USDA Highlights 60th Anniversary of Housing Program in Alaska
Last week it was my privilege as State Director of USDA
Rural Development to travel across Alaska with Under Secretary Dallas
Tonsager. His trip is a follow-up
to one that was taken by Secretary Vilsack to Western Alaska in August, as part
of the Rural Tour. I was
privileged to also participate in that trip.
This month marks the 60th anniversary of the
start of USDA’s housing program and it was fitting that the Under Secretary observed
the occasion by visiting two of our “Self Help” housing sites. Self help is a
great program. A group of
prospective homeowners, working under the direction of a non-profit, build
their own homes. Usually about
eight to ten homes are involved.
It takes a year, but at the end of the process, the homeowner’s work
becomes their “sweat equity”.
In Wasilla the Under Secretary met Mary Beall, a mother of
eight, who finished building her home about a year ago. Shortly after she and three of her
children moved in, she was involved in a serious auto accident. Because she was physically unable to
complete her landscaping, Pat Shiflea and his staff at Alaska Community
Development Corporation stepped forward and did it for her, at no cost. The Corporation oversaw her home construction effort.
In Palmer, we joined U.S. Senator Mark Begich in helping a
group of prospective homeowners as they build their houses in a subdivision off
Evergreen Avenue. These efforts
are reminiscent of an earlier time in our Nation’s history when neighbors
helped neighbors raise barns or bring in crops. It is refreshing to see that in this age, that spirit still
lives.
Since Congress established our housing programs in 1949,
three million rural Americans have benefited from housing loans, grants and
guarantees totaling $124.6 billion. After visiting the Self-Help construction
site, we met with Bill Eckhardt and senior members of their mortgage operations
department (at Palmer branch) to present the “Top Mat-Su Lender” award.
In FY’2009, Alaska USA had an all-time high level of participation in the GRH
program. Alaska USA did $ 10.6 million in GRH loans in the Mat-Su!
Also during his trip, Under Secretary Tonsager got to see
the regional hub community of Kotzebue, which is above the Arctic Circle and
facing difficulties due to erosion, especially during the fall storm
period. He also flew to two
extremely rural communities which have predominantly Native populations and he
addressed the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage. You can read his speech here.
We traveled a great deal, seeing renewable energy projects,
water projects and rural homes in need of replacement. No matter what the
challenge, USDA Rural Development is equal to the job. As we enter our next 60 years of
service to rural America, we’re just getting started and I was pleased to spend
a great deal of last week getting to show our state to the Under Secretary.
Jim Nordlund, Alaska State Director
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Posted:
12:41PM Oct 27, 2009
by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site |
Tuesday Nov 17, 2009
On November 16th it was my privilege to join U.S. Senator Ben Cardin to meet residents of Jonestown’s Nelpine Heights subdivision, and to present a plaque to longtime resident Mable Friend, who has worked for 15 years to improve the quality of the tap water in her area. Thanks to her efforts, with assistance from the State, county and USDA Rural Development, the 22 homes in the subdivision along with the rest of the homes in Jonestown, will be hooked up to a new water system, which replaces an antiquated system and a number of shallow private wells. When the project is finished, 100 homes will have safe, reliable tap water. The $1.6 million project is made possible in part with $285,000 in USDA grant funds and a $95,000 low interest loan through ARRA, with the rest of the funding coming from Caroline County and the State of Maryland. 
