Ketchikan: a town in transition.

• Author: Bonham, Nicole A.
• Position: Alaska

Ketchikan. Salmon capitol. Gold Rush boom. Timber town. Cruise ship port. Southeast's southernmost center of commerce and development - Ketchikan - has changed faces with the times.

Popularly known as Alaska's "First City," Ketchikan has evolved through the years, with its population and demographic makeup fluctuating upon demand.

A year ago this time, the state's fourth-largest city made international headlines when Ketchikan Pulp Company, a subsidiary of timber giant Louisiana-Pacific Corp., closed its doors, directly extinguishing some 500 mill-related jobs, affecting dozens of independent contractors and impacting in countless ways the region's overall economic foundation.

Yet, 12 months later and despite the doomsday predictions of some, Ketchikan remains on the map, still a viable force in Southeast, despite the loss of its primary industry

Many people - including both the borough and city mayors here - worry that the ax has yet to fall. Others counter saying, while southern Southeast will no doubt feel the crunch of its timber-job losses well into the 21st Century, the worst may be over and it's time to look ahead.

"It will take more than one year for this community to feel the full economic impacts of such a major event," Ketchikan City Mayor Bob Weinstein says. "In the past there's been boom and bust cycles. I'm not sure there's going to be a major event that's going to make our economy boom to replace the pulp mill."

Instead, Weinstein and others hope for variety - a number of "mini-booms" in exchange for the challenges that stem from relying on a single industry.

Last year's pulp mill closure and the resulting economic fallout signals the end of a robust, timber-heavy economy in Southeast, according to Weinstein.

Now, "this community and others are seeking to diversify," he says.

INCENTIVES, INVESTMENT, NEW INTEREST

The future holds promise for those willing to explore the options. More than ever before, government's focus is on this Panhandle town, with federal, state and local funds earmarked to rejuvenate any stall in the economy

Most high-profile was the federal government's multi-million-dollar allocation to Southeast towns in 1996 to cushion increased timber-related losses.

Ketchikan's share of the federal money totaled $25 million.

So far, the borough has spent portions of its disaster-relief fund on a promotional campaign touting both Ketchikan and the timber industry, also funding plans for improvements and expansion at the Alaska Ship and Dry Dock facility here - hailed by some as the city's next big industry.

While some of the disaster-relief money is already spent or committed, the largest share has been split between a sort of "permanent fund," protected in the form of long-term bonds. What remains goes into the mix for redevelopment - available to industry in the form of economic development grants and loan-guarantees, according to the borough.

And, by no means, is that all. Money from a variety of other sources has been earmarked to help Ketchikan straggle out from under the weight of uncertain future.

The Environmental Protection Agency awarded Ketchikan $200,000 in the form of a Brownfields Economic Redevelopment grant to help in determining re-use of the former Ketchikan Pulp Mill site. One of 27 pilot Brownfields projects nationwide in 1997, the grant was designed to include a site survey, inventory and economic analysis of the property at Ward Cove.

Of the borough's $15 million in land-trust funds, independent timber operator and entrepreneur Steve...