Dec 28: Looting Matanuska Maid As The Lioness Sleeps.
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With the governor apparently pre-occupied with being lionized as a government watchdog and ethics reformer extraodinaire, it appears the public assets of Mataunuska Maid are being systematically looted by her Creamery Board and Valley milk farmers.
In a recent deluge of emails from agriculture industry insiders, it’s become clear that Valley milk producers involved in starting up the new South Central Dairy Co-Op, are being allowed to pillage the remaining state assets in the now vacant Matanuska Maid Plant in Anchorage.
It is no coincidence that immediately following Senator Lyda Green's November 2, 2007 request for a Legislative Audit on Mat Maid, DNR requested a check be drawn for the full amount of the $600,000 public funds to be paid directly to Mat Maid.
The funds were paid out in full November 8, 2007.
This is completely contrary to DNR's initial instructions specifically given to this board that the State would not just be cutting a blank check to Mat Maid and that the Board had to provide specific details with supporting documentation to justify all disbursements.
No one seems willing to verify what has been done with the funds. But then after what we’ve seen the last six months, who could you ask and hope to get an honest answer?
The State Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund (ARLF) has charged off approximately $12,000,000 in dairy loans in the past 19 years. This averages over $631,000 annually in loss of public funds. This does not represent all Federal, State and Borough public funds that have been lost in the Alaska dairy industry.
Contrary to popular belief, Matanuska Maids expenses are not stopping due to the shut down of the dairy. Costs such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, staffing, tax returns & financial statements, pending litigation, outstanding accounts payables to vendors and asset disposal costs haven’t even been addressed.
The Agriculture Revolving Loan Fund will be on the hook which puts the entire agriculture industry at risk. The Creamery Board is on track to fritter away all of the ARLF assets to support 4 local dairy producers.
Since Governor Palin allowed the Board of Agriculture and the Creamery Board to be run by the same conflicted interests, there is no oversight to protect and manage the ARLF for the benefit of all the Alaskan agricultural industry.
Questions are being raised by agriculture industry insiders:
Are the owners of the new South-central Dairy Co-Op illegally swapping out equipment now that Matanuska Maid is shut down and the dairy is empty?
Is the Creamery Board allowing the most valuable pieces of equipment to be acquired for next to nothing by the new dairy co-op when many say the equipment could bring as much as $250,000 at auction? If this is allowed to happen, the new board would be devaluing Mat Maid as an asset.
How will Matanuska Maid’s creditors be paid? Accounts payables are over a million dollars and that doesn’t include the pending lawsuits by former executives who were denied their pensions.
Why were there consultants from Seattle at the Matanuska Maid dairy plant in Anchorage measuring the press, the gallon filler and the homogenizer? Is the Creamery Board allowing the new co-op to acquire this equipment without first seeing if it can be auctioned off?
How much of their own private cash are these new farmers putting into their new dairy venture? They have received a $650,000 grant from the federal government and are now looking for an additional $200,000 from the legislature to help Valley farmers get by until the new venture is open this spring. Where is their skin in the game?
Also, who granted permission to have Mat Maid employees work on packaging for the new dairy co-op on Mat Maid time? Although Mat Maid didn’t receive a dime in state subsidies over the last twenty years, this new dairy co-op is using the state like an ATM machine.
Is anybody paying attention to the fact that in their federal grant proposal they call for paying local farmers $28/cwt, the same as Matanuska Maid was paying? Now the co-op organizers say they don't know how much they'll be able to pay local farmers.
Why isn’t Governor Palin ensuring Matanuska Maid’s assets are being used to satisfy creditors? Where in the world is Alaska's ethical political king of the jungle?
As the song says, “the lion sleeps tonight”.
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