Mayor-elect Dave Bronson to reveal homelessness plan to Anchorage Assembly next week

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Mayor-elect Dave Bronson plans to unveil a plan to address homelessness in the city to the Anchorage Assembly early next week.

Bronson selected Dr. John Morris to lead his transition team developing his strategy for homelessness, and the team has kept the details of the plans under wraps.

Some assembly members have been briefed on the plan in private meetings with Bronson and his transition team. Three members told Alaska’s News Source that the proposal involves building a mass homeless shelter modeled after the Nevada Cares Campus.

The Nevada Cares Campus is a 46,000 square foot homeless shelter that opened in Reno, Nevada last month.

Assembly Vice Chair Christopher Constant said he has concerns about creating a “one size fits all” facility to house up to 1,000 people, but that he’s looking forward to seeing the plan and is hopeful the assembly can work together on the proposal with the new administration.

“I’m optimistic that we can find a path forward that brings together their initial vision with our experience,” Constant said.

Matthew Shuckerow, a spokesperson for the Bronson transition team, confirmed on Tuesday that a site located adjacent to the former Anchorage Police headquarters building near Tudor Road and Elmore Road “has been reviewed and considered as part of their plan.”

Shuckerow emailed the following statement:

“Mayor-elect Bronson, Dr. John Morris and the transition team are working with stakeholders and community partners to formulate a practical, compassionate, and outcomes-based plan for addressing the next steps for the homeless in Anchorage,” Shuckerow wrote in an emailed statement.

He wrote that Bronson and the transition team look forward to presenting to the plan to the assembly and Anchorage residents during a meeting that will be held at 11 a.m. next Tuesday, June 15, “in the hopes of building on the foundation that’s already been laid and coming together to address these important issues.”

Copyright 2021 KTUU. All rights reserved.