Alaska Jewish Campus registers lobbyist to seek state grant for indoor play center

The Alaska Jewish Campus registered lobbyist Clark Bickford on Oct. 1 with the Alaska Public Offices Commission to seek a capital budget grant for the Alaska Friendship Circle's indoor play center for children with disabilities and special needs.

The filing seeks funding through CAPSIS, the Legislature's system for capital budget requests.

The Anchorage project is billed as "Alaska's First All Ability Early Childhood Indoor Play Center." Bickford's administrative and legislative work pays $20,000 a year, described as a contract fee in one filing and a salaried wage in a second.

Alaska Friendship Circle says the center, planned to open in 2027, has raised $1.83 million toward its $4.2 million cost.

The Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority granted $150,000 toward Phase II adaptive play equipment, according to its January-March grant summary. A preliminary Alaska Department of Health notice of intent to award lists $1.56 million in federal rural health funds for the center, which would be free to children from Anchorage, Mat-Su and across the state.