored on FedRamp-certified systems, and not shared without specific case permission. Member Baldwin Day raised privacy concerns ("Minority Report"). Chief emphasized policy and code safeguards, warrant requirements for drone use over private property, and commitment to transparency through public demos and social media.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes taken during the meeting.
- Next steps:
- OEM: Continue emergency plan updates through October 2025; promote Emergency Management Awareness Month.
- Health Department: Finalize and issue RFP for behavioral health provider within weeks; bring food code ordinance to Assembly for first reading by end of August (second reading in September).
- Police Department: Prepare Axon contract for Assembly consideration; continue community education on drone and license plate reader policies.
Meeting Transcript
Update in line with the mayor's public safety and set and public health and safety strategy, including overall improvements and emerging threats. Three items for today are alert and warning updates. We've had a busy July our stakeholder review of the municipality of Anchorage Emergency Management Program, and then as well our inaugural August 2025 Emergency Management Awareness Month. So beginning with alert and warning, we're continuously monitoring and communicating risk to partners and the public in supportive responding teams. This is a very traditional role for emergency management. We communicate risk, protective actions aligned with subject matter experts because we know that statistically, if you give people timely and accurate information, they will take positive actions to protect themselves and others for life safety, property protection, and environmental safety. As I said, we've had a busy month this July, beginning in early July with high and very high wildfire danger. Through the 4th of July and Forest Fair, we worked to support Anchorage Fire Department, Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department, and the State of Alaska Division of Forestry, mostly through amplification of activities by response teams and prevention activities. Several behind the scenes messages, phone calls, and texts were made to make sure we were redundant and synchronous throughout that event. For this event series, we elected social media to work with the public primarily. In late July, we had two significant earthquakes resulting in tsunami warnings for Alaska. There is now a scientifically confirmed rare but real risk of tsunami in the municipality of Anchorage, which threatens a few low-lying areas near waterways and infrastructure. These two large earthquakes did not present a risk for the municipality of Anchorage. I say again, Anchorage was never in danger from these tsunamis. Subsequently, OEM worked to convey this to the community as needed through local, state, and federal partners at the state emergency operations center, Anchorage Weather Forecast Office, and the National Tsunami Warning Center within a broader warning system, including phone calls and texts as well internally. More specifically on July the 16th, a 7.3 earthquake at Sand Point triggered a tsunami warning for Homer and other Kenai Peninsula borough towns and neighboring jurisdictions. Since they were warned via wireless emergency alerts, some people in Anchorage received a wireless emergency alert because of communication tower overlaps. OEM worked publicly through social media and our RAVE text and email messaging system to our 37,104 opt-in users. This is our primary system for notification alert and warning, which also integrates with the national system. This is called IPAS, which stands for the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. We encourage all municipality of Anchorage residents and visitors to register by texting the word Anchorage to the number 67283. On July 29th, there was an 8.8 earthquake on the Kemchatka Peninsula in Russia. This triggered a second tsunami warning for many countries across the Pacific and Western coastal states. The OEM was monitoring closely and communicated with the state of Alaska Emergency Operations Center. We were not in danger. Neighboring jurisdictions did not receive the wireless emergency alert this time. So subsequently, we did not receive any messages due to overlap that time. Both instances presented opportunities to communicate with partners and the public, so we were happy to participate. What does stakeholder improvement involvement look like? The project team includes local government, emergency services, subject matter experts, and community organizations, including the Anchorage Local Emergency Planning Committee, also known as the LEPC. It ensures a well-rounded whole community approach. The project will be carried out in phases through October 2025. And it concludes systematic updates to ensure progress. For the July kickoff on July 23rd, we focused on incident management planning, mostly looking at the comprehensive emergency operation plan. Five of the seven excerpts of this plan are brand new. Revisions include base plan revisions and a recovery annex revision. And then all new elements, including agricultural natural resources, critical infrastructure and key resources, food, water, and commodities distribution, and volunteer management. And lastly, just documenting procedures of our incident action planning process at the emergency operations center. August updates will move into the mission area of all hazard mitigation and prevention, risk and consequence analysis, mitigation project priorities, prevention process, and overall training program updates, exercise evaluation, and corrective action monitoring. Of course, as well, we are updating our ever-present public education and information management process and procedures. Last, we will share about the inaugural August 2025 Emergency Management Awareness Month. This planned event is sponsored by the International Association of Emergency Management. The purpose of the event is to recognize the emergency management profession for what it is and to tell our story. Compared to my public health and safety partners, this contemporary profession, as we know it is young and not yet 100 years old, as we mostly stem from the greatest generation post-World War II era of civil defense. Post-9-11, I began this work helping local emergency operations centers with responding and recovering from large storms and pulling ice and water coolers for teams supporting bomb squads and making signs for domestic security task forces. Back then we used to say emergency management was 95% preparation and 5% response. Times have changed to meet the needs and expectations of our community. We are now responding as emergency managers early and often. 15 years ago, Alaska had a disaster every 90 days. Now we track, now we are tracking a frequency at greater than once a month across the state of Alaska.
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