02/08/2005 08:00 AM House COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Municipal Entitlements | |
| HB119 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 119 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 8, 2005
8:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Kurt Olson, Co-Chair
Representative Bill Thomas, Co-Chair
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Mark Neuman
Representative Woodie Salmon
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Sharon Cissna
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: MUNICIPAL ENTITLEMENTS
HOUSE BILL NO. 119
"An Act extending the termination date of the Alaska regional
economic assistance program; and providing for an effective
date."
- MOVED HB 119 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 119
SHORT TITLE: AK REGIONAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
SPONSOR(S): COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
01/28/05 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/28/05 (H) CRA, FIN
02/08/05 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
BOB LOEFFLER, Director
Division of Mining, Land and Water
Department of Natural Resources
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Reviewed municipal land entitlement
program.
DICK MYLIUS, Deputy Director
Division of Mining, Land and Water
Department of Natural Resources
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During review of municipal land entitlement
program, answered questions.
KACI SCHROEDER, Staff
to Representative Thomas;
House Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 119 on behalf of the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee, sponsor.
ROLLO POOL, Executive Director
Southeast Conference
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 119.
WAYNE STEVENS, President
Alaska State Chamber of Commerce
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 119.
SALLY SADDLER, Legislative Liaison
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 119.
JEFF COOK, Director
External Affairs
Flint Hills Resources;
Member, Fairbanks North Star Borough Economic Development
Commission
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HB 119.
DEB HICKOK, President/CEO
Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing on HB 119, testified in
support of reauthorizing the ARDORs.
WANETTA AYERS
Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During hearing on HB 119, urged
reauthorization of the ARDOR program.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CO-CHAIR KURT OLSON called the House Community and Regional
Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:04:32 AM.
Representatives Salmon, LeDoux, Neuman, Olson, and Thomas were
present at the call to order. Representative Kott arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
^OVERVIEW: MUNICIPAL ENTITLEMENTS
BOB LOEFFLER, Director, Division of Mining, Land and Water,
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), pointed out that [the
municipal entitlements program] has progressed from a program in
the doldrums to one that is making great strides. A few years
ago there was a 50-year backlog of municipal entitlements, which
will be worked through over the next four to five years.
MR. LOEFFLER reviewed the legal framework of the state's
municipal entitlements program, AS 29.65, which established the
formula and set the entitlement acreage for some of the state's
largest boroughs. He explained that AS 29.65 set the municipal
entitlement acreage for 11 boroughs and created the concept of
vacant, unappropriated and unreserved (VUU) lands. That statute
created conveyable and nonconveyable categories in 1978. Those
municipalities existing in 1978 received 10 percent of the VUU
lands within their boundaries. The aforementioned was used to
determine the entitlements for the Northwest Arctic Borough, the
Aleutians East Borough, and the Denali boroughs. This law also
guides DNR's processing and provides a standard for rejection.
He related that the standard for rejection is: "The director
may disapprove a selection only upon a finding that the public
interest in retaining state ownership of the land outweighs the
municipality's interest in obtaining the land." Therefore,
there is a strong presumption to convey those categories to a
municipality. However, due to litigation there are some school
trust lands, university lands, and Mental Health Trust lands
that aren't available for conveyance. He noted that
municipalities pay for the survey of the land, which can be a
major cost for the municipalities. Therefore, land typically
isn't surveyed until there is a real need to do so.
MR. LOEFFLER specified that the constitution, court decisions,
and some state law provides [the framework for how municipal
entitlements are done]. He pointed out that the [department] is
required to perform a best interest finding with public notice
and comment. The minerals and access, to other state lands and
navigable waters, are reserved for the state as well as other
items of state interest. Therefore, on a daily basis those at
the Division of Mining, Land and Water perform title work, which
is a significant amount of work. Lately, the division has been
reviewing whether land should be returned to the boroughs. If
it should, then reclassification will take place.
8:10:41 AM
MR. LOEFFLER then turned to the history of the program, which
began in 1978. In the 1980s, a large amount of land was
transferred to municipalities and 70 percent of the state was
classified in larger area plans. Therefore, most of the acreage
is now conveyed. In the 1990s, budget cuts resulted in the
program dwindling to almost nothing when municipal entitlements
were suspended for several years. In 2001, after the land
disposal program started up, [the division] discovered it was
making more money with land disposal than projected. Therefore,
the legislature used some of that increment to fund the current
program. Currently, the existing entitlement for existing
boroughs is about 1.4 million acres, of which almost 850,000
acres has been conveyed and about 500,000 acres remain. Stated
in a different way, 44 municipalities have entitlements and 26
have all their land approved. He then referred to a document
entitled "MUNICIPAL LAND ENTITLEMENTS - AS 29.65", which
specifies the municipality and the certified entitlement,
approved patented acreage, and estimated remaining entitlement.
8:12:40 AM
MR. LOEFFLER moved on to the future of the municipal land
entitlement program. In 1999, calculations specified that at
the rate [the program was moving], it would take three years to
get everything done. However, the legislature reallocated some
money and the division performed some significant
reclassifications. He highlighted that the Bristol Bay area
plan has had a significant reclassification, and therefore the
division expects to convey a lot of land to the Aleutians East
Borough and the Lake & Peninsula Borough. Next year, the
division is beginning a reclassification for the Northwest
Arctic Borough. The larger entitlements should be completed
over the next two to three years.
8:14:00 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX surmised that if the estimated remaining
entitlement specified zero, then that particular borough's
entitlements are complete.
MR. LOEFFLER replied yes.
8:14:18 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS pointed out that the Local Boundary Commission's
(LBC) report this year specified that the Municipality of
Anchorage has 44,000 acres to be conveyed, although the division
specifies zero.
MR. LOEFFLER specified that the Municipality of Anchorage has
had its entire entitlement for some time now. The same is true
of the Mat-Su Valley as well. Mr. Loeffler offered that when
the [division] conveys the land the borough has management
authority, although the land isn't patented until the land has
been surveyed. Since surveys are expensive, municipalities
typically don't survey until there is a good reason to do so.
Therefore, [the LBC] could be reporting the acreage remaining to
be patented. In further response to Co-Chair Thomas, Mr.
Loeffler confirmed that the [certified entitlement] for the
Northwest Arctic Borough is 285,438 and the North Slope Borough
is 89,850.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS recalled that the LBC referred to the North
Slope Borough as the grandfather of boroughs and said it hasn't
received an entitlement yet.
MR. LOEFFLER said that the North Slope Borough has received a
[small] entitlement and [some entitlements in that area] are
being done now. He explained that the North Slope Borough lost
its entitlement because prior to 1978 when ANCSA was passed,
there were a number of lawsuits. As part of the Municipal
Entitlement Act, there was a poison pill aspect that specified
that municipalities that wanted their entitlement had to drop
their lawsuits against the state. The North Slope Borough
didn't drop its lawsuits, and therefore lost its entitlement.
The North Slope Borough, he related, regained its entitlement in
the mid 1980s.
DICK MYLIUS, Deputy Director, Division of Mining, Land and
Water, Department of Natural Resources, recalled that the North
Slope Borough regained its entitlement in 1986, essentially the
same timeframe the Northwest Arctic Borough formed.
8:17:54 AM
CO-CHAIR OLSON inquired as to the acreage the North Slope
Borough has received.
MR. MYLIUS confirmed that the North Slope Borough has received
about 16 acres, but there are some contentious issues in the
area.
8:18:46 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS inquired as to who makes the presumptions.
MR. LOEFFLER answered that the law says that DNR may only
disapprove a municipal entitlement if state interest clearly
outweighs the interest of the borough.
8:19:23 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS surmised that any natural gas findings in the
Cook Inlet area would belong to the state.
MR. LOEFFLER reiterated that all minerals belong to the state.
8:19:41 AM
CO-CHAIR OLSON asked if the mineral rights of the Red Dog mine
were conveyed to the [Native] regional corporation.
MR. LOEFFLER explained that the mineral rights never came to the
state; those rights transferred directly from the federal
government to the Native corporations. He highlighted that
under the Statehood Act, the state isn't allowed to convey
mineral rights out of state ownership.
8:20:22 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS turned to Native allotments. He recalled that
there were several Native allotment applications from Haines
that somehow the state obtained title to and it took quite some
time to reconvey those. Therefore, he inquired as to the normal
timeframe for reconveyance.
MR. LOEFFLER acknowledged that it's a long process. He
explained that Native allotments come up frequently years after
the state has owned the land. In fact, in some cases Native
allotments have come up decades after the land was sold to other
people. The aforementioned has resulted in the state buying
back subdivisions. He recalled a case in which the Native
allotment arose 17 years after the land had been sold to
individuals.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS interjected that he knew of some Native
allotments that were filed in the 1920s, and the individuals
never did obtain the title. He inquired as to how a showing can
be made so many years later, when people are dead.
MR. LOEFFLER specified that the showing has to be made to the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which will determine whether
it's a valid Native allotment. Once the Native allotment is
determined to be valid, the division has to reconvey it.
Typically, the division tries to reconvey land because these are
Alaskan citizens. However, if there is a great state interest
in not reconveying, then the allotment is critically viewed and
sometimes the allotee goes to a different location or the
division may contest [reconveyance]. Mr. Loeffler said it has
been a horribly long process; but the division, along with BLM,
is attempting to speed up [and complete] all of the ANCSA and
state conveyances by 2009.
8:23:31 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS commented that he has been privy to situations
in which a Native allotment was filed on federal land at the
head of a lake, where the state created a park. The individual
didn't receive title to the land, although the individual was
offered land in the vicinity because $3 million of improvements
were made to the Native allotment.
MR. LOEFFLER said that he wasn't aware of that.
8:24:47 AM
MR. LOEFFLER concluded by reviewing the issues facing the
program. One issue is the large amount of land to transfer.
The biggest issue is competing priorities for title work.
Another issue is the fact that the state can't transfer what it
doesn't own and can't patent what BLM hasn't yet patented to the
state. Therefore, some lands will be [unavailable] for a while
because the boroughs want to withhold land. Furthermore, there
are reclassification needs because of borough selection of non-
VUU land or land that is tied up by other state agencies. Mr.
Loeffler turned to the public concerns of the program. He
pointed out that municipal land is often viewed as development
land by nearby residents and there is a NIMBY [not in my
backyard] factor. Mr. Loeffler concluded by relating his belief
that it's important to get land to boroughs.
HB 119-AK REGIONAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
CO-CHAIR OLSON announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 119, "An Act extending the termination date of
the Alaska regional economic assistance program; and providing
for an effective date."
8:27:52 AM
KACI SCHROEDER, Staff to Representative Thomas, Alaska State
Legislature; House Community and Regional Affairs Standing
Committee, paraphrased from the following written sponsor
statement [original punctuation provided]:
The Alaska Regional Development Organizations
(ARDOR's) were created in 1988 by the Alaska
Legislature. ARDOR's are non-profit organizations
comprised of local volunteers working together to
promote economic development in their regions. The
advantages of having a program like this working on
the regional level are that the ARDOR's are able to
coordinate with other economic development activities
and collect and distribute economic information within
their regions. In addition, ARDOR's serve as a
liaison between the region and the state and federal
governments.
Today, there are 11 ARDOR's assisting 11 regions in
the state. Each ARDOR has a board whose members are
appointed by various organizations within the region.
It is the responsibility of the board to ensure that
an annual work plan is executed.
Each ARDOR's grant is approximately $50,000. This
money is not earmarked for a specific use. Rather,
the ARDOR's are free to use the money where they need
it most. This allows them to be more flexible and
efficient in achieving their goals. To date, this
funding formula has been especially effective
resulting in substantial economic growth throughout
the state.
The ARDOR's program has repeatedly presented itself to
the Alaska State Legislature and has repeatedly proven
itself a worthy investment of the state's resources.
Further, in order to continue the achievements of the
ARDOR's program, it is necessary that the program be
able to count on a certain level of funding in the
future. It is for these reasons that HB 119 extends
the sunset date for the program to 2013 allowing for
eight more years of growth of this valuable program.
I strongly urge your support of HB 119.
8:29:32 AM
ROLLO POOL, Executive Director, Southeast Conference, began by
explaining that the Southeast Conference is the ARDOR for the
Southeast region. He related that the Southeast Conference is
in support of HB 119, which is one of the organization's top
legislative priorities for 2005. Mr. Pool acknowledged that a
couple of years ago there were some issues regarding how the
Southeast Conference accounted for the work it did. Therefore,
[the Southeast Conference] developed a tiered system for
obtaining funding. Also, some competitive grants were created.
Mr. Pool informed the committee that the Southeast Conference is
50 years old and deals with various industries. This money
would allow [the Southeast Conference] to pay for meetings,
staff, and associated costs that grants don't allow. In fact,
the amount of money leveraged outside of this grant is about
18:1, while he recalled that the ratio for the other ARDORs is
about 8:1 and thus for every dollar of the ARDOR grant, the
ARDOR was able to bring in $8 more in terms of other grants and
funding sources. Mr. Pool said that he views [the ARDORs] as a
partner with the state, a partner that he viewed as
underutilized. He said, "We would like to be a link ... in the
stream of issues that connect our state on economic
development."
8:31:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked if [the ARDORs] are taking steps to
include the public.
MR. POOL suggested that a better organization within the ARDOR
group would be appropriate. He informed the committee that last
week the ARDORs met in Juneau and discussed collaboration
efforts in which the stronger ARDORs can help the others rise to
a higher performance level. He said that the ARDORs must also
work on educating state agencies and the legislature. He
related that the ARDORs should lead by example and work with
state and federal agencies in order to become a partner.
8:33:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON inquired as to why [the ARDORs] seem to
only be located in population centers and not in central Alaska.
MR. POOL explained that [ARDORs] are formed by groups within the
area. If a group of communities wants to form an ARDOR, the
state will work with it to do so. The group forms first and
then approaches the state. Mr. Pool related that some groups in
the Interior communities have discussed forming an ARDOR.
8:34:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN asked if there is a mechanism in place to
help expand the boundaries of the current [ARDORs] in order to
include other nearby areas.
MR. POOL pointed out that the Southeast Conference area abuts
the Prince William Sound group. He acknowledged that there are
issues, such as the ferry system, that transcend boundaries. He
opined that there might be some resentment if one group takes
over another regional group's area. He indicated that [the
Southeast Conference] would help any group interested in forming
[an ARDOR].
8:36:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN commented that it might be difficult for
one community to organize, and therefore he indicated that
perhaps [existing ARDORs] could expand and include one community
at a time.
MR. POOL said that he isn't aware of how the boundaries were
formed in other areas. The boundary for the Southeast
Conference is a natural boundary between Yakutat and Ketchikan.
The Southeast Conference doesn't have the ability to expand
without moving into the boundary of others. Mr. Pool agreed
that perhaps the Fairbanks borough could take on some other
communities, if there was support in those other communities.
He highlighted that most of the staff for ARDORs are volunteers.
There has to be some momentum and energy in the community in
order for the [group to form/expand].
8:37:29 AM
MR. POOL, in response to Representative Salmon, confirmed that
each ARDOR has a Board of Directors. He specified that he
didn't know how others select their board, but the Southeast
Conference has 13 directors in Southeast Alaska. According to
Southeast Conference's bylaws a majority of the directors must
be city/borough employees or elected officials.
8:38:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON surmised then that would be the reason why
[there aren't ARDORs] in the Interior.
MR. POOL said he didn't know. He specified that Southeast
Conference's board of directors is selected by its membership.
The board membership attempts to be a representative sample of
the region.
8:39:46 AM
WAYNE STEVENS, President, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce,
stated:
The Alaska State Chamber of Commerce supports the
reauthorization and funding of the Alaska Regional
Development Organization Program to engage in economic
development planning, strategizing and implementation
through effective public and private sector
collaboration on local, regional, and state levels.
MR. STEVENS related that he has been involved for 16 years with
Southwest Alaskan Municipal Conference, and even served as the
chair of that [ARDOR] from 2001-2003 when U.S. Senator Ted
Stevens provided $30 million for stellar sea lion mitigation.
The ARDOR has had tremendous impact in bringing together diverse
sections of the Southwest region. He opined that the [ARDOR]
process works and is collaborative. Mr. Stevens concluded by
urging passage of HB 119.
8:41:31 AM
SALLY SADDLER, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Commerce, Community, & Economic Development,
related that the department views economic development as a
partnership. She further related that the department looks
forward to working with ARDORs, which are uniquely positioned to
represent local communities and regional ideas for economic
development. Ms. Saddler highlighted that the ARDORs have
created a performance-based measurement system that seems to
identify a unique system by which the ARDOR takes on the
identity of the services and opportunities in the region. Ms.
Saddler concluded by urging passage of HB 119.
8:42:53 AM
JEFF COOK, Director, External Affairs, Flint Hills Resources;
Member, Fairbanks North Star Borough Economic Development
Commission; urged the committee to reauthorize the ARDORs. He
specified that the Fairbanks North Star Borough Economic
Development Commission is the ARDOR in Fairbanks. Mr. Cook said
he is impressed with the dedication to economic development the
local governments involved with this ARDOR have. Mr. Cook
informed the committee that the areas of accomplishment for the
North Star Borough Economic Development Commission have been in
the area of cold climate housing research, hosting the Alaska
Federation of Natives convention, and working with VISTA
volunteers.
8:45:01 AM
DEB HICKOK, President/CEO, Fairbanks Convention and Visitors
Bureau, had her comments read by Catherine Dodge, as follows:
I have been in the business of economic development,
specifically destination marketing, for a number of
years .... In order for organizations like ours to be
successful, it is critical to have the support of
local government. The ARDOR facilitates are an even
better scenario, programs that augment (indisc.) or
give impetus to our success as well as economic
development throughout our community. It is
imperative that the state invest economic development
monies on the local level, where we can partner to
focus our efforts on successes that are identified as
needed by the local community. This morning Fairbanks
is welcoming 325 Japanese guests on a charter direct
from Narida(ph) airport. That event was made possible
by the cooperative partnerships with local government.
I urge you to reauthorize the ARDORs for eight years
and continue the $650,000 bonding. Thank you for your
hard work in Juneau on our behalf.
8:46:42 AM
WANETTA AYERS, Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference, explained
that the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference represents the
Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, Bristol Bay, Kodiak
archipelago, and the Pribilof Islands. She mentioned that the
members should've received a copy of the ARDOR annual report,
which details accomplishments of the ARDORs in the areas of
business retention and expansion, work force development, market
development, infrastructure development, and economic
development planning and research. Since the last
reauthorization, the ARDORs have developed a tiered funding
formula, which provides the department a tool by which it can
access and monitor the progress of each ARDOR. The tiered
formula provides a 70:20:10 split of ARDOR funding. She
explained that all of the certified ARDORs participate in the 70
percent funding while those meeting the Tier II criteria
participate at an additional 20 percent, and those meeting the
Tier III criteria participate in the 10 percent. This tiered
formula was a direct response to the legislative inquiries
received during the last reauthorization process. She opined
that the tiered formula provides the flexibility to develop
organizational structure to meet the needs of the community the
ARDOR serves. "The report, as you've heard, details the
leveraging of every state dollar by generating an additional $8
from other sources," she stated.
MS. AYERS related that the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference
works across many state and federal agencies to implement and
pursue the economic development priorities of the region. In
addition to the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference's board of
directors, there are numerous volunteers who serve on
committees. Furthermore, the Southwest Alaska Municipal
Conference is in the process of establishing a new regional
workforce development council that will work collaboratively to
address some of the region's work force development issues. In
regard to comments about some areas not being represented with
an ARDOR, Ms. Ayers informed the committee that in the past
there were 14 ARDORs, of which 3 weren't recertified because
they couldn't maintain the criteria state regulations require.
Of the three areas that didn't recertify, one group has
expressed interest in re-forming an ARDOR. In terms of the
Interior, Ms. Ayers related that the Tanana Chiefs Conference is
interested in establishing an ARDOR. In conclusion, Ms. Ayers
urged the committee to reauthorize the ARDOR program.
8:51:20 AM
CO-CHAIR OLSON closed public testimony.
8:51:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE NEUMAN recalled his own experience in which it
was difficult to obtain contact with an ARDOR. Therefore, he
suggested that the ARDORs look into ways to reach the public
regarding what ARDORs are working on and how to contact ARDORs.
He recommended passage of HB 119.
8:52:20 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SALMON opined that the [existing ARDORs] should
try to include more of the rural areas. He opined that it seems
that the [existing ARDORs] are bypassing the rural areas,
although the rural areas need help as well.
8:53:02 AM
CO-CHAIR OLSON requested that Ms. Saddler discuss Representative
Salmon's concerns after the meeting.
8:53:14 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS moved to report HB 119 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, HB 119 was reported out of the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 8:53:29 AM.
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