Roger Hickel Contracting is suing the Municipality of Anchorage for an unspecified amount for work Assembly members say was illegally authorized by Mayor Dave Bronson on the Tudor and Elmore Navigation Center last fall.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, is asking for damages to be determined at trial, but states costs on the project exceed $2.4 million.
The lawsuit accuses the municipality of conduct that is “unreasonable, unfair, willful, and in bad faith.”
Last fall, the Bronson administration approved Hickel Contracting to start work on the Navigation Center without Assembly approval. In 2022, the Assembly approved a $50,000 contract for Hickel to do design work on a Navigation Center. They also passed a resolution setting aside $4.9 million for possible construction, but it included several contingencies. In order to use the money, the Assembly wanted to see the former Golden Lion hotel turned into a treatment facility and they wanted to see detailed plans and estimates for the Navigation Center.
While that never happened, the lawsuit states that Hickel Contracting produced eight detailed work estimates and project information last summer. The estimates were signed on behalf of the Municipality by the Director of Maintenance and Operations Saxton Shearer.
As Hickel began work under their $50,000 design contract, the cost estimate for the project increased by $3 million. Despite cost estimates ballooning and Bronson not meeting the requirements outlined in the resolution, he circumvented the Assembly and authorized Hickel to proceed with the work.
Former municipal manager Amy Demboski discussed this incident in a demand letter she sent to Bronson in January, alleging she was wrongfully terminated and that Bronson knowingly violated code with contracting, including on the Navigation Center.
In the lawsuit, Hickel Contracting points to the $4.9 million resolution as one of the reasons the municipality is obligated to pay. The lawsuit states that the Bronson administration assured Hickel Contracting that this money could be used for a Navigation Center. Hickel also signed an amended contract with the Municipality on May 31, 2022, which the Assembly did not find out about for four months. By the time the Assembly found out about the new contract, Hickel Contracting had already completed $2.4 million worth of work. The Assembly declined to fund the project further and issued a stop-work order.
The Municipality is required to respond to the court summons in writing within 20 days.
