Urban & Rural Affairs Committee

2007 Goals for the Year:

Committee Growth

• Seek business and community organization membership from both Fairbanks and rural Communities; and promote GFCC membership. Invite participation from SBA, BIA, UAF (College of Rural Alaska), FCVB, FEDC, TCC, FNA, Doyon, Denakanaaga, rural community and tribal organizations, and economic development organizations.
  
  Rural Community Visits
• Continue visits to Galena and Fort Yukon , and other communities, pending invitations from village /tribal governments. Consider a visit to an on-road community, eg. Nenana or Delta.
• Support good will visits; encourage reciprocal visits to Fairbanks.
• Collaborate with FEDC on bush marketing and look for opportunities to support rural community development
• Develop relationships with TCC communities.
• Encourage FCVB to continue developing tourist-based economic development opportunities in villages.
• Complete contact list for rural villages in the Interior, helping to facilitate outreach to more communities.
  
  Host Welcoming Receptions, Rural Resident Participation in GFCC Events & Meetings
• Continue to welcome visitors from rural communities during regional conferences, conventions and cultural events. Invite and encourage rural community leaders to attend GML's, or committee meetings and bring forward important regional issues.
• Support and organize the annual TCC convention delegate reception in March; work with TCC, Doyon, FCVB and FEDC and other community organizations.
• Support the return of the AFN convention to Fairbanks ; work with FCVB and convention committees
  
  Promote Regional Issue Awareness
• Support WEIO event awareness in Fairbanks and interior region communities. Work with the Chamber Board, FCVB and FEDC to ensure a successful WEIO in 2008.
• Invite media to participate in village visits, increasing urban/rural community awareness of common economic issues.
• Highlight cross-cultural communication, marketing methods and customer service. Support regional meetings and trade shows. Brief regional leaders and legislators on U/R initiatives.
  
  Rural Air Transportation Routes & Mail Service
• Support the creation of new transportation routes to identified rural communities.
• Work with the USPS and air carriers to designate Fairbanks as the sole by-pass mail acceptance point for identified rural communities, including Kotzebue and Galena .
• Support Fairbanks as the sole acceptance point for BYPASS and 4 th CLASS mail to Kotzebue & area villages ; and, Galena & area villages.
• Support BYPASS mail delivery direct from Fairbanks to Barrow via air transportation to improve quality of all levels of service including mail, freight and passengers.

2008 Program of Work - To be posted in January 2008

Meeting Minutes:
November, 15, 2007
December 20, 2007

Members of the Transportation Committee:

Ed Peebles (Chair)    Warbelow's Air Ventures	Andy Anger UAF/TVC
Debbie Harrop Ukpik, LLC	Jim Pohlman USDA - Rural Development
Christina Jensen First National Bank Alaska	Butch Stein Fairbanks Economic Development Corp.
Jim Norman ABS Alaska	Tim Sharp Laborer's Local 942
Al "Bear" Ketzler City of Tanana