Juneau Assembly votes 8-1 to end gondola deal, repay Goldbelt $12.2M

The Juneau Assembly voted 8–1 on May 18, 2026, to terminate the Eaglecrest gondola revenue-sharing agreement with Goldbelt and appropriate $12.2 million to repay the corporation. Staff said rising costs made the project financially infeasible.

The repayment includes $10 million in principal for the used Austrian gondola purchase plus roughly $2.2 million in interest calculated at 7 percent. The city will fund the payment with $2.7 million in deappropriated funds from the gondola capital improvement project and $9.5 million in unrestricted general funds.

Deputy Manager Robert Barr said the project is not feasible to complete with public funds due to significant cost increases. Under the terms of the revenue-sharing agreement, the city may terminate the agreement provided that notice is given and the $10 million capital contribution, along with just short of three years of interest at 7 percent, is repaid.

Assembly Member Christine Woll said the Assembly should end the agreement and pay Goldbelt quickly rather than spend a year negotiating while interest continues to accumulate. She said that by her calculation, continuing to negotiate with Goldbelt for another year would cost almost another million dollars in interest.

Assembly Member Paul Brooks cast the lone dissenting vote. He said he would prefer to wait one more year to see what comes of the situation. Brooks said the interest would gain during that time, but the city would have the possibility of not depleting its fund balance and having grace for tough times.

Mayor Beth Weldon said ending the revenue-sharing agreement with Goldbelt does not mean the city cannot negotiate with Goldbelt or another third party. She said the city needs to study the decision-making process to avoid similar predicaments.

The ordinance terminating the gondola agreement explicitly states that ending the current revenue-sharing deal does not bar CBJ from exploring future partnerships with Goldbelt or other entities related to Eaglecrest operations. The Assembly will continue to discuss Eaglecrest's future operations and funding needs as part of the city's budget process.