The Anchorage Assembly officially waded into the state’s complicated process of figuring out where to house the controversial Legislative Information Office for lawmakers.
During its Tuesday meeting, the assembly passed a resolution asking the state’s Legislative Council to rethink a move to purchase the Wells Fargo building in the Spenard neighborhood.
The measure’s sponsor, downtown assembly member Patrick Flynn, said the switch in location goes against the city’s long-term comprehensive development plan.
“I don’t do this very often, but I have to give a shout-out to our friends in the federal government, because they have abided by our comprehensive plan, and have located their administrative offices downtown in virtually every instance,” Flynn said, pointing to the new National Park Service building and U.S. Forest Service facility, both located within the Central Business District.
Though seven of the body’s 11 members voted to keep the LIO downtown, the measure stopped short of saying they want it to stay in its current Fourth Avenue space, as opposed to relocating to the state-owned Atwood building a few blocks away.
The price tag for the Wells Fargo purchase is $20 million less than what’s been proposed to buy the current Fourth Avenue building, though the Legislative Council is currently evaluating whether the building meets lawmakers’ needs.
Midtown assembly member Dick Traini sided with the body’s more conservative members in opposing the measure.
“We’re pleased with the assembly’s action tonight,” a spokesperson for the Fourth Avenue building’s owners said in an emailed statement after the vote.
The assembly also unanimously passed an ordinance adding clearer protections for whistleblowers, and finalized minor changes to a 5 percent sales tax on commercial cannabis products when sales begin.
