NSEDC board approves $200k for 2021 Community Benefit Share

NOME – The Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors approved a Community Benefit Share of $200,000 per community, awarded seven grants to support Norton Sound communities and voted to provide resident Norton Sound commercial salmon and crab fishers with another year of hardship payments in response to the lack of a crab fishery and the abysmal salmon returns in 2021.

NSEDC Community Benefit Share set at $200,000 per community in 2021

For the third consecutive year, the NSEDC board voted to provide NSEDC’s 15 member communities with a $200,000 Community Benefit Share, totaling $3 million across the region. Public meetings will be held in each community to collect input for utilization of the $200,000 CBS.

NSEDC Board approves nearly $2 million in funding for community projects

The Board approved two grants from the Community Energy Fund, two grants from the Large Infrastructure Fund and two grants from the Water and Sewer Fund. The Native Village of Wales was awarded $420,890 for electrical upgrades. The City of Teller received $400,000 for a heat recovery system. Mary’s Igloo Traditional Council was awarded $300,000 for a Community Development Center. Wales also received under the Large Infrastructure Fund $300,000 for renovation of the Multi-Purpose Building. The City of Stebbins receives $100,000 for a transitional washeteria through the Water and Sewer Fund. Nome Joint Utilities is to receive $358,892 for Moonlight Springs Pressurization. Kawerak Inc. receives $20,000 for the Growing Teachers Head Start.

$2,500 hardship payment to regional commercial crab and salmon fishers

It was another devastating season for commercial fishers in the region. For the second consecutive year, a commercial crab fishery did not occur in Norton Sound while chum and Coho salmon returns again fell drastically short of expectations. Against this backdrop, the NSEDC board approved a $2,500 hardship payment to resident commercial crab and salmon fishers to help offset the economic impact of no crab fishery and low salmon returns. To help ease the debt burden on those fishers with loan balances, the measure includes directing up to $500 of the payment to NSEDC loan repayments.

Those who received the hardship payment in 2020 will again be eligible for the payment in 2021, as long as they remained a Norton Sound resident, retained their salmon permit and remained invested in the Norton Sound red king crab fishery. New resident entrants to the salmon fishery will also be eligible for the payment.

NSEDC has submitted a number of requests to seek federal fishery disasters in relation to the past few seasons. A federal disaster declaration was made for the 2019 Norton Sound red king crab fishery. Requests are pending for the 2020 crab fishery and the 2020 commercial chum and Coho fisheries. NSEDC plans to make an additional request for a declaration related to the 2021 commercial chum and Coho fisheries.