Procurement dispute brews over Anchorage’s opioid settlement micro-housing awards

An Alaska-based veteran-owned business has filed a formal protest against the Municipality of Anchorage, claiming the city violated state and local laws in its handling of a $1.2 million housing project funded by opioid settlement money.

Zack Gottshall, owner of Cama’i Enterprises, submitted a detailed letter on Thursday to Mayor Suzanne LaFrance, Anchorage Community Development Authority Director Mike Robbins, and Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor. The letter alleges the city’s procurement process for the “Microunits for Recovery Residences” project unlawfully disenfranchised his company, a certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, by failing to apply legally mandated scoring preferences for veteran-owned and Alaska-based businesses.

Gottshall wrote that during a mandatory site visit, he raised concerns about the RFP’s omission of required bid preferences with a representative from the mayor’s office, but was told the scoring matrix would not be changed. He argues this amounts to a violation of Alaska statutes and Anchorage Municipal Code, and that the decision disadvantaged protected business classes, including his own.

He cites Alaska Statute 36.30.321, which requires the application of a 5% preference for Alaska bidders and veteran-owned businesses, as well as additional scoring benefits for disability-owned enterprises. He also references the Alaska Opioid Abatement Fund statute (AS 37.05.590), which places opioid settlement funds under state control and mandates that any spending from them comply with the state procurement code.

Gottshall contends that because the opioid funds used for the project originate from state litigation and are held in trust by the State of Alaska, any local use of the funds must also follow state procurement law, including all statutory bid preferences. He claims the municipality and ACDA failed to comply with those laws, thereby compromising the legitimacy of the entire bidding process.

He also accuses the city of violating multiple sections of Anchorage Municipal Code, including failing to ensure fair treatment of bidders, neglecting to support disadvantaged economic actors, and using evaluation criteria that discriminated against protected business classes.

Gottshall demands that the Municipality immediately suspend any award under the current RFP, disclose evaluation records and scoring documents, and either reissue the RFP with proper preferences or re-score the existing proposals in compliance with state law. He also calls for disqualification of any vendor that received an award based on what he describes as illegal scoring criteria.

In the letter, Gottshall emphasizes that the Municipality and ACDA were given ample notice and opportunity to correct the process. He warns that moving forward with the project as currently structured will result in legal and political consequences.

The letter can be read here: