Anchorage Assembly to take up Chugach easement for Loussac Library cable replacement

An ordinance before the Anchorage Assembly would let Chugach Electric Association replace a faulting buried power cable under the Loussac Library grounds. The Assembly is scheduled to read the measure Tuesday, Aug. 18.

The segment is "the only alternate cable feed for the area," according to the memorandum submitted by Mayor Suzanne M. LaFrance, which cites "recent and historical fault activity."

AO 2026-106 would grant Chugach Electric a perpetual, non-exclusive telecommunications and electrical easement at no cost. The strip runs 20 to 25 feet wide along the west, north and easterly boundaries of the Midtown library tract. It covers roughly 49,780 square feet within a parcel whose survey lists a taxable area of about 736,568 square feet. The administration recommends approval.

The Municipal Attorney's Office determined the easement carries no "substantial value" under Anchorage Municipal Code 25.30.020, since it does not impair the municipality's fee interest. The memorandum states there is no immediate economic impact, and no summary of economic effects was prepared.

Some library patrons and nearby residents could view the cost-free easement as an unnecessary encroachment, a concern raised in an online discussion that the municipal record does not directly address. The municipality and Chugach Electric both support the easement and agree it benefits all parties.

Alaska News has previously covered similar Chugach Electric easement requests through Russian Jack Springs Park and Ira Walker Park. If the Assembly passes the ordinance, it takes effect immediately.