CITY
OF HOMER
MEMORANDUM 08-100
To: Homer
City Council
Through: Walt Wrede, City Manager
From: Anne Marie Holen,
Special Projects Coordinator
and Staff to the
Economic Development Advisory Commission
Date:
Subject: Recommendation for
VISTA to serve as Economic Development Coordinator
As you know, the Economic Advisory Planning
Commission has been active since May, following a year-long period of no
activity due to lack of quorum. The EDC has all new members who take their
responsibilities seriously and hope to provide an effective voice for economic
development in Homer.
Through my work with the Kenai Peninsula Economic
Development District (KP EDD), I have seen firsthand the contribution that
Americorps VISTAs (Volunteers in Service to America) can play in helping local
governments and advisory groups make progress on economic development goals. I
have had contact with three VISTAs recruited by the City of Kenai who filled
the position of Economic Development Coordinator for the city during their
one-year terms. In that position, they provided staff support to Kenai’s
economic development advisory committee, coordinated the development of a local
economic development plan, served on the KP EDD board, helped plan and coordinate
economic forums, served as a liaison with other organizations including the
Chamber of Commerce, and responded to public/business owner inquiries, among
other things.
On a number of occasions I have heard comments such
as “The City of Homer should have an economic development department,” or “The
City needs someone who just works on economic development.” Of course, new
staff positions are expensive and so far no City Council has wanted to create a
new economic development staff position. While certain economic development
functions were written into my job description, I don’t actually have any
background or education in economic development (other than what I’ve gained
here) and I am also pulled in so many other directions that it is hard to devote
much time to the EDC or other economic development work.
In my mind, a VISTA represents an opportunity to
staff an economic development position (for one year) for very little money. Specific
tasks that have been discussed for the
inhomer.com website as needed. 4) Work with the EDC, Port & Harbor
Commission, and Port & Harbor staff to develop a Port & Harbor
Marketing Plan. 5) Provide general staff support to the EDC, including working
with members and the City Clerk’s Office to produce meeting agendas and
packets. 6) Assist the EDC in gathering information and data relevant to issues
that the Commission is working on. 7) Work with the Chamber of Commerce, KP
EDD, local college, and/or other organizations to plan and sponsor special
events and forums related to economic development. 8) Serve as a liaison
between the City of Homer and the Chamber of Commerce Economic Development
Committee. 9) Become familiar with economic development materials and services
provided by the Chamber of Commerce, UAA, State of Alaska, KP EDD, and other
organizations in order to direct others to these resources. Develop materials
specific to City of Homer operations (lease opportunities, zoning regulations,
etc.) to assist business owners. 10) In general, act as the contact person for
any outside inquiries relating to economic development and the City of Homer.
The Alaska VISTA program is coordinated by the
University of Alaska Center for Economic Development. VISTAs typically have a
bachelor’s degree or three years of related volunteer/job experience. Some
VISTAs are extremely well qualified and are simply seeking to do “something
different” for a year. I believe Homer would appeal to someone who is
adventurous and energetic and from what I’ve heard, it should not be difficult
to recruit a good
The way recruitment works is that UAA screens
prospective VISTAs first and would then forward resumes to us. We would have
the opportunity to interview applicants and decide whether to offer the position
or not.
An Alaska VISTA is given a $550 relocation allowance
and then $492 every two weeks to help cover living expenses. After successfully
completing a year with the program, they receive an additional $4,725 education
voucher to help pay college tuition or pay off a student loan.
I talked to both the UAA VISTA coordinator (Keith
Colm) and to former Kenai VISTA Andy Varner (now working for Southwest Alaska
Municipal Council) about the program. Both said that they thought we could
probably get a good VISTA without providing any additional benefits, although
Andy admitted that the apartment provided to him by Kenai Mayor John Williams
“helped a lot.”
In speaking with the City Manager about housing in
Homer and the general high cost of living here, he suggested looking at the
cabin that the City acquired near the Bridge Creek Reservoir and seeing whether
it could serve as a home for the VISTA. If the cabin appears habitable and
residency there would not pose problems for the City, we could offer this as an
option to the VISTA that we recruit. A VISTA with outside financial resources
might prefer to rent an apartment in town, but others might find the cabin idea
very attractive. A housing agreement could stipulate that the tenant is
responsible for covering the costs of electricity and heat. (Water would need
to be hauled in containers.)
Unfortunately, we do not have room at City Hall to
provide office space. The VISTA would have to work from home or could perhaps
utilize the library at times. We would
be required to provide him/her with a computer, phone, and access to a fax
machine. These costs are reflected in the fiscal note of the attached
resolution.
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the City Manager and
Special Projects Coordinator to submit an application for VISTA recruitment to
the UAA Center for Economic Development. Assuming the application is successful
and a VISTA is able to begin work in November, the City Council may also want
to consider increasing the economic development budget for FY 2009 to support
some of the tasks assigned to the VISTA.