ANCHORAGE DAILY PLANET
The Anchorage Assembly, with little fanfare the other day, moved the city closer to selling the Municipal Light and Power utility to the Chugach Electric Association for $999 million.
The measure, mostly housekeeping and finalization of technical elements of the sale approved by voters last year, passed 11-0.
Alaska Public Media reported the sale could be finalized by June of next year, and he said among the myriad details of the sale there was this:
“And one unexpected provision will put $15 million toward substance abuse treatment. That measure is framed as a community benefit from the sale. The funds will go towards a new entity named the Alaska Center for Treatment in public documents, though according to the mayor’s administration, the concept will need to be refined going forward.”
Huh? Who knew the sale would spin off $15 million for an “Alaska Center for Treatment” that “will need to be refined” in the future?
Hughes reported Municipal Attorney Rebecca Windt Pearson told the Assembly:
“This is by no means the end of the public process around that idea. The agreement here is simply that we have said $15 million dollars will go toward this idea, this project, or else it will become an offset to payments under this deal after five years.”
It is enough to make us wonder what else is in the agreement.
