Anchorage Assembly to weigh contract keeping FLAMI at Eagle River's McDonald Center up to 10 years

The Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to consider a contract Wednesday, Nov. 4, that would keep Fire Lake Arena Management, Inc. running the Harry J. McDonald Center in Eagle River for up to 10 years and up to $500,000.

The nonprofit, known as FLAMI, helped establish the indoor rink that opened in 1984 and has run the center under a municipal agreement since January 2011. A 2025 municipal audit reported 11 findings of noncompliance or failure to follow that agreement, which was set to expire in June 2026. Among them, the operator had not submitted audited financial statements for 2021 through 2024.

The proposed contract covers a five-year base period at up to $250,000, plus five one-year renewal options at $50,000 each. It is an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, meaning it sets a spending ceiling and pays for work as the city orders it. FLAMI would handle scheduling, marketing, ticket sales, preventive maintenance, safety, cash handling, staffing and events.

The city sought proposals in April, and FLAMI submitted the only responsive one. Jeffrey Urbanus, manager of Eagle River/Chugiak Parks and Recreation, recommended the award in a June 14 memo. "We believe this to be in the best interest of the Municipality and the community of Chugiak/Eagle River for continued operation of the Harry J MacDonald Center," he wrote. The administration recommends approval.

The audit found FLAMI paid $8,600 in cash bonuses to full-time employees in 2024, a year it ran about $90,000 over its salary and wage budget and lost about $67,700. Auditors also cited an accounting subcontract signed without required city approval and equipment not tagged as city property. The audit also reported that a former employee was under police investigation over alleged misuse of an estimated $18,800.

A May 2026 update to the Municipal Audit Committee said FLAMI has since completed the missing 2021 through 2024 audits and its 2025 audit. A compliance matrix from the same review marked nine of the 11 findings compliant and two ongoing: an equipment inventory and the audits, listed as "2025 audit in progress; backlog pending."

An earlier 2023 audit found the city and FLAMI had no agreement in effect from January 2021 to May 2023, so auditors could not test compliance during that gap.

The Assembly voted 12-0 earlier this year to hire new operators for the city's Ben Boeke, Dempsey Anderson and Sullivan arenas.