The Anchorage Assembly held a work session on Friday, September 25, 2026, to discuss AO 2026-98, an ordinance sponsored by Chair Brawley and Assembly Member Volland to create a formal advisory board for the Chugach Access Service Area (CASA). The meeting included a presentation on the need for the board, its proposed structure, and a discussion of unresolved issues such as membership composition, cooperative agreements with road service areas, and maintenance responsibilities. The ordinance was introduced July 7, had a first public hearing August 4, and is continued to October 6, 2026.
No consent calendar items were discussed.
No public testimony was taken during this work session, but the sponsors noted they have received feedback from the CASA advisory working group, limited road service area representatives, the Basher Community Council (which passed a resolution with amendments), HOA representatives, and individual members of the public. The sponsors are incorporating feedback into an S version to be considered on October 6.
Presentation by Co-Sponsors: Chair Brawley and Assembly Member Volland presented the rationale for an advisory board, citing the need for a clear public process for prioritizing CASA projects, balancing access improvements with neighborhood impacts, and integrating CASA decisions with the municipality's Capital Improvement Program (CIP). They highlighted that CASA was created by voters in 2023 and has funded bond projects in 2024, 2025, and 2026 (e.g., Canyon Road improvements, Basher parking lot, wayfinding for Stuart Trail). They also showed voter support maps, noting that precincts in downtown Anchorage showed 81% support for establishing CASA, while some hillside and Eagle River/Chugiak precincts had lower support (corrected to show opposition percentages). The proposed board would be advisory to both the mayor and assembly, with membership modeled after the Public Naming Commission: seven voting members (one with trail design expertise, one with transportation infrastructure experience, one with outdoor recreation background, and four at-large members – two from ARTSA and two from road service areas within CASA) plus an ex officio non-voting member from Chugach State Park.
Membership Composition: Assembly Member Yaro Silvers expressed concern about overly prescriptive seat requirements that could hinder filling positions and suggested flexibility. Assembly Member Donald Handelin proposed considering assembly districts for geographic diversity. Chair Brawley and Assembly Member Volland noted challenges of balancing expertise with accessibility and avoiding an oversized board. The sponsors are already working to refine language to require at-large members from road service areas that are adjacent to Chugach State Park and to emphasize demonstrated familiarity with public access over specific technical expertise.
Cooperative Agreements: Assembly Member Zach Johnson asked about maintenance responsibility for new projects and the removal of the requirement for cooperative agreements with road service areas. Assembly Member Volland argued that cooperative agreements allow a single stakeholder group to unilaterally veto projects, which is not representative of the entire service area. He stated that all CASA-funded infrastructure is public right-of-way and should benefit all residents. Chair Brawley clarified that consulting with road service area boards would still be required, but the ordinance deletes the specific term "cooperative agreement." They noted that maintenance questions (e.g., who plows new parking lots) need to be resolved before bonds are presented to voters, possibly through the advisory board's recommendations.
Bond Maintenance Funding: Assembly Member Baldwin Day asked if maintenance costs can be included in bonds. Assembly Member Yaro Silvers confirmed that for the Basher trailhead bond, $75,000 per year for maintenance was built in. Assembly Member Volland added that this is typical for road projects to cover staffing and maintenance.
Scope and Next Steps: The sponsors emphasized that the ordinance does not adopt specific CIP projects, change the existing CIP process, or resolve all implementation issues. It establishes the board and defines its advisory role on budgeting and planning. An S version is being drafted for the October 6 meeting, incorporating public feedback including more explicit public hearing requirements for board recommendations.
Okay, everyone, I'm gonna call this work session to order. Um, today is Friday, September 25th. Uh, we are in our third of four meetings today. Uh, this one is a work session on AO 2026 98, the proposed CASA Chugach Access Service Area Advisory Board. Um, this is an ordinance sponsored by myself and Mr. Voland. Um, which we'll have a presentation. I will also be managing uh the queue uh in addition to presenting. So just uh patience. Um, but I'll ask my co-sponsor probably to do most of the talking. So uh first let's do introductions and then we'll move through our business. Aaron Baldwin Day. Zach Johnson. Donald Handelin. Keith Forward. Sydney Scout, Daniel Boland. Anna Brawley, Janice Park. Yaro Silvers. And then on the phone, we have Mr. Martinez. Yes, thank you. Uh, any other members on the phone. Okay, not right now, but we may be joined by others. Uh also joined in the room by some members of the public, uh, members of the administration, assembly council, clerk's office, and ledge services. Um, so we will move into our presentation. I will also note um the ordinance again, 2026 98. Um, I believe there's copies available, and uh the presentation is online. So with that, I'm gonna turn to Mr. Volland. Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. Chair Brawley and I propose to you a formalized advisory board for CASA projects. I'm gonna try up my clicker. Okay, it works. So here are the problems we're trying to solve. Um, as we all know, the Chugach Access Service Area was created by voters in 2023. We've had bond projects approved in 2024, 2025, and 2026. In 2024, it was amended down to uh just the uh portion of Canyon Road, um, which is in pretty poor condition, lead leads up to the backside of flat top, the sunny side trail. Um 2025 was designed designed for the Basher parking lot. Um, and then in 2026, um projects like wayfinding for the Stuart Trail, um construction of the Basher parking lot. Um so we've had a lot of uh robust discussion, debate on how these decisions are made. Um how are projects prioritized, and how does um the entire service area have a voice in in those decisions? And so some of that is still not settled. Um another interesting layer to this is that we did direct uh inclusion of CASA as a category in the capital improvements um that was done via resolution, and so um making sure that the needs of all you know all of our community are met um and that we prioritize uh the CIP in a way that is fair. Um we did have uh a great advisory group um recently in the in this um uh convene, I guess convene recently and and put together, we had um directed them via resolution to put forward their proposal on a CIP, and they've done that. Um they have a draft that they have um sent to us, and um I thank them for their work on that. So I think that part of what they've done can also be used as a model to inform a formalized working group. So what does Chugach access mean? I think it can mean a lot of things, and this is something that was debated. I was on the body when we debated putting the service area, the creation of the service area before voters, and there was a lot of uh discussion on it should not be just road improvements, although those are very important. Um that was part of the I guess original impetus of the creation of CASA is that a lot of those roads have heavy use.