A Haines retiree has volunteered to perform the duties of a community and economic development director for free.
Joe Poor, a former state and tribal employee who once served as executive director of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, proposed to work as a volunteer.
“My friends and neighbors’ most consistent complaint about our community is the large number of employees hired by the borough relative to our population. My offer would give Haines time to evaluate a strong effort toward economic development at low cost and permit the borough assembly to determine the need of a full-time borough employee,” Poor wrote in his cover letter.
The borough last week also received an application from James Kallenberg, who has worked on several Haines projects over the last few years.
The borough had its initial review of applications for the community and economic development director job Friday. As of press time, Poor, Kallenberg, Christina Baskaya, Debra Schnabel, Harry Staven of North Carolina and Bill Mandeville of Washington had applied.
Poor said he doesn’t need the salary but wants to help the community because he’s concerned about its direction. Dwindling state and federal funds mean the borough is going to have to do more to support itself, he said.
The job is advertised at a $62,000 salary plus $34,000 in benefits. Allowing Poor to do the job without pay would free up money for the borough to provide as “seed money” for local business start-ups, he said.
Poor said he would like to see the borough re-establish its link with the Juneau Economic Development Council and create a downtown park with benches and a gazebo. Figuring out how energy consumption at the new Aspen Hotel and Veterans Village will affect local power rates is also important, Poor said.
Born in Juneau, Poor has worked as executive director of the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, computer specialist for the Tlingit and Haida Central Council, and data communications specialist for the Department of Health and Social Services. He also served as the chair of the Haines Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee.
Kallenberg, who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and construction management from the University of Washington, has experience in project and grant management as well as business advising and planning.
Kallenberg spent his childhood in Dillingham and graduated from high school in Chugiak. He’s worked doing project management and business planning for the Levelock Village Council, grant management for the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, and business management for Chilkoot Fish and Caviar.
“With the benefit of 30 years of working in Alaska I am especially qualified in my understanding of the nuances and vagaries of working in rural communities and in dealing with the logistics and seasonal weather issues common to our state. I have lived and worked in Haines on projects over the past four years so I am very familiar with the community,” Kallenberg said.
Borough manager David Sosa said the borough will continue to accept applications “to ensure a sufficient pool of qualified applicants.”
Baskaya grew up in Haines and served as interim development director last summer.