The Alaska Legislature this spring failed to renew the state’s regional development organization program, or ARDOR. This removes a key source of funding and prevents organizations from leveraging that money.
Two smaller fisheries played a part in the legislature's decision. Hair crab and weathervane scallops were the downfall of the state’s regional development organization program, or ARDOR. Senator Donny Olson attached an authorization of those fisheries to the ARDOR legislation. That met opposition with the fisheries committee, so as of June 30th, the ARDOR program doesn’t exist. That stops about 850 thousand dollars statewide from going to the 12 regional development organizations. Bristol Bay’s ARDOR is the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference. Executive Director Andy Varner says SWAMC overall should be fine this year.
"We're fortunate in that we have a little bit of savings that can buffer us and take us through, maybe even this fiscal year if we need it. We're just a small two person staff. My co-worker takes a voluntary furlough to go fishing in Kodiak for a couple months in the summer, that reduces some of our costs. We're in a better position than some of the other ARDORs. I don't think they'll be quite as fortunate. If we're having this conversation a year from now, we'll definitely have to find plan B for funding. Of course we'll still apply for grants and look for new opportunities to gather additional resources through the year," said Varner.
ARDOR provides about around a quarter of SWAMC’s funding. That state money has hovered around 62 thousand dollars for the past several years. With contract work, SWAMC runs an annually budget around 400 thousand dollars. The ARDOR funds allow SWAMC to extend its reach and access more federal and state money.
ARDOR organizations are hoping to have a bill ready for the next legislation session to renew the program and reestablish funding.
"The region we cover is the size of Oregon, so if losing the ARDOR money affected us so that we had to lose a staff person and go down to one full time employee, covering a region this size makes it very difficult. You can't track what's going on in Bristol Bay, Kodiak, the Aleutian region all at the same time, delivering technical service or support in quite the same capacity as you could with having at least two people," said Varner.
SWAMC is currently helping put together regional energy plans. It’s partnering with the Alaska Energy Authority to do data collection and identify potential energy projects. It’s also trying to start a mentorship program between school districts, students, and employers.