Legislature(2013 - 2014)HOUSE FINANCE 519
04/03/2014 07:30 AM Senate LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
APRIL 03, 2014
7:30 AM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Hawker, Chair
Senator Peter Micciche, Vice Chair
Representative Mike Chenault
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Bill Stoltze
Senator John Coghill
Senator Mike Dunleavy
Senator Dennis Egan
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Kevin Meyer
Senator Gary Stevens
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Peggy Wilson
AGENDA
ANCHORAGE LIO
ALASKA STATE CAPITOL SEISMIC RETROFIT AND EXTERIOR RENOVATION
7:32:23 AM
I. CHAIR MIKE HAWKER called the Legislative Council meeting to
order at 7:30 a.m. in room 519 of the State Capitol. Present
at the call were Representatives Hawker and Chenault; Senators
Micciche, Coghill, Dunleavy, Egan, Huggins, Meyer, and Stevens.
Representatives Stoltze and Pruitt joined the meeting at 7:34
a.m. and Representative Gruenberg joined the meeting at 7:37
a.m.
II. ANCHORAGE LIO
CHAIR HAWKER said, after a series of meetings, the Legislative
Council last met on March 17, 2014 to consider two proposals:
one was to introduce legislation to consider authorizing AHFC
to purchase the Anchorage Legislative Information Office
building and the other was to approve the next phase of the
Alaska State Capitol Seismic Retrofit and Exterior Renovation
project. We previously had presentations and discussion on both
items and were ready for committee action when the Senate
President asked that we delay for seven working days so that
Vice Chair Micciche and I could discuss the proposals with our
respective memberships. At the end of that period, the Senate
again asked for a delay to have more time to think about the
proposals.
He said while he believes that the merits of the Anchorage LIO
purchase speak for themselves, he recognizes that the events of
the past two weeks have proven that some legislators do not
have time to become sufficiently comfortable with the proposal,
especially in the last few waning 10 days of session when other
mission-critical issues are competing strongly for everyone's
attention.
With those considerations, he said he would withdraw from
consideration by this committee any further action on the
proposed introduction of legislation that would approve AHFC's
purchase of the Anchorage Legislative Office building.
III. ALASKA STATE CAPITOL SEISMIC RETROFIT AND EXTERIOR RENOVATION
CHAIR HAWKER asked Vice Chair Micciche for a motion regarding
this item, which was discussed in detail at the last meeting
and was outlined in the March 14, 2014 letter form Jensen,
Yorba, Lott, Inc. that we had on record at the last meeting.
VICE CHAIR MICCICHE thanked the Chairman and said, with the
Chair's permission, before he made the motion he wanted to
acknowledge the Chair's efforts in bringing the Anchorage LIO
purchase proposal before the Council. We asked and the Chair
complied, and for that he is grateful and he hopes the rest of
Council is grateful. He said that both he and the Chair joined
the Council for the first time this session and inherited a
problem that has been kicked down the road for years. He did a
little research with trusted staff and there are pages and
pages of things that have happened and what we've seen is that
many of the folks that are poking at the deals we're talking
about today were associated with LIO deals of the past, where
they shrank away because of the "sticker shock" of the expense
of continuing to operate in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.
Meanwhile, costs were going up and leases were running out.
It's clear that none of us are comfortable with where we are
and with this deal. It's expensive. Here are the facts: the LIO
houses half of the Legislature for nine months of the year in
an area with the most expensive real estate in the state. If we
want to do something different in the future, we can consider
the expansive prairies of mid-town in which to relocate or
smaller spaces, but where we are is where we are. We stopped
the buck; it's politically expensive to be the place where the
buck stops, but it's the right thing to do. He said he very
much appreciates the Chair's work, at the Council's request, to
research and present an option to purchase the building. It's
clear that we're very busy this session and Legislators are not
comfortable with the amount of time they have to evaluate this
purchase, so he supports its removal from the agenda at this
time.
7:37:26 AM
Vice Chair Micciche then moved that that Legislative Council
authorize the Chair to enter into a contract with Dawson
Construction, Inc. in the amount of $5,800,000 for work during
the 2014 construction season on the Alaska State Capitol,
Seismic Retrofit & Exterior Renovation Project and to provide
Council with a revised cost proposal to complete the remainder
of the project at the end of evaluation and exploratory work.
The motion passed with no objections.
CHAIR HAWKER noted for folks that Jeff Goodell, the Capitol
Building Manager, spent the weekend taking loose chunks of
concrete off the parapets that were so loose, they had a very
real chance of falling and hitting someone while members were
th
posing for the 28 Legislature panoramic picture in front of
the Capitol. He said Mr. Goodell had a 5-gallon bucket full of
them sitting in his office. He thanked Mr. Goodell for thinking
of the safety of the Legislature and his efforts to ensure the
photograph occurred without an injury to anyone. Let's go
forward and fix the Capitol.
There being no further business before the committee, the
Legislative Council meeting was adjourned at 7:40 a.m.
7:38:48 AM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|