There are only officially 5 or so perm residents in Prudhoe Bay, so no, there were no people they could hire. 1981 is during the beginning of the construction boom up there.

As for a building that Alaska would use for its employees, I am not aware of one up there as described in the annual report. They fly the combi planes up there and the flight is a stop on the way to Barrow.

Alaska flies into Prudhoe with flights that are normally filled with oilfield employees and support staff. Tourism exists, but those numbers are small. For any villagers, they typically fly Era. BP/Conoco Phillips has their own charter company that flies the majority of the workers to/from the north slope.

You might look up deadhorse in wikipedia for your answers. The town isn't intended as a permanent residential establishment. It exists to support the oil infrastructure. You cannot get to the ocean unless you have a badge to get on the BP lease or you have a boat and can get into one of the rivers and access it that way.