ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Municipality of Anchorage has settled a real estate dispute, and will pay $875,000 to a nonprofit that operates a local ski area.
The payout to Youth Exploring Adventures concludes a 2010 lawsuit filed by the organization in 2010 after the city stopped making $95,000 annual payments for use of space in a chalet building at Hilltop Ski Area.
Hilltop argued its lease with the municipality guaranteed the annual payments through 2020. The administration of Mayor Dan Sullivan countered that the payments were only an option if the city wanted to use the space.
A lower court judge sided with Hilltop in March, deciding that the city owed the nonprofit $1.1 million. The Sullivan administration appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court, but ultimately settled the case for $875,000, according to an agreement signed earlier this month by municipal manager George Vakalis, the Anchorage Daily News (https://is.gd/dR47C0) reported.
“It’s been a long battle,” Hilltop CEO Steve Remme said. “It’s just a shame we had to go four years in court and take it to that extent - it probably could have been settled over a cup of coffee, but unfortunately the city didn’t want to consider any options except for a hard line.”
The decision to settle was made at the executive level, according to Bob Owens, an assistant municipal attorney who worked on the case. He said the settlement amount was decreased based on the amount of money Hilltop can earn from the space the city is not using.
The Hilltop operator pays the city about $20,000 annually for use of the parkland. Remme said no money changes hands because the municipality allows Hilltop to credit any capital improvements against those payments.
Hilltop’s lease with the municipality runs through 2020, according to Remme. There is an option for a 10-year extension to be exercised by the city, which Remme hopes will occur following the settlement.
“We’re looking forward to many more years being here,” he said.
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Information from: Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News, https://www.adn.com
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