April 1, 2026 Special Assembly Meeting to Introduce Budget Legislation

I'll call this April 1st meeting, uh, special assembly meeting to order. It is 5:31. Mr. Brooks, will you please do the land acknowledgment?

Thank you, Acting Deputy Mayor. We would like to acknowledge that the City and Borough of Juneau is on Tlingit land and wish to honor the indigenous people of this land. For more than 10,000 years, Alaska Native people have been and continue to be integral to the well-being of our community. We are grateful to be in this place, a part of this community, and to honor the culture, traditions, and resilience of the Tlingit people. Gunalchéesh.

Gunalchéesh. Madam Clerk, will you please call roll? Thank you, Chair Huskies. Ms. Wall.

Present. Mr. Kelly. Here. Miss Adkinson. Here.

Mr. Steininger. Here. Miss Hall. Here. Mr. Brooks.

Here. Deputy Mayor Smith. Here. Madam Mayor.

Here. Chair Hughes-Scandies. Here you have quorum. Thank you. Moving on to managers' requests for agenda changes.

Thank you. I don't have a change, but I just want to note a clerical update on Resolution Number 1 under resolutions. It was mislabeled in the original agenda Resolution 4039 and has been, um, it has been relabeled Resolution 4044. So that keeps us all on track. I just wanted to highlight that for you.

Thank you for that. That brings us to approval of the agenda. Seeing no requests for changes, agenda is approved. Um, public participation on non-agenda items. We have one person signed up, so we will give them a time of 3 minutes.

Uh, Ms. Deb Craig. You're up.

Hi, more controversial testimony. Sorry, um, but this is about the gondola. The gondola— will you please put yourself on the record first? Oh, I'm sorry, Deb Craig. Um, do you need my address?

Area town, West Juno. Perfect. Okay. The gondola project price tag increased since initially approved in 2023. We all know that.

To recap, this is directly related to the forced departure of General Manager Scanlon in May 2024, when project construction could have started but came to a hard stop. The loss of competent leadership at Eagle Crest further degraded the situation. The new general manager was unqualified, and although the general manager had significant direction from the CBJ, who also lacked ski area operations experience. He was unable to manage the ski area, let alone the gondola project. This resulted in the hire of a project consultant in May 2025.

CBJ procurement inefficiency led to more gondola project delays, now exacerbated by Trump's tariffs and the resulting increased cost of materials. Two construction seasons were lost, and it's worth considering the CBJ's intervention over the last two years have significantly impacted both Eagle Crest and the gondola project. I really want to stress, Juneau taxpayers will be justifiably livid if they have to pay the $12 million tab on the gondola shutdown without careful, reasoned consideration. Many question whether CBJ should carry the gondola project and Eagle Crest itself. For perspective, it's noteworthy that CBJ carries all the other recreational facilities in Juneau.

The Diamond Park Aquatic Center cost $15 million in 2010 and requires substantial ongoing maintenance and heating costs. Our second pool, Augustus Brown, recently cost $8 million to renovate. CBJ carries the Zach Gordon Youth Center, the field house, the hockey rink, and our local trail system. As a side note, because safety has been an ongoing concern at Eagle Crest, more people have died on Juneau's trails in the last 10 years than at Eagle Crest. None of Juneau's recreational facilities are self-sustaining, and their cost recovery pales in comparison to Eagle Crest's almost 70% when functioning under competent management.

Serving 10% of Juneau's population. It begs the question why Eagle Crest is expected to be self-sustaining and how to afford the cost of the gondola. Perhaps there are other areas where cost-saving measures could be explored and funds reallocated. CBJ has allocated $18 million to renovate an office building to be used as an office building.

It's intended to enhance retention, but if you Google, Google employee retention, a plush office isn't in the top 5 reasons people stay. They say for a sense of purpose, competent leadership, good benefits, opportunities for advancement and compensation. Can this be an area of savings? CBJ budgeted $14 million for Jackie Renninger Park serving skateboarders. What's the number of users of skateboarders, and will it generate income?

And this also includes an outdoor pickleball court while the Marie Drake Gym sits empty and is perfectly suitable for indoor pickleball year round. Should this project be hard stopped under the circumstances? CBJ proposed $5 million of taxpayers' dollars to tear down Telephone Hill, but it's unclear what happens next. I support repurposing that space, but there does not appear to be a plan after tax-funded— payer-funded destruction. Thank you.

Hmm. I'm urging the CBJ's manager's office to let the Eagle Crest Board of Directors stay the course and look for alternative funding options. The EBD has recently proven it has the—. Miss Craig, I'm going to ask you to end that. That is time.

All right, that brings us to the— oh, sorry, does anyone have any questions for Ms. Craig?

Okay, seeing none, thank you for that. Um, that brings us to consent agenda. Ms. Will, thank you, Ms. Huescandiz. Um, I move the consent agenda and ask for unanimous consent.

Seeing no objections, that's so moved. And that brings us to the conclusion of our business for this special. Any Assembly member comments or questions before we are adjourned?