The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce board of directors has set its 2007 priorities in an effort to protect and promote the interests of business.
The chamber is addressing a variety of issues, ranging from energy supplies in Southcentral Alaska to seeking solutions for soaring health care insurance costs. Here is a snapshot of the organization's goals and priorities for 2007.
* Title 21: The city's land use regulations are up for review and rewrite. Several proposed changes are up for public review, while the city is conducting an economic impact analysis on others. The Anchorage chamber supports the rewrite of the code but is concerned about stipulations that would be deemed unreasonable for Anchorage's diverse topography and climate, which could cost businesses and individuals millions of dollars.
* Southcentral energy: Board members Tony Izzo and Joe Griffith, former executives of two local utility companies, will lead a Southcentral energy task force. The group will address the energy needs of Southcentral and hopes to work with the Palin administration to call attention to the issue and to develop possible solutions that will reduce costs and increase supply.
* Constructing a natural gas pipeline: A proposed natural gas pipeline project is estimated to create 6,500 to 8,000 new jobs in Alaska and carry an average of 3 billion to 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas to market. The Anchorage chamber has and will continue to focus efforts on the construction of a natural gas pipeline project.
* Work force development: Anchorage chamber members continually cite the need for a qualified work force. The Business and Economic Development Committee will monitor the work of other organizations and if appropriate, leverage its membership to provide meaningful solutions.
* Education: Recognizing the quality of local schools is an economic driver for work force development, the Anchorage chamber is studying ways to become a catalyst for achieving an exceptional education system. The chamber encourages the business community to be proactive in ensuring that Anchorage schools are functional and are a model for the rest of the country. The chamber is primed to consider support of the school improvement bonds on the April ballot.
* Health care: Chamber members continually cite health care and insurance as their No. 1 business concern. Chamber staff participated in two health care insurance summits held by the Alaska Health Care Roundtable, a project of Commonwealth North, in December. The State/National Affairs Committee has spent several meetings discussing the issue and health care will continue to be an issue of focus for the committee.
* Rural partnerships: During the mid-1990s the Anchorage chamber had a standing Rural Partnerships Committee and worked with the local business community to sponsor outreach visits to communities and villages statewide. Board chair Bill Evans recently approved the reinstatement of the committee. The goal of the committee is to grow and strengthen economic ties between businesses in rural and urban Alaska.
* Top Forty Under 40 enhancement project: During the August board retreat, board members recognized the talent of Anchorage's future leaders. In 2007, the Anchorage Chamber and the Alaska Journal of Commerce will reconstruct the Top Forty Under 40 program to better engage young leaders in dynamic ways that benefit the community.
The Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1915, is a not-for-profit, member-driven business organization with nearly 1,200 members representing more than 60,000 employees.
