Anchorage Assembly OKs 2025 grants to support Boys & Girls Club and a transition of Mountain View site

The Anchorage Assembly on Feb. 18 approved four related grant actions to ensure continued services at the Boys & Girls Club’s Mountain View site while the municipality plans to transition the building to Parks and Recreation.

Municipal staff said the items use previously appropriated 2025 grant funds and a budget amendment to provide prorated payments through May so the club can continue operations during a planned handover. The Assembly approved the package, items 4a–4d under Assembly memorandum AM 186-2025, by a unanimous vote of 10-0.

The municipal manager told the Assembly the special meeting was requested after the Boys & Girls Club alerted the city to “funding uncertainties” tied to federal funding streams that could force an earlier closure of the Mountain View location. The manager said the four items are existing 2025 appropriations and are being approved now so payments can be made by the end of the month and to avoid service disruption.

Staff described the four items as: a standard 2025 annual grant for the Northeast community-center location the municipality has supported for years; a budget amendment (referred to in the meeting as budget amendment 6) that had allocated $400,000 in total for Boys & Girls Club locations; and two prorated Mountain View items structured to pay out monthly through the date of the planned transition. The municipality said the Mountain View grant items are prorated to cover services through the handover, not paid as a lump sum.

“Kashish,” a municipal staff member who provided attendance figures, said the Boys & Girls Club served about 613 children in 2024 at the Mountain View site and that average daily attendance during club hours is about 80 children. Kashish said the club operates roughly from 2 to 7 p.m. on weekdays at Mountain View.

Assembly members raised operational questions about how a Parks and Recreation–run rec center would differ from the Boys & Girls Club model, which staff said requires higher staffing ratios and more structured programming. Municipal staff noted the club operates under a different model (including a typical adult-to-child ratio of about 1:20) and that Parks and Recreation will assess the space and programming during the transition to avoid gaps in after-school care.

Council members also discussed transportation: staff said Mountain View is technically outside the school bus service area and that the Boys & Girls Club previously subsidized transportation, which the club found unsustainable. Municipal staff said the city will consider options, including marketing or bus service, as it plans the new rec-center model.

Legal and procedural questions came up when members asked whether taking the four items together as a mini consent agenda would trigger a public hearing requirement because the combined amount might exceed a threshold. Attorney Gates advised that taking the items together would not trigger a public hearing requirement. After no objection, the Assembly proceeded to vote on the items together.

The Assembly approved items 4a–4d (AM 186-2025) as presented; the roll call produced a 10-0 vote. Municipal staff said the planned operational handover to Parks and Recreation is expected around late May to early June, and the prorated monthly payments are intended to sustain services during that interval.

Representatives of the Boys & Girls Club of South Central Alaska thanked the Assembly for the funding and for the organization’s nearly 30 years of service at Mountain View. Municipal staff said they will continue planning the transition with community members and Parks and Recreation to define services under the rec-center model.

Next steps identified in the meeting include finalizing the grant agreements for payment this month, continuing operational planning for the May–June handover, and further evaluation of transportation and programming needs for children who now attend the Mountain View club.