Following the commissioning ceremony of the USS Anchorage in early May, the Municipality will receive a refund check totaling slightly more than $70,000.
The money was left over from a $400,000 grant the Muni gave to the USS Anchorage Commissioning Committee, the non-profit organization that planned the commissioning ceremony and the navy warship's stay in Anchorage.
The ship's visit was originally scheduled to last 11 days, but due to sequester cuts, the crew could only stay five days, which meant a large cut back of crew activities and public tours.
"Of the $400,000.00 in grant money, $328,361.84 was used and $71,638.16 is expected to be returned to the MOA within the month of July, 2013," Shannon Jones, President of USS Anchorage Commissioning Committee, wrote in a letter sent to the Anchorage Assembly in early July. "We are working to close out the books and prepare our final report, which you will receive when a check is returned to the MOA."
The non-profit group raised $734,230.00 in total with "total of in-kind, private sponsorships, and the MOA grant" for the visit that attracted nearly 20,000 people in person, along with a virtual tour and live streaming of the commissioning.
The committee spent nearly two years planning the event, along with two other priorities, which were to take care of the crew and the community.
According to Jones, the crew was given "gift bags with little trinkets and information about Anchorage, a USS Anchorage poster painted by local artist John Hume and a 'Key to the City' card with steep discounts to local establishments that offered support to the military."
Lindsey Whitt with the Mayor's Office served on the committee and said that since the commissioning is over, the organization is essentially defunct and has no need for the money.
Editor's Note: Reba Lean contributed to this story.
Correction: Headline fixed to "More Than $70K," instead of $400K.
Contact Neil Torquiano