Skagway’s Nov. 7 borough assembly meeting was busy. The assembly addressed a Trump flag and a rock slide, and approved a community land trust feasibility study. They completed the first reading of next year’s budget and approved an upgrade to the 911 dispatch call system.

 

Borough Manager Brad Ryan got a phone call on election day, informing him that a Trump flag was flying from the old fire hall, a municipal building that houses Public Works equipment. Ryan says he doesn’t believe it was one of his employees who hoisted the flag, and it was removed quickly.

“I’ve got some outreach, not very friendly outreach, honestly, that insinuates that we as MOS staff condone this happening,” Ryan said. “It’s been stated multiple times that Public Works did this under, you know, insinuating, under our direction. Nothing can be further from the truth. That’s not what we do. We’re hyper-aware of not flying political flags.”

He went on to address what he says is a more pressing issue, the landslide that occurred above Railroad Dock on Nov. 6. 

“It looks significant,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t look massive, but it did break the southern pole on the lower attenuator.” 

An attenuator is a flexible fencing system designed to slow and redirect falling rock. Ryan says the rocks went under the upper attenuator before hitting the lower attenuator. 

Ryan said the rockslide alert system was not triggered because the equipment measures movement in the much larger rocks. He says the safety system worked as it should have. There is no significant damage to the dock.

“And we’re more concerned about a significant, much more significant slide than we saw,” Ryan said.

Among other dock news, Ryan said Skagway does not qualify for a state Department of Conservation Brownfields grant to dismantle the old ore terminal and mitigate any contamination. In July, Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $1 million in the state budget for the project, which will cost an estimated $5 million.

The assembly continues to grapple with housing solutions. They voted unanimously to spend up to $60,000 exploring the feasibility of a community land trust, or CLT. A land trust takes donated land and provides affordable housing by allowing the owner to purchase the house, not the land underneath it. There is usually a cap on the amount of profit the owner can make when selling it to the next buyer. 

Burlington Associates, which helped form a community land trust in Sitka, will begin working with Skagway’s municipality and community on a local project. 

One possible location that’s been talked about is land from Garden City RV, the former St. Pius X Mission Residential Boarding School for Native Children. Assembly member Deb Potter clarified at the meeting that there is other land owned by the municipality suitable for a land trust. 

“There are other plots of land in Skagway … that could also fall into the land trust arena,” she said. “So I think this is an outside of the box idea that will help us. What we have been doing with housing hasn’t necessarily been working.”

The assembly had its first reading of the FY2025 budget. Borough Manager Brad Ryan said his goal is to maintain current service levels and provide a balanced budget. He said the proposed budget does not “meet the second goal of balancing anticipated revenues with planned expenditures.”

The budget reflects a $1.3 million deficit. Ryan said that despite the deficit, the municipality is in “a solid financial position.” He estimates a sales tax fund balance of $11.3 million and $2.5 million in commercial passenger excise tax by the end of FY25.

The assembly approved a 911 dispatch upgrade that costs around $620,000. The lead dispatcher, Willeke van den Hoorn, spoke about the need for a second consul. She said a second consul will allow for simultaneous emergency calls, and covering for other places like Haines, in a disaster.

“There have been plenty of times over the last few years that I have gone into dispatch to help answer calls,” van den Hoorn said. “We currently have a secondary phone with a paper pad and a pen where all I can do to help is answer it and explain that we are busy.”

Finally, the new borough manager’s contract was approved. Deputy Manager Emily Deach will transition to borough manager in early January. The three-year contract pays $225,000 annually.