Legislature(1997 - 1998)
01/17/1997 08:03 AM House CRA
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS
STANDING COMMITTEE
January 17, 1997
8:03 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Ivan Ivan, Chairman
Representative Fred Dyson
Representative Joe Ryan
Representative Jerry Sanders
Representative Albert Kookesh
Representative Reggis Joule
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Scott Ogan
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: Department of Community and Regional Affairs
Division of Municipal and Regional Assistance;
Division of Energy; and Boards and Commissions
PREVIOUS ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
YVONNE CHASE, Director
Division of Community and Rural Development
Department of Community and Regional Affairs
333 West Fourth Avenue, Suite 220
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2341
Telephone: (907) 269-4607
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview of the Division of
Community and Rural Development
REDMOND HENDERSON, Director
Division of Administrative Services
Department of Community and Regional Affairs
P.O. Box 112100
Juneau, Alaska 99811-2100
Telephone: (907) 465-4708
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview of the budget of the
Division of Community and Rural Development
PAT POLAND, Director
Division of Municipal & Regional Assistance Division
Department of Community and Regional Affairs
333 W 4th Avenue, Suite 220
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2341
Telephone: (907) 269-4500
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview of the Division of
Municipal & Regional Assistance Division
PERCY FRISBY, Director
Division of Energy
Department of Community and Regional Affairs
333 W 4th Avenue, Suite 220
Anchorage, Alaska 99519-2341
Telephone: (907) 269-4640
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview of the Division
of Energy
LAMAR COTTON, Deputy Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Community and Regional Affairs
P.O. Box 112100
Juneau, Alaska 99811-2100
Telephone: (907) 465-2948
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions regarding Boards &
Commissions
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 97-2, SIDE A
Number 000
CHAIRMAN IVAN IVAN called the House Community and Regional Affairs
Committee meeting to order at 8:03 a.m. Members present at the
call to order were Representatives Ivan, Dyson, Ryan, Sanders, and
Joule. He announced a quorum was present.
CHAIRMAN IVAN said this meeting would be the continuation of the
overview by the Department of Community and Regional Affairs
(DCRA). Several divisions within DCRA would present information
including the Division of Community and Rural Development, Division
of Municipal and Regional Assistance and the Division of Energy.
He said if there was an interest in Boards and Commissions it would
be addressed also.
Number 0135
YVONNE CHASE, Director, Division of Community and Rural
Development, Department of Community and Regional Affairs, said she
would present a brief overview on the Division of Community and
Rural Development (DCRD) and distributed information to the
committee members. She said she would address the Head Start
Program, the child care programs, Jobs Training Partnership Act
(JTPA) programs and the Alaska Community Service Commission.
MS. CHASE said the Head Start Program is a 28-year-old program with
a proven track record in terms of the children and the families
served by the program. She said services are provided to over
3,000 children every year which provides jobs for close to 600
individuals. She said a little over half of those employees of the
Head Start Program have either been or currently are Head Start
parents. She said there is parent involvement in the program as
well as employment for the communities where the Head Start
Programs exist.
MS. CHASE referred to information she had distributed and said the
Head Start State Collaboration Project is run with $500,000 of
federal money and currently they are in the fifth year of operation
of a five-year grant. She said they've been able to leverage the
money to provide various services. She said it would be difficult
to pick one particular project, but said the Danforth COMPASS
Project is a timely one.
Number 0362
MS. CHASE said the Danforth COMPASS Project encourages communities
to develop local initiatives to evaluate successes and to build on
those successes. She said the communities also provide some seed
money for projects to continue in those communities. Ms. Chase
referred to a policy team, which is an interdepartmental team that
she serves on. She outlined a selection of projects across the
state where representative groups from those projects will be
brought in to a training session in February, which will allow
those communities to go back with information about what other
communities are doing and, in an community inter-collaboration
group, begin to do some additional things to utilize departmental
monies in the best way that they can.
MS. CHASE said there are 13 Head Start grantees across the state
who are active on both a state and national level. She said a key
to the Head Start Program is the parental involvement and parents
are encouraged to not only work in the program, but also to
participate in state and national activities.
CHAIRMAN IVAN welcomed Representative Kookesh to the meeting.
Number 0523
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON referred to the Head Start Program staff
in the villages and asked if they were trained in diagnosing and
working with persons affected with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and
Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE).
Number 0552
MS. CHASE said the staff are trained in identifying FAS and FAE to
provide referrals for appropriate follow up services. She said the
staff are trained to work with children in the Head Start setting
who have FAS or FAE.
Number 0568
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if the staff is trained to spot child
physical abuse and sexual abuse.
Number 0575
MS. CHASE said the staff receives some training in terms of the
identification of abuse and, hopefully, sufficient training to
alert a resource agency like the Division of Family and Youth
Services (DFYS) or a community agency. She clarified that although
staff are trained to identify abuse, staff are not expected to be
specialists in the area.
Number 0600
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if there was a standard procedure or
policy of what the staff is supposed to do when they spot child
abuse.
Number 0612
MS. CHASE said Head Start staff are among the list of mandatory
reporters under the state policy which requires them to report any
incidence of abuse.
Number 0628
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if there was a formalized training on
spotting abuse.
Number 0647
MS. CHASE said there is a section of the training curriculum that
has been developed over a number of years which deals with abuse
and it has been continually updated. She said the staff should be
trained or have the most up to date curriculum available to them
adding that because of the low turnover of Head Start staff the
training is able to go beyond just a basic training.
Number 0687
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON requested a copy of the training curriculum.
He referred to her testimony regarding the community groups
labeling their successes and requested information regarding what
is working with children affected by FAS, FAE and child abuse.
Number 0730
MS. CHASE said one of the things that has been effective is early
intervention and prevention. She said Head Start does home
visitation and early identification with families who are not
necessarily involved in child abuse or neglect at the time, but may
be at risk families. She said Head Start has one of the nationally
recognized home visitation programs. She referred to information
the legislature received last year on the healthy families programs
which is a similar home visitation program. She said this
visitation offers an ability to provide support to the parents.
Number 0813
REPRESENTATIVE REGGIE JOULE complimented Ms. Chase on the Head
Start Program. He referred to the $500,000 grant the program got
from the federal government and noted this is the fifth year of
that grant. He asked what the chances are of getting another
grant. He asked whether or not this was already being worked on.
Number 0834
MS. CHASE said DCRD is constantly applying for additional federal
money and the funding status of an additional grant is going to
depend on the congressional appropriation. She said that what DCRD
has done with the federal money, hopefully, puts them in a top
position to receive money. She said this money would not be for a
follow on to the current project as she doesn't see this project
continuing. The money would be for a new project that would build
on the strengths of the current project.
Number 0870
REPRESENTATIVE JOE RYAN asked for budget information of the DCRD.
Number 0885
MS. CHASE said she obtained the director's position in December so
she would rely on the Division of Administrative Services in order
to provide accurate budget information.
Number 0917
REDMOND HENDERSON, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Community and Regional Affairs, said Head Start grant
dollars budgeted for fiscal year 1998 are $5.9 million.
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked if there was state matching money
included in the $5.9 million.
Number 0933
MR. HENDERSON said the state funded portion of the Head Start
program was $5.9 million and this was general fund dollars. He
said there are Head Start dollars received by the grantees directly
from the federal government. He said his division has two and a
half people administering that program.
Number 0960
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN clarified that the rest of the money goes
directly to the recipients in the field.
Number 0970
MS. CHASE said DCRD serves approximately 23 percent of the children
who would be eligible for Head Start services.
Number 0980
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN clarified that the exact number is 3,228
children. He asked for information on the 592 jobs provided for
Head Start families.
Number 0999
MS. CHASE said presently 52 percent of the staff who run the
programs either are or were former Head Start parents.
MS. CHASE referred to information given to the committee members
labeled, "Child Care Programs," and pointed out the historical
progression of the child care programs. She said these programs
are referred to in connection with the Welfare to Work Program.
She said child care and day care assistance began in 1975 and the
department has been providing day care assistance since that time.
It was divided into three areas; the child care grant, day care
assistance for parents who met low and moderate income levels, and
resource development which was the funding for licensed provider
training.
MS. CHASE said child care continued for many years without any
changes occurring until 1990. She said at that time, transitional
child care began, which is a child care assistance program
targeting parents who had worked their way off of welfare to be
sure that they did not move back onto the welfare roles. At the
same time these parents were assured quality day care programs, as
well as resource and referral services. In 1991, at risk child
care was developed for individuals in that income level where they
were certainly at risk of being on welfare.
Number 1164
MS. CHASE stated that in 1993, the Child Care Development Block
Grant came about. This was designed to focus on low to moderate
income families, those which were working or training to provide
needed support. Last year, with the federal changes in the Welfare
Reform Program, a number of changes also took place in the child
care area, including the Child Care Development Fund. The three
federal assistance programs were folded into one program and became
part of the new fund. The department now works in partnership with
Heath and Social Services to develop a comprehensive plan to
utilize these funds. Needless to say, it's extremely important in
terms of the Welfare to Work effort that they can provide quality
day care, the availability of it, and the financial assistance
which parents will need to move from welfare to work.
MS. CHASE furthered noted that the state is required to meet
federal guidelines and conduct number crunching to ensure that a
certain percentage of individuals presently on welfare move from
welfare to work. This is an essential piece of this program. At
the same time, it's equally important that they ensure this program
continues to be available to families operating from hand to mouth
on a day to day basis.
MS. CHASE stated that one of their challenges in working with
Health & Social Services is that they don't compromise the quality
of day care while they increase the day care slots. It's important
that they maintain the needed capacity in the communities as they
progress on the Welfare to Work Program. She then noted figures
listed on the right hand side of the Child Care Program handout
regarding the current program activities for Day Care Assistance.
The department serves about 3600 children per month and of that
about 2500 families. She added that they handle about 2300 child
care referrals annually and they do have a waiting list which they
try to work through as quickly as possible.
Number 1336
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked if this program was an unfunded mandate
or if the federal government provided money for this program. He
also asked if the state was required to provide matching funds and,
if so, how were the funds broken out.
MS. CHASE noted that there was both state and federal money
involved. She asked Remond Henderson to give the percentages of
these. She stated that there were definitely incentives for states
to obtain available federal money. Ms. Chase also noted that there
were also some penalties for Health & Social Services if the number
of individuals moving from Welfare to Work don't meet the
percentages based on their population reflected in the rolls.
Number 1384
REMOND HENDERSON stated that he did not have all of the details of
the budget with respect to the Day Care programs, but he did say
that the general fund portion of the Day Care program is $9.8
million. He noted a new fund which was developed as a result of
welfare reform which contains federal funds, as well as the matched
assets associated with it. In the fund, there is $4.8 million of
which, $3.5 million is interagency receipts received from the
Department of Health & Social Services. There is $1.3 million in
the general fund match which is associated with this as well.
Number 1427
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked if this program was still so heavily
regulated by local building codes as it was years ago. He noted
how these requirements pushed overall expenses up for these
facilities.
MS. CHASE stated that the standards today are more reasonable.
She referred to the handout again, when in 1975, the Day Care
Assistance Program began funding for training limited to licensed
providers. In 1991, there was a provision established which was
targeted at family child care and child care homes. She also noted
waivers for rural communities since safety is the real point such
as an establishment's egress windows, two exits, etc., rather than
whether or not a facility has running water, as long as it is
adequate to drink. The department has looked at regulations and
the intent of them to find a way to make sure that the children are
safe, but under reasonable circumstances.
MS. CHASE then noted the various forms of day care provided and
mentioned that not only was the department's goal to ensure safety,
but an environment where children can learn.
Number 1579
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked who determined what curriculum is used in
these various environments.
Number 1584
MS. CHASE stated that it depends on the individual centers. In a
number of areas throughout the state, home visitation programs are
being instituted. This is an important program for the prevention
of child abuse and neglect through early identification. This
program is also helpful in determining possible physical challenges
of a child which might impede learning or their progress in the
future.
Number 1673
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if Ms. Chase or administrators of child
care have any difficulty in obtaining criminal and arrest records
of people who apply for positions in the program.
MS. CHASE responded there was a provision that individuals who work
directly with children are required to have a criminal history
check. She noted that while this check is effective, quite often,
individuals in child care programs may have an offense somewhere
else which the department is not able to detect, or an individual
may not have an arrest record. Ms. Chase offered that one of the
problems which continues in child care is the low rate of pay for
the individuals who work in these programs. It tends to be an
entry level job.
Number 1739
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if there was anything they could do to
make it easier for the department to get the information they need,
especially in the area of child abusers.
MS. CHASE said she would like to get back to him on this. She felt
as though the system had improved over the years because of
technology and the access to information is faster. Technology has
enabled them to hook into the national network so that the criminal
background is not just limited to Alaska. An offense record
usually tells them what an individual has been convicted of rather
than what they have been arrested for. There are pros and cons to
looking at arrest data.
Number 1784
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if the department had detected any
pattern where offenses may have started while the perpetrator was
still a juvenile.
MS. CHASE said she would follow up on this at a later time for the
representative.
Number 1817
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked if the waiting list mentioned previously
for day care was a problem in terms of providing adequate
facilities for the children in the program.
MS. CHASE said that this continues to be a challenge for them
because when they have an adult who needs day care assistance in
order to continue work, they need this service immediately, which
usually means that this day care provided will be subsidized. When
an individual has found a job and would like to stay with it, it's
important that the department tries to do what they can to support
this situation.
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked, in the context of welfare reform,
whether or not Ms. Chase has seen an increase in the demands of
slots available to place children and asked if she had any
projections on how this waiting list might play out.
MS. CHASE stated that she thought they'd see more of a demand on
the slots. They actually had an interagency meeting about a week
and a half ago in Anchorage and she said there will be continual
follow up meetings of a cross agency group to look at the
availability of slots, how the overall capacity can be increased
statewide and how they can make the slots available. She also
mentioned putting a parent in a slot along with a subsidy when it's
needed.
Number 1903
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked with the continuing demand, whether or
not people will be able to receive some sort of training on how to
open up licensed day care centers in their own home, etc.
MS. CHASE said that training is on-going and she thought they would
probably see an increase in private home facilities cropping up.
Some of the larger centers are also looking at trying to increase
their capacity. She is most interested in targeting the rural
areas. She said that in Alaska's urban areas, they have the
capacity or the ability to increase the capacity more easily than
in some of the rural areas.
Number 1953
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked if she knew, based on waiting lists, in
which communities were additional facilities needed.
MS. CHASE answered that in working with Heath & Social Services
based on how the population breaks down across the state while
moving people from welfare to work, they need to be sure to target
the same communities.
Number 1989
REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS asked about the 23 percent of children which
are eligible for the program, but are left out.
MS. CHASE responded that they presently serve 23 percent of the
eligible children. There are a little over 75 percent of children
who are eligible for Head Start.
REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS asked if the majority of this 75 percent
figure were located in the rural areas and asked why so many
children are not being served. He asked if it was merely funding
or if the parents didn't want to participate.
MS. CHASE stated that it was the lack of availability, not the lack
of desire from the parents to participate. She noted that the main
reason the Head Start program had been funded by the federal
government over a thirty year period was because of parental
participation. Parents in communities do become very active in
this program, but certainly resources help also.
Number 2069
REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS asked if the primary purpose of this program
was to help children or to help people return to the work force.
MS. CHASE stated that the initial focus of Head Start was to better
prepare children to enter formalized school while requiring a
parental component. As the program got off the ground many years
ago, parental participation became as important as their initial
goals for the children. If a parent is one, interested; but two,
active in what's occurring with their child in these early years;
there is a better chance that this interest will continue through
the formal education process as well. Many parents become so
committed to the program that they want to become staff. This is
one of the biggest success factors of the program.
Number 2080
MS. CHASE continued with her presentation by addressing the Job
Training Program (JTPA) under the Job Training Partnership Office
(JTPO). She provided the committee with a hand out and referred to
the left column. She noted that it was important to provide the
committee with the number of adults served through programs, as
well as the emphasis of Welfare to Work to show the committee what
the actual numbers of the totals in these programs were, i.e.,
adults on public assistance or youth in youth welfare families.
She added that there was a commitment to work with not only
dislocated workers who may have been very active in the work force
and need to be retrained, but also to work with individuals who
have been in those borderline, low income jobs which she spoke
about previously.
MS. CHASE referred to the information in the middle column
outlining the ways in which the department serves individuals. For
example, in Valdez, with the closing of the Harborview Hospital,
JTPA has been working with the onsite labor management committee at
Harborview and with the larger state-wide committee to assess
whether or not JTPA assesses whether they can provide help in
either re-training or re-locating a worker to other parts of the
state in the event of a lay-off. She also noted the Ketchikan pulp
mill and their dealings there.
MS. CHASE next referred to the handout regarding training for rural
Alaskans. The Home Care Services Program with the Tanana Chiefs
Council (TCC) trains individuals in the communities to work with
the elders in order to help them maintain residence in their own
homes if at all possible. Ms. Chase noted that the secret to
success with job training programs are partnerships. She pointed
out that the right hand column of this same handout reflected
information related to areas the department works in to partner
with other agencies. She mentioned specifically the Alaska
Resource Investment Council which takes the lead in the program
area and intends to work with the department on the one stop
federal grant which the department received. This grant consists
of approximately $7.2 million over three years and gives the
department the ability to partner with private industry. It brings
together the resources the state has to bear to see that the
department can retrain and relocate where necessary.
MS. CHASE summed up her comments by mention of the Alaska Community
Services Commission which is essentially the domestic Peace Corps.
This commission provides volunteers the ability to do community
service projects while receiving a minimum wage. At the end of a
commitment to the program, a volunteer gets a stipend for further
educational training.
Number 2366
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if there was anything which precluded
the job training partnership from conducting training within
correctional facilities.
MS. CHASE stated that she didn't know the answer to this question,
but she said she would follow up on this issue for Representative
Dyson. Initially she didn't think so.
Number 2388
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked if they still employed youths to paint
murals and such during the summertime.
MS. CHASE said that they still do.
Number 2406
REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS asked how much general fund money was
involved with the JTPA program.
MR. HENDERSON stated that with the JTPA program the amount of grant
money was zero. Between the JTPA money and the State Training
Employment Program (STEP), there is $17 million consisting of
federal funds and UI (Unemployment Insurance) trust funds. He also
added for clarification purposes information regarding the grant
funds. He noted that there are general funds involved in the
administration to pay for salaries and travel related to these
grant fund programs.
REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS asked how much money this was.
MR. HENDERSON stated that he would follow up on this information
for Representative Sanders.
Number 2456
PAT POLAND, Director, Municipal and Regional Assistance Division
came forward to testify. He noted that this division was
relatively small, but predominately provided a broad range of
services to community governments. He said that he would briefly
review the programs within the division and then answer questions.
MR. POLAND noted that the bulk of their organization, consisting of
50 employees, was focused on local government assistance. They
spend the majority of their time traveling to communities, working
hands on with local city clerks, administrators, managers, etc.,
helping to manage the day to day affairs of a community. A subset
of this organization, their rural utility advisor program, provides
the same type of assistance, but is focused exclusively on managing
the business affairs of local utilities with a particular emphasis
on sewer and water.
TAPE 97-2, SIDE B
Number 000
MR. POLAND stated that the division provides staff support to the
Local Boundary Commission which is an independent body appointed by
the governor and attached to the department. They have two staff
who conduct the commission's technical work such as receiving
petitions for incorporation, dissolution, annexation, and also
logistics of setting up meetings, analysis, writing reports, etc.
The division does some lands management and planning, although this
function has been significantly reduced. Currently, there is a
staff of three which does this type of work. Under this general
component is the Municipal Lands Trustee, a responsibility which
the state accepted and received under the Alaska Native Land Claims
Settlement Act. Under this Act, the state holds in trust for
unincorporated communities land for future municipal or other
public uses.
MR. POLAND continued that the division also provides basic planning
assistance which has evolved into special planning projects such as
the base closures at Adak and Delta Junction, as well as
participation in the Community Response Partnerships in Ketchikan
and Wrangell with the mill closures. They also administer the
state revenue sharing, municipal assistance programs, and they also
distribute funds under a raw fish tax sharing program. They
distribute national forest receipts, which comes under a pass
through program, among other such projects conducted with a one
person staff.
MR. POLAND mentioned the function of a state assessor who, under
the department's auspice, is a one person office with a clerical
position. This person serves much like that of a local government
assessor. This person is responsible for monitoring the practices
of local governments, assessment and tax collection practices, as
well as assuring that functions are done within the confines of
state law. They are also responsible for administering the Senior
Citizen's Renters Rebate Program and the Disabled Veteran's Renters
Rebate Program.
MR. POLAND stated that the division has staff associated with the
Alaska Coastal Management Program. Largely, they receive funds
from the Division of Governmental Coordination. These funds in
turn are awarded to the various coastal districts throughout the
state. They are responsible for grant oversight, as well as for
technical assistance.
MR. POLAND mentioned the division's research and analysis section
consisting of two individuals located in Juneau. Some of this
program's more notable accomplishments include a very extensive
community database which covers a wealth of information about
Alaska communities. He recognized that the state budget has gotten
smaller and the fact that other department's ability to do outreach
to communities has diminished. The division finds itself more in
the role of working on behalf of other departments and he named
some.
MR. POLAND stated that the division has assumed responsibilities
and programs related to community and economic development which
were formally in the Division of Community and Rural Development.
These include the Community Development Quota Program, the
Community Development Block Grant Program, the Rural and
Development Assistance Program, and the Rural Development
Investment Fund.
MR. POLAND concluded by stating that the department has seven
offices scattered over the state located in Anchorage, Fairbanks,
Juneau, Nome, Kotzebue, Bethel and Dillingham. Their primary
offices are located in Anchorage and Juneau. Their Kotzebue and
Dillingham offices consist of one person. Their Nome, Fairbanks
and Bethel offices consist of three people.
Number 250
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked about the formula for figuring mill rates
on property and what it's based on. He said in the past it was not
based on a very specific formula.
MR. POLAND noted that the state assessor has been able to evolve
the estimating procedures, but there still is no formal detailing
of what property is out there and continued that it's basically a
formula driven series of estimates which dictates property rates.
This is not true for vehicles though. Through state registration
of automobiles and the use of technology, they are able to get a
hard number of how many vehicles there are in the state. The state
assessor is charged with determining the full and true value of
these vehicles, including everything which is conceivably taxable
regardless of exemptions.
Number 334
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN next asked about the Municipal Land Entitlement
Program. When municipalities form they receive a certain amount of
land from the state and in exchange they compose a government for
the area. The vast majority of municipalities still maintain in
some cases an excess of 90 percent of the land which they were
given. The original intent of the act was a way of getting land
into the private sector. Municipalities still owning this land
defeats the purpose of this act. He noted Mr. Poland's mention of
a land trust.
MR. POLAND responded that under the Alaska Native Land Claim
Settlement Act a certain amount of land was required to be set
aside in the community for future public needs. In places where
there is no municipal government they hold this land in trust until
such a government is formed. In the interim the department acts as
a trustee, for example, they leased some land to the school
district in Chignik for a school there.
Number 394
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked if they do anything with the present
municipal land or with the future incorporation of a municipality
as to their entitlement under the Municipal Lands Act.
MR. POLAND noted that their only role there is to secure
information from the Department of Natural Resources so that areas
can get an estimate of what their entitlement might be. In a
planning context, they also provide technical assistance in
identifying potential uses.
Number 420
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN recognized Representative Mark Hodgins in the
gallery and invited him to the committee table.
Number 430
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if the division's work with potable
water was done through the Village Clean Water Program.
MR. POLAND responded yes, that they work both with Village Safe
Water and with the Indian Health Service. They go through a mutual
process of identifying and prioritizing communities to work with,
particularly ones which are of concern to them. This is done in
several fashions. They work with them in advance before
installation of a system by identifying the appropriate technology
so that they'll be able to operate and financially pay for the
system. They also work with communities on existing systems.
MR. POLAND drew the distinction that they are separate from
physical plant maintenance. This is done under the Village Safe
Water with their crews. His division is focused on the business
end of this program by establishing good billing and collection
systems with rates at a level which will pay for the services.
Number 488
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if there was another department within
Community & Regional Affairs which does deal on the operational
level of waste water treatment.
MR. POLAND stated that no, this is located in Environmental
Conservation and their Village Safe Water Program.
Number 510
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN inquired about the Coastal Zone Management
Program and asked what areas of the state are active under this
program.
MR. POLAND stated that the majority of the districts under this
management plan are municipalities, either organized boroughs or
small first class cities with planning powers. In addition, there
are four coastal resource service areas within the unorganized
borough which have coastal management planning responsibilities.
There is one in the Bristol Bay area, the Bethel region, the Bering
Straits/Nome region and one in the Alaska Westward area of the
Aleutian Islands. These areas are supported by federal coastal
management program funds. They have no taxing authority. They
have no real implementation authority. They have a local board
which prepares and adopts a plan which is then forwarded to the
state and adopted by the state. It then becomes the responsibility
of state agencies to implement the plan.
MR. POLAND stressed that these plans proposed are general in nature
and not zoning plans per se, although there are some significant
controls. The legislature adopted the Alaska Coastal Management
Program and set it up through statute. The plan is developed and
adopted locally. It is then forwarded to the state. There is a
coastal policy council which is set up in statute consisting of
state commissioners, as well as certain representatives of the
coastal districts and public members. These individuals approve or
disapprove a plan, but there is no actual formal submission of the
plan to the legislature for approval.
Number 764
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN asked about the receipt of Alaska Industrial
Development & Export Authority (AIDEA) funding by the Rural
Development Agency and what the amount of this money was. He asked
what the department is looking for in the next fiscal year.
MR. HENDERSON noted that they received $800,000 from AIDEA for the
Alaska Regional Development Organization (ARDOR) Program in FY 97
and $650,000 from ADA for the Rural Development Assistance Program.
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN asked for Mr. Poland's forecast for budget
planning this year.
MR. POLAND stated that they would be budgeting the same amount of
money this year.
MR. HENDERSON said that the Rural Development Assistance Program is
in the Capital Budget. They haven't been given the exact number
yet, but they're looking to receive the same amount of money.
Number 842
PERCY FRISBY, Director, Department of Energy, came forward to
testify. He noted that this department dealt with construction and
maintenance in rural Alaska consisting of four programs. First,
the department deals with rural bulk fuel repair & upgrades for
community tank farms in conjunction with the Coast Guard and the
EPA in attempts to bring the tank farms into minimal compliance.
They oversee about ten piping projects for minimum compliance per
year, as well as three to five complete upgrades. They also deal
with rural power system upgrades by taking a look at distribution
systems to determine line loss efficiencies, repair, (indisc.).
They deal with power plants, replacing them if needed, as well as
looking at alternative energy and ways to replace fossil fuel
generation. They also look to downsize systems and to make them
more centralized. The department responded to bulk fuel and
electrical emergencies particularly in the winter time when
temperatures plunge.
Number 992
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked how this department interfaced with the
Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AVEC).
MR. FRISBY said they work closely with AVEC. As for upgrades and
efficiencies, AVEC is a regulated utility and they answer to the
Alaska Public Utilities Commission (APUC). The department works
with them on some regionalization concepts along with the smaller
distributions and inter-ties to eventually set up more centralized
systems. They also work with AVEC on potential hydro projects.
The Energy Division also works with the Power Cost Equalization
Program which is related to AVEC.
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if all of the power systems they work
with are regulated.
MR. FRISBY responded that not all of them were regulated. He noted
a co-op which is AVEC, Alaska Power and Telephone, and numerous
others which aren't. He went on to add that there are 50 stand
alone communities which are not regulated.
Number 1085
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked what systems are in place to protect the
consumer from being gouged.
MR. FRISBY responded that each community is required under the
Power Cost Equalization program to submit monthly reports to the
APUC and these numbers are verified as allowable costs. The state
then disburses the funds. The state works with the stand alone
communities by helping them formulate budgets. The state also
helps with planning and efficiency.
Number 1178
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked about shallow gas technologies or other
alternatives which the state is exploring.
MR. FRISBY said that he thought shallow gas was worth exploring.
He would like to complete a comparative analysis in these potential
sites for development of the same. He has done a preliminary
analysis of the potential sites, but would like to do something
more in-depth.
Number 1238
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON asked if some of the communities were
concerned with recent legislation which allows for competition.
MR. FRISBY said he hadn't heard any concerns. He thought the
communities would like to see more competition. The cost of doing
business in the rural communities is so expensive it is hard to
amortize an operation. He noted that in some cases there are three
providers of fuel in a community and stated that if these
communities established bulk facilities the cost of fuel could be
dropped.
Number 1357
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN encouraged the establishment of regional grid
systems and the feasibility of natural gas use.
Number 1464
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE asked about the problem of disintegrated bulk
fuel storage tanks in some communities and wondered about a time
table to change out these systems.
MR. FRISBY responded that there is a $3 million problem with bulk
fuel systems in Alaska. He said he is engaged in crisis management
working with the Coast Guard and the EPA. These organizations
issue the citation for each community. Mr. Frisby attempts to keep
these facilities open with piping projects. In addition, the state
has been fairly successful in filing for federal funds on behalf of
communities to help take care of the problem. In these instances
communities are responsible to pull together their own financial
packages for submission.
Number 1643
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked why the Community Safe Drinking Water
Program was put into DEC rather than in Community and Regional
Affairs.
MR. POLAND stated that in the early 70's, the federal monies were
directed at more traditional sewer and water systems of larger
communities. There was an engineering department in place which
was probably trying to stretch as much as they could. They
administered these monies and after a while the emphasis was placed
on rural Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE RYAN has observed that DEC is not very effective in
implementing these programs in the rural areas. He asked if Mr.
Poland thought their department would do a more efficient job.
MR. POLAND responded that there had been some serious efforts made
by both agencies to work more closely together. Significant
strides have taken place.
Number 1885
REPRESENTATIVE ALBERT KOOKESH asked Mr. Frisby if he and his
department were working on a state energy plan and offered the
committee's help in implementing one.
MR. FRISBY said they were actively working with AIDEA on a short
term, immediate issue plan which will go to the administration. A
complete state plan is appropriate at this time, short and long, to
encompass both the rural and urban areas.
Number 1997
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN asked what would happen if the PCE program
discontinued.
MR. FRISBY responded that APUC and their regulatory authority gets
the state in the door to work with small stand alone utilities.
They also have rural utility workers which go out and do periodic
inspections of facilities. This is also a safeguard that the
utility is running efficiently. If PCE discontinues, there will
still be some form of regulation. They actively look for
safeguards to protect the consumer.
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN then asked about the department's budget and
what they forecast for this coming year in light of cutting
$400,000 from their budget
MR. FRISBY said that he has 27 employees in the division. He
proposed the $400,000 cut which means a reduction of this work
force to 23 employees. He is scaling back some of the project
activity from 15 projects down to 10. Also, he intends to contract
out to the private sector to do design and cost estimates of
various projects. He is trying to shift to the private sector for
rural Alaska projects.
TAPE 97-3, SIDE A
Number 000
MR. FRISBY responded to a scenario set up by Representative Dyson
regarding non-conformity of some tank farms with leakages and the
department being under pressure to avoid these facilities from
being shut down. Mr. Frisby noted that they serve 210 communities
and on the average there are three tank farm owners in a community,
in some communities there are as many as seven tank farms. This
increases the sites of liability. He would like to consolidate
these facilities into one unit for compliance purposes. At the
same time they'd be able to increase the volume of fuel this
community buys. Mr. Frisby said he would supply Representative
Dyson with the data related to communities which are under threat
of noncompliance. He said his division has put together the most
comprehensive database on bulk fuel needs in rural Alaska, as well
as electrical power upgrade needs.
Number 416
REPRESENTATIVE JOULE said he would like to see how much money
awarded to a particular project gets spent in a community when they
obtain bulk storage fuel facilities. He asked to meet with Mr.
Frisby later on this issue.
MR. FRISBY said when he first came to the department he instituted
a policy to hire as many of the local people of a community to work
on a particular project. The only types of work the department
will do is design, professional engineering drawings, construction,
etc. He said he would provide additional information on this
issue.
Number 543
MR. HENDERSON followed up on information regarding a general fund
question posed earlier in relation to JTPA programs. He noted that
in relation to the $20.7 million associated with the job training
partnership programs and the STEP program that there was a little
less than $600,000 in general funds.
Number 600
LAMAR COTTON, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Community &
Regional Affairs, made himself available for questions regarding
Boards and Commissions. He stated that the department works with
two entities, the Americorps Board and the Local Boundary
Commission. The Local Boundary Commission is slated to make a
presentation in front of this committee on February 14, 1997.
ADJOURNMENT
REPRESENTATIVE IVAN adjourned the meeting at 9:49 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|