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Record of Proceedings

Anchorage Military and Veterans Affairs Commission Meeting - September 14, 2026

Assembly & Committee Meetings — Monday, September 14, 2026
BodyAnchorage, Alaska
SessionAssembly & Committee Meetings
DateMonday, September 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:42

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:01

For which it stands under God.

0:07

It doesn't core off.

0:15

There he is.

0:47

Okay.

0:52

All right.

0:52

So we go and do roll call.

0:58

Sure.

0:58

Let's go ahead and do roll call.

1:01

David Foley.

1:03

Eleanor Lawson?

1:05

Rob Real, I'm here.

1:06

Al Mrs.

1:07

Elspot, maybe.

1:08

I'm all Alcoala.

1:10

He's out of state.

1:11

Absent.

1:12

Olivia Freeman.

1:13

Here's Robert Sherell.

1:17

So we do have five members present.

1:21

Start the meeting.

1:23

All right.

1:25

All right.

1:26

Um last minute meetings, last meeting minutes.

1:31

And everybody have a chance to go over them.

1:34

Does that anybody have any problems with them?

1:38

Motion approval in the minutes.

1:41

Yeah, a second.

1:43

All right.

1:44

And we have a first and second, and no things over under unanimous consent.

1:54

No question.

1:59

All right.

2:00

The agenda.

2:01

Does anybody have a chance to go over the agenda sent out?

2:05

Does anybody have any problems?

2:11

I have a couple comments.

2:14

Under the uh attendance roster.

2:17

We've been listening to Diana as a uh at that in that group there.

2:22

And she's actually uh a member, she's a uh representative of the unity.

2:27

Yeah, so my thinking is this should be done with representative advisors down at area down there, so up there.

2:36

And uh last and uh I thought uh Isaac Melvin, the second lieutenant was gonna be uh representative on the board uh with people was that just one-time meeting last month, do you know?

2:54

Or we invited him and uh but he's out of state for a couple weeks and be out, he's gonna be gone for a little bit, and then he's coming back, and he never said whether he'd be able to commit to coming all the time or not.

3:10

So he's uh if he intends yeah, okay, and the last thing I have I had a little confusion on myself, but in our email you help me out there.

3:25

The there is no Air Force Well, there used to be an Air Force Association, but now it's the Air Air Force Space Command Association.

3:37

Uh so technically there is no Air Force Air Force Association.

3:42

I don't I did some research on that.

3:44

Uh the Alaska Air Airman Association is the one at the uh at the airport with the uh Lake Hood, that area in there, that's the Alaska Air Airmen Association.

3:58

So I'm kind of confused at the technology at the technical name.

4:03

Um I've got a I've got an email string from them where they were going back and forth.

4:11

They both refer to the organization he's part of, and like he said, they've only got like four or five members, and that but they're also uh not only are they that part of that association, but they're also the uh um holders under that name of the use agreement for the ground that the memorials are and I asked the question to them when we were in the meeting, yeah.

4:38

Clarifying is yes, and there is actually the uh how did they word it?

4:44

It's the Air Force Association Monica Monaghan chapter 103, and that's the the local chapter, and the in their emails they talk about that and they refer back and forth.

5:00

use agreement for the ground that the memorials are and I asked the question to them when we were the meeting clarifying is yes and there is actually the uh how did they word it it's the air force association monik Monegan chapter 103 and that's the the the local chapter and the inner emails they talk about that and they refer back and forth but I don't know how the AFA can help I don't know the AFA and that so but that is what they said they've only got like four or five members but that's what they call themselves and my final question to that is does do you know or anybody know what they are 5013 a non profit um they have an effect as I don't think I don't think they are our committee is part grant one I I don't know I don't know for sure officially I don't know for sure um but uh I don't think the other said again there's only four or five of them the lieutenant is trying to build the chapter and make it bigger and that and that's one of the things he was uh was involved in is trying to get the word out there to get more people to to join I I've got contacted him a few times no response so yeah I think that's all I have just I guess in that case it's basically the diner should be telling her advisor well she's not really a representative advisor either she is our representative from the Muni she's and that yeah but uh I think you guys want we've always just put their name up there that the Munis people on the bottom of the attendance but I can move it you guys prefer on the rest of them you want a motion on that or just an emotion I want to set up before if the uh want me to okay to accept the agenda or not I'll put a motion for the first the the amendment well we have to approve the uh gender first I wasn't for the remote agenda second that then my amendment would be to move Diana down with her good expecting if anyone wants to that all right any questions all in favor agenda all right maybe anybody opposed all right let's go on we don't have any guests we just have our one of our advisors from military and veterans affairs office and we have uh we actually have uh Angela Flain and I uh Angela I have told I'm clearly having a Monday right now um I know you're with the the state what who are you with again yeah absolutely uh Angela LaFlam I'm special assistant to Major General Sachs here at the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs you're from the same place that's right can you say that again please uh of course uh uh Angela LaFlam I'm the special assistant to Major General Sachs at the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs she's the personal assistant for Jeffrey's boss thank you that's where I was going with that thank you for the for that all right committee reports let's uh the um go ahead and I'll let you guys take it over on the let's start off with the uh the Mrfield grant opening please what we got on going on with that you're the chair um I'm gonna pass on to Olivia or I can just she want me to read it whatever you like pick out whatever makes you happy that's you've got it she has uh they have a pretty uh amazing um report here it's kind of like the uh can try to find the good parts like I said it's pretty lengthy uh it's she's made out uh it's a structured here's a project structured project management breakdown called Elas's presentation using standard work right now structures and add job principles I think there's a one pager at the bottom at the end oh at the end okay yeah because it really goes into detail okay can I give you a brief of the brief yes okay all right please um the Merrill field is reopening can be a signature move in Earl's bigger picture he doesn't have the time to be here or be bothered with it but he does have an address book with everybody in it

10:01

Yes.

10:02

Okay, all right.

10:03

Please.

10:04

Um, the Merrill field is reopening, can be a signature move in Earl's bigger picture.

10:18

He doesn't have the time to be here or be bothered with it, but he does have an address book with everybody in it.

10:30

That being said, if we do this with everybody else's energy, we just have to sit back and manage it.

10:40

So that becomes a much easier process because we also have assets to move without moving money around, and I think that's a very smart way for us to do this.

10:56

So what she has is a kind of rundown of all the people who could who would be so happy to be part of this.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Veteran Affairs█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Procedural█████████████17%
Parks and Recreation███████████14%
Public Works███4%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Public Engagement██2%
Traffic██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Anchorage Military and Veterans Affairs Commission Meeting - September 14, 2026

The Anchorage Military and Veterans Affairs Commission convened on September 14, 2026, at 21:30 UTC, with five members present. The meeting focused on approving prior minutes, amending the agenda for attendee categorization, discussing the Merrill Field memorial reopening, assisting the Air Force Association with grant requests, and approving a recommendation letter to the mayor regarding memorial maintenance and wayfinding signs.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the previous meeting.
  • Agenda Amendment: A motion was made to move the listing of Diana (municipal representative) from the general attendance roster to the representative advisors section. The agenda was approved as amended.

Discussion Items

  • Merrill Field Memorial Reopening: Olivia Freeman presented a detailed project management plan for the reopening of the Merrill Field memorial, targeting an 18-month timeline from October 6, 2026. The plan emphasizes leveraging community volunteer efforts and includes a $100,000 seed grant budget with allocations for structural assessment ($15,000), UAA student contracts ($30,000), event planning and promotion ($1,000), temporary LLC formation and legal fees ($5,000), site safety and immediate repairs ($20,000), and a contingency buffer ($10,000). The commission discussed immediate repair needs, including a trip hazard from a light canister and wall cracks, noting that Merrill Field manager Earl is already coordinating some repairs.
  • Assisting Air Force Association with Grant Request: The commission deliberated on whether the Air Force Association Monica Monaghan Chapter 103 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Members agreed to research the organization's tax filings (Form 990) to determine its status, with a commitment to report findings by the next meeting.
  • Wayfinding Signs: The commission proposed installing directional signs to the memorial on 15th Avenue and the Glenn Highway. Members discussed that a formal request should be drafted with input from the municipal traffic department to facilitate approval.
  • Upcoming Events: The commission noted the Readers Theater on August 23 at the Veterans Museum about the Alcan Highway and the 25th Engineers, a change of command ceremony for the 11th Airborne Division on the upcoming Thursday (13:00–14:00), and monthly unaccompanied veteran burials at Fort Richardson Cemetery on the last Wednesday.

Key Outcomes

  • Recommendation Letter Approved: The commission unanimously approved a motion to send a letter to Mayor LePrince recommending the formation of a stakeholder group (including the mayor's office, Parks and Recreation, the Air Force Association, and a city council representative) to develop a long-term maintenance and funding plan for the 11th Air Force Memorial. The letter also includes a request for wayfinding signs.
  • Next Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled for September 8, 2026 (adjusted from the first Monday due to Labor Day).
  • Action Items: Olivia Freeman will circulate the final project plan for the memorial reopening after internal review. A member will investigate the Air Force Association's 501(c)(3) status. The commission will draft a formal sign request for the municipal traffic department.

Meeting Transcript

For which it stands under God. It doesn't core off. There he is. Okay. All right. So we go and do roll call. Sure. Let's go ahead and do roll call. David Foley. Eleanor Lawson? Rob Real, I'm here. Al Mrs. Elspot, maybe. I'm all Alcoala. He's out of state. Absent. Olivia Freeman. Here's Robert Sherell. So we do have five members present. Start the meeting. All right. All right. Um last minute meetings, last meeting minutes. And everybody have a chance to go over them. Does that anybody have any problems with them? Motion approval in the minutes. Yeah, a second. All right. And we have a first and second, and no things over under unanimous consent. No question. All right. The agenda. Does anybody have a chance to go over the agenda sent out? Does anybody have any problems? I have a couple comments. Under the uh attendance roster. We've been listening to Diana as a uh at that in that group there. And she's actually uh a member, she's a uh representative of the unity. Yeah, so my thinking is this should be done with representative advisors down at area down there, so up there. And uh last and uh I thought uh Isaac Melvin, the second lieutenant was gonna be uh representative on the board uh with people was that just one-time meeting last month, do you know? Or we invited him and uh but he's out of state for a couple weeks and be out, he's gonna be gone for a little bit, and then he's coming back, and he never said whether he'd be able to commit to coming all the time or not. So he's uh if he intends yeah, okay, and the last thing I have I had a little confusion on myself, but in our email you help me out there. The there is no Air Force Well, there used to be an Air Force Association, but now it's the Air Air Force Space Command Association. Uh so technically there is no Air Force Air Force Association. I don't I did some research on that. Uh the Alaska Air Airman Association is the one at the uh at the airport with the uh Lake Hood, that area in there, that's the Alaska Air Airmen Association. So I'm kind of confused at the technology at the technical name. Um I've got a I've got an email string from them where they were going back and forth. They both refer to the organization he's part of, and like he said, they've only got like four or five members, and that but they're also uh not only are they that part of that association, but they're also the uh um holders under that name of the use agreement for the ground that the memorials are and I asked the question to them when we were in the meeting, yeah. Clarifying is yes, and there is actually the uh how did they word it?

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