OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Anchorage Assembly Rules Committee Meeting: July 9, 2026

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Thursday, July 9, 2026
BodyAnchorage, Alaska
SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings
DateThursday, July 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:08:00
Transcript — Verbatim
2:05

Okay, I'm gonna call this meeting of the Assembly Rules Committee to order.

2:10

I will be chairing this meeting in Chair Brawley's absence.

2:16

She's currently out of state.

2:17

And so we will first do introductions.

2:20

I am Daniel Boland.

2:24

Silvers.

2:26

On the phone, we have Mr.

2:27

Johnson.

2:28

Are you there, Zach?

2:31

I'm here.

2:31

I'm here.

2:32

Great.

2:33

And then uh Mr.

2:34

Handeland, I think you're there as well.

2:35

I think Mr.

2:36

Handel and Mr.

2:37

Gerker are on the phone together.

2:40

Yes, that is correct.

2:42

There's a just real quick, a terrible accident on the highway.

2:46

So we are obviously remote phoning in from Eagle River, but our thoughts and prayers are out of the family.

2:51

Yeah, thank you.

2:52

And appreciate you you guys calling in.

2:54

Um we are also joined by Member Baldwin Day, who just walked in.

2:58

Thanks for being here, Aaron.

3:00

Um, and then we have some Assembly Council folks with us if you'd like to introduce yourselves.

3:13

And Zach, did you want to quick?

3:16

Okay, we also have our legislative services team um at the uh dais with us, and then uh a little bit later in the meeting, we're gonna hear from our former youth rep, so they're seated up here too.

3:26

Um first item of business is employee of the quarter.

3:33

Can I get a little drum roll?

3:37

Thank you.

3:58

Introducing new graphics, bus advertisements, social media content, and even a Spotify advertising campaign, which I had no idea until I read this.

4:07

That's pretty cool.

4:08

An innovative idea she had and brought to life.

4:11

Beyond her communications work, she has been an outstanding partner to our elections team.

4:16

Taking the time to understand their needs and helping ensure their forms and materials work effectively for the people who use them.

4:53

Um our legislative employees of quarter get to build their own trophy.

4:56

She gets a mug and some pins and then a certificate.

5:00

So Krista, when you watch this meeting back in all of your spare time, congratulations.

5:05

Okay, moving on.

5:09

Our next item is we have our reports from the assembly chair and the mayor.

5:13

I have nothing to report.

5:15

I think we do have the deputy chief of staff Ms.

5:19

Nora Morse coming forward.

5:21

Great.

5:26

Okay, Nora, thanks for joining us.

5:29

Take it away awesome.

5:32

Hi thank you from Chair Nora Morse, Deputy Chief of Staff here stuck with me today because Suzanne Fleet Green is out of the country visiting her daughter doing the peace corps.

5:43

I just have a couple things and this is my first time reporting to the rules committee so you have a questions or anything I missed let me know.

5:51

Obviously I hope you all heard but really exciting news about the port settlement.

5:55

I know the municipal attorney is here so she can go into details if you all want but um a total of 1910 dollars coming to the port from the mayor ad settlement.

6:05

It was a huge team effort um between the mayor of the municipal attorney's office the governor's office um the federal delegation really all driving the bus in one direction it took multiple administrations and assemblies and mayors um so really huge lift really glad to have this done um and to move forward on the port and to get almost 200 million dollars um to help all Alaskans um we can keep you updated too on like the progress of the funds and all that stuff if that's of interest to the assembly uh sticking with the port we now know officially piles will begin to drive on July 18th um we're very excited about that there's been a lot of construction already done on terminal one um but also for your constituents that is when we've been talking about the um impacts so they will really start to hear feel the sound of progress it's all very exciting um and that construction should go through September October depending on the ice coming in so very exciting um second or third we just have I want a couple events I want to flag for people we are very close to doing a big timber teardown which is also very exciting we will let people know when that is but um we anticipate that to happen soon and we will um be very excited about that as well very can we do the opposite of a groundbreaking where we bring sledgehammers instead of yeah I my only true desire is to play it's going down by Kesha on repeat um but that's a personal everyone does but I know it's going down on Yellow and Timber is just too perfect.

7:48

So that's my goal.

7:49

I also want to flag two other fun things that are happening.

7:52

We have two Beyond the beige events happening soon on August 1st we're doing the ribbon cutting for the Beyond the age bike racks um in Muldoon which is really exciting it was the Northeast community council who got the grant and the bike racks are animal themed and very cute and fun.

8:06

So I hope you all can join us for that and then it's from five to seven and then we will soon see Crystal Worlds Beyond the beige mural on the McKinley building she is starting her prep work now and we should see the installations going up the week of the 13th which is next week hopefully to be complete by the 18th.

8:28

So we'll also have a fun probably like ribbon cutting type thing not sledjamers um for that as well and then lastly I think um the administration is probably going to reach out to assembly leadership here soon.

8:42

I think we would love to establish a better or more formal umite process for the administration and staff to come to things like work sessions, committee meetings um and assembly meetings just to make sure we know who should be there what they should be prepared for um etc so that we are maximizing everyone's time and making sure that um the correct people are ready and prepared so I think just having some type of conversation about those expectations would be really helpful um particularly for long assembly meetings too to make sure we don't have people unnecessarily staying at a meeting until 10 o'clock or so if they're not needed for assembly questions but we can dive into that further okay any other questions for Nora and I'm I will note for the record that um member Perez for Dia actually burn rules so I'm gonna use first names Cameron and Zach joined us in person at about 10.

9:40

Questions for Nora anyone I'm open to more Spotify playlist ideas great perfect the big big timber spotify playlist get Krista on that stat.

10:02

Um, I don't really think I have anything to report.

10:04

We're just chugging along in the clerk's office with the usual.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████29%
Youth Programs██████████████████████████26%
Procedural█████████████13%
Homelessness████████8%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Pending Litigation████4%
Affordable Housing███3%
Public Safety███3%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Anchorage Assembly Rules Committee Meeting: July 9, 2026

The Assembly Rules Committee met on July 9, 2026, with Vice Chair Daniel Boland presiding in Chair Brawley's absence. The meeting covered reports from administration, council, legislative services, and the ombudsman, followed by a detailed proposal from former youth representatives for a 2027 Youth Summit, and member updates on upcoming legislation and initiatives.

Consent Calendar

  • No consent calendar items were discussed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jamie Lopez, identifying as formerly homeless, criticized the city's homeless response, saying last year's "Great Homeless Summit of 2025" had almost no homeless participants. He expressed disappointment that the summit was not held this year, and argued that the "10,000 homes in 10 years" plan is not building homes fast enough while displacement continues. He also criticized the proposed public safety commission as "gutted" with no real investigative authority. He praised the youth summit proposal and suggested contacting the UAA chancellor to offset costs.

Discussion Items

  • Employee of the Quarter: Krista was recognized for her communications work, including bus advertisements, social media, Spotify campaigns, and election support. She received a mug, pins, certificate, and the opportunity to build her own trophy.
  • Reports from Assembly Chair & Mayor (Nora Morse, Deputy Chief of Staff):
    • Reported a port settlement of "1910 dollars" (likely a transcription error; also described as "almost 200 million dollars") from the mayor ad settlement, with pile driving to begin July 18th.
    • Announced upcoming Big Timber teardown (sledgehammer event suggested), and two "Beyond the Beige" events: August 1st bike rack ribbon cutting in Muldoon and mural installation on the McKinley building by July 18th.
    • Requested a more formal process for administration and staff attendance at assembly meetings to avoid unnecessary late stays.
  • Assembly Council Report (Dean): Noted heavy workload due to new member requests for drafting and advice; asked for patience and suggested members also use the Department of Law.
  • Legislative Services Report: Promoted "Deep Dives" via Civic Anchorage, completed a 50th anniversary anthology booklet, worked with youth rep interns, and sought a UAA intern for the fall.
  • Ombudsman Report (Drew Ford):
    • Shared annual report priorities and invited assembly input on content. Provided year-to-date statistics: 144 cases closed, 198 contacts, 350 referrals; police department cases down 7%, non-department specific cases doubled. Currently 11 open cases.
    • Highlighted deferred maintenance needs at Anchorage Cemetery: out of space, fencing falling down, stairs deteriorating, over 100 markers awaiting installation, and a columbarium in disrepair. Member Baldwin Day asked about specific funding needs; Drew had no dollar figure but stressed the urgent need.
    • Cameron discussed using ombudsman data to gauge public sentiment and connect with public safety commission work.
  • New Business: 2027 Youth Summit Proposal:
    • Former youth reps Gwyneth (East High, heading to Utah), Jacob (West High, heading to Colorado), and Kennedy (Chukiak High, via phone) presented a proposal for a spring 2027 summit at UAA (Lucy Cuddy Hall and classrooms).
    • Goals: increase youth participation in local government, identify community issues, connect youth with resources, and create youth social networks.
    • Schedule: morning classes on local politics, history of youth involvement, leadership and public speaking; afternoon block schedule with topics (environment, mental health, infrastructure) including guest speakers; mock assembly testimony session at end.
    • Estimated costs: three classrooms ($990), Lucy Cuddy Hall ($880), catering alternative ($800), plus swag, decorations, travel.
    • Promotional ideas: social media, youth groups, high school civics classes; advised against surveys based on past ineffectiveness.
    • Suggested guest speakers: Kwana Chasing Horse (environment), Krista Schuly (mental health), local officials for infrastructure.
    • Assembly members responded: Cameron suggested producing a shareable output; Aaron proposed integrating with Model UN-style ordinance drafting; Yarrow wanted feedback mechanisms from youth. The youth reps expressed openness to expansion in future iterations.
  • Assembly Member Updates on Pending Business:
    • Janice: Working on a resolution honoring Eklutna youth building a cultural center.
    • Erin: Working on CDBG reallocation for mobile home park relocation fund and resident-owned communities; streamlining commercial-to-SRO conversions; continuing missing middle housing work with listening sessions.
    • Cameron: Finalizing public safety commission ordinance; working on licensing for massage parlors and increased penalties for solicitation ("buyer's remorse"); interested in housing type terminology.
    • Handeland (by phone): Ordinance to formalize CASA advisory board with prescribed seats and removal of signed agreement requirement; exploring an advisory vote on automated traffic enforcement (red light, speed, noise).

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken during this committee meeting; discussions were informational and preparatory.
  • Next Steps: The youth summit proposal will be considered further; members were encouraged to provide input to the ombudsman on annual report content; assembly members to follow up on their individual projects (Erin's housing initiatives, Cameron's public safety commission, Handeland's CASA board and traffic enforcement advisory vote).
  • Public Comment: No direct action was taken on Mr. Lopez's comments; they were received into the record.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I'm gonna call this meeting of the Assembly Rules Committee to order. I will be chairing this meeting in Chair Brawley's absence. She's currently out of state. And so we will first do introductions. I am Daniel Boland. Silvers. On the phone, we have Mr. Johnson. Are you there, Zach? I'm here. I'm here. Great. And then uh Mr. Handeland, I think you're there as well. I think Mr. Handel and Mr. Gerker are on the phone together. Yes, that is correct. There's a just real quick, a terrible accident on the highway. So we are obviously remote phoning in from Eagle River, but our thoughts and prayers are out of the family. Yeah, thank you. And appreciate you you guys calling in. Um we are also joined by Member Baldwin Day, who just walked in. Thanks for being here, Aaron. Um, and then we have some Assembly Council folks with us if you'd like to introduce yourselves. And Zach, did you want to quick? Okay, we also have our legislative services team um at the uh dais with us, and then uh a little bit later in the meeting, we're gonna hear from our former youth rep, so they're seated up here too. Um first item of business is employee of the quarter. Can I get a little drum roll? Thank you. Introducing new graphics, bus advertisements, social media content, and even a Spotify advertising campaign, which I had no idea until I read this. That's pretty cool. An innovative idea she had and brought to life. Beyond her communications work, she has been an outstanding partner to our elections team. Taking the time to understand their needs and helping ensure their forms and materials work effectively for the people who use them. Um our legislative employees of quarter get to build their own trophy. She gets a mug and some pins and then a certificate. So Krista, when you watch this meeting back in all of your spare time, congratulations. Okay, moving on. Our next item is we have our reports from the assembly chair and the mayor. I have nothing to report. I think we do have the deputy chief of staff Ms. Nora Morse coming forward. Great. Okay, Nora, thanks for joining us. Take it away awesome. Hi thank you from Chair Nora Morse, Deputy Chief of Staff here stuck with me today because Suzanne Fleet Green is out of the country visiting her daughter doing the peace corps. I just have a couple things and this is my first time reporting to the rules committee so you have a questions or anything I missed let me know. Obviously I hope you all heard but really exciting news about the port settlement. I know the municipal attorney is here so she can go into details if you all want but um a total of 1910 dollars coming to the port from the mayor ad settlement.

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