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