Legislature(2023 - 2024)ANCH LIO DENALI Rm
08/14/2024 02:00 PM House LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
AUGUST 14, 2024
2:00 PM
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson, Chair
Representative Kevin McCabe, Vice Chair
Senator Lyman Hoffman
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Donny Olson
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Cathy Tilton
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Matt Claman
Senator Bert Stedman (alternate)
Senator Gary Stevens
OTHER MEMBERS PRESENT
AGENDA
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
CONTRACT APPROVALS
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
SPEAKER REGISTER
Jessica Geary, Executive Director, Legislative Affairs
Agency (LAA)
JC Kestel, Procurement Officer, LAA
I. CALL TO ORDER
2:01:29 PM
CHAIR GRAY-JACKSON called the Legislative Council meeting to
order in the Anchorage Legislative Information Office Denali
Room. Present at the call were Senators Gray-Jackson, Hoffman,
Kiehl, Olson; Representatives Edgmon, Hannan, McCabe, Rauscher,
Saddler, Tilton.
Ten members present.
Representative Johnson joined the meeting at 2:02pm.
II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
2:02:39 PM
VICE CHAIR MCCABE moved and asked unanimous consent that
Legislative Council approve the agenda as presented.
The motion passed without objection.
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
2:03:06 PM
VICE CHAIR MCCABE moved that Legislative Council approve the
minutes for the June 14, 2024, Legislative Council meeting as
presented.
The motion passed without objection.
IV. CONTRACT APPROVALS
a. Anchorage Legislative Office Building Janitorial Contract
Renewal
2:03:30 PM
VICE CHAIR MCCABE moved that Legislative Council approve Renewal
No. 3 of the contract for janitorial services with Q-1 Services,
LLC, in an amount not to exceed $56,000.
CHAIR GRAY-JACKSON objected for the purpose of discussion and
asked JC Kestel, Procurement Officer, to speak to this item and
remain at the table for the next agenda item.
JC KESTEL, Procurement Officer, LAA, stated that before members
is a memo regarding a contract renewal for the Anchorage
janitorial services contract, which will expire August 31, 2024.
The Agency is satisfied with the services provided and requests
Council approval to proceed with Renewal No. 3 of the contract
for the period September 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025. If
approved, two one-year renewal options remain under the current
contract.
There was no further discussion. Chair Gray-Jackson removed her
objection and asked for a roll call vote.
2:05:13 PM
YEAS: Senators Hoffman, Gray-Jackson, Kiehl, Olson;
Representatives Edgmon, Hannan, Johnson, McCabe, Rauscher,
Saddler, Tilton
NAYS: None
The motion passed 11-0.
b. Anchorage Legislative Office Building Snow Removal
Contract Renewal
2:05:44 PM
VICE CHAIR MCCABE moved that Legislative Council approve Renewal
No. 3 of the contract for snow removal services with Kelly Inc.,
dba A-1 Lawn and Landscaping, in an amount not to exceed $65,000.
CHAIR GRAY-JACKSON objected for the purpose of discussion and
asked Mr. Kestel to speak to the item.
JC KESTEL stated that this contract renewal is for snow removal
at the Anchorage Legislative Office Building; the current term
expires October 4, 2024. The Agency is satisfied with the
services provided and requests Council approval to proceed
with Renewal No. 3 of the contract for the period October 5,
2024, through October 4, 2025. If approved, two one-year renewal
options remain under the current contract.
DISCUSSION FOLLOWED between Mr. Kestel and Representative
Saddler regarding contract details, primarily determining that
the contract amount is not a flat rate for the season and the
vendor is paid for their time as needed.
There was no further discussion. Chair Gray-Jackson removed her
objection and asked for a roll call vote.
2:08:54 PM
YEAS: Senators Hoffman, Gray-Jackson, Kiehl, Olson;
Representatives Edgmon, Hannan, Johnson, McCabe, Rauscher,
Saddler, Tilton
NAYS: None
The motion passed 11-0.
V. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a. Continuity of Government / Continuity of Operations Review
2:09:58 PM
CHAIR GRAY-JACKSON reminded members that this item was
informational only and there would be no action taken today.
JESSICA GEARY, Executive Director, LAA, said that in members'
packets is a PowerPoint shared several years ago at a National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) annual summit to discuss
the importance of Continuity of Government (COG) operations
plan; rather than going through page-by-page, which may not be
the best use of time, she recommends considering this relevant
information outside this meeting. She said that during COVID,
the Agency began work on a COG plan, met with other states that
had developed similar comprehensive plans and made some
progress; however, no one at LAA is a COG plan expert. As such,
we think the best course of action to ensure the legislature has
a proper plan going forward would be to contract for those
services. We will begin investigating the procurement of such
an expert and will hopefully have something to bring back before
this committee for either approval or to keep everyone apprised
of the status.
SENATOR KIEHL asked Ms. Geary to confirm his memory that during
COVID there was a resolution put in place by the Legislature
that covered many of these same issues, however it may not have
passed both bodies. He asked if she could please remind him
about the relationship between that resolution and what would
be covered by this expert report.
MS. GEARY clarified it was her understanding that it was a
specific resolution that allowed for some of the rules of voting
to be relaxed so there could be remote voting, and it did
contemplate some of these issues as well. She noted Legislative
Legal is online and may be able to offer more detail on the
resolution. She said she believed Senator Kiehl was correct in
that the resolution did not pass both bodies. The adoption of
this kind of plan by Council would stand the test of time and
would include all the necessary aspects (voting, emergency
succession plans, etc.). She said that Homeland Security has a
plan for the State of Alaska and perhaps our first step would
be to contact them to understand where the Legislature fits into
that plan. She said, to Senator Kiehl's point, some of these
issues were contemplated in the resolution.
SENATOR KIEHL asked what the cost estimate would be to have an
expert make recommendations on necessary policy and statute
changes.
MS. GEARY clarified that this was just the very first step and
a cost has not yet been determined. The intent of sharing this
information with the committee is to advise that we are beginning
to take the necessary steps to ensure the legislature has a plan
in place before it is needed. Senator Kiehl is correct that
instituting this plan will likely involve statute changes and
more.
b. Assembly Building Apartments Policy and Lease Update
2:15:22 PM
MS. GEARY stated she wanted to provide the committee an update
that we have completed the first full session of renting the
Assembly Building Apartments and it was largely a success. We
learned some lessons and, as a result, have some suggested
changes to the Assembly Building Apartments policy. Overall, it
was a good endeavor and tenants reported positive experiences.
She said the property managers, Juneau Real Estate, did a great
job partnering with us on this new venture. Session rentals
generated $196,000, which covered all the maintenance and
operating expenses. Upon adjournment, Dawson Construction
resumed work on heat pump updates, painting the building
exterior, there was also elevator work, and replacement of
damaged furniture, all of which is expected to conclude by the
end of this month. This work was paid for with existing contract
funds, so no additional funds were expended.
Some of the recommended policy changes are clarifying language
for tenancy requirements to make it clear that tenants must be
a legislative employee, clarifying some of the parking issues,
adjusting the application period to allow more time to notify
potential tenants if they have secured an apartment so they can
timely find alternate housing if needed, and discussing making
some apartments pet only to address allergy concerns. She will
bring these recommendations before this committee for adoption
but wanted to first apprise the committee.
Lastly, she said there has been substantial interest from
legislators to stay in the building next year which means fewer
opportunities for staff. Adjusting the application period will
help with this matter.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked about the furniture damage and
generally how it had held up.
MS. GEARY responded that the majority of the damage occurred
before the furniture arrived due to a leaking shipping
container. The furniture has held up well. She has received
feedback that it is not the most comfortable, however durability
was the primary goal and post-session, it still looks brand new.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSON noted that a considerable number of homes
were damaged in the recent Juneau flood and asked if legislative
housing may be impacted as a result.
MS. GEARY stated that she didn't expect it to impact session
housing and asked if the Juneau Delegation had any info as
they've been touring the flood zone.
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN said that most legislative employees
aren't looking for three-bedroom homes in the valley, which is
primarily what was impacted. She said that being just a week out
from the flooding it is still very early in the recovery process.
SENATOR KIEHL shared some impact statistics from the Red Cross
and that lingering impacts to the housing market should be
minimal since contractors and others in the community are making
these repairs their priority for homeowners.
VICE CHAIR MCCABE asked how many apartments are in the assembly
building.
MS. GEARY responded that there are thirty-three apartments.
VICE CHAIR MCCABE asked if they had considered a ratio of
legislators to staff, or if it was all seniority based.
MS. GEARY responded that the policy is currently written as
seniority based with legislators receiving priority.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if there were any grandfathering
rights in place.
MS. GEARY responded that the way the policy is currently written
is if a member decided to rent during the interim there is an
interim storage rate and that would enable them to have that
same apartment for the next session, only for one entire
legislature. There has been a request by some tenant legislators
to retain their unit as long as they are in office, which is a
policy decision that needs to be made.
VICE CHAIR MCCABE asked how many legislators took advantage of
the interim storage rate.
MS. GEARY responded that it was either eight or nine.
VICE CHAIR MCCABE asked if that meant that 24 or 25 units will
be available for next session.
MS. GEARY said in theory yes. At least one of the members will
not be seeking re-election, which will affect available units
as well.
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN mentioned that the Assembly Building
Apartments exterior paint job looks fabulous and has brightened
up the block.
VI. ADJOURNMENT
CHAIR GRAY-JACKSON, after confirming there were no additional
comments by members, advised that the next Legislative Council
meeting will be September 26, 2024, which she expects to be a
long meeting, and the final meeting will be December 12, 2024.
The Chair thanked members, LAA staff, LIO staff, and her staff
for their contributions.
2:29:22 PM
With no further business before the committee, the meeting was
adjourned at 2:29 pm.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| LEC Agenda_08.14.24_FINAL.pdf |
JLEC 8/14/2024 2:00:00 PM |
|
| ALOB Janitorial Contract Renewal No. 3 Request to LEC.pdf |
JLEC 8/14/2024 2:00:00 PM |
|
| ALOB Snow Removal Contract Renewal No. 3 Request to LEC.pdf |
JLEC 8/14/2024 2:00:00 PM |
|
| COOP Memo 2024 w attachment.pdf |
JLEC 8/14/2024 2:00:00 PM |
|
| Leg Council Minutes 06.14.24.pdf |
JLEC 8/14/2024 2:00:00 PM |
|
| Assembly Building Apts Recap Memo_08.07.24.pdf |
JLEC 8/14/2024 2:00:00 PM |