Cancellation of Eaglecrest gondola deal, $12M refund to Goldbelt gets final Assembly OK

Mark Sabbatini
4 hours ago
2 min read

City leaders’ next steps for ski area include proposed budget for next season that cuts staff 44%, selling gondola at a projected loss, determining if long-term operations are feasible

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This is a developing story.

An agreement for the installation of a used gondola at Eaglecrest Ski Area was officially ended by the Juneau Assembly on Monday night, with members voting 8-1 to cancel an agreement and repay Goldbelt Inc. more than $12 million in funds the Alaska Native company provided for installation plus interest.

The vote comes two months after Assembly members were told the gondola, originally estimated in 2022 at a total cost of $9 million, could be as much as $37 million. Assembly members said that made the project too expensive for the city.

Goldbelt provided $10 million for installation of the project, of which about $2.7 million is still available, so the Assembly’s vote Monday means about $9.5 million in general funds will be spent for the repayment. City administrative leaders have said the repayment will likely deplete most of the unrestricted fund balance expected by the end of the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The agreement with Goldbelt stated the gondola needed to be operating by May 1, 2028, or the company could seek repayment. Assembly Member Nano Brooks cast the lone dissenting vote on Monday, arguing keeping the agreement alive would allow the city to continue to explore options, including a possibly different arrangement with Goldbelt, while not draining the city’s fund balance.

But Assembly Member Christine Woll said that while some type of agreement with Goldbelt about the gondola and possibly other operations at Eaglecrest may be feasible, it doesn’t make sense to have those discussions while the current agreement is in place.

"There is a lot to figure out if that goes forward and I don't know why we would do that while there is interest continuing to accumulate," she said. "By my math it would be almost another million dollars if we were to spend a year going down that road — and we would be doing it under duress because we want to do it quickly. And so I think we should do it carefully and on equal footing with Goldbelt, and so the only way we get there in my mind is we end this agreement and we try again, if that is the will of both parties."

The Assembly is also moving toward selling the gondola and extra parts, hoping to recover a portion of the more than $6 million spent on purchasing, shipping and other costs.

The cancellation adds to the questions about Eaglecrest’s future since the city-owned ski area has operated at a loss for many years, and officials supporting the gondola said it would be the key to an expansion into profitable year-round tourism based on traffic from cruise ship passengers.

The Assembly is scheduled during the coming weeks to finalize the ski resort’s budget for the coming year, with members at a Finance Committee meeting last Wednesday advancing an "absolute minimum requirements" spending plan that would result in a 44% staff reduction.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.