Kodiak assembly presses Providence, staff for clearer procurement rules after review of hospital projects

The Kodiak Island Borough assembly spent the bulk of its Oct. 30 work session scrutinizing procurement and reimbursement procedures tied to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center projects and the boroughs repair-and-replacement (R&R) fund.

At issue was whether current project management and vendor-selection practices followed the PKMC lease (identified in the meeting as contract FY2018-02, section 20.5) and Kodiak Island Borough procurement code, and whether the health facility advisory board (HVAB) and the architectural/engineering review board (ARB) have been consistently aligned in reviewing those projects. Project manager Cody Allen told the assembly staffhad reviewed past projects and found "inconsistencies" between how projects were being advanced and the lease exhibits that describe renewal/replacement eligibility and capital-improvement-plan timing.

Why it matters: the R&R fund that pays many of these projects is an enterprise account overseen by the borough. Assembly members said the public and assembly need clearer, documented processes before the borough reimburses work initiated by Providence or otherwise directed outside the boroughs formal procurement procedures.

What staff and Providence told the assembly

- Cody Allen, Kodiak Island Borough project manager, said his review showed that since about 2020 Providence had assumed more of the project-management role for many projects and that the formal processes described in the lease and in the borough code had not always been followed. He told the assembly that an emergency practice was discussed at HVAB in March 2023 and May 2025 but never formally documented. "Based on our view of the current and historical projects," Allen said, "there appears to be inconsistencies."

- Tyler Steele,…