The Anchorage Assembly will convene tonight at 5 pm in the Assembly Chambers of the Loussac Library, with an agenda heavily focused on the city’s vagrant and unsheltered population, particularly those with untreated mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, or behavioral health conditions.
Among the new business items are two major grant awards for congregate shelter services, totaling over $18 million, that were previewed during a recent work session.
Assembly Memorandum No. AM 567-2025 recommends awarding a contract of up to $7.1 million to Henning, Inc. for congregate shelter services under the Anchorage Health Department’s oversight. A similar but larger award — Assembly Memorandum No. AM 562-2025 — proposes a contract of up to $11.1 million to MASH Property Management, LLC for the same type of services. A revised version of the MASH contract (AM 562-2025(A)) notes a not-to-exceed amount of $9.2 million, but indicates the full $11.1 million is possible if all contract options are exercised.
These contracts are part of the Municipality’s ongoing response to the Anchorage vagrancy crisis and are intended to address shelter needs for individuals who are unable to be housed in other settings.
Under unfinished business, the Assembly will revisit Resolution No. AR 2025-192, which urges the LaFrance Administration and the Anchorage Health Department to establish a targeted strategy for engaging individuals living unsheltered who also suffer from untreated serious mental illness or behavioral health issues. The resolution has been postponed twice — on June 10 and July 15 — and no motion is currently pending.
Also up for consideration is Resolution No. AR 2025-222, which expresses support for maintaining the current expanded capacity of 200 individuals at the shelter located at 1111 E. 56th Avenue. The full agenda is at this link.
the assembly has millions to spend & conveniently they also have homeless business they run on the side! CROOKS & liars!
It’s well past time for the huge and profitable native corporations to step up and shell out a few million to assist in dealing with these people.
Including the white, black & Spanish people?
Or just the Native people.
Typical municipal administration and assembly actions: More talk and more money but no results.
Given the proven ‘poor’ performance and results, do we really trust any of our tax dollars are being deployed responsibly; throwing more money at this growing problem is going to fix // relieve it … basically expecting a better outcome; these additional expenditures will make Anchorage taxpayers feel better???
Absolutely Not! This is nothing short of money laundering scheme.
Is anyone designated to track all that money? Or will it just vaporize into a zalatel like ether?
Mark Begich was on the ANC Assembly.
Mark Begich was then the head of the ANC Assembly.
Then Mark Begich was the mayor of ANC for 8 years.
Mark Begich was also the US Senator for AK for 6 years.
Mark Begich owns “MASH”.
Tonight the Assembly, after filling up Mark’s hotel last winter, wants to give MASH (Mark Begich) a 10 million $ contract.
Question: Is this Chicago or Jersey City?
Lets use our tax money to pay of all of mark Begich’s properties; why not he deserves it.
Now you’re seeing The Plan.
For real, unabashed self dealing political machine. A mini US AID. Call it Anchorage AID.
The mayor and assembly don’t know how much they have available to spend.
Muni is two years behind on their annual audited financial report and at risk of a credit downgrade which will drive up borrowing costs.
No worries how much financing costs.
The working class will always pay no matter how much and if they dont they just foreclose on their home and property and sell it to someone else who will pay.
These contracts are Anchorage’s version of the “self-licking-ice-cream-cone” where the Assembly and Mayor hand out taxpayer money to non-profits and after a small fraction is used to deliver services, a significant portion flows back to cooperating politicians in the form of campaign contributions — all of which includes a big rake-off for non-profit salaries and benefits.
Excellent. Follow the money.
I would ask how the vote went, but it was already predetermined before the public meeting. The Assembly really does not care what the public says or wants. They are going to do what they want to do. End of story.
Maybe with the Trump administration’s renewed focus on resource development Anchorage will experience another boom of sorts. The oil companies will start hiring again and oil execs and oil money will flow into town like mana from heaven. And the morons running the city won’t have to change any of their moronic policies. They can just sit back and enjoy the prosperity. But then again…
Don’t feed the bears.
If you do, you will have more bears.
Hungry bears.