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Clinic director asks committee to consider provider housing on clinic lots; committee to check bond and DEC report
Summary
Al Wall, speaking for the clinic board, asked the committee to consider using three former clinic lots for small provider housing funded by an Alaska RPH grant; the committee requested staff research on a 2013 DEC diesel finding on the lots and the voter bond language tying the site to a senior center before taking action.
Al Wall, identified in the transcript as director of the clinic board, told the Health, Education & Welfare Committee he plans to register the clinic to apply for the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation’s Rural Professional Housing (RPH) program to build small, tasteful one-bedroom units on three former clinic lots near 11th and Broadway for medical providers.
"This particular program... is available for... professional medical staff," Al Wall said, describing the RPH application steps and the need for an in-person seminar for applicants. He said the clinic currently leases eight units for providers and that returning leases to the market would free housing when local providers move into CLT or small-unit housing.
The committee pressed several legal and site-viability questions. Chair Waddell and others flagged a 2013 DEC finding of diesel in the soil on the lots and asked staff to obtain the DEC report and cost estimates for mitigation before making commitments. "In 2013... there was a DEC finding of diesel in the soil on that lot," Wall told the committee; he offered to explore mitigation costs but said he did not know the remediation price.
Members also asked whether a prior voter-approved bond designated the property for a senior center and what consequences would follow if the assembly or voters had constrained use. Committee members recalled bond language that could have voided the bond if construction costs rose above roughly $6 million; Al Wall and others recommended staff check whether the bond remains in effect and whether the assembly must take additional steps to repurpose the site.
The chair concluded the discussion by asking staff to research the bond language and pull the DEC remediation report; the committee asked to revisit the matter after staff reports and, if necessary, before forwarding any formal recommendation to the full assembly.
Ending: The committee took no formal vote on changing the site's designation; it asked staff to report back with the DEC document and the bond status so the committee or assembly can evaluate feasibility and legal constraints.
