Alaska Ag: Second verse, same as the first!

And the winner is.........


(drum roll please)


...........nobody.

The BAC rejected both RFP responses at its meeting yesterday.

According to a story in the ADN, the Board, in it's collective wisdom, has decided to nearly halve the asking price on the next go-around. From the original broker's opinion (In October of this year) of $860,000, down to the assessed value of $410,000.  There is sure to be another RFP quite soon, reflecting this change.

Which puts the property itself within reach of local land developers, not just concerned parties who see an opportunity to continue running the MMM&S facility.

It's fairly obvious that the "blue sky" broker's price was not based in reality, otherwise there would be a new operator at the helm. Since there are no comparables within state boundaries, and the plant looses money under the management of the state, one can only speculate where this $860,000 figure originated. That aside, the takeaway should be: How competent is the BAC to handle this, if, after three unsuccessful RFPs, they are finally realizing the plant is not worth what the market will support? And if this is how they conduct asset management, what else is going sideways there?

Edited to add:  Former Gov. Sean Parnell wrote to DNR Commissioner Andy Mack in July of this year on behalf of Denali Meat Company, regarding the RFP for the sale of the plant. The letter brings up a number of problems with the RFP as it was written, and of particular note, touches on the BAC itself:

The BAC is not qualified to evaluate private sector bidder's proposed operations plans for the meat plant, nor has any criteria been established for the BAC to approve or disapprove such a purchase. Instead, qualified independent professionals should evaluate and score any proposed plans. 


Maybe they should take a look back at history, and remember when former Gov. Palin fired the entire board.


The Never Ending Story of Alaska Ag continues........