Anchorage wants a public board to steer its Chugach access money — and set qualifications for who runs it

Anchorage voters agreed in 2023 to tax themselves to improve trailheads, parking and access roads into Chugach State Park. An ad hoc working group has been shaping how that money gets spent, but an ordinance before the Assembly would turn that informal effort into a formal advisory board — one that vets projects with defined expertise and, notably, does its work in public rather than behind closed doors.

The measure, from Assembly Chair Anna Brawley and Vice Chair Daniel Volland, would create a seven-member board to rank projects and review budgets before the Assembly acts.

Four seats go to residents of the service area — the property owners in the Anchorage Bowl and JBER whose taxes fund the work — giving them a majority. The other three require specific qualifications: expertise in trail design, civil engineering and outdoor recreation. It's a step up from the current ad hoc group, both in the required credentials and in the shift to an open, public process for deciding which projects move and how big they get.

The board's recommendations would shape what taxpayers get for their money — which trailheads get fixed, which roads get paved, in what order. A community committee has nearly finished a draft project plan for 2027 through 2032, which the sponsors call the starting point for the service area's first real program; the new board would carry that forward.

This is the second attempt at a governing structure.

An earlier version would have folded the job into the existing Parks and Recreation commission; members agreed on the problem but balked at that fix, and that sponsor now plans to shelve it. Volland made the case last fall for a body built specifically for the purpose. "I think we need to make sure that these projects are well vetted, that they are deliverable," he said. The Assembly takes public testimony Aug. 4.