THE SKAGWAY NEWS.
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THE SKAGWAY NEWS July 17, 2020
July 17, 2020
Sk a g w ay, A l a s k a
A bit of a break
Municipality defers leases PAGE 12
The last cruise ships bow out
Final decisions end summer cruise season PAGE 3
$1.50
Reopening School
The School District rolls out a draft plan PAGE 8
August EAESP checks halved to stay solvent By Melinda Munson The Municipality’s Emergency Assistance and Economic Stimulus Program (EAESP) dispersed its second round of $1,000 checks to each qualified Skagway resident on July 15. August’s EAESP payment will be cut in half in an effort to make the program, which had more applicants than expected and started one month earlier, to stay solvent through December. “With the popularity of this program and the $1 million business for grants, I have concerns that we will run short of funding in the winter months when people are going to need it most,” said Borough Manager Brad Ryan. “...I intend to cut the August disbursement to $500 per qualified applicant.” The Assembly gave Ryan the authority to increase or decrease EAESP payments, funded through the CARES Act, when they passed Resolution 20-22R. Ryan is hoping residents will have a financial cushion to get them through August as they should have received two full EAESP payments from the Municipality as well as the state Permanent Fund Dividend, $992 per Alaskan, which was issued in July instead of October. Ryan said he considered changing the Municipality disbursement to $1,000 for the first two household members and $750 for each additional member, but as Skagway has fewer families and more single residents, the change would only save around $50,000. see page TWO
The Days of ‘98 Show float drives through Skagway in the Independence Day parade, attended mostly by locals.
Photo by Reba Hylton
Assembly tells cruise line to skip Skagway in 2020 By Melinda Munson American Cruise Lines (ACL), previously the only cruise ship company scheduled to dock at Skagway’s empty port until Norwegian Cruise Lines’ first visit in September, asked the Municipality if the American Constellation would be welcome in town starting July 23 amid COVID-19 upticks across the country. The Assembly said no. In a five to one vote on July 2, the Assembly directed Borough Manager Ryan to write a letter notifying ACL that “we will continue the conversation for the 2021 season but with the current plan, we are not ready to accept ACL in 2020.” On July 7, ACL cancelled
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all cruises to Alaska citing concerns over “the recent spike in Covid cases around the country.” Norwegian nixed its sailings to The Last Frontier on July 6. Ryan had been communicating with ACL, one of the few cruise lines still able to operate in Alaska because they are a U.S. flagged ship and therefore do not require a Candian port of call. The cruise line planned to bring around 131 passengers to Skagway. Cremata told attendees that Resolution 20-17 R, “put control of these situations in the Assembly’s hands so the Assembly needs to provide direction.” “...If we do nothing, they (ACL) can come dock tomor-
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row,” he said. ACL provided a COVID-19 mitigation plan, last updated on July 1. Ryan described the document as “a really thoughtful plan to a new operating environment, and the first of its kind in Skagway.” However, Ryan had some concerns which included the cruise ship possibly leaving sick passengers behind and unclear detail on when and how the cruise line would inform the city and state if passengers were suspected to have COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus. Assemblymember Dustin Stone, who presented the motion, felt ACL’s current plan protected passengers more than it protected Skagwegians.
“Cruise ships aren’t set up for social distancing. That isn’t to say that they won’t be and that the industry won’t evolve and adapt to this crisis. But man, July 23 seems really early, especially when we’re seeing such a massive spike in the Lower 48 which is where the passengers on these cruise ships are going to come from.” Steve Burnham, assemblymember, wants to see more cohesive protocols among all of Southeast’s ports for the protection of residents and tourists. “My concern is the ship may do everything perfectly. Do we know that the other ports are doing the same?” Burnham asked. see page TWO
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