SB 207-AK AEROSPACE DEVEL. CORP BD MEMBERSHIP  CHAIR CON BUNDE announced SB 207 to be up for consideration. 2:21:48 PM recess 2:22:52 PM SENATOR GARY STEVENS, sponsor of SB 207, explained that it would expand membership on the board of directors of the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation to include two members from Kodiak. It presently has nine members. Currently, only one member of the board is from Kodiak and it has historically had two members. This island is where all the activities occur and the launch pad has substantial impacts on the community. The Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development (DCCED) estimates that the two added members would cost about $9,700 per year (from the rocket launch budget). 2:25:28 PM CHAIR BUNDE asked if the same thing could be accomplished by designating that two of the existing members be from Kodiak. SENATOR GARY STEVENS replied yes, but he explained there were two members from Kodiak and one resigned. The replacement was not from Kodiak and that brought up this issue. 2:26:30 PM SENATOR SEEKINS asked why Kodiak lost one position in the first place. SENATOR GARY STEVENS replied that Ron Acarregui resigned or reached the end of his term and his replacement was not from Kodiak. 2:27:43 PM SENATOR JOHNNY ELLIS asked what kind of decisions the board members actually make. SENATOR GARY STEVENS responded that the board sits in an advisory capacity and doesn't impact the number of launches, safety or things like that. One of the main issues it deals with is access to Fossil Beach, a popular area for people to visit, that is closed when there is a launch. 2:30:22 PM MIKE MILLIGAN, Kodiak resident, favored SB 207. He related that Kodiak did not have a lot of homesteading that other communities had primarily because its opportunities were on the water. So, private land is greatly restricted there and the commons are looked at differently. The launch facility is on state land. Kodiak has an active (Not In My Back Yard) NIMBY force due to fear over the military launches. Some of that could be alleviated with another person from Kodiak being on the board. He thought the state would be better served by an 11-member board as opposed to a nine-member board. 2:33:42 PM SENATOR BEN STEVENS pointed out that language in Section 1 says the board goes from three to five members with two from Kodiak, but one is left undesignated. CHAIR BUNDE clarified that all five have to be state residents that have a significant level of experience in the private business sector and two of them have to be from Kodiak, the other three can be from across the state. 2:36:16 PM SENATOR SEEKINS asked if there are any requirements of the people from Kodiak other than being from Kodiak. CHAIR BUNDE replied that he understood that all members must have the experience in private business, but also be from Kodiak. 2:37:35 PM NORM WOOTEN, Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber passed a resolution in support of this idea. It is committed to the success of the launch complex under the ownership of AADC and of any other industry that would broaden the economic base in Kodiak. He explained that currently the corporate offices of AADC are off of Kodiak Island and considering the huge impact that the launch facility has on it, members from Kodiak on the board would go a long way in allaying the mistrust that might be present. DAVE WOODRUFF, AADC Board of Directors, explained they serve in a capacity that is greater than just advisory. They monitor budgets, make decisions on equipment purchases and oversee what is happening at the launch site. 2:41:51 PM SENATOR BEN STEVENS mused that the board is going from three state residents to five and before when there was three, two were from Kodiak (although not in statute), but now they are going to three from outside Kodiak. It seemed that if they wanted representation from the community that is most impacted from the operations, they would want to have three members from Kodiak and two from other business interests in the state. CHAIR BUNDE commented that he thought if you have two designated out of nine, there would be more impact than having two out of 11 members. SENATOR BEN STEVENS asked Mr. Woodruff if he would want three instead of two out of five. MR. WOODRUFF responded that it would be nice to have three from Kodiak, but the bigger the board, the more ungainly it is to get people to it. The board has operated fine with nine members with two being from Kodiak. If the board goes to 11 members, he thought it would be nice to have three from Kodiak. 2:44:23 PM LINDA FREED, Manager, City of Kodiak, said a city council resolution supported SB 207, but didn't address increasing the size of the board as long as there are two members from Kodiak. She has worked hard to make sure that the facility works with the community. 2:46:20 PM CHAIR BUNDE asked if there is any opposition to the numbers on the board. SENATOR GARY STEVENS replied he hadn't heard of any opposition. It just seemed cleaner to increase the size of the board; and to keep the current number, someone would have to be taken off. SENATOR SEEKINS asked if the board terms are staggered and if the main reason for increasing the size is so that someone does not have to be removed. DOUG LETCH, aide to Senator Gary Stevens, explained that page 2, section 2, sets forth the members' terms. SENATOR SEEKINS said it appears that there is one member from Kodiak now and asked when his term expires and if that expediency why two more members were added as opposed to just waiting for natural attrition. MR. LETCH replied that his term expires in June and that they were looking for the best way to not have to kick someone off the board. 2:51:13 PM CHAIR BUNDE announced he would hold the bill for further hearing and adjourned the meeting at 2:51:39 PM.