As we embark on a new year, it’s a tradition to make some resolutions. The usual suspects for personal goals include quit smoking, eat better and exercise. On Friday, we listed a few resolutions for those living in the Mat-Su Valley for 2009. Here are some for local governments and community leaders to consider as well.

• Does the Valley really need more box stores? Sure they are convenient and provide jobs. They also routinely force small, local businesses out. The majority of the jobs have salaries that border on minimum wage. Valley cities need to encourage relocation of successful businesses that pay wage earners more than $7.15 an hour. Thousands of people commute to Anchorage every week because salaries there are significant enough that they make up for the cost of travel and the danger of driving 100 miles a day in some the country’s worst weather. It’s not like the Valley is a horrible place to live. It offers a great lifestyle that would be attractive to workers and employers.

• The borough needs to get on the stick and develop Hatcher Pass as a recreation area that caters to Nordic and downhill skiers. That would be a magnet for small businesses: ski shops, cafes and restaurants, clothing stores, hotels and lodges. What would Girdwood be but a hideout for hippies if weren’t for the ski lift? Area communities, particularly those on the east end of the Valley, would see a boost in business as people drive though to get to the mountains. Face it, if you lived in Anchorage, would you rather drive south on one of the most dangerous roads in the state that’s often blocked by accidents and avalanches, or drive north on a reasonably straight road separated by a median? • The Valley needs to work closely with Anchorage to develop some kind of safe and efficient transportation system between the communities. Mascot does a good job for what it can do. Anybody who drives by the park and ride lot knows it’s filled nearly every day. People are obviously warming up to the idea that riding is a lot less stressful and expensive than driving. People Mover does a fine job getting people around in Anchorage. Isn’t there way to make those two entities more intertwined? It seems like the railroad needs to step up as well. The ferry may be an option for some people, but nobody from Trunk Road east is going to drive to Point MacKenzie when they can be in Anchorage in less time.

• Save the farm land. As more people come here to live, more acres of prime farm land goes under concrete. One of the attractions of the Valley is its rural character and associated lifestyle. There has been some minimum effort of late, but more needs to be done sooner so there remains open space and greenbelts for the future.

• State and local leaders need to help Mat-Su College ramp up its curriculum. On any given day, the campus parking lot looks practically empty. So many classrooms, so few students. That should be an institution where Valley students can get their core classes out of the way before they move on to a university elsewhere. More than that, Mat-Su should offer more associate degrees and a lot more trade classes for those who don’t want or need a college education. As it is, the facility is falling well short of what it can be.