Last Thursday’s Skagway Borough Assembly meeting spent an extended amount of time on two discussion items: 911 glitches and a worsening housing crisis.
According to Police Chief Jerry Reddick, there have been nearly a dozen 9-1-1 outages in the past year, lasting from a few, to 40 minutes. During these outages, 9-1-1 can neither make nor receive calls.
Skagway’s 9-1-1 system is associated with Motorola. Reddick said the town has had problems with the company since the partnership began, including not being able to pinpoint 9-1-1 calls to a narrow GPS location.
A visibly perturbed Reddick addressed the assembly.
Reddick: “But at this point we’ve had very terrible customer service with Motorola. They actually called me today. I talked to them at great lengths as to how disappointed we were and that this cannot be a problem that we have 911 issues going down. Somebody’s going to be holding the bag and it’s going to be me, because I know we have a problem. It’s not going to be people looking at Motorola, it’s going to be me. And I’m not willing to do that.”
Assembly member Deb Potter echoed Reddick’s concerns.
Potter: “We just have — just been lucky that it’s gone down at the times it’s gone down. The luck eventually runs out.”
The budget has $100,000 earmarked for 9-1-1 communications study and upgrades as the municipality still relies on analog towers.
Borough Manger Brad Ryan said staff was looking at options and asked for more time before making a recommendation. He will update the assembly at the next meeting on Jan. 4.
The body also discussed the growing housing shortage, as at least four housing units will stop leasing to year-round renters. Potter advocated for zoning reform.
Potter: “I remember thinking 15 years ago it was bad. Boy, those were the good old days. And it’s just proceeded. What is happening now is, it’s progressed beyond not just being able to find housing for seasonal workers, which are obviously critical to this town. But what used to be year-round housing units are being purchased and converted to just seasonal. So now, we are still lacking seasonal housing. And at the same time losing — there are valued year-round community members in Skagway right now who contribute, who have contributed for years, that cannot find a place to live.”
Jonathan Hillis, a small business owner, had hoped to convert his existing garage into a rental for his first employee. His recent application to Planning and Zoning was unsuccessful because his garage sits too close to the property line. He addressed the assembly regarding the matter, asking for less focus on the possible sale of lots at Garden City RV, and more attention on zoning changes.
Hillis: “…it seems like since I’ve moved here, Garden City RV Park has been discussed a lot and nothing has been done with it. And nothing else has been discussed regarding this. And I just would like to see Skagway actively working towards a safe aesthetic answer. Encouraging accessory housing, especially in existing builds, and especially something to help encourage our year-round rentals to rent to people that are going to be here year-round…”
A work session for Planning and Zoning is scheduled for Jan. 16. Chair David Brena asked each committee member to come prepared with three ideas for improving the housing situation in Skagway.
