Progress tops agenda at economic conference

MAT-SU -- It's a time of growth and change in the Valley, and that fact was celebrated Thursday at the Mat-Su Resource Conservation and Development Council's annual economic development conference at Lake Lucille Best Western Inn in Wasilla.

Progress was the topic of the day -- from discussions in Wasilla about relocating its historic town square and creating a multi-level, multi-purpose building that could house an expanded Valley Performing Arts and a workplace development office for the borough, to updates on road projects around the borough and plans in Palmer to develop a working community design to help the community retain its identity while providing for growth.

Elected state officials discussed how added oil revenue may play a part in the process. State Sen. Lyda Green, R-Mat-Su, joked that had the group scheduled Gov. Frank Murkowski as a speaker, it may have been the fastest way to secure a few million dollars for local earmarked projects.

The governor, in announcing facets of his budget proposal recently, has agreed to give more than $7 million to combat fetal alcohol syndrome and, at another speaking engagement, announced plans to add more than $200 million to the state's education budget.

"The problem is, next year when we're at $25 a barrel, we're at a totally different reality," Green said. "Rather than use my energy to try to increase spending on the operating side, I will use my energy to increase spending on the capital side."

Green said she plans to use her seat as co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, overseeing the state's capital project budget, to secure funding for Mat-Su projects. The expansion of the Palmer Correctional Center, Green said, will be at the top of her list, along with debt reimbursement, increasing spending in schools and building roads.

Bob Doyle, chief school administrator for the Mat-Su Borough School District, agreed that school funding was an area that could use more revenue.

Growth has been a fact of life for all but two of the 22 years he's lived in the Valley, he said, and schools are fighting to keep up with that growth.

He encouraged those at the conference to recognize how schools contribute to economic development. Doyle cited statistics that show that people with higher levels of education are more likely to be employed, more likely to earn more money and less likely to take part in social-service programs.

Good schools, he said, produce better workers, and many employers look at the condition of local school systems along with other factors when determining where to place their businesses.

The Mat-Su Borough School District, Doyle said, is now the state's second-largest school district, but it still faces several challenges. One of the primary challenges, Doyle said, is growth.

"We react to growth," Doyle said. "We don't proactively try to get ahead of it."

Wasilla Economic Development Director Ron Singel said his city is trying to develop creative methods of dealing with -- and getting ahead of -- growth.

"We're very pro-development," Singel said. "Right now we're being fairly reactive to businesses that come into Wasilla. We want to be more proactive."

To encourage economic growth, Wasilla has developed a visitation program for businesses that are considering moving to Wasilla. Through the program, representatives of prospective businesses can talk with numerous city officials, who find out their concerns and, in some cases, can perhaps help them find the money needed to get their ventures off the ground through low-interest loans or other opportunities.

Singel said the city is also examining its plan for growth, and plans to hold a number of open-house meetings in coming months to seek comments from residents about how the city should plan for its growth.

"We, as a community, need to look at where we're going," Singel said.

Palmer City Manager Tom Healy said Palmer, too, is planning for the future.

"Palmer is primarily a residential community. It's that sense of community Palmer has had for a long time," Healy said. At a recent public meeting, he said, many longtime Palmer residents discussed their hope for Palmer's future.

"They were mainly concerned about where [growth] was leading. The reason they moved to Palmer is to get the good, residential-community feeling, the walkability, and the good life. They implored the city to do what it could do to maintain that."

Healy said the city council has taken that request to heart and is working on an effort to revise the city's zoning ordinance to provide more open space on lots with larger apartment complexes, and to separate denser housing from less-dense residential areas.

Another facet of that effort, Healy said, is ongoing work being done on the community design process launched when a group of graduate students visited the city to help find ways to enhance Palmer's downtown area and guide growth in the areas surrounding Palmer.

"There is a sense that … we only get one shot at this," Healy said, "and as lands get developed, we need to preserve open space."

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.