Later this month the region’s economic development organization will be meeting in Haines to discuss new trends, problems and opportunities it will face in the coming year.
Representing many of the area’s municipalities, federally-recognized tribes, businesses, government agencies and organizations, Southeast Conference holds two major forums each year, in the spring and in the fall. Its autumn meeting is its biggest, in past years drawing hundreds to hear about and discuss concerns unique to the region, from transportation and utilities to its maritime, tourism and timber industries, to environmental and regulatory issues.
With state legislators looking to close a $2.7 billion spending deficit before next year (see Special Session article) and with government spending accounting for a significant proportion of the regional economy, an area SEC will be tackling early on in its three-day schedule will be diversifying economic development in the region.
One of the conference’s key pieces is its annual By the Numbers Report, which assesses trends in jobs and wages on a sector-by-sector basis. Details on the state of the economy will be available at the time of the meeting, but an annual business survey conducted by SEC has found that while nearly all business leaders it talked to expressed economic concerns for the region, about two-thirds were optimistic about their own sectors.
The findings mirror statewide economic confidence measures, which in July were announced by the state Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development to have increased slightly during the second quarter of 2017. From a high point in the middle of 2014, the confidence index took several tumbles as state revenue streams continued to dry up.
“The Southeast Alaska spirit is very optimistic,” commented Meilani Schijvens, of analytics firm Rain Coast Data in Juneau. The consultancy puts together the conference’s economic reports, and this year has also made updates to the SEC regional economic plan.
The annual meeting will feature a number of guest speakers, presenting on different aspects of the economy. An industry panel on timber, for instance, will include Viking Lumber vice president Bryce Dahlstrom and former Alaska Pulp Corporation manager Frank Roppel. On the state of the healthcare industry, PeaceHealth Ketchikan director Matt Eisenhower will deliver a presentation, and Ralph Samuels of Holland America will be among those speaking about the visitor industry.
In terms of tourism, Schijvens said the sector is expected to continue its growth, with new lines entering the market in the next few years, as well as more vessels and bigger cruise liners. And this year’s SEC meeting will be a first to focus on healthcare as a sector, as well as the arts. Two years ago a special economic study highlighted the contribution art makes to the Southeast economy, and Schijvens explained its own forum this year is a follow-up to that work.
For seafood development, Trident Seafoods legal counsel Joe Plesha will be joined with Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation director Julie Decker. Decker will be speaking on mariculture development, and progress a special task force formed last year by Gov. Bill Walker has made so far.
“We’re actually seeing some progress,” she explained, pointing out that permits for maricultural production in the state will have increased by half this year, up to 46. The acreage being used by permit-holders may increase by even more, nearly quadrupling to 1,300 acres.
“The real story is going to be the Alaska Marine Highway System,” Schijvens said of the conference. A second phase report is anticipated from a steering committee formed last year, which was tasked with restructuring the public ferry system to make it more sustainable in the long term. For the first phase, a draft report was presented to SEC at its mid-session summit this March.
In all, Schijvens anticipated the upcoming meeting should touch most of Southeast’s economic bases, based on priority objectives identified by SEC’s membership.
“We’ve mirrored the agenda to match that,” she commented. “I think it’s going to be a really fantastic meeting.”
With the ferry from Juneau scheduled to arrive the day before, on September 18, the meeting itself will begin the morning of September 19 at the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds’ Harriett Hall. Several days of meetings and presentations will conclude at midday, September 21.
Copies of the draft agenda and travel details are available on SEC’s website, at http://www.seconference.org/annual. This year’s conference is expected to see more than 200 attendees, so participants are advised to make arrangements as early as possible.
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