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Record of Proceedings

Anchorage Assembly Policy Committee Meeting Summary (Dec 12, 2025)

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Friday, December 12, 2025

BodyAnchorage, Alaska

SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings

DateFriday, December 12, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 45:37

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Today is Friday, December 12th.

0:02

It's 105 p.m.

0:04

We're on the record from one to two.

0:06

We're here to discuss the funding program for the transportation improvement program, the tip.

0:11

We'll start with introductions.

0:12

Mr.

0:12

Johnson.

0:13

Zach Johnson.

0:14

Jared Gerker.

0:15

Scott Meyer.

0:16

Daniel Volant.

0:17

Anna Brawley.

0:18

Christopher Constant on the phone.

0:19

We have Ms.

0:20

Baldwin Day.

0:22

Yes, sir.

0:24

Anyone else on the phone?

0:26

From the assembly.

0:28

Okay, we'll go ahead and welcome Mr.

0:30

Young Allen.

0:32

Hello, everybody.

0:33

I'm Aaron Young and Alan.

0:34

I'm the executive director and PO coordinator for AMATS, the Anchorage MPO.

0:38

I do want to apologize.

0:39

I'm still getting over my cold.

0:41

So if I'm coughing or sneezing a little bit, just bear with me.

0:45

So we are going to be talking about the 27 through 30 funding program today, and a little just kind of general information about the AMATS funding program.

0:55

Next slide, please.

0:57

Just as kind of a reminder, there's some core functions that AMATS is responsible for.

1:00

We have our transportation plan, which is our 20-year vision long range plan.

1:04

We have our funding program, which is our four-year program.

1:07

And then we have our work program, which is our two-year what staff is doing.

1:11

Today we're going to be focusing on the funding program.

1:13

Next slide, please.

1:16

Okay, just to give you guys some info on projects on the funding program.

1:19

We have some constraints that we uh or some things I just want to make sure you're aware of before we begin too further into it.

1:25

So it's a mixture of state, federal, and local funds uh for projects that are funded in there.

1:31

And we'll talk more about that funding later.

1:33

One of the key requirements is all projects in our funding program must be consistent in alignment with our transportation plan.

1:40

So it's a pretty big limitation for us.

1:42

Our funding program must be fiscally constrained, which we'll get into what that means.

1:46

And then we have air quality requirements, uh mostly in the Eagle River area.

1:51

Uh next slide, please.

1:53

Fiscal constraint and what does it mean?

1:55

So best thing is just fiscal constraint requires that revenues and transportation planning and programming are identified and are reasonably expected to be available to implement the plans.

2:05

Basically, you have to demonstrate that you have enough money to implement what you're putting into your program.

2:10

So you can't have a $2 billion size program if you don't have $2 billion worth of funding to actually implement it.

2:17

It's a budget control measure, basically, that they put in there.

2:20

So what we normally do is we say, here's how much money we are expected to receive over the years with inflation uh factored in, and then we use that to help uh constrain what projects go into our program.

2:33

Next slide, please.

2:35

So looking at the 27 through 30 program, uh there are four different types of funding or pots of funding that I wanted to talk to you about.

2:43

Uh the AMATs pot of funding.

2:44

So this is money that goes directly to AMATS to be put towards projects.

2:48

There's about 50 million a year for a total of a little over 200 million dollars for transportation projects, goes towards complete streets projects, active transportation projects, plans and studies, pavement replacement, and transit capital.

3:00

It's important to recognize we can't put it toward transit operating, it can only go towards transit capital.

3:06

So bus buying and um bus stop improvements or other things like you know, a downtown transit center.

3:14

Uh then there is DOT and PF funding.

3:17

So this is funding that goes directly to the state of Alaska and Department of Transportation is specifically uh in control of this.

3:24

This is table seven to eight, and it's about 145 million a year, uh roughly a little over 573 for the transportation projects.

3:32

And this goes towards the highway safety improvement program, HSIP, so safety specific projects, and then the national highway system project.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Transportation Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████67%

Public Engagement██████████████21%

Public Safety████6%

Engineering And Infrastructure██3%

Procedural██3%

Summary of Proceedings

Anchorage Assembly Policy Committee Meeting Summary (Dec 12, 2025)

The Anchorage Assembly Policy Committee convened on December 12, 2025, to review the 2027-2030 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and receive presentation from Aaron Young, Executive Director of AMATS (Anchorage MPO). The meeting covered funding allocation mechanics, the shift in project nomination processes, and the interplay between federal guidelines and local priorities. Significant deliberation focused on the Ingrid Gamble/Ingram highway project delays and the feasibility of right-of-way inventory surveys.

Consent Calendar

Routine administrative approvals and staff-level changes to the funding program were discussed as part of the standard operating procedures, though no specific consent items were formally voted upon in the transcript.

Public Comments & Testimony

Ms. Brawley expressed strong concern regarding the lack of a public process for Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) projects, citing the "Cheese Grader" project as an example where there was "little to no public process." She stated her position that the policy committee should have authority over HSIP and National Highway System (NHS) projects, not just DOT's unilateral preferences.
Mr. Volant expressed deep frustration and a sense of failure regarding the 15-year delay on the Ingrid Gamble/Ingram highway project, describing the current state of pedestrians and wheelchairs sharing lanes with heavy trucks as a "shame." He argued that the bureaucratic mechanism appears established to give the state cover to resist change.
Mr. Constant expressed a clear preference for AMATS funding for Eagle River projects, noting his previous incorrect belief that AMATS could not fund projects in that area, and urged Eagle River members to review this possibility.
Mr. Johnson (Chair) expressed support for the Assembly's need to be more assertive regarding community priorities, specifically regarding couplet studies and right-of-way inventory, and suggested that an uncodified ordinance could be a tool if the municipality resists legal obligations.

Discussion Items

Funding Structure and Constraints: Mr. Young (AMATS) explained the four funding pots: AMATS direct control (~$200M), DOT/PF funding (~$573M), Transit funding (~$100M), and Other funding (grants/earmarks). He emphasized that all projects must be fiscally constrained and consistent with the 20-year Transportation Plan (MTP).
Nomination Process Shift: Staff clarified a procedural change where separate calls for funding program nominations are eliminated. Future project nominations will only occur for the Transportation Plan (MTP), which is then used to populate the TIP, aiming to reduce the burden on the public.
Ingrid Gamble/Ingram Project Status: Discussion revealed that the Preliminary Engineering Level (PEL) study is ongoing but has removed the causeway option over Chester Creek. Members noted that a 2013 proposal for a lane reduction is now facing new analysis barriers due to a 2023 DOT directive, effectively delaying progress.
Right-of-Way Inventory: A proposal was discussed to create an ArcGIS map of right-of-way and easements to mitigate property conflicts. Staff noted past reluctance from the Planning Department due to property owner concerns. The Assembly discussed whether they could mandate this effort despite municipal resistance.
Assembly Resolutions: It was agreed that the Clerk would coordinate the collection of suggested changes from Assembly members to submit to AMATS as an Amendment Request (ARAM) for the upcoming TIP, ensuring the record reflects the collective body's input.

Key Outcomes

Process Change Accepted: The transition to a single nomination cycle for the Transportation Plan (MTP) was accepted and clarified for the future 4-year cycle (potentially extending to an 8-year nomination window for better visibility).
Resolution Strategy: The Assembly agreed to coordinate changes for the TIP Amendment 4 and the 2027-2030 TIP via the Clerk to ensure a unified record of recommendations for the AMATS Policy Committee.
Informational Clarification: It was confirmed that AMATS funding can be applied to any eligible road within the boundary (including Eagle River), provided it does not exceed the program's fiscal constraints.
No Vote on Project Rejection: No decision was made to reject the Ingrid Gamble PEL alternatives; members noted the process is still underway but expressed intent to potentially bring a resolution forward later.

Meeting Transcript

Today is Friday, December 12th. It's 105 p.m. We're on the record from one to two. We're here to discuss the funding program for the transportation improvement program, the tip. We'll start with introductions. Mr. Johnson. Zach Johnson. Jared Gerker. Scott Meyer. Daniel Volant. Anna Brawley. Christopher Constant on the phone. We have Ms. Baldwin Day. Yes, sir. Anyone else on the phone? From the assembly. Okay, we'll go ahead and welcome Mr. Young Allen. Hello, everybody. I'm Aaron Young and Alan. I'm the executive director and PO coordinator for AMATS, the Anchorage MPO. I do want to apologize. I'm still getting over my cold. So if I'm coughing or sneezing a little bit, just bear with me. So we are going to be talking about the 27 through 30 funding program today, and a little just kind of general information about the AMATS funding program. Next slide, please. Just as kind of a reminder, there's some core functions that AMATS is responsible for. We have our transportation plan, which is our 20-year vision long range plan. We have our funding program, which is our four-year program. And then we have our work program, which is our two-year what staff is doing. Today we're going to be focusing on the funding program. Next slide, please. Okay, just to give you guys some info on projects on the funding program. We have some constraints that we uh or some things I just want to make sure you're aware of before we begin too further into it. So it's a mixture of state, federal, and local funds uh for projects that are funded in there. And we'll talk more about that funding later. One of the key requirements is all projects in our funding program must be consistent in alignment with our transportation plan. So it's a pretty big limitation for us. Our funding program must be fiscally constrained, which we'll get into what that means. And then we have air quality requirements, uh mostly in the Eagle River area. Uh next slide, please. Fiscal constraint and what does it mean? So best thing is just fiscal constraint requires that revenues and transportation planning and programming are identified and are reasonably expected to be available to implement the plans. Basically, you have to demonstrate that you have enough money to implement what you're putting into your program. So you can't have a $2 billion size program if you don't have $2 billion worth of funding to actually implement it. It's a budget control measure, basically, that they put in there. So what we normally do is we say, here's how much money we are expected to receive over the years with inflation uh factored in, and then we use that to help uh constrain what projects go into our program. Next slide, please.

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