Some Skagway parents are struggling to find adequate childcare options during the busy summer season, the school kitchen remodeling project is underway, and Skagway considers partnering with other Alaska port communities on a green corridor initiative. KHNS’ Mike Swasey spoke with Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata about these issues for a preview of this week’s Borough Assembly meeting.
Swasey – Thank you Andrew for joining us, I guess we should start with the issue of child care. There is a letter in the correspondence packet from Anna Nelson about the lack of childcare in Skagway, she cites that it is going to be a crisis here, that it’s a crisis already, in that there are only two childcare providers in town for working parents, and one of them has reduced hours. And that, coming up in the fall, Little Dippers will close, meaning there’s only going to be one childcare option. And I was under the assumption that that person was retiring. So is there something that the municipality can do to provide childcare for working families in a way that can prevent them from having to leave town to go to another city that has better childcare?
Cremata – First of all, I think the correspondence that we received at the municipality was exceptional. I want to stress that like all things, this is not a simple issue. It’s a complex issue. It’s one that’s affecting the entire nation, especially the state of Alaska. And what I see is that we have two problems. One is a short-term problem, because of the fact that there are limited hours with one of the daycares that’s a nonprofit in town.
And then we also have a long-term problem, because some of the daycare providers in the private sector are getting to an age where they don’t want to continue to provide that service. And that’s fully understandable. So what we need is we need childcare providers. And in the short term, we need a way to make sure that the nonprofit in town has the resources they need to potentially expand hours, make sure that they have staff, and get us through the summer where the demand is obviously higher than it will be in the winter.
You know, I certainly can’t speak for the assembly. But I know that the desire is there to put money into this problem in the short term. So I would urge parents who are concerned about this issue, to stress to their providers that the municipality is in a position to help. Now we can’t tell a nonprofit what to do. They have their own boards, they have their own decision-making process. But we are available to help. We just need someone to let us know, in an official way that they need help.
Swasey – All right, well, let’s move on to the school kitchen project, how’s it coming along?
Cremata – Construction is going very well. This will be, you know, a good reminder that the construction of this kitchen, not only is providing a kitchen for the school, it’s our emergency shelter, and it saved two jobs at the school. So I’m really proud of the assembly on this one and the manager and staff for making sure that our resources are always going to the children in this community.
Swasey – And finally, we can touch on some new business that’s going to be addressed on Thursday night about a green corridor initiative, what’s happening there?
Cremata – Well, this is a product of our port community meetings that we’ve been holding through the pandemic. And so all the cruise port communities, along with some of the industry partners that we have, are all working together to try and create a green corridor that, you know, is working toward kind of zero-emissions goals. This is a good first step toward a more sustainable future for the industry. And that is good for our environment, and it’s good for our communities.
Swasey – Okay, can you further describe what exactly the assembly is supporting?
Cremata – This is conceptual, you know, a start to a process. No money has been allocated to this project at this time. As of now, it’s just kind of the communities working together along with the industry to say we are going to set a goal, and we are going to set a goal of sustainability as far as energy goes and clean emissions, wherever it might be.
Swasey – Okay, Mr. Mayor, thank you so much for the meeting preview.
Cremata – Hey, my pleasure.
Listen live at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at khns.org.
