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Future of Goldbelt dock, Eaglecrest, second crossing loom large at Douglas candidate forum
Eight Juneau Assembly contenders seeking three seats differ widely on tourism and development issues, agree on keeping community’s fire station open
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Wide-ranging opinions about cruise tourism in Juneau and development in North Douglas, and more aligned opinions about keeping the Douglas Fire Station operating, were offered by all eight Juneau Assembly candidates during a forum Sunday afternoon at the Douglas Public Library.
The two-hour forum hosted for a third straight year by the citizens’ group Friends of Douglas featured questions the candidates were provided in advance and given 90 seconds each to respond. The candidates also fielded questions from the audience.
Candidates for the Assembly races include Mila Cosgrove running unopposed for an open District 1 seat; Karla Hart, Joyce Niven, Malachi Thorington and David Morris seeking an open District 2 seat; and Paul Kelly, Brad Sapp and James McCants seeking the Areawide seat held by Kelly.
See also: Assembly, school board candidates get first chance to distinguish themselves at downtown forum
While the focus of the forum was issues relevant to people on Douglas Island, some questions such as interpretation of Juneau’s five-ship daily limit for cruise ships and how candidates will vote on three tax-related ballot measures had citywide significance.
The future of North Douglas was particularly prominent, with questions about a two-ship private cruise dock proposed by Goldbelt Inc., the future of Eaglecrest Ski Area, and a second Juneau-Douglas crossing. Some candidates said such projects suggest development on the northern part of the island may be one of Juneau’s most important economic paths forward.
"I think a North Douglas plan is an awesome idea and I think given the potential for expansion out in that area I think it's really critical," said Cosgrove, a former deputy city manager, when asked about a master plan and road access for the area. "A lot of people live there, a lot of people are out there because they like the semi-rural feel of it, and everything I hear is that's likely to change in the next 30 years. And so we should be doing that thoughtfully."
McCants, a small tour company owner who repeatedly injected his remarks with profanity, offered a more aggressive assessment in favor of development.
"We have 4,000 acres out there and the rest of us are sitting here broke, living off couches, wondering where's the (expletive) housing?" McCants said. "So all the complaints about going out to North Douglas and ‘you can't do this’ and ‘you can't do that,’ I would actually challenge you on what do you mean by that?"
Niven, a longtime tribal finance administrator, said she favors improvements for both residents and tourism traffic that may access the North Douglas Highway, although it will be costly.
"I think we need to look at expanding or widening the highway out there so that there's safe places for people to bike and walk," she said. As for bus traffic, "we just need to make sure there's safe places for turnouts and emergency vehicles."
Thorington, an electrician and fisherman, said he supports road upgrades and suggested parceling out one-acre lots in the area to boost development that will generate revenue to help pay costs. Kelly noted it is a state road and a city plan for the area will be important in guiding possible future improvements.
Sapp, a district flight standards manager for the Federal Aviation Administration, said as somebody who’s worked 46 years in the transportation industry, "this is what I enjoy. I would love to dive in and solve the safety issues concerned."
Hart, a longtime activist who has sought to limit cruise tourism impacts, said locals should be consulted about a road design that matches desired speed limits in the area. Morris, a former state ferry worker and longtime swim coach, said he supports widening the road, but a second Juneau-Douglas crossing will be key to relieving traffic pressure on the highway.
A question about Goldbelt’s proposed dock, and whether the two ships there should count as part of Juneau’s five-ship limit, resulted in some of the widest-ranging responses.
Kelly, who was one of three Assembly members recently backing an unsuccessful attempt to make the five-ship limit mandatory rather than voluntary, said "I believe that our capacity does not allow for more than five ships citywide, including Douglas." But he also said discussions with residents and businesses suggest the number of passengers daily, rather than the vessels themselves, is the primary concern.
Placing the focus on passengers was also suggested by Niven, who said downtown businesses may be OK with having two of five ships in Douglas if the vessels downtown are larger ones that continue providing sufficient passenger traffic.
Thorington, stating the number of passengers Juneau can safely accommodate should be the issue, said, "I think we need to also implement some kind of a permitting system in the long term as well to better manage what the actual tourism is in Juneau."
Sapp said he favors tourism growth in Juneau, including two additional ships at the Goldbelt dock, since it is a major hub of the local economy. McCants said the local mindset is the limit refers to five ships in downtown Juneau. Cosgrove said she favors a five-ship limit that includes the Goldbelt dock with Juneau’s current support capacity. Hart said she favors "a moratorium on any new cruise ship docks immediately until we get a handle on what's going on with cruise ships" now.
A question about whether the city should continue to subsidize Eaglecrest and what options should be considered to stabilize the ski area’s finances — including a possible takeover of operations by Goldbelt — also received a range of responses.
Thorington, who said he has done electrical work there and his mom was a lift operator in the 1990s, replied "I do think it has been grossly mismanaged." He cited both the breakdown of the Black Bear chairlift due to neglected maintenance and the purchase of a gondola that proved a costly failure as "bizarre." He said over the years "I have never once received a flyer, notification, or otherwise asking for some kind of money to be donated to Eaglecrest."
"I think we really need to go back to having a local ski hill at its core that operates for locals," he said.
Kelly said he is waiting to see what Eaglecrest’s board proposes in a strategic plan now being drafted. Sapp said, "My vision for Eaglecrest would probably involve some sort of partnership between private and city." McCants said he is willing to give Eaglecrest to Goldbelt instead of having the city repay $12 million to the company after a gondola funding deal was cancelled.
Cosgrove said she’s OK with the city continuing to provide subsidies in the short term, but "we need a long-term plan for how to make it operational or viable, fiscally sustainable in the long run," which likely involves a focus on summer operations.
Hart said she supports Eaglecrest’s existence as a community ski area and "I think it should be scaled appropriate to what we can afford."
Morris said he supports Goldbelt taking over summer and winter operations, due to the city’s ongoing neglect of maintenance. Niven noted there are difficulties when government tries to operate a private business, but also community advantages to the ski area being city-owned, so she’s looking to see what is proposed in the board’s strategic plan.
A majority of candidates said they support a second Juneau-Douglas crossing, citing reasons including a second emergency access route and reducing traffic along North Douglas Highway if future projects like the Goldbelt dock and year-round Eaglecrest operations are realized.
Of five possible second crossing locations, Morris said he prefers one of the two northernmost options at Sunny Point — just south of Juneau International Airport — to other alternatives extending as far south as a Salmon Creek crossing near the Bartlett Regional Hospital turnoff.
"The reason behind that is if you go to Twin Lakes, you're one mile or one and a half miles (from the existing bridge," he said. "It's not going to fix the problem. So if you did those two (Sunny Point) places, Eaglecrest would get a lot more business because I know here a lot of people don't want to drive around, but if that was there they would go and use Eaglecrest more."
"It also would make it a lot easier for people to go to the (Mendenhall Glacier) without clogging up downtown" if the Goldbelt dock is built, Morris said.
Thorington and McCants said a second crossing may make sense after more development occurs, and opposition to it was expressed by Hart, who said existing issues about development in Juneau need to take priority.
"Before the (existing) bridge was built there were boats that went back and forth," Hart said. "We have boat harbors. We have options for people and materials to get back and forth in an emergency. We've got more helicopters than any other community, so we have options to get back and forth in the event of an emergency. I think that's a little bit of a red herring."
That assertion was directly challenged by Sapp, who said he supports a second crossing and Sunny Point appears to be the most logical location.
"I flew emergency medical helicopters for almost 10 years and we shouldered a lot of noise complaints, and the people that barked the most about helicopter noise were the first ones that wanted on that helicopter when they had a heart attack, or they got in a car accident, or their child needed healthcare at a level that was life or death, which I got to see a lot of in that job," he said.
Unanimous support was expressed for keeping the Douglas Fire Station operating because of the services it provides and what might occur if the Douglas Bridge is blocked in the event of an emergency. The Assembly considered closing the fire station and selling the building as part of this year’s budget-cutting process before rejecting the idea due to access concerns.
There was also general agreement Juneau’s municipal government should be involved with maintaining nine parcels of land in Douglas where more than 500 graves are located. But opinions differed about the extent to which the city should play a lead role — and fund a staff position responsible for such work — versus assisting nonprofits and individuals involved with restoration efforts.
Hart, Morris, Niven and Cosgrove said the city should take over direct management of the cemeteries, with Niven saying other funding should be sought for restoration while the city focuses on maintenance. Other candidates spoke about city involvement in partnerships, with Thorington stating some might qualify as heritage sites, Kelly suggesting possible deed transfers to tribal entities, and Sapp and McCants urging cooperative efforts with nonprofits.
(Disclosure: Joyce Niven is the Juneau Independent’s business manager. She is a part-time contractor responsible for accounting and other financial responsibilities, with no involvement in newsroom operations.)
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
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