THE LINK: OCTOBER 2023 43 2023 tourist season which is kept local hotels and restaurants full this summer. Staffing the increased in visitors was a challenge but not as great as in 2022. “There are more ‘J-1’ visas available for temporary foreign workers, and that has helped a lot. Also, our local entrepreneurs are becoming more innovative in using on-line platforms,” the mayor said, which allows many services to be provided with less labor. Another positive development is that all of the 1,200 new military personnel associated with F-35 fighters at Eielson Air Force Base have arrived, with families, and there are also four KC-135 tankers being added at Eielson — one is already there — which will bring 250 to 275 more personnel along with families, the mayor said. The uptick in North Slope work is also helping. Locally-based contractors and service companies, like Flowline, are now very busy after several years of slack, he said. Things will get even busier as work on the Santos-Repsol Pikka project picks up and more so if ConocoPhillips’ Willow development is approved later this year. Fairbanks has its challenges, however. High on this list is the tight local housing market and rising costs, an issue across the state and nation, Ward said. While the addition of new military families is good news for the community it has also put added pressure on local housing, particularly rentals. “On base housing at Eielson is at 97% occupancy and the Air Force has also asked new families arriving to find housing off the base,” the mayor said. That’s partly so that military families can be more integrated with the local communities, he said. New housing is being built but these will be in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, he said. “There are not a lot of older, lower-cost houses available.” Another key problem for Fairbanks, and the state, is the continued out-migration of working-age adults, state economists say. Between 2013 and 2022 Alaska’s working age population has dropped from 479,000 to 449,000, Robinson at the state labor department, told a conference in Fairbanks last March. That amounts to a 6.3% decline in Alaska working-age adults, age 18 to 64, Robinson said, which is a factor in the 5% decline in Alaska wage and salary jobs in the same period. CONTINUED on PAGE 44 Photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Trevor Gordnier A U.S. Air Force A-10C Thunderbolt II from the 25th Fighter Squadron speeds up for take-off during the first day of Red Flag Alaska 23-2 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Red Flag Alaska gives pilots the opportunity to utilize the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range Complex, comprised of rivers, mountains and forests stretching 67,000 miles.
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