Assembly approves CDBG grant for True North Recovery after prolonged Fairview debate

The Anchorage Assembly voted 8–3 July 7 to award a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to True North Recovery to acquire a property in the Fairview neighborhood, concluding an extended debate over community protections and service models.

The motion to approve the grant was moved by Vice Chair Voland and seconded by Member Baldwin Day. Vice Chair Voland said he and partner members sought written guarantees so the neighborhood would see the provider’s revised, less-intensive model reflected in enforceable documents: “I feel a lot more comfortable with moving this forward and awarding these funds if we had something in writing guaranteeing that this is the model of care,” he said.

Carl Soderstrom, founder and CEO of True North Recovery, told the assembly his organization has altered its proposal after community feedback and would not build an on-site crisis center at the Fairview location. “We came to Anchorage at the request of the municipality and partners to bring those services and care. We’ve made every effort to be responsive, to be good neighbors,” Soderstrom said, and he asked members to approve the grant so the organization could proceed with hiring and timely use of other funding sources.

Supporters said True North’s revised plan focuses the site on administration, telehealth and scheduled outpatient behavioral-health services while mobile units and partnerships would provide crisis stabilization elsewhere. Opponents and neighborhood representatives pressed the assembly for enforceable safeguards — including a Good Neighbor Agreement and a memorandum of understanding with the Health Department — citing a history of concentrated services and prior administrative gaps in CDBG oversight.

The assembly considered several amendments during debate. One sponsor-proposed amendment that would have required the Good Neighbor Agreement to be executed on or before July 10 failed; another attempt to condition approval on an MOU with the health department was withdrawn during floor amendment negotiations. Assembly members repeatedly referenced an internal audit of CDBG administration, which flagged monitoring and documentation weaknesses, as a reason for written guardrails.

Administration staff said the grant agreement must be executed before property closing and that HUD draw deadlines require invoicing by the end of September. Director Kimberly Rasch noted the CDBG draw timeline and other federal compliance requirements.

The final voice vote recorded the following positions: Hanlon — No; Martinez — Yes; Gerker — Yes; Silvers — Yes; Perez Verdilla — Yes; Chair Brawley — Yes; Vice Chair Voland — No; Baldwin Day — Yes; Scout — No; McCormick — Yes; Park — Yes. The motion carried, 8–3.

The grant award was accompanied on the docket by acceptance of an internal audit of CDBG administration; the audit identified incomplete monitoring and reporting in some subrecipient agreements and will be considered at upcoming audit-committee meetings.

What’s next: Sponsors asked staff to work quickly to finalize a Good Neighbor Agreement between True North and the Fairview Community Council and to document the commitments in the grant agreement where feasible. True North said hiring and other grant-linked work are already underway and that delay could affect other funding timelines.

Votes at a glance: AM 440 (Recommendation of award of CDBG grant to True North Recovery Inc.) — motion passed, 8–3 (see vote details above).