Analyst to Report State of Economy

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Category: News

Created on Tuesday, 10 September 2024 15:07

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    A public presentation on Sitka’s cost of living, industry trends and other data is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
    Meilani Schijvens, who runs the Juneau-based economic research and consulting firm Rain Coast Data, will present “The State of the Sitka Economy,” an annual event sponsored by the Sitka Economic Development Association.

Tourists check out the offerings on Lincoln Street this afternoon. Meilani Schijvens, who runs the Juneau-based economic research and consulting firm Rain Coast Data, will present “The State of the Sitka Economy,” on Thursday at Harrigan Centennial Hall. The presentation is an annual event sponsored by the Sitka Economic Development Association. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

    At the end of the program, the association will inaugurate a survey seeking responses from residents on how they were affected by the break of the GCI fiberoptic cable and the resulting interruption of internet communication in Sitka.
State of the Economy
    SEDA Director Garry White said he looks forward to not only hearing the annual presentation from Schijvens, but the questions residents and business leaders will ask.
    “It’s a good opportunity for businesses, community leaders and the public to get an idea of where the trends are going with Sitka’s industries and the economic impacts on the community,” White said.
    In her business, Schijvens tracks economic statistics for the Southeast Conference, and gives a presentation “Southeast by the Numbers” every year at the annual meeting of business, tribal and government representatives from throughout the region.
    On Thursday she will discuss conclusions from her 2024 Business Climate Survey for Sitka.
    “This helps policymakers and business leaders in our community see what the trends are so they can make decisions, guide policies and make adjustments based on the trends,” White said.
    SEDA is a nonprofit organization funded by the city government and private contributions. One of the organization’s main duties is managing the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. In addition to his SEDA duties Garry White is manager of the industrial park, which is presently engaged in construction of a city-owned boat haulout.
Telecommunications Infrastructure
    As SEDA director, White said he’s been working for the last decade with telecommunication providers ACS, GCI, and others on how to improve telecommunications here to facilitate new and existing businesses.
    Sitka was connected to the GCI cable in 2008, and the majority of local internet service is carried on that cable, which experienced a break somewhere in Salisbury Sound on August 29. GCI dispatched its cable repair ship from Seattle soon after and it arrived on site Sunday. GCI said its latest estimate is that the cable will be repaired later this week.
    White said the way Sitka was affected by the cable break, and a previous one in 2016, shows the town’s vulnerability with so much of its internet dependent on one provider.
    “I’ve been working with the current providers and new providers to try to find a redundant connection for the community,” he said.
    Prior to the present outage, a number of residents, businesses and government offices installed Starlink terminals, which provide internet through a system of communication satellites orbiting in space. White said this wouldn’t work for many industries he’s been talking to who depend on a reliable fixed connection, such as a cable.
    SEDA will put a link to its internet survey on its newsletter SEDA Trends. He said his main interest is getting an estimate on the revenues lost as a result of the cable break.
    “We want to estimate the cost of this outage, so we can work with different agencies, and try to ensure we can get a redundant services so we can make sure this doesn’t happen again,” he said.
    SEDA has been providing the city with information and possible sources of funding for telecommunications improvements for Sitka, White said.
    Melissa Wileman, city public and government relations director, said the city is supportive of SEDA’s efforts toward system redundancy and enhanced connectivity, and remains “fully engaged in contributing to their efforts for more reliable and expanded access.”
    The city has also been working with Tlingit & Haida and other partners to expand connectivity for the community at this time, she said. The city installed a Starlink for public internet access at the Sitka Public Library and is currently conducting testing at various other locations around town to find the best sites for public access, Wileman said.

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