The Skagway News - Sept. 23, 2022

THE SKAGWAY NEWS.

Landslides get emergency declaration from governor

By Melinda Munson

Gov. Mike Dunleavy gave Skagway’s recent landslides, which shut down the forward berth of Railroad Dock and cost the city approximately 125,000 cruise passengers this season, official emer gency designation on Sept. 15.

Mayor Andrew Crema ta described the emergency declaration as “an action that frees up resources and mon ey to help with rockslide mitigation and, hopefully, some of the costs associated with ensuring we have four berths in 2023.”

According to Cremata, LIDAR (light detection and ranging) data became avail able around Sept. 9 and “en gineers are doing their best to interpret it.”

“Engineers are working on a design to safely bring down rock and debris from the mountain, followed by construction intended to fur ther stabilize the mountain side,” he said. “It remains to be seen how much any plan will cost. If a comprehensive plan is too expensive, we may need to pivot to a more affordable and less compre hensive solution.”

Despite the 2023 tourist season fast approaching and hopes for a fully function ing Railroad Dock, Manag er Brad Ryan isn’t ready to begin developing a road to prepare for mitigation.

“There has been consider able discussion on the pros and cons of developing the Lower Dewey Lake road in order to access the rockslide area,” he said. I understand the desire to move quickly to mitigate the hazard area. However, without a mitiga tion plan design from our experts that details what ac

Assembly authorizes negotiation between WP&YR, MOS

By Gretchen Wehmhoff

The Skagway Assembly, at the Sept. 1 regular meeting, agreed unanimously to direct the municipal manager to negotiate with White Pass & Yukon Route (WP&YR) in conjunction with legal coun sel to address any issues as the 55-year lease between the two entities expires in March 2023.

The instructions for Man ager Brad Ryan followed public discussion of the most recent letter from WP&YR to the municipality.

The letter, signed by presi dent of WP&YR, Bob Berto, mentioned the multi-agency cooperation and response to the recent rock slides, then addressed the company’s plan to take advantage of a lease term that “require that we remove any improve ments we need within 60 days of the end of the lease, or we lose them.”

Ore and Broadway docks for 2023.

“If WP&YR does remove the pilings and catwalks from the Broadway and Ore Docks as Mr. Korn stated in our meeting, MOS will not be able to berth ships at those facilities in 2023 until the improvements are replaced … With the long lead times on materials and permitting (we anticipate permits for pile driving to take nearly a year), it does not seem pos sible to complete the nec essary upgrades prior to the 2023 season,”

Berto referred to possibly using removed materials in another White Pass location.

specific information and value of the assets being re moved from WP&YR over a year ago. He said recently the company passed along linear feet numbers, but no indication where that was located. Ryan requested and received photos, but there was no price associated with the photos.

“It’s hard to identify from the pictures exactly what’s being taken,” Ryan said.

Assemblymember Reba Hylton addressed White Pass’ involvement in ore contamination remediation.

and whether we should de clare that or not for sure, if it’s not cleaned up by the end of it,” Ryan said.

Mayor Andrew Cremata was hesitant to follow that direction and suggested that trying to work with White Pass would be better for the community in the long run.

“Several weeks ago, we provided Manager Ryan with a list of existing im provements at the Ore and Broadway docks which our company believes it can uti lize elsewhere to benefit our business after transition of docks to the municipality.”

“There’s been no reme diation, there was an early action removal, 3,700 yards, that they conducted this win ter. And I don’t know what the plan is for the remedia tion,” Ryan said.

“... if the port is still con taminated, doesn’t that put White Pass in breach of the lease itself?” asked Hylton.

“We’re trying to convince the community to support a $65 million revenue bond to build a dock that is going to have rail and an easement for railroad tracks to go right up to the cruise ship. The big gest beneficiary of that $65 million project is going to be White Pass. The biggest beneficiary of working out an easement is going to be White Pass. I mean, we are doing a lot of things that prove that we’re cooperat ing,” Cremata said.

In a July 18 correspon dence, Ryan stated remov ing assets could close the

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Ryan told the assembly that he had requested more

BLOTTER PAGE 11 CLASSIFIED PAGE 11

“I think we’ve had a lot of discussions about whether they’re in breach of contract

“… the municipality is do ing everything, bending over backward, to do what it can to support White Pass’ finan cial future in this commu

(see page 4-Assembly(see page 3-Declaration)

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Dakari Urrutia, Jo Ferbrache, Melody Goddard, Heather Riddle, Joe Vu, Thor Lindstam and Sean Eaton of Team Legs Miserables pose during the night on the Klondike Highway as part of the Klondike Road Relay Sept. 9.

Photo by Rebekah Eaton

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Letters and Opinion

The MOS is not following 2020 recommended plan

If I did not have experience in com puter science and Bill Gates was speak ing on the subject, I’d listen. If I did not have experience in investments and Warren Buffet was speaking, I’d listen. If only the mayor, manager, port direc tor and assembly, who proclaim their inexperience on waterfront develop ment at nearly every assembly meeting, had some expert advice on how to pro ceed with the waterfront development.

Wait, they do. The Municipality of Skagway (MOS) hired one of the best consulting firms in waterfront devel opment and commissioned a $160,000 study on how Skagway’s waterfront should be developed. The Bermillo Ajamil & Partners (BA) report dated February 2020 is 55 pages of specific advice and strategy.

The BA report recommends the fol lowing:

• Develop an ownership/operator structure for the port to maximize rev enues. (Read hire an experienced in terim port developer and form a port authority).

• Remediate the Ore Basin.

• Build a Ro-Ro dock to the west to be able to accommodate, freight, fuel and containerized ore. This is also the BA recommended site for the future ferry dock and terminal. Without relo cating the ferry dock, MOS cannot uti lize the current ferry dock location for a two-sided Panamax capable dock.

• With the ferry peninsula vacated, build a two sided Panamax capable dock on the ferry peninsula. Acquiring

the ferry peninsula from the State is key and the MOS has been working on this for five years.

• The Broadway Dock remains large ly unchanged.

• After the cleanup, build the Ore Dock out to handle two cruise ships with flexibility to handle bulk ore if the Yukon steps forward and invests in the dock and the ship loader.

The MOS is not following BA’s plan or any comprehensive plan that will be beneficial to Skagway residents in the long-term. The western most RoRo dock is necessary for this compre hensive, waterfront redevelopment. Why is the MOS offering the western most dock parcel through an RFP for non-waterfront users?

The vote no committee is not a no vote to waterfront development. It is an attempt to focus the MOS on a compre hensive waterfront that will be cleaned up and not be burdened by conflicts between users and inefficiencies. Con trary to recent comments by the MOS, the waterfront development has not been properly vetted. Each dock and waterfront development should include a discounted cash flow that identifies the costs, revenues and expenses asso ciated with that specific development. Has anyone seen this? The answer is no because it has not been done.

The proposed $65 million bond, if passed, will obligate the entire water front including future developments regardless of how much or how little it makes. Does this proposal from the

MOS generate additional revenue or does it siphon revenue from other as sets? Hard to know as the due diligence has not been completed.

The no vote will allow for two cruise ship berths on the Ore Dock for 2023, not one. We would suggest offering a revenue bond that is specific to each proposed development. This should happen immediately. The Skagway Port Protection Committee has run pre liminary Excel spreadsheets on this op tion, and it generates a net positive re turn on the development. The one ship option does not.

Finally, everyone is concerned that the MOS cannot remediate the rock slide and have the Railroad Dock open for business without restrictions. This means that there would be only two docks (Ore and Broadway) open fully if the MOS plan were followed.

The issues identified in this letter are not comprehensive, but they do all stem from the MOS not taking the first steps first. Hire a qualified port director and these design issues would not be happening.

Citizens, please join the no vote com mittee in redirecting the MOS’s efforts by making two berths available in 2023 on the Ore Dock before permanent damage is done and we find ourselves living with another long-term mistake.

Your fellow concerned citizen, David Brena Member (Vote No for the two-dock option in 2023)

Skagway Port Protection Committee

2023 alternate mooring plan to allow four ships

Memo from Borough Manager Brad Ryan to Skagway As sembly, 9/14/22

The Municipality of Skagway (MOS) is diligently work ing with cruise lines and White Pass towards an alternative mooring plan for the 2023 cruise season that will ideally maintain a maximum of four ships in port. Currently, only the Railroad Dock can accommodate breakaway, oasis and royal class ships, some of which do not have the ability to tender passengers. The municipality needs to implement a contingency plan to accommodate these larger ships on the Ore Dock in case the rockslide risk is not lowered adequate ly to allow passengers and crew to be on the Railroad Dock. To achieve this contingency plan, the cruise lines, Southeast Pilots Association and White Pass need to sign off on the plan.

In general, the plan consists of bringing the breakaway, oa sis and royal class ships into the Ore Dock and then bringing two smaller ships into the Railroad Dock and having them tender through the Small Boat Harbor. The Broadway Dock would remain the same. To implement this plan, a small por tion of the wooden Ore Dock and ore loader would need to be removed and a temporary floating dock (spud barge) would be placed to offload passengers. Additional bollards and pilings would also be installed to increase the mooring capacity.

To determine the suitability and safety of the alternative mooring plan, we have engaged several ship captains, South east Alaska Pilots Association and the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies. A full mission bridge navigation study is scheduled for the first week of October and will assist in determining the feasibility of and parame

ters for mooring these larger class vessels at the Ore Dock.

The estimated implementation cost of the alternative mooring plan is $5.9 million. While $4.4 million of this cost is already included in the scope of the larger development project planned for the winter of 2023-2024, approximately $1.5 million would be additional costs.

Below is a rough schedule for the alternative mooring project:

1) Design new mooring to accommodate breakaway, oasis and royal class ships at Ore (underway).

2) Engage cruise lines with mooring plan (underway).

3) Engage White Pass with plan (meeting scheduled for 9/15). A portion of this plan was first discussed at an ad ministrative meeting with White Pass, and staff intends to continue to work with White Pass representatives to move this plan forward.

4) Simulate docking with Southeast Pilots and cruise lines (Oct. 3 -7).

5) Apply for expedited/emergency permits to complete the project prior to April 18, 2023.

6) Procure pilings and fenders. (Request approval at Oct. 6 assembly meeting.)

7) Rent or procure spud barge and transfer bridge. (Re quest approval at Oct. 20 assembly meeting.)

8) Issue bid documents. (November 2022)

9) Demo of the ore loader. (March 7, 2023)

10) Begin construction in January 2023 to be completed by March 31, 2023.

Visit https://www.skagway.org/sites/default/files/fileattachments/bor ough_assembly/meeting/packets/47389/9f.2_port_of_skagway_2023_ plan.pdf for graphics.

Thank you Kaitlyn Jared for your hard work, impactful business and community efforts while being the executive director at Skagway Development Corporation (SDC).

Four years ago I began serving Skagway with financial ser vices. I wanted a consistent place to hold my office hours. After some research, SDC’s space seemed like a good fit. The space worked great but even more impactful was the opportunity to work with Kaitlyn. From current events, the status of community projects, updates on opportuni ties and timely Skagway information, Kaitlyn was a great resource to help develop my business in Skagway. I know how much Kaitlyn cares about the Skagway community and beyond. I know she will work hard and make impact ful contributions in her new role. Thank you Skagway, for continuing to support SDC.

In partnership with Rhonda Williams, branch office administrator

I am delighted to see that Dan Henry has decided to get back on the horse and again run for a seat on the Skagway Assembly. Of all the assembly members that I worked with over the past several decades, he was the most financial ly astute. Period. Tim Bourcy and Mike Korsmo pushed though the policies and legislation that set Skagway on the path to long-term fiscal health. I salute them, and you should, too. But Dan Henry, during his many years as fi nance chair, worked tirelessly to implement and fine-tune those laws. Without his hard work to change Skagway’s investment policies, for instance, the municipality would be several million dollars poorer today. That is the honest truth, and although I try to avoid politics these days, I fig ure I’d write this short letter as my way of thanking Dan for all he’s done for the community over the years.

Former city manager, mayor and investment advisor; current Dyea hobby farmer

Vote “yes”

Proposition One

Some say it’s about the journey, not the destination. But now here we are looking at the destination; March 2023 when per the will of the voters, Skagway takes control of our port for the first time in our history. Though an incredibly exciting time, it is not as easy one. Change is hard, and who, 54 years ago, could have foreseen that we would be making this momentous transition after coming out of a global pandemic. And then just as we’re getting going again, Mother Nature challenges us with a rock slide that forced the closure of one of our main docks.

These have been scary times filled with uncertainty. A “yes” vote on Proposition One, authorizing up to $65 million in port development revenue bonds, brings us the funding and stability we need for a project that has been years in the making. A “yes” vote brings us the ability to enact an emergency plan that ensures we can berth four ships a day in 2023. A “yes” vote is how we take control of our port and benefit our amazing community for years to come. Please vote “yes” on Proposition One for a se cure and stable future for Skagway. Thank you.

Deb Potter Assemblymenber

Declaration opens door for slide area funds

tions should be taken, it is still not clear to me the type and quantity of machines that will be needed to con duct the work.”

Ryan stated he would like to involve legal counsel with any proposed actions. He noted it takes 30-45 days for the Army Corps of Engineers to issue a Nationwide Permit authorization.

Cremata said that even more important than how to mitigate the mountainside is how to secure the town’s economy.

“The bigger question is how will we ensure that four berths are active in 2023. With help from White Pass, we have an actionable plan that will put post-Panamax ships at the Ore Dock, which allows two smaller ships to dock at Railroad while

avoiding the primary slide area … It appears as though permitting agencies will help fast-track this process, which is fantastic news and ensures we will have a solid 2023 cruise ship season.”

A memo outlining the mu nicipality’s proposed plan with White Pass to increase moorage can be found on page two.

The plan is estimated to cost $6 million, with $4.5 million coming from the port development revenue bond,

Proposition One, if passed.

“I’m hopeful that the other $1.5 million can be paid with emergency relief money but this is unclear at the moment. It’s important to note that fi nancial relief is unlikely to come in right away, so the MOS may need to foot the bill and seek reimbursement, which may take years,” Cre mata said.

(continued from FRONT)

Steve SueWing Financial Advisor, Edward Jones

Thank you, Kaitlyn Jared for your hard work

Skip Elliott

In support of Dan Henry

Alaska’s cruise tourism industry has recovered, but not fully, from COVID-19; number of cruise ship tourists is expected to be near pre-pandemic levels in 2023

By James Brooks Alaskabeacon.com

Southeast Alaska, home to the core of Alaska’s tourism industry, has largely recov ered from the economic di saster caused by COVID-19, but the region still has fewer jobs than it did before the start of the pandemic.

Complete recovery may happen in 2023, attendees of Southeast Conference, a regional economic and local government confer ence, were told Tuesday in Ketchikan.

“We’re building back, but we’re not entirely there yet,” said Meilani Schijvens of Rain Coast Data, an eco nomic firm that focuses on Southeast Alaska.

Scott Habberstad, chair of the Alaska Travel Industry Association Board of Direc tors, was cautiously optimis tic.

“There’s a lot of opportu nity for complete recovery and growth. But are we at the beginning of a recession and are we going to go into a recession?” he said, refer ring to the possibility of Fed eral Reserve interest rate in creases.

“If we’re going into a re cession, are people going to put their money into their pocket, or are they going to

travel?” he said.

Southeast Alaska is heavi ly reliant on the tourism in dustry, and tourists who ar rive in Southeast Alaska by cruise ship frequently travel to other parts of the state.

The summer seasonal tour ism industry employs thou sands of Alaskans, some of whom rely on summer earn ings to support themselves for the rest of the year.

Between 2019 and 2020, the number of tourists com ing to Alaska fell by 82%.

The number of cruise ship passengers arriving in the state dropped from more than 1.3 million to 48.

Southeast Alaska was among the hardest-hit plac es in the country by the re sulting economic recession, Schjivens said. Businesses had spent millions of dol lars preparing for the 2020 tourism season only to see it evaporate.

The regional fishing in dustry — another economic mainstay — also suffered in 2020 from poor salmon re turns and low prices.

As a result, employment in Southeast Alaska dropped by 9,800 jobs — 24% of all jobs in the region — between June 2019 and June 2020.

Federal aid prevented many businesses from per manently closing, Schijvens said.

“The significant federal investments into the region in the form of COVID relief dollars worked as intended.

Businesses, workers, and communities were able to continue in a stasis-like ex istence throughout the eco nomically-impoverished early pandemic period, giv ing Southeast Alaska an economy to come back to in 2022,” she wrote in South

east by the Numbers, an an nual economic report card for the region.

As of June 2022, employ ment in Southeast Alaska remains 12% lower — down by 5,200 — than it was in June 2019.

Statewide, employment is down by 6%. For context, national employment was higher in June 2022 than it was in June 2019.

Business owners say con ditions are better

Though the region hasn’t fully recovered, surveys conducted by Schijvens found business owners more

optimistic about the future than at any point since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Of 440 surveyed in 2021, 80% said the business cli mate was “poor” or “very poor,” and that was an im provement from 2020. This year, that proportion has dropped to 36%.

More than three-quarters of the businesses surveyed said they expect conditions to be better next year than this year.

Some of that optimism has been driven by the cruise ship industry’s rebound from COVID-19.

After the 48 passengers recorded in 2020, Southeast Alaska counted 124,600 cruise ship passengers in 2021. This year, Schijvens forecasts about 1 million tourists by cruise ship.

Optimism for 2023 but un knowns remain

Next year, based on the number of sailings and pro jected interest, she expects about 1.3 million — roughly the same amount that sailed to Alaska in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

“Tourism is back, and it is thriving,” she said.

Assembly authorizes negotiations

(continued from FRONT) nity between remediations, investigating environmen tal concerns, building new docks, supplying easements. Man, and what a huge ben efit to Carnival Cruise Lines and White Pass and to Hol land America and to Prin cess.” Cremata said.

“ … add to your list the tens of millions of dollars we’re considering for rock slide mitigation to protect the White Pass dock.That’s a private dock,” Assembly member Orion Hanson said.

The open discussion turned to negotiation strategies.

Hylton was not in favor of negotiation.

“.... If we aren’t able to berth those ships here next year, or the year after, be cause we won’t be able to replace that infrastructure, it just can’t happen. We’re all going to lose. This town will fail if White Pass fails.”

“…We need to work to gether on this. And I think leaving those assets in place -- they’ve more than paid for themselves throughout time. Our community has paid for it in its own way by only receiving very little funds for the revenue generated off of that happening. And so I don’t really feel like we should negotiate and we should all just kind of call it a wash and work together and continue to bring tour ists into this community so we can all survive,” Hylton said.

Assemblymember Jay Burnam agreed.

“I don’t think they’re gon na shoot themselves in the foot. And if they did start to disable infrastructure in

the municipality, I’m sure there would be some sort of legal recourse that we could engage in. I get upset about it, too. But I can’t see them doing it,” Assemblymember Jay Burnham said.

“I just don’t know what negotiation would hurt,” said Bass

Assemblymember Orion Hanson asked Tyler Rose from White Pass what the point would be to remove assets.

“Would you agree that if you took away the pilings, the catwalks, effectively everything that you need to tie up a ship -- that it would cause harm to Skagway’s economy including White Pass’s ability to have pas sengers on the railroad?” Hanson asked.

“Absolutely, it would. And I think we’re trying to avoid that which is the reason to try to engage in this discus sion,” Rose said.

“I guess the one thing I would say is that we’ve asked for this negotiation for well over a year and haven’t got ten it. That letter could have had a number on it -- it didn’t have it. They could say what it is they’re going to take out. Manager Ryan has just made it clear that he’s asked for this information over and over and over. [Why] wait till September, six months before it expires you want to negotiate?” Hanson said.

The conversation then turned to a sum zero loss possibility.

“I think the best high road we can take is to just agree,” Hanson said. Leave the docks in place, and we’ll

accept the condition that they’re in and recognize the 55 years of successful part nership we’ve had. There’s so many tenuous, perilous things coming up here in the next winter. We don’t need to overcomplicate this. This is actually fairly straight forward. March 23’ – those docks belong to the munici pality.”

Hylton and Cremata agreed. Assemblymember Jay Burnham didn’t.

“I would say absolutely not. I think he should talk to legal counsel, I think we should talk to people who know a lot more than we do. Just because we think that we’re taking the high road. We don’t know what we’re doing to say a zero sum game,” Burnham said.

“I agree 100% with Jay,” Assemblymember Dustin Stone said.

Cremata offered a compro mise.

“What if there was some direction to talk to legal counsel about that possibility so that we can have it on the next agenda? Would there be any objection to direct ing manager Ryan to seeking legal counsel in regards to a potential walk away scenario with White Pass over assets and remediation issues?” Cremata said.

The body, including Burn ham, Stone and Bass agreed without objection.

The status of any current or scheduled meetings for negotiation between Skag way and White Pass was un known at press time.

the

Photo by Rebekah Eaton

Photo by Rebekah Eaton

Photo by Abby Myers

Photo by Nicole Goodman

Photo by Nicole Goodman

Photo by Nicole Goodman

Photo by Wendy Anderson

Assembly candidate responses

Orion Hanson

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

I have served on the Skagway Assembly for six years and three mayors. Prior to serving on the as sembly I was chairman of the Planning and Zon ing Commission. I have a deep belief in public service and public representation in government.

I have Skagway roots as a child, however, I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. I received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison which honed my passion for fair government democracy. I moved back to Skagway 10 years ago and own a residential construction company. I employ six carpenters and several other part-time employees. Skagway is my year-round home and I own two properties in the borough. I strive to support local, employ local and spend local every day. Serving on the Skagway Assembly is challenging and demands a lot of time and commitment. I try to approach the variety of issues before the assembly by being prepared, honest and objective towards the great est good towards the community of Skagway.

Do you support the $5 per hour wage increase for municipal employees the assembly passed Aug. 18 (Resolution 22-24R)? Why or why not?

I voted for it, however, it wasn’t an easy choice. The Finance Committee discussed the pay scale for many months, employed a cost of living study from the McDowell group as well as looking into other metrics for cost of living comparison. Some wages were certainly low, and recent inflation has affected the viability of employment across Skag way. The municipality has and had many unfilled positions all year. Keeping the public/private wages competitive is an issue I pay keen attention to as an employer and finance committee member.

How would you help attract tourism traffic past Fifth Avenue on Broadway Street as well as to other downtown side streets?

I think the Historic District Commission (HDC) has some good ideas to make the north end of Broadway attractive. When Brew Co. moved from 7th to 4th Ave, the north end of Broadway lost an anchor business that brought a lot of pedestrian traffic to that end of town. There have been some new businesses that have opened north of 5th Ave that have pumped some life into that area recent

ly including The Pretzel Shop, Madam Cooper’s Peep Show, Wild Yukon Furs, Aurora Arts and Klondike General Store. Other businesses have revamped their business models and floor spac es like The Skagway Inn, Bites on Broadway and the Days of ’98. The North end of Broadway with cheaper rental rates is an exciting area for upstart entrepreneurs to enter the market. I look forward to the ideas of current and new HDC members including the recent appointment of prominent business owners Rosemary Kuplar and Nancy Corrington. As always, the bank and post office will be the stable fixtures of Skagway’s economy at 6th and Broadway.

Skagway has a shortage of quality, affordable housing. What are some solutions that would ease lack of housing in the summer and create stability for year-round residents?

As a residential contractor I have an acute knowledge of Skagway’s housing market. “Af fordable housing” is a bit of a loaded term. Acts of the municipal government to lower housing costs would decrease property values and would be very detrimental to homeowners. The P&Z and MOS has passed a number of code changes in re cent years to entice private housing developments such as: modifying off-street parking size require ments, conditionally approving triplexes on a sin gle lot, relaxing roof eve setback requirements and establishing the accessory housing standards on residential lots. Constructing new housing is expensive and flat buildable land is at a premium. I support the utility project of running water and sewer across the Skagway river bridge, modifying zoning across the bridge to support areas of mixed business and residential while retaining industrial needs. Changes to land use across the bridge is de pendent on providing water and sewer to the area to provide density for development that private water wells and septic fields prohibit. I also sup port establishing a new campground on municipal property for seasonal housing.

Heger

Like fine wine I think I’m improving with age. I’m a better listener than I was when I was young er. I think all sides of an issue should be heard, even if I don’t agree. I prefer to take the proactive

approach rather than reactive to problem solving. There are some pretty big things that the city is dealing with and I decided I’d try to be part of the decision making process as the assembly and community work to problem solve. And, for 30 years I’ve wanted a swimming pool. I plan to work very hard to make that happen over the next three years if elected.

Do you support the $5 per hour wage increase for municipal employees the assembly passed Aug. 18 (Resolution22-24R)? Why or why not?

As a business owner I think the raise was dras tic. I’ve requested information from the city so that I can see the full effect of this decision. We all know that a $5 raise costs more than just $5. Also, I don’t see the list of vacancies flying off the post office or city hall boards due to the increase. Now that it’s done we can’t very likely take it back, so whether I support it or not is moot.

How would you help attract tourism traffic past Fifth Avenue on Broadway Street as well as to other downtown side streets?

It will take a private business owner with a good idea who can afford the rent. I don’t think putting an arch over Broadway will work. If I owned the old Brew Co. building (sorry, I don’t know the address), I’d copy a business I went to in Portland, Oregon called SPIN Laundry Lounge. It is a pub with a laundromat in it. This would attract visitors and seasonal locals who could have a brew, a bite – and get their laundry done at the same time. Or put in an internet cafe. Lots of people ask where they can log on to the internet … take a look at our library. Everyday people swarm the place inside and out. I’m sure they’d love to find a warm, dry place where they can eat, get a beverage and stay connected to family or work. Or, maybe combine these two ideas. I don’t think the city can fix the problem.

Skagway has a shortage of quality, affordable housing. What are some solutions that would ease lack of housing in the summer and create stability for year-round residents?

Turn the Garden City RV park space into a mo bile home park. The city could own the park sites, the owner owns their mobile home and rents space. It could have a homeowners association that gov erns the neighborhood to manage livability. The Garden City RV Park infrastructure is in terrible shape but I believe it could be turned into a trailer park quickly and easily and offer affordable yearround housing. Trailer parks are a housing model that has worked in multiple cities across the coun try and some are very nice. They are a good fit for low and medium income families.

Municipality of Skagway Election

Oct. 4, 2022

open 7 a.m. to

p.m.

Early in-person voting at City Hall from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, between Sept.19 and Oct. 3

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

Dan Henry William Lockette, II

How would you help attract tourism traffic past Fifth Avenue on Broadway Street as well as to other downtown side streets?

I’m Dan Henry, co-owner of the Skagway Fish Company with Eileen Henry. My family came to Skagway in 1989/90 and have called Skag way home for 32 years. From the moment we stepped off the AMH ferry we have been involved in darn near every committee, board or commis sion within the town of Skagway. A couple spe cific involvements, for example, would be myself and my wife, with the help of Mitch Snyder and Karen Frizzell, originated the Booster Club, as we identified a constant need for school activities funding. Joanne Worley and Beth Smith took the hand-off, though I am not sure exactly who has it now, but we did, as they did, got involved. Sec ondly, as an example of being involved, I ran for and was elected to city council. I was appointed as chairman of the city finance committee. While chairman, I made the case for removing all city accounts from the dormant low interest account they were in, and had been for years, and moved them to Elliott Financial, where they returned the city somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-4 mil lion in the following years. These are just a couple examples of my involvement and commitment in the past and hopefully in the positive growth of the Skagway Borough in its future. The decisions we make and the course we take today are the most important choices of action ever in the histo ry of this community, and I feel adding someone at the assembly… (exceeded word count)

Do you support the $5 per hour wage increase for municipal employees the assembly passed Aug. 18 (Resolution 22-24R)? Why or why not?

First of all, if the assembly passes a resolution it is added to city code. I suppose the question is, do I support reversing the current code as approved. I can only assume that the current assembly exhaus tively reviewed the municipal budget and came to the conclusion that the MOS would not acquire any undue burden by approving additional wages. Now, when I first read this, I thought to myself, do I want to walk across the street and take food out of (name redacted) family’s mouth that the city gave to him in August, and then I remembered that my mother drowned all the stupid babies, so my answer to your question is yes. Heck, (name redacted) isn’t the one I’m afraid of the most, it’s (name redacted)! The city assembly reviewed it, I trust the raise was appropriate, although, city code is a living breathing document.

I feel that every business in every community across this state assesses the different dynamics of the market that they choose to invest in. My most recent memory of a measurable amount of business flowing north of Fifth Avenue was sev eral years ago when Skagway Brewing Company was located above Seventh. They seemed to have zero challenge getting folks to stop up there for something to eat or drink. Now, I’m fairly certain they probably advertised a bit, you would have to ask Mike. There is a significant number of folks that ask where the post office is located, which is above Sixth. Businesses across from or in the area of, must benefit from that traffic flow. I don’t know currently how the city can direct any group of prospective customers to a specific area of our community. We do have a shuttle service that brings cruise passengers to town from the docks, but it certainly is not appropriate for the shuttle drivers to tell passengers to get off or wait for a particular stop. I’m open to suggestions.

Skagway has a shortage of quality, affordable housing. What are some solutions that would ease lack of housing in the summer and create stability for year-round residents?

You are asking me two different questions. One is about summer housing and the second is for year-round residents. Either of these are satisfied in the private sector, unless you are advocating the MOS build some tenement housing. That would be a significant issue for the MOS to consider.

Anything remotely close to that would impact current rent and property values in a very signif icant manner. Currently Garden City lots are the only contiguous lots available, to my knowledge, that could be considered for anything remotely close to being identified with that possibility. Tax incentives have been mentioned in the past to in duce a developer to consider same. The first obvi ous obstacle for that consideration is that we buy down the mill rate so as to prevent property taxes from skyrocketing. The waiving of property taxes is a gesture at best, sales tax from tenants is a pass through, possibly waiving city services, i.e. water, sewer and garbage may help, but we would still be a long way away from a developer diverting their resources for a lesser return on investment. Interest rates are going higher and there will be easier choices for those with money. Liquidating the lots at Garden City may be a start in the right direction, then smaller scale development may take place, such as separate multiple family units.

The question has been asked for over 25 years that I can recall. Even if affordable housing is cre ated, one can’t dictate who gets in and… (exceed ed word count)

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

I am choosing to try and step into the public sphere because I believe that we need people in the assembly who can have meetings without bias. People who can sit down with someone they don’t know, and don’t agree with, and still reach a bene ficial outcome through mediation and recognition of a particular interest that is useful, even helpful, rather than dismissing an entire public entity be cause of bad blood. I want to have conversations that elevate our goals, rather than constantly push ing the minimum acceptable allowances.

Do you support the $5 per hour wage increase for municipal employees the assembly passed Aug. 18 (Resolution 22-24R)? Why or why not?

I support the intent, but not the action. The in tent is to try and put people on more stable footing in uncertain times and reward the people who are putting in the hours by making their financial bur dens slightly less impossible. The “soul” of the resolution is very Skagway, and I love that. The action only winds up benefiting a certain group of people rather than the entire town, which is where I believe we need to desperately start to focus as businesses and families are going under and being left with a choice to starve, or move.

How would you help attract tourism traffic past Fifth Avenue on Broadway Street as well as to other downtown side streets?

All we’d really have to do is do a little modifi cation to the massive bus parking lot beside the tracks on 10th and 11th, adding a small tourist ki osk (manned by one person upon passenger arriv al) and then let people get off the bus just down the strip from City Hall. On their way back to the ships, they have to go through town.

Skagway has a shortage of quality, affordable housing. What are some solutions that would ease lack of housing in the summer and create stability for year-round residents?

Extending utilities out across the Pat Moore bridge would be a good way to incentivise people to build out toward Liarsville and the preceding mile. We can hardly keep building up, so we’re gonna have to have some place to go. Without a working sewer system and steady supply of water out that way, expansion isn’t possible even if peo ple wanted to build like mad.

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

Alexandria Weddell

Candidate responses continued

A little bit of background on me: I’m the cli ent services director for Liz Smith Law, an es tate planning law firm based out of Juneau that services Skagway and SE Alaska. My job entails helping people organize their assets and estates both legally and financially. We are helping peo ple lay the foundation for a successful future, and this experience is what I would like to bring to the assembly. I am running because I have a long love for community service and a high respect for civic duty. As your next assembly member, I will take my role as fiduciary seriously, while acting as a steward for this great community.

Do you support the $5 per hour wage increase for municipal employees the assembly passed Aug. 18 (Resolution 22-24R)? Why or why not?

the side streets. I have been following the Histor ic District Committees review of this issue, and removable canvas banners would fall under his torically accurate options, and also be fun. Letting people know where the Historical District ends with banners would be an easy visual aide while keeping it simple.

Skagway has a shortage of quality, affordable housing. What are some solutions that would ease lack of housing in the summer and create stability for year-round residents?

Tell us about yourself. Why did you decide to run for office?

My name is Alexandria Weddell and I’ve lived in Skagway year-round since 2016. I immediately recognized what a special place this is and that I wanted to make it my home. Many of you may not know me though, as I live in Dyea and spend the majority of my time living and working remotely from there.

I did support this measure, as this is a high cost of living area and the municipality is one of the largest employers in town providing year-round jobs. This decision supports local, year-round res idents, and also incentivizes people to fill open positions and move to our wonderful community. We are now staying competitive with the current job market and giving our hard-working staff a living wage.

How would you help attract tourism traffic past Fifth Avenue on Broadway Street as well as to other downtown side streets?

I am very supportive of the idea of having pub lic art and/or banners to encourage pedestrian traffic further down Broadway and deeper within

This is a complex issue without a simple solu tion. It is also a nationwide problem affecting tourist towns. I would like to see more work with the Civic Affairs Committee, or even a specific housing committee, which can explore various options for finding an answer. There are many potential solutions out there. Adjusting zoning re strictions which might be prohibitive to building, financial incentives to encourage people to build on, or using existing lands and structures are all interesting possibilities. Community land trusts have also been used successfully in other sim ilar communities. Each of these ideas and more should be carefully examined to see if they might work for Skagway.

School Board Candidate Luke Rauscher

lukerauscher@yahoo.com Did not respond.

Fish this!

By Andrew Cremata

I’ve lost a lot of big lake trout over the years. Unfor tunately, I remember them all.

There was a certain trout on Carcross Bridge. I saw the 45-inch long behemoth swimming under the walk ing pier. At first, I thought it was an otter. It took me only a few seconds to tie on a fresh piece of bait and cast out into the narrows. The laker hit almost immediately and even though I was using heavy gear, my fishing rod bent over double. The fight lasted less than ten seconds.

Pouting ensued.

Then there was the trout on the shores of Windy Arm in Conrad. It was a gorgeous sunny day in mid-July. Mere minutes after casting out a chunk of bait and letting it sink to the bottom, I hooked up on a solid fish that ran to the surface and jumped en tirely out of the water. The laker was easily 25 pounds, but its aerobatics were suc cessful and the fish threw the hook.

Without hesitation, I reeled in the bait and cast it back out. The bait was still visible, barely two inches below the surface, when the laker swam back up to the surface and inhaled it a sec ond time. Keep in mind that this rarely happens.

I was elated but my cele bration was short-lived. Just as I was about to net the fish, it twisted off my line. To this day, it remains the only lunk er laker I managed to lose twice.

Fortunately, I had a six-

The ones that got away

pack of beer to ease the pain.

There was yet another lake trout. The thought of it haunted me for years. This particular tragedy took place on Tagish Bridge about nine years ago. After two hours without a bite, something gently tapped on my line.

Thinking it was a small trout that wouldn’t take long to land, I set the hook and start ed working my way to shore.

My rod suddenly began thrashing violently. Line started peeling off the drag at lightning speed. Over the next twenty minutes, every time I gained ground on the fish, it quickly regained the advantage by making anoth er strong run.

The battle was epic. My adrenaline had taken over and I realized at that moment that I was having an incredi ble, once-in-a-lifetime expe rience.

During the fight, I worked my way off the bridge so I could land the fish from shore. Then I saw the trout and my heart skipped a beat. It was even larger than I’d anticipated and reminded me of the blacktip sharks I used to catch growing up in Florida. Not wanting to lose the fish in the final seconds of the fight, I waded out into the Tagish River and met the laker in knee-deep water.

My plan was to grab the leader and gently drag the trout to shore. The width of the fish between the pecto ral fins was longer than my hand from wrist to fingertips, which means it easily ap proached 40 pounds. Maybe more.

When I grabbed the lead er and pulled, the 30-pound fluorocarbon snapped in half. The big fish realized what had happened and she didn’t hesitate. A sudden thrash of the tail blinded me with splashing water. When I wiped my eyes, all I could do was watch as the laker of a lifetime disappeared un der the rippled currents of Tagish River.

For years, whenever I pon dered this particular Tagish trout, I justified the feeling of loss by telling myself I was going to release it any way. Somehow, the pain of losing it still remained, which proves that ego often overrides reason.

What I really wanted was a photo to share - some me mento of the grand battle be tween fish and man. Tangi ble proof that this event was more than another fishing story. A trophy in a picture frame hanging from a wall commemorating an achieve ment only important to me.

Yet the end result was ex actly the same.

I enjoyed an incredible and

rare fishing experience and the trout enjoyed living an other day. It’s highly likely that I’ve been catching some of her offspring over the past few years.

Last weekend, I was back fishing in Tagish Lake, cast ing toward fall lake trout in chest-deep water. It was early and the sun hadn’t yet risen over the mountaintops toward the east. The air was cold and my hands numb. My dog Rufus sat patiently on the shore watching me cast and retrieve an assort ment of my favorite lures.

An hour went by without a bite before the sun finally made an appearance. Then it immediately disappeared behind the only cloud in the sky. My mind had wandered far into the unknown realms of subconscious detachment when the first strike of the day caused the rod tip to twitch.

Fish on.

The bend in the rod con firmed that I’d hooked into a nice trout. Slowly working my way into shallow water, I steadily fought the fish, let

ting it run when it wanted to run and making up ground whenever it faltered. It’s the only dance I’m good at.

As the laker approached the shallows, I debated whether to land the trout with my net or simply drag it up onto the shore. The fish seemed as though it was tired from the fight, so I chose the latter option.

Then the lake trout did what lakers always do which is switch directions at the last possible second.

The hook fell free.

I could have lunged into the shallow water and likely grabbed the trout. However, the fish was around 26 inches long and in the Yukon, trout over 26 inches long have to be released.

So instead, I watched it wriggle its entire body around toward deeper water before thrashing its tail wild ly and swimming toward freedom.

Best of all, I didn’t even care.

After all, when it comes to fishing, there is no possible way to lose.

Annual

Photo by Andrew Cremata

Liam fishes the rapids in search of fall lakers

Family Fun Page

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Across 1 Dad, in the boonies

4 TV forensic drama

7 Chinese life force

10 Made selfconscious 12 Strike lightly

13 Competitor 15 Hawk or eagle, for example

16 Often split in argument 18 Oklahomans originally from the Midwest 22 Jogger’s compan ion, often 23 Family 24 Blood fluid 26 They’re

Last issue’s answers

outstanding 27 NASA to shake up composition 29 Concert Ivan arranged for a dodge 34 Arrest 35 Mad Goneril’s show with no men and a solitary actor 36 Presidential advisory group created under HST 37 No way, oldstyle 38 Opposite to 37 Across Down

1 Baby food 2 Lawyers’ group 3 Golden State cager

4 Poker pile

5 Religious splinter 6 “Walls have ears” or “in the soup”

Bean counter 8 Chinese dynasty of Christ’s time 9 “Addams Family” cousin 11 Hoagy Carmichael standard 14 Cause of sticker shock 16 “--- Dark Materials” (Philip Pullman)

Take off 19 Its capital is Tirana

20 Floor covering 21 Connections 25 Doofus

26 Goliath’s master of old TV

28 Simone of jazz 29 “The Situation Room” station 30 It replaced the Pan-American Union

31 “Superstore” network 32 “--- ‘Havoc!’ ...” (Shakespeare,“Julius Caesar”)

33 Catastrophic occurrence

To play codeword, refer to the grid above with 26 spaces. Three boxes have letters. For instance, box 17 has an R. Find all of the boxes in the puz zle numbered 17 and place an R in them. Do the same for the other two clues. All number 12 box es should be filled with a C. All number 26 boxes should be filled with an I. Once you fill the spaces, you should start to put together words. As you find new number codes, enter them in the grid above and fill them in on the puzzle. Good luck.

Color Me

Harvest Time in Skagway!

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PERSONALS-MISC. SERVICES

FOOD BANK DONATIONS

WELCOME. Donations may be sent to the Food Bank, PO Box 200, Skagway, AK 99840. The local Food Bank helps those in need with groceries. If you need assistance, or know anyone who needs assistance, at any time of year, call any pastor or 907-612-0313

JOBS

KHNS Radio seeks an enthusiastic and adventurous news reporter to join our staff in Haines, Alaska.

https://khns.org/khns-jobopportunity-news-director

HOUSING

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Library Hours: Weekdays 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Weekends 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Call 983-2665 or email library@skagway.org

Dahl Clinic Winter Hours: Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Sat. and Sun. 907-983-2255

For after-hours emergencies, dial 911.

Solid Waste Facility Hours T, Th, Sa, Su. 1 - 3 p.m. Skagway Museum 907-983-2420

Border stations: 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. Call each station for specifics.

Ferry Terminal Hours M-F 7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

See www.skagway.org for bor ough meeting updates.

Sept. 3

Police responded to a do mestic dispute. Both par ties agreed to quiet down for the evening.

Dispatch contacted the clinic on duty provider.

Police advised folks who crossed the rock slide se curity barrier that it was unsafe.

Dispatch received a re port of lost keys.

Dispatch received a re port of a missing child’s bike.

Sept. 4

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider three separate times.

Dispatch received a com plaint of buses driving dangerously near the train.

Dispatch helped reunite a lost phone and its owner.

Dispatch received a re port of a lost wallet.

Sept. 5

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider.

Police responded to a re port of a van parked on private property.

Police & Fire Blotter

Police responded to a report of multiple RVs parked illegally.

Sept. 8 Police personnel respond ed to a burglar alarm.

Fire personnel responded to two separate medical emergencies.

Dispatch received a re port of a lost California driver’s license.

Phone and 911 services were interrupted for a long period of time. Po lice worked with multiple businesses and agencies to investigate the outage.

Dispatch received a re port of a lost passport.

Sept. 9

Fire personnel respond ed to an automated fire alarm.

Dispatch received a re port of a lost wallet.

Dispatch received a re port of a dog at large.

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider multiple times.

A porcupine was spotted near City Hall.

Fire personnel assisted with a medevac.

Sept. 12

A bag of bullet shells found on the Dyea Flats was turned in.

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider.

Sept. 13

Dispatch helped two lost passports with their own ers.

Sept. 14

Fire personnel responded to two separate automat ed fire alarms at down town businesses.

Sept. 15

Police responded to a re port of an assault.

Dispatch helped reunite a lost wallet with its owner Police assisted citizens with a vehicle in a ditch.

Fire personnel responded to a medical emergency.

Sept. 16

Fire personnel assist ed with a medevac off a cruise ship.

Fire personnel assisted with a separate medevac.

RECREATION CTR SCHED

Skagway Recreation Center • 12th & Main • 983-2679

SKAGWAY WORSHIP DIRECTORY

Assembly of God Church

8th & State • 907-983-2350

Sun. Worship....................11 a.m.

Wed. Bible Devotions & Prayer 7 p.m.

Email skagwayag@outlook.com

First Presbyterian Church 5th & Main • 983-2260

Sunday Worship 11 a.m.

Sunday School 9:45 a.m.

Women’s Prayer 10 a.m Tues.

Bible Study time varies. Please inquire. Online access available to all events.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

11th & State • 983-2518

Sun. Sacrament Meeting...10 a.m.

Sun. School/Primary ...11:10 a.m. Relief Society/Priesthood..12 p.m.

St. Therese Catholic Church 9th & State • 983-2271

Sun. Mass.......................5 p.m.

Mass Mon. & Tues.....12:10 p.m. (when a priest is available)

Dispatch received a re port of a lost Mastercard.

Police responded to a re port of unattended chil dren in a vehicle.

A moose was spotted in Liarsville.

Sept. 6 Fire personnel respond ed to an automated fire alarm.

Police received a report of stolen dog food.

Sept. 7

Fire personnel assisted with a medevac.

Dispatch assisted in con tacting the bird group.

Fire personnel responded to an automated fire alarm.

Police and fire personnel assisted with the Klondike Road Relay.

Sept. 10 Dispatch contacted the on duty provider four times.

Fire personnel responded to a medical emergency.

Alvis “Chip” Dyer II, 43, Skagway, was arrested for Driving Under the Influ ence and Refusal to Sub mit to a breath/chemical test.

Sept. 11

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider four times.

A power outage result ed in multiple false fire alarms at downtown busi nesses.

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider.

Sept. 17

Dispatch contacted the on duty provider twice.

Dispatch received a re port of lost sunglasses.

Dispatch received a re port of a bike stolen from the caller’s workplace. The caller realized min utes later they had taken the bike home last night and apologized.

Submitted by Skagway Police Department

REAL ESTATE