Scott Jepsen - Technical Committee Chairman

President, Resource Business Associations, LLC

Scott is retired from ConocoPhillips Alaska where he was Vice President of External Affairs and Transportation. Scott worked for 41 years for ConocoPhillips and its predecessors with 31 years in Alaska. His experience has included management of oil and gas operations in Alaska and the Lower 48, the Kenai LNG plant, pipelines, state and federal government affairs, media and advertising, stakeholder relations, and philanthropy.

Scott has served on a number of boards including Alaska Public Media, the Resource Development Council, the Petroleum Club of Anchorage, and the University of Alaska Foundation. He is currently serving on the University of Alaska Board of Regents and the board for Commonwealth North.

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Andrew Buchanan

Alaska Vice President, BlueCrest Energy Inc.

Andrew Buchanan is the Vice President for Blue Crest Energy Alaska.  He currently leads a multi-disciplinary team that produces oil and gas from the Cosmopolitan Unit in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska. Andrew has over 25 years of experience in the industry.  He applies his expertise in extended reach drilling knowledge to optimize well patterns in start-up fields, leveraging innovative well designs to maximize recovery while reducing well costs.

Andrew is a graduate of the University of Regina and holds a bachelor's degree in Geology. He began his career in the oil industry as a consulting wellsite geologist in the Williston Basin of Saskatchewan and the gas fields of North Central Alberta.  It was in the Williston Basin that he was first introduced to horizontal drilling and witnessed firsthand how the technology was rapidly evolving. 

In 2000 Andrew moved to Alaska to advance his expertise in horizontal and extended reach wells, working with oil companies and service companies to develop new tools and techniques to advance drilling distances and efficiencies. 

Andrew is active in the community supporting several causes through his active participation and philanthropy. He is the past President of both the Petroleum Club of Anchorage and the Alaska Sporting Clays Association.

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Bart Armfield

Consultant with Chugach Electric

Bart has 40 years of oil and gas industry experience including legislative policy, regulatory, and native stakeholder relations.  Mr. Armfield led a team of geoscientists, engineers, commercial, logistics and finance professionals working to progress project development objectives associated with the extraction, processing and sales of production from North Slope Development Projects. Now, he is a consultant with Chugach Electric and does strategic development for the Beluga River Unit in Cook Inlet.

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Brent Sheets

Director of the Petroleum Development Laboratory Institute of Northern Engineering at University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Wise utilization and development of Alaska's abundant natural resources is Brent's passion. Since 2016, he has served as the Director of UAF's Petroleum Development Laboratory where he engages industry, State agencies, and University researchers to serve the oil and coal industry's research needs, and now critical minerals. The Petroleum Development Lab has projects concerning North Slope Enhanced Oil Recovery; CO₂ capture and sequestration; developing a district heat plant in coordination with the City of North Pole; and leading UAF's Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals project with a great, and ever-growing, team.

Brent worked with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power from 2011 to 2016 where he emphasized developing local resources over importing diesel fuel for power generation. He was the inaugural Regional Manager of the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office, originally established to promote research relating to developing Alaska's fossil energy resources for the benefit of the nation, and to address Alaska unique energy needs.

Before moving to Alaska in 2002, Brent was Deputy Budget Director for the Office of Fossil Energy from 1999-2002, and Business Director of the Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves from 1990-1999 where he was responsible for overseeing $400+ million in annual oil and natural gas sales, as well as supervising all aspects of day-to-day business operations.

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Derek Nottingham

Director for Division of Oil and Gas, Department of Natural Resources

Derek was born and raised in Louisiana where he went to college at Louisiana State University and earned a B.S. and M.S. in Petroleum Engineering.  He started work as a petroleum engineer with Texaco in New Orleans in the late 1990's and eventually made it to Alaska at the end of 2006 while working as a reservoir engineer for Chevron.  He later went on to work for BP Alaska for 12 years as a reservoir engineer and team leader in the Prudhoe Bay field.  He is now the Director of the Division of Oil and Gas for the State of Alaska and recently graduated with an M.B.A from Boise State University. 

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Jenn Miller

CEO of Renewable Independent Power Producers

Jenn Miller is the CEO and co-founder of Renewable IPP, an Alaska-grown small business that develops, constructs, and operates utility scale solar farms in Alaska. Renewable IPP's mission is to diversify Alaska's energy generation mix and suppress energy cost by delivering economic renewable energy projects. To date the company has delivered three utility scale solar farms in Willow and Houston, Alaska. Jenn is a professional mechanical engineer, with 17 years' experience in the energy industry, in oil, gas, and renewables. Jenn grew up in Eagle River, Alaska and has a vested interest in the Last Frontier's energy supply. Jenn's ability to build strong partnerships and her background in engineering and project management have helped Renewable IPP develop economic projects and navigate development activities. Jenn focuses on land acquisition, power purchase agreement development, project management and external affairs.

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John Hendrix

CEO of HEX and Furie Operating Alaska

John is a proud graduate of Homer High School. He attended the University of Tennessee on a wrestling scholarship and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He also received Executive Leadership Education at Columbia, Cox, and Darden School of Business.

John began his oilfield career with Schlumberger Oilfield Services on Alaska's North Slope. He later joined BP where he held several engineering and managerial positions within the North Slope, Anchorage, Russia, and the United Kingdom. John was also part of BP's first Russian operation, “Tarasov," in 1991, and part of the TNK acquisition team in 2003.  In 1994, BP acquired Conoco's Milne Point field and as Superintendent of Milne Point helped increase production from 12,000 bopd to 60,000 bopd.

While in the UK he founded Production Technical Limits and Base Management practices, which are still embedded globally today at BP.

In 2005, John joined Apache Corporation as Production Engineering Manager for the Gulf Coast region. In 2006, he served for five years as the General Manager and Managing Director of Apache's Qarun Petroleum Company joint venture in Egypt. With John at the helm in Egypt, Qarun Petroleum Company doubled production. From 2011-2016 he was General Manager of Apache Alaska.

John served on Governor Walker's cabinet as his Chief Oil and Gas Advisor from 2016-2018 supporting AKLNG locally and to international leaders. Following this, he was President of NANA's Commercial group. He founded HEX in 2020.  Since 2020 has been the owner of the only Alaskan owned oil and gas production company.

Throughout his career, John has served as a Board Member of Boys and Girls Clubs of Anchorage. He founded and coached Popeye Wrestling Club, and served as the Director of Alaska Kids' USA Wrestling. John is a former Board Member of the Alaska Chapter Wild Sheep Foundation, the Cairo American College Board of Trustees and the Alliance, and Alaska's representative to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. He currently is President of the Trustees for Boys and Girls Clubs – Alaska, and a regular voting member of the Boone and Crockett Club (North America's oldest conservation organization).

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Julie Estey

Chief Strategy Officer, Matanuska Electric Association

Julie Estey is the Chief Strategy Officer at Matanuska Electric Association where she is responsible for implementing the strategic vision of the member-owned cooperative and co-leads the division charting MEA's energy future. She directs external and government relations as well as oversees the organization's regional, statewide and federal partnerships. She serves as the organization's representative, past Board Chair, and founding member of the Railbelt Reliability Council, the recently certificated Electric Reliability Organization for the interconnected Alaska Railbelt electric system. Before joining MEA, Ms Estey was the Business Director for the Alaska Center for Energy and Power, an energy research group at the University of Alaska Fairbanks focused on improving how Alaskans generate and distribute power.  She moved to Palmer in 2011 where she escapes to the mountains whenever possible, often dragging along her 10 and 13-year-old boys and 2 overly exuberant dogs.

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Julie Wellman

Petroleum Engineer

Julie was born in Anchorage and grew up in the lower 48 and overseas. She has a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. Julie moved back to Anchorage in 2011 when she started with BP as a Production Engineer, working both in Prudhoe Bay and in the Anchorage office for 9 years. In 2020, she took a contract job with Hilcorp Alaska as a Regulatory Technician, managing regulatory compliance and monitoring injection and storage wells in the Cook Inlet Basin. Julie left the oilfield in 2021 to focus on her family, including her two young children. In her free time Julie enjoys hiking, rock climbing, skiing, baking, and cross country skiing.

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Kara Moriarty

President and CEO, Alaska Oil and Gas Association

Kara came to Alaska from her home state of South Dakota to teach elementary school in Atqasuk, an Inupiaq village in the North Slope Borough. After working in Washington, DC, she moved back to Alaska and lived in Fairbanks for seven years. She has served as legislative staff in Juneau and was the President/CEO of the Fairbanks Chamber for four years. She joined the AOGA staff in April 2005 and has been the head of the association since 2012. She is a member of the Athena Society, a recipient of Alaska's Top 40 Under 40 Award, Honorary Iceman at Eielson Air Force Base, and was the 2022 Alaska Legion Baseball Volunteer of the Year. She is a member of the Downtown Rotary Club of Anchorage, serves on the Executive Committee of the Resource Development Council, and is a founding Board member of the Alaska Oil & Gas Historical Society. In her spare time, she can be found spending time with her family, usually behind the camera lens documenting their many Alaskan adventures and activities.

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Mike Salzetti

Manager of Fuel Supply and Renewable Energy Development, Homer Electric Association 

Mike Salzetti is the Manager of Fuel Supply & Renewable Energy Development for Homer Electric Association. Mike holds a B.S. in electrical engineering and has 34 years of engineering experience with the last 23 of those years spent in the electrical utility business. His engineering responsibilities have included long-range strategic planning, economic analysis and justification, budget preparation, contract administration, contract negotiations, contractor supervision, maintenance engineering, project management, system design, software engineering, and technical oversight.

Mr. Salzetti played an integral role in the design of Homer Electric's new generation facilities. Additionally, he developed HEA's gas dispatch system, securing firm long-term gas supply contracts, long-term gas storage agreements, and acquiring required gas transportation infrastructure & transportation agreements. Mike directs HEA's efforts on gas-related issues at the Regulatory Commission of Alaska and regularly provides expert testimony at the Commission.

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Pete Leathard

Veco International

Pete is a 50-year Anchorage Resident. At present he is the Chairman of Asia Petroleum Ltd where he has served for 20 years, along with 25 years at VECO. Pete has a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

His past experience includes exploration, production, and gas economic analysis with HK Van Poollen & Associates Oil along with gas production and processing with International Petroleum Institute. Mr. Leathard spent 14 years with Atlantic Richfield / ARCO 14 years doing Various Engineering, Supervision, and Management associated with oil and Gas production and transportation. His assignments were in various lower 48 locations, Canada, and Alaska. He also contributed to Prudhoe Bay pre-startup operations including Maintenance, Technical Support Manager, and Production Manager. He was the Engineering Director for Northern Facilities on Prudhoe to Chicago Gas pipeline. There he performed engineering, economic analysis, and permitting.

Overall, Pete has expertise in Program Management, Engineering, Construction, and Operations Services on energy projects in Alaska, the Lower 48, and 22 countries worldwide. He has contributed to growing $1billion annual revenues.

Mr. Leathard has also done a significant amount of work within the community. He has served on multiple commissions and boards including the Governor Knowles Commission on Alaska Oil and Gas and is a past member of Enstar Advisory Board. Pete is an Alaska Business Hall of Fame inductee and a Member of the Export Council. In the past, he was Chair Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, Nation Representative of the Boys and Girls Club, Chair of the Anchorage United Way fundraising, President of Anchorage Symphony, along with contributing to multiple charity boards.

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Raymond R. Latchem

President, Spectrum LNG

Mr. Latchem formed Spectrum Energy Services, LLC (SES) in 2000 to pursue innovative developments dealing with LNG. These include the Integrated Satellite Unit that is designed for LDC use for base loading or peak shaving gas supply and a 100MMcfd LNG production unit for offshore Calabar, Nigeria. Mr. Latchem holds a patent on an innovative LNG import terminal.

Prior to SES, in 1992 Mr. Latchem formed Northern Eclipse, Inc. and later its regulated subsidiary Fairbanks Natural Gas, LLC, the local gas distribution company that serves Alaska's largest interior city. In order to secure the utility certificate for the Fairbanks market, Mr. Latchem led the development of an innovative small scale LNG plant. Today that plant produces as much as 48,000 gallons per day of LNG. In addition to supplying LNG to Fairbanks, Northern Eclipse installed another satellite unit at a hotel complex in Talkeetna, AK under a long-term contract with the hotel owner. Mr. Latchem subsequently sold his interest in the company.

In 1985, Mr. Latchem formed Norgasco, Inc. to develop the local gas distribution company for the Prudhoe Bay / Deadhorse, Alaska area which is home to many oilfield support contractors. Mr. Latchem continues to serve on Norgasco's board of directors and is its largest shareholder. Prior to forming Norgasco, Latchem worked in a variety of positions in Alaska's North Slope oilfields, studied mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University, and developed both retail and a wholesale venture in the food service industry.

The development of Norgasco, Northern Eclipse, and Spectrum Energy Services required a combination of creative vision, engineering innovation, political savvy, tenacity, and perseverance. In addition to building two of Alaska's four regulated gas distribution companies, Mr. Latchem is married and a father of 3, has served as a director of several non-profit boards, is an instrument rated multi engine commercial pilot, holds an A & P mechanic's license, and a CDL.

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Rick Whitbeck

State Director, Power the Future

Rick is regularly seen and heard on both state and national radio and TV programs, and has been published in The Hill, Politico, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Real Clear Energy and Must Read Alaska.

Rick has traveled to the corners of Alaska during his 35-year career, and thoroughly understands Alaska's people, culture and history. After spending 25 years in private-sector sales and business development, and prior to joining Power The Future, Rick managed several political campaigns, including serving as Field Director for the successful “Stand For Alaska" group, which defeated an anti-responsible-development ballot measure in the 2018 cycle.

Rick's weekly radio program, the Power The Future Energy Hour, is heard by thousands weekly throughout Southcentral Alaska, and has brought a who's who of business, industry, political and energy expertise to the local airwaves.

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Roger Marks

Petroleum, Energy, and Resource Economist, RM Economics

Roger Marks was trained in economics and accounting at Brown University and the University of Maryland. Between 1983 and 2008 he was a senior petroleum economist at the State of Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division. There he had a fundamental role in the design of the statutory and regulatory structure of Alaska's oil and gas production tax, and the modeling of the entire commercial composition of Alaska's oil and natural gas industry.

According to Mr. Marks, “My career work reflects careful consideration of the various ways situations can be framed. This provides a means for looking at the problem from different perspectives, being mindful of the interests of all parties."

Since 2008 Roger Marks Economics has been a private economic consulting practice in Anchorage, Alaska, specializing in petroleum, energy, and resource economics, finance, and taxation. This has included economic modeling, feasibility and due diligence analyses, solving tax problems for clients, and serving as an expert witness in litigation and legislative proceedings.

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Steve Colt

Research Professor of Energy Economics and Policy, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Steve Colt is a research professor of energy economics and policy at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) at UAF. Based in Anchorage, he works primarily on how prices, incentives, and energy policy can support and accelerate the energy transition in Alaska toward a more diverse, sustainable and resilient energy mix. He is active in ACEP's decarbonization research and the merging of transportation, heat and electricity in a low-carbon future.
Prior to joining ACEP, Colt worked as an economist at the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). He served as ISER director from 2007 to 2010. While at ISER, he led several electricity demand studies, conducted numerous cost-benefit analyses of energy projects throughout the state, and built energy planning and analysis models tailored to Alaska communities. He has also worked for public utility commissions in Maine and California. Colt holds B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Williams College and MIT, respectively.

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Todd Lindley

Petroleum Engineer, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company / Vice President, Alaska Gold Communications, Inc.

Todd is an engineer for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company and Vice President of Alaska Gold Communications, Inc. He is a registered professional mechanical engineer in Alaska and Wyoming with a specialty in rotating equipment and thermal fluids. He has worked in the energy industry for 15 years across the United States both onshore and offshore including internationally on Sakhalin Island, Russia primarily in the midstream and upstream sectors. He has held various leadership and technical roles in engineering and operations through all phases of project development. Todd is currently a candidate on the ballot for the 2024 Chugach Electric Association election for the Board of Directors. 

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William Horvath

Petroleum Physicist / Engineer

William has 20 years of oilwell operations experience and is presently President and Principal Subsurface Technical Consultant at Cross 3, LLC.  After beginning his career working for Baker Hughes on rigs and platforms in the Gulf Coast Region, William's well data evaluations for Oil Search Alaska and Shell Oil have supported significant resource discoveries and company firsts in both Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.  Currently, William is collaborating with scientific experts at the University of Houston to advance critical mathematical foundational principles of Petrophysical well log interpretations.  His team's recent works have been published and presented at the annual International Technical Symposia of the Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts.

William volunteers as a coach with Mighty Bikes, an Anchorage-based non-profit youth mountain biking organization, as well as at his local church.

In keeping with Mayor Micciche’s commitment to create and encourage a citizen-run Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) government, the Mayor’s Working Group was formed. Over a hundred citizens applied from throughout the KPB to serve on the 25-person board and selections were made by the mayor and his team based on subject matter interests, expertise, background, and geography. Today, this diverse group meets quarterly as well as holds regular sub-committee meetings taking on some of the biggest challenges faced by the borough and its residents. All of the meetings are open to the public and we encourage you to participate in the process. Please join us!

KPB Working Group Members

Brooke Andrews, Vince Beltrami, Tabitha Blades, Kathryn Lois Carssow, Mike Crawford, Clinton Davis, Richard Derkevorkian, Stacy Froese, Bridget Grieme, Karyn Griffin, Hannah Gustafson, Doug Hayman, John McCombs, Jim Moore, Bonnie Nichols, Marnie Olcott, Eva Pate, Samantha Springer, Marv St Clair, Abby Struffert, Mary Trimble, Dan L Walker, Michael W Warfield, Shanette Wik, Darrel Williams

Housing/Cost of Living Members

Tabitha Blades, Stacy Froese, Hannah Gustafson, Bonnie Nichols, Marnie Olcott, Eva Pate, Mary Trimble, Dan L Walker, Samantha Springer

Meetings

KPB Working Group - Homer 03/21/2024

• KPB Working Group Agenda 03/21/2024
• KPB Working Group Meeting Video 03/21/2024 (YouTube)

KPB Working Group 12/06/2023

• KPB Working Group Agenda 12/06/2023
• KPB Working Group Meeting Video 12/06/2023 (YouTube)

Next KPB Working Group Meeting:

TBD - Mid June

KPB Working Group Housing/Cost of Living Subcommittee Meeting 02/29/2024

• Subcommittee Meeting 02/29/2024 Agenda
• Subcommittee Meeting 02/29/2024 Minutes
• Subcommittee Meeting 02/29/2024 Video (YouTube)

KPB Working Group Housing/Cost of Living Subcommittee Meeting 01/25/2024

• Subcommittee Meeting 01/25/2024 Agenda
• Subcommittee Meeting 01/25/2024 Minutes
• Subcommittee Meeting 01/25/2024 Video (YouTube)

Next KPB Working Group Housing/Cost of Living Subcommittee Meeting:

TBD

 This page was created 9/9/2022, this site will be updated regularly.

 

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and School Board both voted unanimously to call for a $65M School Improvement Bond to appear on the October 4th, 2022 ballot.

Voters will be asked consider Proposition 2: Educational Capital Improvement General Obligation Bonds. Proposition 2 is a school improvement bond initiative that addresses some of the largest understood inefficiencies in our facilities, as well as other high priority projects. The proposal will include 10 projects that will benefits 13 of 42 schools across the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD).

The projects funded by this bond are focused on:

Reducing Maintenance and Operations Costs: Soldotna Elementary replacement Soldotna Preparatory renovation and consolidation KPB/KPBSD Maintenance Shop

Repairing and Modernizing Facilities: Seward High School track and field Nikiski High School track and field Kenai High School field restroom and concession Various school roofs Homer High School front entrance improvements Soldotna High School siding

Safety and Security: School Student drop- off Kenai Middle School safety and security renovation

Click here for more information on Proposition 2.

Click here to visit the KPB Elections page with information about the October 4^th election.