A nonprofit that represents landowners on the south Anchorage hillside won a $200,000 grant from the Alaska Legislature to use for fire mitigation work in the area of town most prone to wildfire. It’s also an area of town that provides massive amounts of property taxes to the municipality, all of which could be erased if fire swept through the area.
HALO, the Hillside Home and Landowners Organization, had received the grant through the Municipality of Anchorage, which serves as the fiduciary middleman.
But at Tuesday night’s meeting, it became clear that several on the Assembly are hostile toward HALO, and so voted to postpone releasing the money.
After the city scrapes its 10% fee, HALO would actually only get $180,000 to coordinate activities with volunteers, nonprofit groups, veterans groups, contractors, and the Anchorage Fire Department to make the area safer.
One of the projects involves taking down fallen trees across a trail that children use to get to school, providing better access for the children and removing some of the possible dry fuel for wildfires. The wood would be bucked up into burnable lengths for use by homeowners who use wood for heat. That and other projects are being coordinated with the Anchorage Fire Department.
The $180,000 is one of the most modest grants the Anchorage Assembly usually approves. But Assemblyman Daniel Volland said it’s “a lot of money.” He doesn’t really “get” HALO or he doesn’t like the group, so he doesn’t want it to get the state grant.
“To me they sort of function as a collective community council, maybe community council+ that represents several of the LSRAs [limited road service areas] in South Anchorage. … It’s a lot of money, $180,000 and I guess my main question is why wouldn’t the money not be going to the fire department for elsewhere in the municipality to execute and steward the projects, but working with HALO in consultation,” Volland said, suggesting that the municipality steal the grant from the nonprofit.
Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel said that HALO should not be in the fire mitigation business, anyway. If it’s a new line of business, she just didn’t know about it.
“I really don’t get the intersection with HALO. I’m actually not comfortable with it,” Zaletel said, adding she would be a no vote.
HALO has been working for at least four years on wildfire mitigation issues and planning, especially after some large wildfires broke out in Anchorage in 2019.
In the end, the Assembly majority delayed awarding the pass-through grant from the State at least until the next meeting in mid-August, creating another two-week delay for HALO, which may result in not being able to get the work it has planned done this summer. Summers are typically shorter on the hillside and the delay may ultimately mean the group ends up forfeiting the grant if the Anchorage Assembly digs in its heels.
Although this is a State grant to a nonprofit in Anchorage, with the Municipality as the pass-through, the comments from Volland, Zaletel, and Assembly Chairman Chris Constant indicated that since the grant is to a group they consider represents a wealthier segment of the city, the Anchorage Assembly going to be obstructionist.
The Assembly routinely awards grants to nonprofits in much greater amounts, but Assemblyman Constant said it doesn’t typically direct money to community councils.
Yet HALO is a nonprofit, not a community council. On its own, it applied for, and won the award from the State; funding was shepherded by Rep. Julie Coulombe and Sen. James Kaufman, who both represent the area.
At no time during the Assembly discussion did Mayor Suzanne LaFrance ask to be heard in order to either defend the grant or point out why it should not be awarded. Her city manager Bill Falsey was unhelpful and the Anchorage Fire Chief Doug Schrage dodged the question about whether he was supportive of the grant.
The entire section of the meeting devoted to denying HALO the state grant it was duly awarded can be seen here:
Nero is fiddling.
And what, pray tell, would reflect genuine value added for the 10% cut the Anchorage Muni would take for passing through the legislative appropriation?
Bribe? Maybe they re holding out for 20 % ?……
HALO gets the assemblies expertise in everything, which includes water supply & electricity generation!
Probably worth way more then 10% really.
Remember, they’re the smart kids.
Expertise????
These are the same people, who want to tear down the Eklutna dam without any way to replace either the electricity produced OR the >90% of drinking water the city receives from the reservoir!
This is a STATE grant which is written into law and they are shaking down a little landowner organization, simply because they think they can.
Considering the assembly gave a $1.6 million dollar grant to to people with a history of fraud, I seriously doubt their “smarts”!
(See MRAK September 2023 Couple arrested for fraud after obtaining $1.6 million in Covid funds from Anchorage Assembly)
Oh almost forgot, I am pretty certain that most households on the hillside have their own well and septic and power is generated by Chugach Electric, which is a private entity.
It is however the assembly’s responsibility to provide for public safety and provide access for fire equipment. Seems to me, here we have an entity, assisting in the job free of charge to the Muni, as these are state funds. The assembly should thank them instead of harass them!
It’s long been a given that the Anchorage Assembly loves the homeless, vagrants and bums more than they do the Anchorage taxpayer. But reading this article, one would wonder if the Assembly, Mayor, City Manager and Fire Chief met ahead of time to work out their actions before the actual meeting. For decades now, I’ve heard the, “but they’re only rich hillside people,” in assembly testimony and elsewhere. Has this now infected the actual members of the assembly?
My only word is WOW, this can’t be real…
The assembly is a criminal enterprise that is misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars in order to perpetuate their own agenda and line their own pockets. They have ZERO right to delay that grant from being awarded to the proper recipient and the redirection of that money would be a criminal act of fraud.
That’s true. What’s also true is no one will stop them.
And yet, they keep getting voted in…
Petulant and immature children run this city.
I knew we would get to this place where the Anchorage Left would start taking punitive action against CITIZENS of Anchorage that they did not like, even if it resulted in a LOWERING of service quality or quality of life within the Municipality. Anchorage has become a joke. I am embarrassed to say that I live here. I was born in Anchorage and have lived here longer than any member of the Assembly.
Can HALO appeal to the state and file a complaint?
Seems to me that both state legislators should get involved or maybe find a way to avoid the assembly pass-through. It is clearly irrelevant whether or not David Volland “gets it” or what business it is of Meg Zaletel’s, whether HALO should be in the fire suppression business or not.
It is a state grant.
Not only do they place the wants of the homeless before the needs of the taxpayer, they are now thumbing their noses at the people who pay the largest (per household) amount of real estate tax. Yes, the HALO organization represents some of the priciest real estate in Anchorage.
.
But, that is what children do. They bite the hand that feeds them
Democrats love fires. They outlaw fire mitigation (CA not allowing residents to clear brush), set buildings on fire, and their green policies have burned entire towns (Maui). They can blame it all on climate change to further the propaganda.
The “non- profit “ first needs an approved plan in which 60% of any grants awarded be able to “ CIRCLE BACK “ to a like approved political candidate.
So, when there is a fire in South Anchorage hillside there will be lawsuits and criminal charges immediately after!
More than likely lawsuits against homeowners who didnt take responsibility for removal of beetle kill spruce on their own dime…..
Pettiness. Is there any shred of maturity of character within the assembly? Seems like middle school petulant game playing. If it were monies for the lucrative homelessness ‘industry’ there would be no hesitation.
You are so right, but that is because Meg and Chris and probably others are profiting directly from the homeless industrial complex
Just switch the HALO plan to protecting h’less camps from wildfires.
Problem solved.
Hmm fire chief must be hoping he won’t be fired! Giessel;s hillside will have o fill the assembly! LeFrance only responds when Constant tells her she can! Interesting she lives on the hillside!
In actuality HALO is much more effective than most community councils!!! Oh but successful people live there and pay the majority of taxes in Anchorage!!!
Maybe the transplant from the Pacific Northwest should worry about counting all the bikers in the worthless bike trails downtown!!
Sounds like Zaletel and her gang of pirates are about to get the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness into the fire suppression business on the hillside. Follow the money. Always follow the money. Cheers –
Happened before when the “Anchorage Search Team” was awarded a grant for $16,000 that was not passed on to the Search Team in a timely manner and ultimately went back to the State, so funding was lost for items like radios, ground search equipment. Why????? Replace them all.
Zaletel wants HER cut of the action before anything can get done, to heck with fixing things for people!!
Based on this reporting, I too, was about to fire off a scathing message to the assembly, and then, by chance, got to talk with an assembly member who explained what the actual objections are. Which, if you read it again, notice that the question why? is not answered in the article . Hopefully the assembly will clear up the many questions at the next meeting and rebut the unsubstantiated slurs and innuendo. This has reminded me how important it is to question, and not believe everything you read. In my opinion, we benefit much more by greater effort to understand, rather than fight, at every opportunity.
Are these lands public, or private?
If public, then we need to tend them.
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