Tlingit and Haida seeks federal funds for SE plan

The Tlingit and Haida Central Council hopes to get federal funds to plan Southeast Alaska’s future.

The council is applying for a 1.4 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to form a regional consortium aimed at developing a 20-year plan for the region. Details will come if the grant is approved, but Tlingit and Haida Business and Economic Development Manager Carrie Sykes says the plan could address a number of regional issues.

“There are needs for housing, there are needs for transportation, and of course we know that affordable energy is a definite need in our region,” says Sykes. “But basically the way this HUD funding works is they want you to get buy in from the community and have a lot of input at the grassroots level.”

Sykes says Southeast Conference and the Juneau Economic Development Council have offered to partner with Tlingit and Haida on the plan.

The Juneau Assembly last night (Monday) adopted a resolution of support for the grant application, and agreed to take part in the regional consortium. Sykes says other communities as well as tribes, businesses and nonprofits will also be asked to participate.

“I’ve been trying to pull in as many partners as we can find who have different types of interests in the region,” Sykes says.

HUD invited the Central Council to submit a full grant application earlier this month, after reviewing a pre-application in August.

If the agency approves a grant to the council, Sykes says it will take three years for the plan to be developed.

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