Plan would lure legislators to office space in Mat-Su

March 27, 2005

DAWN De BUSK/Frontiersman reporter

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly may soon begin building the foundation for a plan to construct an office building in the Valley that would house Alaska's legislative body, making politicians more accessible to most of the state's population.

The resolution, which was sponsored by Assembly Member Mary Kvalheim, was introduced to the Assembly as a future action during its regularly scheduled meeting last week.

Basically, the resolution - if passed by the Assembly - would send a recommendation to the Alaska State Legislature to accept the Mat-Su Borough as a site for a tailor-made office building for either the legislators from Southcentral Alaska or the entire state House and Senate.

"The legislative body would have to give us the perimeter of what they want. At the very least, it would accommodate large meetings," said Kvalheim, adding it would provide the very latest in teleconferencing technology. "We're not asking the governor and the administration to move."

Prior to submitting the proposal to the lawmakers, Borough Manager John Duffy would locate potential places for the structure. He would also design a financial plan for the construction of such a facility.

"This is a way to avoid the capital move. Perhaps we could look at building a legislative office that could house the entire Southcentral legislative body," Kvalheim said, adding that a lease fee is already being paid by the state Legislative Affairs Agency to the owners of the legislative offices in Anchorage.

Instead of allowing the state to lease or purchase an existing building, the borough may be willing to construct a building for legislators, custom-made to fit their needs, she said.

"They could decide where the electrical outlets need to be, how many conference rooms they need," Kvalheim said. "The state owns the capitol building in Juneau, but it's cramped and very small. Little by little, the other offices have moved out and the legislative body is still working there."

According to the proposal: "The present facility lacks adequate office space, meeting rooms, hearing rooms, digital and electronic technology."

Some of the rooms in the Territorial Capitol Building, where the legislative body currently convenes, are in the process of being redecorated to look as they appeared in the past, right down to finding the same style of lampshades and curtains, Kvalheim said. The Territorial government building in Juneau would most likely never be torn down. Even if other offices were provided for all the people who now work there, the structure would undoubtedly remain as a historic site.

Currently, the legislative offices are located in Anchorage, 716 W. 4th, Suite 200.

Kvalheim said a legislative building located in the Valley would provide people working there with less-expensive housing than Juneau offers. Also, many of the politicians already have homes in Southcentral Alaska.

"I don't have any preconceived notions about where this should go. Probably close to existing utilities like electric, water and sewer - wherever it's most economically feasible," she said.

Rep. Mark Neuman, R-District 15, has an idea where such a structure could be constructed.

"If we can get that bridge (the Knik Arm Toll Bridge) across there, there's another tool the Mat-Su can use to get the legislative offices there so people can have contact with their legislators," Neuman said.

"We have such a low voter turnout. We could bring kids from the classrooms into the legislative offices, show them how bills are introduced and what process they go through, show them they can talk face to face with the politicians, they might be more assured that their vote counts. It could increase voter counts in the future," he said.

Rep. Vic Kohring, R-District 14, doesn't support spending any more money than necessary on such a project.

"We have the facilities already. We should not invest millions in building something new. Retrofitting would cost less," Kohring said, adding that the state owns a processing plant warehouse in Anchorage that could be used as accessible legislative office space.

"Without knowing the exact wording of the proposal, I respectfully disagree with Assemblyperson Mary Kvalheim," Kohring said.

The resolution authorizes the borough manager to find the best source of funding, whether it's taking advantage of lease payments or using a similar method of financing the project.

Also, the construction of legislative offices in the Valley could be funded by bonding, with the state repaying some or all of the cost.

If this resolution were approved by the Assembly, it would still be a voter's decision.

The proposal will come before the Assembly on April 15, on the consent agenda.

"As slowly as the government moves, by the time they got this built, they'd have a ferry at Knik Arm, an extended railroad and an airport out at Point MacKenzie," Kvalheim said.