The Fairbanks City Council approved a declawed version of a postponed resolution Monday that establishes general priorities for redevelopment at the site of a demolished highrise. The Polaris Building had been standing vacant and abandoned downtown until city contractor Coldfoot Environmental Services finished tearing it down last summer.
Its demolition left city leaders to determine what happens next at the city-owned site. And deciding on the timeline and substance of a request for proposals has caused tension between Mayor Mindy O’Neall and some council members.
O’Neall, who won the mayoral election in October, wants to take more time to collect community input before finalizing the proposals request. Before it was amended Monday, the resolution sought to adopt a version of the RFP that council members, primarily Sue Sprinkle and Jerry Cleworth, helped draft last year.
Cleworth, the resolution’s sponsor, said he wanted the council to stick behind that work and get the proposals request out the door.
“It’s sad for me to see you might be walking away from that,” he said. “It was good work, and I think it’s the work we should go by.”
But the council passed an amendment that struck the adoption of a specific proposals request after enough members backed O’Neall’s plan for more outreach. The vote was 3-3, with Sprinkle voting in favor of chopping the reference to the RFP she helped draft. O’Neall broke the tie.
The resolution still expresses a few of the council’s preferences for a development, like something that’s aesthetically pleasing and financially sustainable without government assistance. It also lists a few broad evaluation criteria, such as a developer’s capacity to complete the project.
Other amendments to the resolution incorporated what the council deemed an acceptable timeline for the final RFP, including a May 1 release date and a deadline for responses at the end of July. That partially aligns with the schedule planned by O’Neall, though she wanted to keep the proposals request open another month.
Putting out RFPs is a normal function of the city, and they typically don’t cause as much legislative friction before their release. O’Neall told reporters Tuesday she thinks the Polaris site has been different because of its history, location and the hold the building has on people’s memory. It was built in 1952.
“It’s really within the fabric of our community in a lot of different ways. It’s an emotional thing. And I think it shows that people really care about downtown. They are really invested in what they want to see here,” she said.
O’Neall says her outreach plan includes a survey and listening sessions before an updated draft of the RFP returns to the council for its review in late April.