The Haines Economic Development Corporation hired Margaret Friedenauer as its new part-time executive director.
Friedenauer will work about 20 hours a week helping the organization get established. She’ll help craft guiding documents, compile and gather old studies to add to a baseline economic data study and other administrative duties.
“Hopefully I can help create some channels of communication between the committee and the assembly and members of the community,” Friedenauer said. “It’s exciting to be involved in the genesis of this development organization.”
Board president Kyle Gray said Friedenauer’s past experience on the assembly and in other community groups makes her a good fit for the job.
“Her time on the assembly has taught her to navigate the inner workings,” Gray said. “She’s already up to speed on all the development projects we have going on here in the community.”
The Haines Borough Assembly approved $95,000 in funding for the development corporation this spring.
The board is using that money to fund Friedenauer’s position and to pay for the baseline study. The board will pay Friedenauer $25 an hour. She is also KHNS’ program director and will work about 30 hours a week at that job, Friedenauer said.
The assembly approved an agreement with the development corporation in September that requires the corporation to publish a “data-driven description of the local economy to provide the baseline for measuring the effectiveness of programs undertaken in the course of the partnership.”
It also requires the organization to provide quarterly reports to the assembly and to publish one- and five-year action plans based on research by Aug. 31, 2018.