Congress last week agreed to spend more than half a billion dollars on military construction projects in Alaska. Most of the projects are in Fairbanks, to prepare Eielson Air Force Base for the arrival of F-35 aircraft. The short-term spending bill Congress passed also has $155 million for a new radar system at Clear Air Force Station, and $47 million for a drone hangar at Fort Wainwright.
Jim Dodson, president of the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation, says the projects are a big deal for Alaska’s economy, especially if the work goes to in-state contractors.
“We don’t expect to get 100 percent of the contracts. But Alaska should have, let’s just say an equal shot at getting those contracts,” he said.
Dodson says he’s talking to the Corps of Engineers to ensure that contract set-asides and bidding preferences don’t inadvertently exclude Alaskans. He says, for instance, that one contract has been set-aside for contractors from Historically Underused Business Zones, or HUBzones.
“In Fairbanks there’s only a very small, like a six block area, that’s HUBzone-qualified,” he said. “Not only does the contractor have to reside in the HUBzone, but 30 percent of his employees, or her employees, have to live in that HUBzone. So that pretty well means there’s no contractor in Fairbanks, Alaska that can bid competitively on that contract.”
Most of rural Alaska, though, is considered a HUBzone. The appropriations bill also has about $34 million for projects at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, added a section encouraging the Defense Department seek out Alaska contractors and cooperate with the state’s workforce development agencies.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
