Skagway’s last assembly meeting addressed senior activity funding and liquor license confusion. Assembly members held not one, but two executive sessions. KHNS reporter Melinda Munson attended the meeting.

 

The public portion of the May 4 Skagway Borough Assembly meeting was brief, but two executive sessions kept assembly members working until 9:30 p.m.

The executive sessions addressed the Ore Peninsula Redevelopment Project and the Alaska Power and Telephone Regulatory Commission of Alaska Rate Case. The case is Skagway’s response to the power company’s September announcement they would raise electric rates by 25% due to the rising cost of doing business.

No action items came from either session.

Audience members were privy to the assembly’s discussion about senior funds and an unusually long liquor license discussion.

Resolution 24-06R passed unanimously, redistributing Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s $75,000 donation, set aside for senior activities.

The Recreation Center recently hired a seasonal senior coordinator. The assembly directed that $15,000 of the donation be given to the Recreation Center for senior outings and equipment. The remaining $60,000 is earmarked for the “outfitting of a senior” facility.

The new resolution replaces an older one and no longer specifies that the former You Say Tomato building be the location of the senior center.

Assemblymember Deb Potter, the resolution’s sponsor, explained the reasons for the changes.

“… let’s try this position out for six months, and see how it’s received,” Potter said. “And my vision would be that going into budget season, after this first trial has been a great success, then we think about, talk about budgeting for a year-round position. So, the other thing to note about this, so the Rec Center is providing basically the staffing of the senior activity coordinator. The goal is still once again – my goal, I think our goal – should be to have this year-round position with the seniors having their own dedicated facility. So, this resolution, though it removes the specific 21st and State Street property, it doesn’t exclude it. It just kind of makes for a little more flexibility.”

When asked if the resolution was being rushed through, Potter’s answer was an emphatic no. She pointed out that it’s been over a year since the donation was allocated to the seniors. She gave the example of the Recreation Center’s folding chairs, which aren’t ideal for elders.

“They have been wanting some kind of program,” Potter said. “I mean, a lot of them have given up, kind of fighting, to get a program. So, I think, kind of going back to this is a first-time thing that we’re trying. So, I just want to make sure that we’re giving the program the best chances of being successful, I guess is a good way to describe that. Like, let’s start with, you know, some appropriate chairs.” 

Next, the assembly spent almost half an hour deciding whether to protest the liquor license renewal for Bites on Broadway. The issue was their new location. Bites on Broadway currently holds a business license for a 6th Street address. However, their liquor license application lists their former Broadway address, which they now lease to Sippin’ Sasquatch. Clerk Steve Burnham said Sippin’ Sasquatch has applied for a liquor license transfer at the Broadway location.

Eventually, all members of the assembly voted not to protest the Bites on Broadway liquor license.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that new seating is for the multi-purpose room and not the chair fitness class.