Skagway recreation board endorses 7 Pastures use policy with amendments

The Skagway Recreation Board on May 7 endorsed a draft use policy for the 7 Pastures site and attached a set of recommended changes asking the borough to clarify fees, deposits and certain prohibited activities.

Board President Scott Rea moved to endorse the plan; Courtney Ellingson seconded the motion and the board voted to approve it. The board’s recommendation asks the borough to clarify that restrooms are not part of the concession-facility use; to keep a $300 refundable deposit for the concession building and to add the existing $500 deposit for Dedmon Stage to the use policy; and to correct duplicate lettering and ordering in the fees section.

Board members and members of the public debated narrower items the municipality asked for feedback on, including alcohol, motorized vehicles and animals in fenced fields. The board recommended removing the word “informal” from the policy’s open-container language so that the policy reads that alcohol and open containers are allowed at 7 Pastures for recreational activities, and to add a prohibition on motorized vehicles on the bike track and fire-pit area. The board also recommended adding “no animals within the fenced ballfield area” to the ballfields’ prohibited-uses section.

Public commenters asked the board to reaffirm the community’s long-standing intent for the property. Max Jewell, a resident who testified during public comment, encouraged board members to “start taking it seriously” and asked that a portion of the site remain managed as parkland while a wedge is set aside for community gardening. Jewell told the board he wanted the municipality to follow the original resolution to preserve the area “for the community.”

Recreation Center staff and volunteer organizers raised operational concerns about proposed fees and deposits. Adam Smith, speaking for the Skagway Softball Association, said the association supported a refundable deposit but worried that a $50 daily concession fee could push vendors outside the park. Recreation staff explained deposits are intended to cover cleaning and damage costs when facilities are left in disrepair and noted the current online reservation system charges and then refunds card payments rather than placing a temporary hold.

The board also asked for clarification in the policy about mixed ownership at the site: portions of the parking area are state land and are subject to state rules, the board noted, and the Frisbee-golf course sits on state land and is therefore not part of the municipal management area covered by the policy.

The board’s endorsements and the suggested edits will be sent to borough staff as the recreation board’s formal feedback on the draft policy. The board’s motion concluded with language requesting the borough clarify fees and deposits, remove redundant prohibitions (such as hunting and trapping where already disallowed by city code), add the motorized-vehicle and animals prohibitions described above, and correct formatting errors in the draft.