At Tuesday's meeting of the Wrangell Assembly, Mayor David Jack displayed the "Community of the Year" award given the city by Southeast Conference last month. He lauded the efforts of city staff in their role supporting various projects, and the wider community for persevering after the loss of its mill. A break was enjoyed during the meeting, where those in attendance got to share a congratulatory delicious cake prepared by resident Dan Reed.
Every year Southeast Conference presents a number of awards to municipalities, businesses and individuals for their contributions to the region. At this year's annual meeting in Haines last month, Wrangell was among the recipients, being named the organization's "Community of the Year" for 2017.
"I think that was absolutely fantastic, that's very exciting," said Carol Rushmore, Wrangell's longtime director for economic development. "I think it's a great honor that SEC recognized Wrangell."
Accepting the award on the city's
behalf at last month's summit, Assembly member Julie Decker gave
Rushmore considerable credit for the community's economic progress, citing her work with residents over the years to create a consensus-based process for development.
Rushmore has been working in this important capacity for nearly 24 years, coming on at a critical time in the local economy. The Alaska Pulp Company closed down its Wrangell mill in 1994, at a time when the declining industry still accounted for 20 percent of local employment and a third of its wages. As the residents that remained reeled to adapt to the change in circumstances, the need to rebuild the island's economy drove much of Rushmore's efforts for the next decade.
"It's changed a lot," she said of her office. "Earlier on, especially after the mill shut down, there was a lot more focus on business development, working with local businesses and trying to get entrepreneurs to develop businesses after the mill closed."
The community turned its attention from its forests to the sea and the city channeled a multimillion-dollar relief package secured by then-Sen. Ted Stevens into supporting various aspects of the industry. This included municipal investment in seafood production capabilities, installation of Heritage Harbor and development of The Marine Service Center, but efforts also included construction of the Nolan Center, and the revitalization of Front Street, which was completed in 2012.
"All of those took considerable time and strategy," Rushmore said, recalling the associated grants. With work and planning, residents regained their economic footing, and SEC noted the community is now one of the region's fastest growing communities, with the maritime sector accounting for half of its private sector employment.
"This community really pulls
together to make things happen," Rushmore commented. "Residents, organizations, committees, would work
really hard to look at a project, to figure out how to make it work, and to follow through. There's been some really
critical economic development projects that have been done over the last 20
years that I think have really provided a lot of future opportunities for the community."
Looking ahead, Wrangell and other rural communities have new obstacles to overcome in light of Alaska's budgetary situation. Declining petroleum production coupled with a drop in prices over the past five years have contributed to multibillion-dollar spending deficits each year, leading to extensive cuts to its capital and municipal spending. While Wrangell did recently secure funding for
facility replacement at Shoemaker Bay Harbor, similar opportunities for funding support from the state government are sure to decrease, which means project planning will need to become more selective.
"Cost, unfortunately, becomes a larger factor now than it did before because you need to be much more creative in how you will put together a financial package that won't hurt the city but will still be affordable," said Rushmore.
Another problem more localized to Wrangell will be using available resources to update its aging infrastructure. Staged improvements to power utilities is ongoing, and City Hall is in the process of developing a strategy to bolster efficiency at its water treatment facility. Without increased capacity for electricity and reliable water supplies, other planned developments such as those at the former Institute property will be hamstrung.
"Infrastructure is critical to economic development," she commented. "For example, the water plant issue right now, if you're going to grow and expand you have to be able to provide basic infrastructure."
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