City council will hold an early meeting tonight, convening at 6 pm for the first reading of a contentious funding proposal from the Museum of the Aleutians. After input from the community, city councilor and museum director Zoya Johnson says she’ll ask to be recused from voting.

At the last council meeting, Johnson requested $202,000 to fund an extensive museum redesign. The museum is planning a new permanent exhibit, called "Aleutian Islands: Crossroads of the North Pacific." The design is meant to tell the story of the Unangan people before and after their interactions with outsiders from Russia and the United States.

Johnson says that the museum had hoped to get most of the money it needed in the form of outside grants. When those didn’t come through, the museum risked losing $370,000 in previously raised money. The organization's board authorized Johnson to ask for help from the city.

"There are only so many grants available for projects," Johnson says. "Yes, I have pursued every one of the grant possibilities that could be applicable for our project and which guidelines we would meet."

Johnson also says that council had already promised support in 2010. That’s when Johnson first presented the museum’s renovation plans and requested $75,000 in matching funds from the city, outside the regular nonprofit funding cycle.

While multiple councilors said they liked the project, they didn’t take any formal action. At the time, city manager Chris Hladick said he would bring a budget amendment to council at a later meeting, so they could vote on whether to set aside the $75,000.

"When, in 2010, I made my presentation, that was exactly what I was asking for – just the commitment," she says. "And the understanding was that the city manager would bring the amendment when – if and when the need arises."

That amendment didn’t make it onto the agenda until now. Tonight, council will consider the grant as part of a larger budget package. On top of the museum funding, it would set aside $14,000 for a local emergency planning grant and about $34,000 for capital projects.

Johnson says she'll ask to abstain from voting on the funding package.

"I will be asking to recuse me as a council member, because of the perception – not of the legally defined conflict of interest, but because of the perception of conflict of interest – I will be asking to recuse myself," she says. "And it will be up to the council to make the decision whether to warrant that request or not, because as elected officials, we cannot pick and choose what to vote on. We have to be able to show our position, our standing on different issues."

According to city code, a council member can ask to be excused from a vote if they have a conflict of interest. That’s defined as a “substantial financial interest” in the issue. 

At the last meeting, Johnson joined council in a vote to request more research on how the city could grant the museum the other $127,000. That passed 5-1, with Johnson voting yes.

For her part, Johnson says coming back to the city is a last resort. She says she didn’t bring up the $75,000 during the last two nonprofit grant review periods because the museum wasn’t certain what it would ultimately need from the city, and when.

Over the past few years, the museum submitted two grant applications to the National Endowment for the Humanities. They got high marks, but only 17% of applicants got funding. The museum was denied both times, leaving them short by $127,000.

After tonight, the budget package could move to a final vote at the next city council meeting, in two weeks.