DOT&PF & Northwest Arctic Borough partner in Regional Planning Organization

• News Home
• More from News of the North

Thursday, March 2nd, 2023 1:54pm

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Messenger
• Share on Messenger
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Whatsapp

Judy Chapman, Deputy Director of Planning for the Alaska DOT&PF Division of Planning and Program Development, listens to Dickie Moto Sr., Northwest Arctic Borough Mayor. (Photo credit: Alaska DOT&PF)

Kotzebue, Alaska (KINY) - Residents of the Northwest Arctic Borough have a new partnership with Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities (DOT&PF) supporting the development of transportation projects in their region.

In a signing ceremony held on Tuesday, Feb. 28, DOT&PF’s Judy Chapman, Deputy Director of Planning, and the Northwest Arctic Borough mayor Dickie Moto, Sr. signed a cooperative agreement establishing a Regional Planning Organization (RPO).

The RPO establishes a vehicle for the Northwest Arctic Borough (NAB) and DOT&PF to work together on transportation development priorities for the Northwest Arctic Census area of Alaska.

It is the third RPO to be created in the past year, following the Copper Valley in August 2022, and the Fairbanks North Star Borough in January 2023.

“The formation of the RPO will allow the region to amplify its voice with respect to transportation planning decisions that affect it.  We look forward to working with the new NAB RPO,” said Chapman.

This Pilot RPO will ensure regional and local input to identify local transportation needs and allow for better planning, prioritization, and decision-making with DOT&PF’s capital project development.

Now that the cooperative agreement is signed, “It’s good to see what we need to do and to move projects forward now,” said Mayor Moto.

There are several different types of transportation planning organizations, such as a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and a Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO).

Each of these planning organizations, including the RPO, is formed to give communities a voice in transportation planning and spending.

The benefit of starting an RPO is to allow flexibility while rural regions develop capacity to participate in a wide range of transportation planning efforts.

The new RPO, the first in western Alaska, encompasses 11 communities, including Kotzebue, Noorvik, Selawik, and Deering, as well as the Red Dog Mine. The population of the Northwest Arctic Borough is approximately 7,800 according to the 2020 census.

More from News of the North

• Governor Dunleavy names Board of Fisheries and Board of Game Appointees

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - Governor Mike Dunleavy appointed four Alaskans to fill open seats on the Alaska Board of Game and the Alaska Board of Fisheries and made two reappointments to the Board of Game. All appointments begin on Jul. 1, 2023.

• Inadequate training and a fatal U-turn cost Alaska government $3 million, settlement documents say

  Juneau, Alaska (Alaska Beacon) - The state of Alaska will pay $3 million to the family of a man killed in a 2018 traffic accident caused when an Alaska state trooper made an abrupt U-turn in front of him.

• Anchorage couple indicted for fentanyl overdose of six-month-old infant

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - On Tuesday, an Anchorage grand jury indicted Albert A. Clark and Eike M. Larson on a lead charge of assault in the first degree.

• Weyiouanna enters plea deal in 2018 stabbing murder

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - Simon Weyiouanna pleaded guilty Mar. 31 to murder in the second degree for the 2018 stabbing death of Cheri Ingram. The State entered into a plea agreement with Mr. Weyiouanna for a sentence of 75 years with 25 suspended, and 50 years to serve.

• Alaska Native Scouts feted 67 years after rescuing Navy crew

  Gambell, Alaska (AP) - Bruce Boolowon, then a lean 20-year-old, and a group of friends were hunting for murre eggs in a walrus skin boat on a remote Alaska island in the Bering Strait when they saw a crippled airplane flying low.

• University of Alaska Anchorage Robotics the sole Alaska team to go to World Championship

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation’s 16th annual VEX Robotics World Championship will be back in Dallas to showcase the talent of student competitors from Apr. 25 to May 4.

• Update: Capital City Fire Rescue responded to a fatal structure fire, investigation ongoing

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - CCFR responded to a structure fire on Engineers Cutoff Rd. on Thursday, Mar. 30.

• Juneau Police Department investigates possible threat

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - On Friday, Mar. 31 at about 6:45 a.m., the Juneau Police Department received a report from a business in the 600 block of Willoughby Ave, regarding a note being found in the store that indicated a possible general threat against children.

• Official News of The North Retraction regarding SEACC and SEACC United

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - Yesterday afternoon, News of The North published a story regarding the Southeast Alaska Conversation Council or SEACC and SEACC United.

• Board of Education selects Frank Hauser as the next Superintendent

  Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - On Friday, Mar. 31, the Board of Education selected Frank Hauser to be the next Superintendent of the Juneau School District.

• Ketchikan Grand Jury indicts two young adults, one juvenile in 80 year old’s death after Facebook post

  Ketchikan, Alaska (KINY) - A Ketchikan grand jury indicted two young adults and one juvenile on multiple charges Thursday for the death of 80-year-old Lincoln Peratrovich on Mar. 21 in the community of Klawock on Prince of Wales Island, 56 miles from Ketchikan.

• Alaska Federation of Natives now accepting nominations for 2023 President's Awards

  Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - The Alaska Federation of Natives is now accepting nominations for the annual President's Awards, which will be presented at the 2023 AFN Convention, Oct. 19-21, in Anchorage.