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Economic Development and Advocacy for Southwest Alaska
| November 2010 |
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Greetings!
Hello again, and welcome to this latest edition of e-Tidings, SWAMC's monthly newsletter for residents and friends of the region. This month we discuss the 2011 SWAMC Annual Meeting, some election results, regional energy efforts, and more. Make sure to note some of the relevant regional events and dates to remember at the end of this newsletter. Thanks for reading, and stay warm out there. |
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SWAMC's 2011 Economic Summit & Membership Meeting
The 2011 Southwest Alaska Economic Summit & SWAMC Annual Membership Meeting is scheduled for February 10-11 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. Next year's meeting will have feature some great speakers and plenty of opportunities to reconnect and catch up with old friends. Some of the topics we have on the agenda include: value-added seafood production; innovative energy projects and ideas leading the region; local food production (both commercial and community opportunities); community investment thoughts from our Regional Native Corporation leadership; and much more.
In addition, SWAMC is also sponsoring an Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program workshop that will take place in conjunction with the meeting. The Sea Grant workshop will be on February 9th, also at the Captain Cook. The workshop will be an open dialogue and include presentations and discussions on various marine issues, including seafood energy conservation, business planning for fishing operations, direct marketing your catch, ocean acidification, and more. It should be a day filled with lots of great information from one of Alaska's primary sources on coastal resource use and conservation. More information on both events will be coming very soon, including registration forms and sponsorship opportunities. So mark your calendars, and please contact us with any questions.
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Southwest Alaska Legislative Delegation Remains Unchanged
After the elections wrapped up earlier this month - thankfully with no re-counts or court challenges in sight - the four legislators representing Southwest Alaskans in Juneau remained unchanged. Senators Gary Stevens (District R- Kodiak) and Lyman Hoffman (S- Bethel) and Representatives Alan Austerman (36- Kodiak) and Bryce Edgmon (37- Dillingham) all retained their seats. Senator Stevens will continue in his role as Senate President, and Senator Hoffman returns as Co-Chair of Senate Finance. They are both part of the 16-member Senate Bipartisan Working Group, led by Senator Stevens.
On the House side, Rep. Austerman will head to Juneau as the new Majority Leader, and Rep. Edgmon joins the Finance Committee as a new member. Both representatives serve in the House Majority and are part of the Bush Caucus as well, which strives to give voice to Alaska's rural and remote areas. We congratulate all of Southwest Alaska's legislators, and look forward to a productive working relationship. The 27th Alaska Legislature will convene on Tuesday, January 18, 2011. |
A*Team Working to Lower Fuel Costs in Aleutians/Pribilofs
SWAMC attended an October 13 meeting hosted by the "A*Team," a group of Aleutian and Pribilof Island entities working to solve the energy crisis of the villages in those regions. The "A*Team" consists of APICDA (the region's CDQ entity), The Aluet Corp. (the regional Native corporation), and APIA (the regional non-profit service organization). The group came up with a few focus areas to tackle in meeting the region's energy needs, and these are: energy efficiency and conservation, renewable and alternative energy sources, and bulk fuel purchasing for the region(s). All three focus areas will have corresponding strategies with goals and objectives for the short-, medium-, and long-term horizons. We are very encouraged to see these different groups coming together to leverage their resources to take on a huge issue. These alliances are critical if the region is going to overcome some of the large obstacles standing in the way of economic development.
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Alaska Forward Holds First Leadership Council Meeting
On October 15th, several business leaders from around the state convened in Anchorage for the first Leadership Council meeting of the Alaska Forward initiative. The meeting was facilitated by the Alaska Partnership for Economic Development (APED), the umbrella organization for many of Alaska's economic development organizations. The Leadership Council is composed of business leaders from various industries throughout Alaska.
If you recall, Alaska Forward is a project aimed at promoting economic growth and sustainability in Alaska today and for future generations. The initiative is centered around a "cluster based approach" to economic development, where clusters represent a specialized workforce and support system of information, networks, and suppliers within an industry that is positioned for sustainable growth. In Southwest Alaska the seafood industry is an obvious cluster, for example. The Alaska Forward project team has identified a few initial clusters to move ahead with, and working groups will be formed around those clusters to identify key challenges, solutions, and policy initiatives regarding their particular industry. The primary role of the Leadership Council is to call others to action and to motivate a broad spectrum of participation at the cluster working group level to move Alaska Forward. We will keep our members informed as the project progresses into the cluster formation stages. In the meantime, please contact our office with any questions.
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Kodiak Gains Research Facility Through Bond Passage
Alaska voters not only went to the polls to elect their representatives on Nov. 2. They also voted to pass Proposition B, a bond package worth $379.2 million for the construction of educational buildings and additional infrastructure across the state. The bond package was the largest in Alaska history to gain voter approval,  and was secured at an all-time low interest rate. Among the 12 statewide projects included in the bond package was $20M to construct the Near Island Research Facility, which will create a state of the art fisheries research campus in Kodiak. The new facility will house research and management components for the Finfish, Shellfish, Groundfish, Sport Fish and Wildlife divisions of ADF&G, along with administrative offices and IT support. The nearly 40-year-old existing ADF&G building has a demonstrated need for another 60% in additional research, administrative and lab areas. |
Southwest Alaska Monthly Indicator
We're talking food this month, and more specifically, vegetables. Based on USDA statistics between 2006 and 2008, Americans on average eat 192.2 pounds of fresh veggies per year. By multiplying various vegetable categories against local populations, we can see the consumption potential for four communities in Southwest Alaska: Akutan, Dillingham, Kodiak, and Saint Paul.
US Three Year Average Per Capita Consumption of
Fresh Vegetables (lbs)
| | Leafy Greens** | Cucumbers | Bell Peppers | Tomatoes |
| All Vegetables | | 38.0 | 6.4 | 9.6 | 19.2 |
| 192.2 |
Community
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Akutan
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Dillingham
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Kodiak
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St. Paul
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Population
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846
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2,264
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13,062
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459
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Per Capita Potential Per Community (lbs.)
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Leafy Greens**
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32,116
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85,945
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495,856
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17,424
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Cucumbers
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5,448
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14,579
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84,111
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2,956
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Bell Peppers
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8,089
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21,647
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124,889
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4,389
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Tomatoes
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16,225
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43,421
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250,513
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8,803
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Category Total
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61,877
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165,591
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955,369
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33,572
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All Vegetables
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162,576
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435,075
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2,510,134
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88,206
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| | **cabbage, romaine, and head lettuce |
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Our correspondence with local community grocers revels that average retail prices for the products listed above range from $2.40 to $4.99. Vegetables are big money in Southwest Alaska! If an average price of $3.00 was paid for all the vegetables consumed in the community of Kodiak in a given year, for instance, that would amount to $7,530,402 (2,510,134 lbs. x $3). Over $7.5 M dollars are spent annually in Kodiak to meet the demand for vegetables, assuming national consumption patterns equate to local demand. Commercial greenhouses and community gardens are popping up on the radars of more and more people in Alaska, and local supplies can not only reap public health benefits, but could also provide economic gains at the local levels.
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 | | Click here to become a member. |
This month's renewing members include:
At-Sea Processor's Assoc.
City of Port Heiden
UAA- Kodiak College
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Thanks for your support!
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Some of our Partners
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Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember
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As always...
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Thanks for your support of SWAMC. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, ideas, concerns and events. For previous newsletters, click the link below.
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