Fairbanks North Star Borough board grants one-week extension for Victory Ministries' reply brief

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Board of Equalization on Nov. 4, 2025, unanimously approved a one-week extension for an appellant to file a reply brief in a charitable exemption appeal.

Appellant attorney Janela Kamai told the board that she and co-counsel were out of state preparing for oral argument in another matter and that the parties had “no natural mechanism” in the borough codes to request extensions, so they sought a seven-day enlargement of the deadline to Nov. 7 to give the board a fuller record. “We just simply needed an extra week in order to adequately prepare a reply brief for you,” Kamai said.

Borough staff, speaking for the assessor’s office, said the borough viewed the request as routine and did not oppose granting the short extension, noting counsel’s travel and scheduling pressures. “The borough doesn’t oppose it,” the assessor stated.

After the parties spoke, a board member moved to approve the requested extension to Nov. 7, 2025; the motion was seconded, the clerk called the roll, and the board voted in favor. The Chair announced the motion carried and the extension was granted.

Before the vote, a board member disclosed a potential conflict of interest because his wife is a member of the Alaska Kennel Club and the club rents event space at Camp Liwa. The member said there was no financial interest and that he had not discussed the case with his wife or other club members; board counsel advised the Chair on standard conflict inquiries and the appellant said she had no objection to the member’s participation.

With no further business, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 5:42 p.m.

The board’s action was procedural: it granted a filing extension rather than ruling on the underlying exemption requests. The record notes a separate party filed a non-opposition and that the assessor had no position opposing the extension.