Ketchikan’s American Legion Post 3 has temporarily found a new home.
Their new building is directly across the street from the site of their former post. It used to house First City Haven, the community’s former low-barrier homeless shelter. The Ketchikan City Council approved the lease for the American Legion chapter at their meeting on Thursday.
For council member Jai Mahtani, it was a long time coming.
“Your honor I’m very glad we’re doing this. Our veterans deserve a lot and they deserve better,” he said prior to the vote.
Ketchikan’s former American Legion post was the oldest in the state of Alaska. The historic building was destroyed in an alleged arson in 2023. A Ketchikan spokeswoman Kim Simpson said at the time that the legion building had been the “heart of the community in location, history and availability for fundraising and other events beyond the Legion.”
Ketchikan resident Joseph Schacher Jr. was accused of setting the fire. Schacher is set to go before a Ketchikan jury beginning on April 1, facing charges of first-degree arson, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief.
Schacher’s sister, Ivy Smith, told KRBD last year that Schacher suffers from mental illness and sought treatment unsuccessfully on multiple occasions. Schacher was unhoused prior to his arrest. Smith said the fire was a tragedy, and so was the lack of mental health resources in Ketchikan.
First City Homeless Services, the parent organization of the former First City Haven shelter, disbanded and closed down the shelter last year citing “continual obstructive behavior” from the Ketchikan City Council. The group was at the center of Ketchikan’s heated debate about the city’s homelessness and downtown crime.
Since losing their post, the Ketchikan American legion chapter had been operating out of the local Army National Guard armory. The Legion’s new lease of the former shelter building is set to last for three years. Post 3 Commander Hunter Davis said he and the other legionnaires are delighted to have this space temporarily.
They plan to rebuild the burned-down post across the street, but they have a ways to go to get there.
“We’re not going to start any construction until we pretty much cover the bill. We can’t afford a mortgage, so this gives us some breathing room while we can continue on with the monetary drive,” Davis said.
According to Davis, they need to raise about $400,000 more before they break ground. So far, they’ve raised about $750,000. Davis said during a speech to the Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce last year that when they rebuild, they will welcome the community through their doors as they always have.
A GoFundMe campaign is aimed at raising the funds to rebuild the Legion Hall. The fundraiser asks donors to “Please help Ketchikan rebuild what took Veterans generations to build.”
The city council’s vote to approve the lease passed unanimously with little discussion.
