Leaders discuss commerce

PALMER — What comes to mind when thinking about business in the Mat-Su Valley?

Is it cottage industries and small businesses, or strip malls and gravel pits? Is it a land of milk and honey, or stifling regulations and bureaucratic hurdles?

Local business and government leaders met Friday to discuss the image of doing business in the Mat-Su Valley. The meeting, put on by the Mat-Su Business Alliance, covered what the perception is now and how it should be carried forward.

The meeting began by commentators saying the climate in Wasilla is very different than Palmer. Cheryll Heinze of Matanuska Electric Association said Palmer has a much more community-minded feel.

“Palmer is Alaska. I’ve been in every store and eaten at every restaurant in Palmer,” Heinze said. “In Wasilla, where do you go? Target? That’s not Alaska.”

Bart Riley, owner of Valley Business Machines, agreed, but said Wasilla is more receptive to businesses than Palmer. Mae Pauling of Interiors By Mae echoed Riley’s opinion.

“I moved from Palmer to Wasilla in December. We have had more traffic through our store in two month than in two years in Palmer,” Pauling said. “People don’t want to drive to Palmer. They don’t want to shop in Palmer.”

But rather than a negative, having different areas of the Valley with different offerings is a strength, Riley said. People can chose the lifestyle that fits them best here, opposed to the lack of variety Anchorage offers.

A common theme among business owners was the lack of contracts the Mat-Su Borough awards to local businesses. Riley said it was almost insulting to see the amount of government money that leaves the Valley.

The borough’s economic development director, Dave Hanson, said he appreciated hearing that. He said the borough has rules and regulations it has to follow for awarding contracts, and if the bid from a company in Anchorage is significantly lower, then it will likely get the contract. However, Hanson did say communication between the borough and businesses could be improved.

Hanson pointed to three areas where the borough is trying to spur economic growth. Point MacKenzie will soon be home to 350 new jobs at Goose Creek Correctional Facility, and an expanded port and rail spur will make the region an industrial hub. The borough is encouraging the growth of the education and health care sectors in the Valley, Hanson said. Lastly, the borough understands more land needs to be set aside for industrial use.

On the topic of zoning, Mark Masteller, a member of the borough’s planning commission, said the community needs to have a plan for how it wants to live.

“We can’t just willy-nilly it like we have been and hope it’s going to happen,” Masteller said.

Marvin Yoder, deputy administrator for Wasilla, said the city spent $30,000 looking at a downtown retail district for Wasilla. It does start with planning, Yoder said, as businesses and industry need to know what to expect.

Part of this planning needs to include responsible resource extraction, Riley said, because, “We need to do what we do best.”

There are a lot of challenges to starting up a business in the Mat-Su, and reducing the cost of energy and living expenses would make it easier, he said.

“And we can’t do that until we start mining,” Riley said.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.