ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
February 3, 2011
8:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Cathy Engstrom Munoz, Chair
Representative Neal Foster, Vice Chair
Representative Alan Austerman
Representative Alan Dick
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Sharon Cissna
Representative Berta Gardner
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 65
"An Act making regional Native housing authorities eligible to
receive grants through the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
from the senior citizens housing development fund."
- MOVED OUT OF COMMITTEE
OVERVIEW(S): DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
- HEARD
SERVE ALASKA
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 65
SHORT TITLE: SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING DEV. FUND GRANTS
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) EDGMON, HERRON, FOSTER, JOULE
01/18/11 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/7/11
01/18/11 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/11 (H) CRA, FIN
02/01/11 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
02/01/11 (H) Heard & Held
02/01/11 (H) MINUTE(CRA)
02/03/11 (H) CRA AT 8:00 AM BARNES 124
WITNESS REGISTER
TIM CLARK, Staff
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented HB 65 on behalf of the sponsor,
Representative Edgmon.
SUSAN BELL, Commissioner
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development (DCCED)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an overview of the Department of
Commerce, Community & Economic Development.
JOELLEN HANRAHAN, Director
Division of Administrative Services
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: During DCCED overview, answered questions.
NITA MADSEN, Director
Serve Alaska
State Service Commission
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a presentation on Serve Alaska.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:04:39 AM
CHAIR CATHY ENGSTROM MUNOZ called the House Community and
Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting to order at 8:04
a.m. Representatives Munoz, Foster, Austerman, Gardner, and
Dick were present at the call to order. Representatives Saddler
and Cissna arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HB 65-SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING DEV. FUND GRANTS
8:04:55 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 65, "An Act making regional Native housing
authorities eligible to receive grants through the Alaska
Housing Finance Corporation from the senior citizens housing
development fund."
8:05:34 AM
TIM CLARK, Staff, Representative Bryce Edgmon, Alaska State
Legislature, reminded the committee that HB 65 will benefit
senior citizens by including rural housing authorities among the
eligible entities for grants through the Alaska Housing Finance
Corporation's (AHFC) Senior Citizens Housing Development Fund
(SCHDF). Currently, the fund is only available to
municipalities and 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits. He
recalled that at the last meeting there was a question regarding
examples of nonprofits that currently qualify for grants through
SCHDF. Two of the three projects highlighted at the last
hearing, which were partially funded through SCHDF, are the
Fairbanks retirement home as well as the Mid-Valley senior
citizens facility. Additional examples were specified in a
memorandum recently provided to members. Those additional
examples included the Palmer Senior Citizens Center
Incorporated, Meadow Lake Community Council, Bristol Bay Housing
Development Corporation, and Ninilchik Tribal Health, Culture
and Heritage nonprofit.
8:08:45 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER moved to report HB 65 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
8:09:21 AM
The committee took a brief at-ease.
8:10:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER moved that the committee rescind its
action in reporting HB 65 out of committee. There being no
objection, HB 65 was before the committee.
8:10:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER moved to report HB 65 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
^Overview: Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development
Overview(s): Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development
8:11:32 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ announced that the next order of business would be
an overview of the Department of Commerce, Community & Economic
Development.
8:12:05 AM
SUSAN BELL, Commissioner, Department of Commerce, Community &
Economic Development (DCCED), began her presentation by
highlighting the mission of DCCED, which is to "promote a
healthy economy, strong communities and protect consumers in
Alaska." She then directed attention to page 2 of her
presentation, which is an organizational chart of DCCED. The
department houses six corporate agencies and six core agencies.
The department works across departmental lines through a number
of programs and provides access to capital, state grants and
loans, as well as a number of development programs that can be
utilized in order to diversify and strengthen the state's
economy. She pointed out that DCCED markets Alaska and many
Alaska products. Moreover, the department has a number of
regulatory agencies and provides considerable assistance to
local governments and unincorporated communities through grants
and technical assistance. Commissioner Bell then informed the
committee that DCCED has a total of 538 employees throughout the
state and a total fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget request of
$204,178.4 million, the breakdown of which the pie chart on page
4 illustrates. Of that total request approximately 39 percent,
$80 million, is for economic growth; 26 percent, $53,315.8
million is for sustainable energy; 19 percent, $38,927.5, is for
strong communities, and 16 percent, $32,129.1 million, is for
consumer protection. Commissioner Bell remarked that DCCED
assist communities to achieve maximum local self-governance and
foster volunteerism statewide through DCRA and Serve Alaska.
She noted that the reductions in the budget request are largely
from one-time grant items that were in the [Division] of
Community & Regional Affairs (DCRA). She then informed the
committee that the following two experienced people are leading
two of the department's core entities: Sara Fisher-Goad is the
new executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) and
Scott Ruby, a 26-year veteran of DCRA, is DCRA's new director.
Returning to sustainable energy, Commissioner Bell pointed out
that the department is focused on the sustainability of energy
systems, reducing the costs of energy, and achieving DCCED's
statewide goals.
8:18:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE AUSTERMAN, referring to page 5 of the
presentation, highlighted the $1.4 million reduction of general
fund (GF) in power cost equalization (PCE) funding. He reminded
members that the PCE fund that generates interest earnings,
which help pay for the cost of PCE throughout the state. There
is also an infusion of cash from the GF because the PCE fund
doesn't generate enough interest earnings to pay for the basic
services that are provided for under PCE. For many years, the
legislature battled how much money to put into PCE from the GF,
and thus it became a negotiating instrument during the final
budget process. However, currently, the PCE payout to the
communities is set and the interest earnings of the PCE fund are
subtracted from that and the remainder is the GF. Currently,
the system is set up so that the [aforementioned] is
automatically paid for from the GF. Therefore, the $1.4 million
reduction is based upon last year's amount of funding the
legislature put in from the GF to the PCE. This year the
legislature will put in $1.4 million less than it did last year.
8:20:39 AM
COMMISSIONER BELL continued her presentation by describing the
priority programs referenced on page 6. With regard to
consumer protection, she pointed out that four divisions address
this mission in terms of licensing, regulating, and enforcing
the state's statutes and regulations to protect the consumer
while providing a stable business climate. With regard to PCE,
Commissioner Bell informed the committee that the Regulatory
Commission of Alaska (RCA) deals with the computation of the PCE
funds and AEA distributes the PCE funds. She then turned to the
department's economic development program, which has a mission
to diversify and strengthen the state's industry sectors.
8:22:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK related that some of his constituents, who
are entrepreneurs, have told him they find that they're
competing against their own tax dollars, state programs, and
state entities. He inquired as to how he should direct such
concerns.
COMMISSINER BELL encouraged those folks to contact DCCED,
specifically the Division of Economic Development because the
division may be able to provide market research or financing
programs that may assist them. With regard to competition, she
highlighted that the administration's legislation includes some
additional revolving loan funds that specifically target small
enterprises and self-employment.
REPRESENTATIVE DICK clarified that he's referring to businesses
that have existed for decades and now find themselves competing
with government programs. For example, in one case an
entrepreneur built teacher housing, but then the government was
able to provide housing for the teachers and now the
entrepreneur's housing sits vacant.
COMMISSIONER BELL suggested that perhaps the department and the
state should think more about how to attract more business and
visitor traffic and how that can strengthen the economy. She
acknowledged that the example crosses departmental lines and
that the department should be aware of that.
8:24:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA remarked that she has seen DCCED programs
that have worked in the communities that she has visited.
Furthermore, the department and the division have been helpful
in helping people understand the law and work through it to work
through the system into a leadership position. However, she
highlighted the lack of oversight such that the state isn't
really doing a good job in ensuring that what's built fits in
the community in which it's constructed.
COMMISSIONER BELL opined that some of what Representative Cissna
is describing is a function of state funded, federally funded,
and privately funded [projects]. She expressed the importance
of departments, subcabinets, commissions, and other entities
engaging in the simpler aspects of projects and needs.
8:29:09 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER turned attention to the Alaska Seafood
Marketing Institute (ASMI) and the Alaska Travel Industry
Association (ATIA). She viewed ASMI and ATIA as parallel
agencies in many respects because both organizations promote
Alaska resources and businesses for both the large corporate
organizations and the smaller organizations. However, one
entity is a state agency and the other is a private entity. She
inquired as to the advantages and disadvantages of separately
addressing fisheries versus tourism.
COMMISSIONER BELL expressed the need to recognize that the state
has tried various marketing models with tourism. She recalled
that over her 20 years of direct engagement in tourism
management and marketing she has seen the use of those various
models. She mentioned models including one in which the tourism
marketing was directly administered and developed by the
Division of Tourism and another model in which it was a
public:private partnership. She noted that in the course of the
last decade, ASMI has restructured in terms of the size and
composition of its board and engagement from the legislature.
She offered that it would be valuable to have a side-by-side
comparison between ATIA and ASMI to review their organizational
structure and funding.
8:32:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DICK emphasized his interest in economic
development in the Bush and would like to share ideas with the
department.
8:33:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER mentioned that he had just attended a
meeting in which the Alaska Aerospace Corporation executives
said they support the movement, per EO 115, of the corporation
from DCCED to the Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs.
He asked if the department supports the aforementioned move. He
further asked what impact such a move would have on DCCED.
COMMISSIONER BELL answered that DCCED supports the move. She
mentioned that the Alaska Aerospace Corporation has been
publicly pursuing a contract with Lockheed Martin Corporation
for the missile defense program at Fort Greely. Upon review,
DCCED recognized that the clientele of the Alaska Aerospace
Corporation is primarily military. Furthermore, even when the
corporation is servicing a commercial client, it works with
organizations that are military like in structure and accustomed
to working with the military. The DCCED also recognized that
part of the corporation's sustainability plan is to help find a
continuing source of federal funding. Commissioner Bell
remarked that this move will help align the Alaska Aerospace
Corporation with the military structure and provide it access
that will be beneficial. Still, whether it's through a
continued board seat or engagement, DCCED wants to be sure the
corporation is viewed as a growing sector and economy. She
highlighted that [the aerospace industry] has high wage jobs
that are high technical jobs. Recent independent studies from
several firms have noted the direct employment in Anchorage and
Kodiak as well as the 260 businesses in Alaska that provide
goods and services and secondary impact. Furthermore, the total
direct and indirect employment exceeded 200 jobs, she related.
Commissioner Bell said that's the exact kind of sector DCCED
wants to grow and strengthen.
8:36:55 AM
COMMISSIONER BELL turned to the Division of Community & Regional
Affairs (DCRA), which is an important aspect of DCCED achieving
its mission. She reminded the committee that DCRA staff is
engaged on a daily basis with local governments. For instance,
DCRA provides technical assistance on accounting, having lawful
elections, understanding municipal code, and understanding the
impact of state law and regulations on communities.
Commissioner Bell opined that DCRA is proactive with training,
responsive to issues that arise, and touch a lot of communities
through the local government assistance programs. Furthermore,
DCRA administers the Rural Utility Business Advisory (RUBA)
program that focuses on water and wastewater systems and their
sustainability.
8:38:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER remarked that local government assistance
is very important in Western Alaska. He surmised that typically
a community would request assistance, but he asked if the
[division/department] might also recognize a community is having
problems and initiate assistance. He further surmised that
there are many requests for assistance, and therefore he
inquired as to how those are prioritized.
COMMISSIONER BELL confirmed that the [division/department] is
contacted by communities, the municipalities and local
governments, as well as via citizen concerns to the governor's
office or the department. The DCRA, she related, tries to be
very responsive. In fact, the field offices work in the small
communities in which they're located and the regional offices
work for those in the small communities. She noted that DCRA
travels a lot to provide training whether it is for local
government staff or elected officials or commissions. Further,
DCRA monitors the health and sustainability of communities
through various reports, such as the quarterly RUBA report and
Lien Watch.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER inquired as to the percentage of help the
DCRA provides to communities in contrast to the demand.
COMMISSIONER BELL responded that she could talk with DCRA staff
regarding whether a response could be formulated. However, she
highlighted that it's important to recognize that the [demand
and response] is ongoing as is the turnover in elected officials
and administrative staff. She maintained that the department
has an ongoing commitment to ensure services are provided. She
then highlighted that after the spike in fuel costs following
2008, fuel watch became a focus of the department in order to
have an understanding of the various situations of communities
in relation to fuel.
8:44:05 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if RUBA has any oversight for power
utilities, gas or electric.
COMMISSIONER BELL responded that the utilities [receive
oversight] through the RCA and AEA.
8:45:18 AM
JOELLEN HANRAHAN, Director, Division of Administrative Services,
Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development,
specified that [oversight] of power and electric programs is
through AEA, which provides technical assistance on bulk fuel
and power.
8:45:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA, recalling the 2008 extreme increase in
fuel prices, remarked that there are "players" that one might
not recognize, such as Homeland Security. However, Homeland
Security comes in with millions right before complete disaster.
Representative Cissna opined that there needs to be reporting of
those disastrous situations in which the department is working
with daily in order to see the various players in the
situations. She expressed concern that the lack of access to
wood for energy can result in burning other items that can be
harmful when they're breathed in. Moreover, seniors are being
moved to other neighborhoods and thus the burden of cost is
being shifted from one part of Alaska to another. The
aforementioned is a large cost driver. She reiterated the need
to chart these crises and to do so across departments.
COMMISSIONER BELL, regarding outmigration from rural Alaska,
informed the committee that staff from within DCRA is working
with various data to track the out migration and make
recommendations. She acknowledged that federal resources are
available when a situation turns to a disaster. The Climate
Change Subcabinet and the Immediate Action Workgroup as well as
DCRA staff has been very engaged with communities and others to
determine how to provide services prior to reaching the disaster
point. The aforementioned has resulted in reviewing
infrastructure, relocation, and other things.
MS. HANRAHAN surmised that Representative Cissna is addressing
the need for the state to perform regional planning for the
future as well as regional assessments of the current
situations. The aforementioned lends itself to more of a focus
on interdepartmental and interagency collaboration with the
federal government.
8:52:49 AM
COMMISSIONER BELL, returning to her overview, reviewed the
breadth of functions of DCRA, including the administration of
grants, community revenue sharing, and distribution of various
funds such as payment in lieu of taxes, national forest
receipts, and fisheries taxes. The DCRA also provides
publications from the research section, the state assessor,
support of the Local Boundary Commission, and the bulk fuel
bridge loan. The DCRA is also engaged with communities in the
national flood insurance program. Furthermore, work on the land
transfer from Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)
corporations to the state is continuing. However, there are a
number of challenges for DCRA, including high costs and lack of
infrastructure. She echoed her earlier comments that there is
an ongoing need to provide this technical assistance, which is a
statutory requirement.
COMMISSIONER BELL then moved on to the Alaska Energy Authority
(AEA), which is charged with providing technical assistance and
training to those throughout the state who are managing and
operating energy systems and infrastructure. The AEA is also
involved in power system upgrades and bulk fuel upgrades. While
transitioning over time to more renewable energy sources and
lower cost energy, the infrastructure in communities needs to be
sound. She related that AEA is working to ensure that existing
systems are functional and that emerging technologies and
renewable resources are being reviewed.
COMMISSIONER BELL moved on to the department's consumer
protection entities. The Division of Banking and Securities
license, charter, and examine banks. Through the division's
consumer education and protection element, more than 200
mortgage licenses were provided. The division has also been
increasingly involved with payday lenders and money
transmitters. The division is a fee-supported program, like the
department's other regulatory entities. Similarly, the Division
of Insurance is focused on licensing and ensuring the financial
solvency of insurance providers [in the state]. Since the
Division of Insurance is involved in criminal investigations,
the division has an increased involvement with the Department of
Law. She noted that since the insurance products are increasing
in their complexity, it takes a specialized staff to work in the
division.
8:57:46 AM
COMMISSIONER BELL turned to the Division of Corporations,
Business and Professional Licensing, which administers 40
professional licensing programs of which 20 are supported by
boards and the remainder by the division. The division issues
business licenses and corporations filing trademarks with the
state also interact with this division. She pointed out that
over the last year or so there has been a concerted effort to
reduce response times, use more technology, and to ensure the
division isn't creating any delays that would impact commerce.
As with the department's other regulatory agencies, there is a
consumer complaint process. More than 700 complaints were filed
about professional licensing programs, which resulted in 556 new
cases and 397 disciplinary actions. Commissioner Bell then
moved on to the RCA, which she characterized as the fabric of
the state's infrastructure. The RCA works with public utilities
and pipeline carriers to review tariffs, filings, regulations,
and establish the PCE rates that AEA distributes. This next
year, the RCA faces an [increased] work load as there will be
concurrent hearings on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
with RCA and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
9:00:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked whether Commissioner Bell is
confident that the RCA has sufficient staff for these concurrent
hearings.
COMMISSIONER BELL informed the committee that with regard to
RCA's staffing overall, the department has requested assistance
in reviewing the staffing and the compensation to ensure that
the RCA is sustainable. With regard to the increasing workload
of the RCA, Commissioner Bell expressed the need to speak with
the chair of the RCA.
9:01:35 AM
COMMISSIONER BELL, noting that the committee already had an
overview of the Division of Economic Development, reminded the
committee that the focus of the Division of Economic Development
is to review the state's role in terms of core economic
development functions. Similar to many other states, regions,
and countries, the division provides direct financing programs,
marketing programs, and business and technical assistance to
small businesses. Commissioner Bell opined that over recent
years the department's economic development programs have
diminished and the desire now is to make them robust and at the
level of the DCRA focus. She directed attention to page 13 of
the presentation, which provides a brief description of several
of the Division of Economic Development programs. In addition
to the Division of Economic Development, the Alaska Aerospace
Corporation, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
(AIDEA), and ASMI have an economic development mission.
COMMISSIONER BELL, in conclusion, directed the committee's
attention to pages 16-18, which relay varying views of DCCED's
budget. Referring to page 16, she pointed out that of the $204
million budget request for FY12, nearly 60 percent is for the
corporate entities. The pie chart on page 17 illustrates the
budget by line item while the graph on page 18 provides a brief
comparison of the budget by fund source for FY11 versus FY12.
9:04:29 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ asked whether data is available with regard to the
economic and social situation in each region of the state.
COMMISSIONER BELL relayed that she would like to follow up with
the department's directors regarding what information is
available and then offer it to the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER inquired as to how many state charter
banks are in the state.
COMMISSIONER BELL recalled that there were 38 examinations last
year, but she wasn't sure how many banks exist and thus offered
to provide that information later.
9:05:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER noted that ATIA is requesting $20 million
from the legislature. She then questioned what the State
Tourism Office would do with that funding. She further
questioned why the legislature wouldn't provide funding to ASMI
since she views ASMI and ATIA as parallel organizations.
^Serve Alaska
Serve Alaska
9:07:18 AM
CHAIR MUNOZ announced that the final order of business would be
an overview of Serve Alaska within DCCED.
9:07:54 AM
NITA MADSEN, Director, Serve Alaska, State Service Commission,
began by informing the committee that the purpose of the State
Service Commission is to engage Alaskans of all ages and
backgrounds in community-based service and volunteerism. Ms.
Madsen emphasized that the benefits of Serve Alaska are great in
terms of the numbers listed in the report provided to the
committee as well as how each life is touched. She explained
that Serve Alaska is the conduit for receiving the national
funding for community service. Serve Alaska sub grants that
funding to local governments, tribal entities, nonprofit
organizations, institutions of higher education, as well as
departments and divisions of the state. Serve Alaska assists
the aforementioned entities in their efforts to meet the local
needs through the areas of education, public safety,
environment, and other human needs. Serve Alaska manages
AmeriCorps Programs and the Learn and Serve America Programs.
The Learn and Serve America Programs combine classroom learning
and community service activities to engage students in service
through community partnerships to promote an ethic of service
that would develop student leadership, skills, and character.
The primary element of service learning, she highlighted, is
that the projects are directly linked to the classroom
curriculum. The service projects provide students the
opportunity to utilize their skills.
MS. MADSEN informed the committee that currently Serve Alaska
has the following three grantees with the Learn and Serve
America Programs funding: the Yup'ik School District, the
Begich Middle School, and the LINKS Mat-Su Parent Resource
Center. The Yup'ik School District funding is with the school
of Akiak. The project with Akiak stems from the community's
concern with the suicide rate and desire to decrease it. The
project resulted in a garden project that encompassed the entire
school. Ultimately, the project included a green house, raising
rabbits, and composting. The project received a three-year
grant and is in the second year of that grant. Ms. Madsen
emphasized that everyone in the community has been involved in
the project in some fashion. Furthermore, an AmeriCorps member
helped engage the students over the summer to expand the
project. Under the project, the high school students performed
water testing in the community. The testing resulted in the
entire community trying to determine how to improve the quality
of the water, such as moving the dump site. The Akiak project
is an example of how a little bit of funding can unite folks and
support some creative solutions. In this particular case, the
knowledge the elders brought and the new linkage to the youth is
notable. The Begich Middle School program took on a composting
project and now is doing an in-school green house. The LINKS
Mat-Su Parent Resource Center is an alternative school for 7th
to 12th graders that is working with a local senior center. The
LINKS Mat-Su Parent Resource Center had a potato patch this
summer and served meals at the local senior center. This
project works with nutrition, math skills, and social skills.
Again, she highlighted the linkage between the youth and the
elders, particularly since it seems to mitigate the fear that
some of the elders felt towards the youth and the youth learning
how to be more patient.
9:13:32 AM
MS. MADSEN then turned to the AmeriCorps programs, which she
surmised the committee already knows much about. Currently,
there are five grantees in 63 communities around the state. The
aforementioned is a bit of a moving target since AmeriCorps
volunteers serve 300-1,700 hours in a year. She noted that
those who serve less than 900 hours don't receive any
remuneration. However, upon completion of their service all
AmeriCorps members are eligible for an education award.
AmeriCorps members range in age from 17-92. In fact, the
program is starting to see a lot of members who are starting a
new career and wanting to give back. As an incentive, those
members who have become an AmeriCorps member after the age of 50
are allowed to move their education award to their children,
grand children, or foster children.
9:14:51 AM
MS. MADSEN moved on to RurAL Cap that has four programs, one of
which is the Student Service Program, which is an education
award only program that's linked with the state university's
nursing and social work students who perform service projects
around the community. The partnership is through the University
of Alaska Anchorage and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The
Raven program is an energy program while Birch is a health-based
program in the rural communities. The newest project is a
middle school project with the Department of Education and Early
Development (EED) in eight communities to help build school
success early on in order to increase graduation rates.
MS. MADSEN related that Serve Alaska's Southeast Alaska Guidance
Association (SAGA) Program is well known in Juneau, where it
takes on a summer project in which it primarily works with
disconnected youth. This program performs trail work, addresses
invasive species, clears brush along the roadways, and helps
local nonprofits construct playgrounds. One of the components
of the program for these disconnected youth is the education
component through which the youth are either completing their
general equivalency diploma (GED) or obtaining their high school
diploma. Many of the members [of SAGA] return home to their
communities to complete their education or move on to a military
career. The Vocational Technical Center in Seward has used its
awards fairly consistently. Ms. Madsen noted that SAGA also has
a single placement program called Connections, which works with
youth in a variety of ways to help youth make healthy lifestyle
choices. Therefore, the member as well as the community is
receiving a benefit.
MS. MADSEN then turned to the Ninestar Program, which performs
education employment services. In the last couple of years, the
program has worked with prisoner re-entry programs and
experienced much success with it. The program also helps folks
move off the public assistance rolls through English as a second
language and development of soft skills, such as how to go to
work and find child care assistance. A new program is Joel's
Place in Fairbanks for which homeless youth age 17-25 is its
target population. These youth are learning skill-based
services and then utilizing those skills in the community.
Joel's Place utilizes some of the same pieces of the SAGA
Program that work with a lot of construction set skills as is
the case with the Sitka program. She mentioned that houses are
actually being built; these are houses that are affordable low-
income houses. The SAGA Program in Sitka is obtaining
certificates to assist them with construction and the
participants are often being picked up by employers for their
skills.
9:18:53 AM
MS. MADSEN expressed appreciation for last year's funding, but
noted that there is a new position in the office and through the
granting process new entities have applied. The hope is to
expand Serve Alaska's portfolio of services. One of the recent
program applicants is senior disabilities through DHSS. The
program would place folks in rural communities to assist with
their knowledge regarding Medicaid and how to access it. Also,
the Sealife Seward Center has been a subset for AmeriCorps
members for a number of years, but they are increasing their
numbers to expand in the Seward area.
9:20:14 AM
MS. MADSEN, in response to Representative Gardner, indicated
that sometimes how youth dress these days along with seniors'
increasing knowledge about the existence of gangs have made
seniors afraid of youth. She clarified that she was speaking of
this in the urban environment more than in the rural
environment. She noted that she also sits on the Commission of
Aging from which she has gathered that seniors are afraid of the
youth with regard to financial abuse because the seniors become
the parents of the children.
REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER asked if Ms. Madsen has a map illustrating
the locations of the volunteers around the state.
MS. MADSEN related that although the committee packet should
include such a map, she could provide members a larger map as
well as a summary sheet of the various volunteer programs. In
further response to Representative Foster, Ms. Madsen explained
that Serve Alaska only recently submitted an application and
it's 28 percent more than Serve Alaska received in the prior
year. There were six new applicants this year, of which four
were moved forward for funding. She noted that there has been a
lot of interest in increasing the number of [applicants] and the
[new] staff position will enable that to occur. She related
that the funding agency has told Serve Alaska that existing
staff is at maximized capacity on managing the grants and thus
wouldn't consider Serve Alaska expandable until there is staff
[to manage the grants]. The results of the funding will not be
ready until the end of May. [This increase in funding] will add
approximately 158 AmeriCorps member positions to the state.
9:24:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA, noting that she has seen AmeriCorps
volunteers working and making a difference, expressed favor with
the addition of adolescent volunteers with great energy. She
then related her appreciation of the job of Serve Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether Serve Alaska expects future
federal funding reductions.
MS. MADSEN responded that Serve Alaska is currently working off
of a continuing resolution for the funding. Although there has
been discussion of the funding being at the 2008 level of
funding, it remains an unknown. She predicted that the
[federal] funding will be slightly less for Serve Alaska because
the funding last year was at the 2008 level. Therefore, Serve
Alaska may have a greater opportunity for its funding to be
approved, particularly since the [federal government] is seeking
to increase its rural portfolio. In further response to
Representative Saddler, Ms. Madsen agreed that there is the
possibility of an increase in the future.
CHAIR MUNOZ inquired as to the amount of the education award.
MS. MADSEN explained the education award amount is the Pell
grant amount, which is established in October. The amount is
slightly over $5,000 this year. She clarified that the grant is
per year of service and is proportionate to the service hours.
She indicated that the [$5,000] is at the 1,700-hour level. In
further response to Chair Munoz, Ms. Madsen confirmed that Serve
Alaska does get information out to graduating seniors.
9:28:41 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Community and Regional Affairs Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 9:28 a.m.