The Haines Economic Development Corp. (HEDC) this week interviewed two candidates for interim executive director — local David Simmons and an out-of-town candidate board president Heather Shade declined to name.
On July 10, before the candidate interviews, Shade said the board is looking for someone who can manage day-to-day operations, with emphasis on supporting the community’s economic recovery from COVID-19 and applying for grants to bolster the organization’s funding.
HEDC began advertising the position June 16, after executive director Margaret Friedenauer accepted a job as economic recovery coordinator with a Wisconsin tribal organization.
Shade said the position will remain open until the board finds a suitable candidate, although members would like to see it filled as soon as possible because the vacancy has made it difficult for HEDC to work on economic development issues.
Without an executive director, “none of our programs are able to move forward,” Shade said. The volunteer board is doing what it can to keep the corporation running, “but it takes a staff person to implement the programs. … The five-year economic development plan is on hold until we have somebody.”
Recently, HEDC had been assisting businesses and individuals applying for COVID-19 economic relief funds. That work, too, has been put on hold, Shade said.
Finding a new director has been complicated by HEDC’s loss of Haines Borough funding, which the assembly eliminated for this year. In past years, the borough’s roughly $95,000 contribution comprised almost all of the HEDC budget.
The loss of funding “makes it challenging to offer someone a long-term position,” Shade said. “It limits our pool of applicants for sure.”
The position’s pay and duration will be somewhat dependent on the director’s ability to secure grants and other funding.
Simmons, the local applicant, who has worked on starting a number of small businesses, said HEDC’s lack of funding and the uncertainty of the interim position didn’t deter him from applying.
“When there’s changes and adversity, it opens doors for a lot of new opportunities,” Simmons said, adding that he is excited by the idea of working on a new funding model for the organization.
At the July 9 HEDC board meeting, Simmons introduced himself to members, saying he is a big fan of the Port Chilkoot waterfront project that the board is considering. The project would create a trail connecting Picture Point to the Portage Cove campground and is in the early brainstorming stage.
In June, project coordinator Carol Tuynman went before the HEDC board to request that it manage a feasibility study for the project. At the July 9 meeting, the board voted to draft a letter of intent to participate in the grant application phase, while working toward a finalized agreement with Tuynman. The letter gives Tuynman the ability to apply for funding while allowing the board more time to reach an agreement.
The next HEDC board meeting is Aug. 13.