Legislators return to new offices

WASILLA -- One result of the statewide redistricting that gave the Valley another full-time representative and a larger share of a senator seat is that more space is needed for offices at the Legislative Information Office on Railroad Avenue in Wasilla.

"When redistricting happens -- every 10 years -- these things get switched around," said Alaska Legislative Affairs Council Executive Director Pam Varni.

As a result of the addition of one House seat -- belonging to Carl Gatto, R-Palmer -- and a larger share of a Senate seat formerly belonging to Sen. Rick Halford and now occupied by Sen. Scott Ogan, R-Palmer, more office space is needed at the LIO. Varni said Halford, when serving as senator, had office space at the office building, but it amounted to little more than a closet.

"It was a very small area and it would not be very good to put a legislator in there," Varni said.

To make more room, the offices are being extended down the hall to fill an area previously occupied by the Mat-Su Borough School District. The added space will have to be reconfigured to fit two offices, and that's a job building owner Dennis Smith said he'll pay for in return for the $100,000-per-year office space lease the state pays.

"The new portion, I've taken care of that 100 percent," Smith said. "They needed new offices."

Although the LIO has been at the Railroad Avenue location for several years, state policy dictates that if the cost of using the space exceeds more than $25,000 each year, the contract must be put out for bids. Varni said she went out to bid for a lease proposal that would house the additional legislators and Smith was the only bidder on the request, so the offices will stay in his building.

Smith said his crew hopes to have the remodeling work completed by the first week of June. But his work may not end there. Varni said the Legislative Council, a committee made up of 14 representatives and senators, worked out about $20,000 in additional changes to the LIO that will result in a larger teleconference and meeting room and a change in the office space used by LIO staff -- state employees assist the public in accessing both the legislature and their state government.

"We're looking at trying to improve what we have because it's now too small," Varni said.

Charlotte Cremer, office manager at the Wasilla LIO, said her staff is trying to figure out how best to work with the changes. Presently, she said, plans are to expand the teleconference area and move LIO staff offices into those now held by Rep. Beverly Masek.

Cremer said she wasn't sure the new setup would work, since drawings she's seen would close her staff off from the teleconference rooms, where they oversee teleconferences and assist people taking part in the teleconference by running the audio equipment.

Cremer said she was worried the new setup would mean she would need more staff present at one time -- one in each conference room -- to man the equipment when more than one teleconference was taking place.

"We're trying to reconfigure how it's situated so we can work things smoothly," Cremer said.

Varni said she didn't believe the plan would make it harder for LIO staff.

"It's an improvement for the LIO," Varni said. "We wouldn't make it less efficient than it already is. We're trying to make improvements -- and we are."

Smith said there may still be time to custom-fit the plans. He said his crew won't start on the remodel of the existing office space until they're finished adding on the new offices.