Sitka's struggle: Sitka has changed since the mill days, inviting industry and diversity.

• Author: Middleton, Saundra
• Position: Includes related article - Sitka, AK

Sitka has changed since the mill days, inviting industry and diversity.

Nearly six years have elapsed since the September 1993 closure of Sitka's Alaska Pulp Co., which resulted in the loss of 400 jobs for Sitka residents. The predictions of ghost town-like conditions, thankfully, were never realized. Yet, asking people there about the town's recovery yields answers directly proportional to their years of residency - and present employment status.

Factors offsetting APC's negative impact involve the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium timely expansion, continued increase of cruise ship visitors (until 1996), and $18 million in Stevens/Murkowski funds.

Yet, all these positive trends don't reflect the truth behind a still struggling community.

The Stevens/Murkowski funds came three difficult years after APC closed. The city roped off the funds into separate sections, part of which went for schools, recreation, city beautification, and low interest loan subsidies for new business and studies. The funds helped create 85 new jobs with wages ranging between $10 and $16 an hour, yet only 49 went to displaced timber workers.

Highs and Lows

Still, most residents and authorities will agree Sitka's diverse economy has been instrumental to Sitka's survival. Absorbing displaced timber workers are commercial and sport fishing, tourism, extensive area health care services, Sheldon Jackson College, University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Police Academy, Sitka Pioneer's Home, the Forest Service and other government entities. Buoyed by this diversity, Keith Perkins, rural development manager, states the Sitka economy has experienced a slow ratcheting down instead of the drastic drops once predicted.

However, couple slow declines with subsequent impacts to several other Sitka mainstay industries and there is continued stress on families barely making it. New Individual Fishing Quotas, low fish prices, and increased sport charter boats have all contributed to shaking up the 1,200 employed in Sitka's commercial fleet. Tourism has experienced a dramatic loss of about $3.5 million a year in revenue due to loss of cruise ship visitors (about 70,000 a year for the past two years). Now another jolt is expected with a reduction in Forest Service staff no longer needed to monitor Tongass cutting.

Mayor Stan Filler says, "We used to be under one thought with the mill; now we are fractured into several camps.

Some Tough Decisions

Despite the need for more jobs...