Dahl Memorial Clinic board backs staff to refine letter asking Skagway for start‑up funding and to open downtown pharmacy

The Dahl Memorial Clinic board voted Friday to direct Director Wahl to revise a draft letter of intent to the Skagway Borough Assembly that lays out a multi‑phase plan to transition the clinic into an independent nonprofit grantee and to open a retail pharmacy in downtown Skagway.

The motion to authorize Director Wahl to edit and return the document for board approval passed on a roll‑call vote with seven yeses. The board earlier recessed to sit as the incorporated Dahl Memorial Clinic board for the discussion and later reconvened as the municipal clinic board.

The draft letter presented by Director Wahl describes a step‑by‑step roadmap over roughly two to three years to move the clinic from municipal operation to an incorporated nonprofit that would be the federal grant recipient. "It is to reduce the tax burden of people who live in Skagway for their health care, it is to broaden the accessibility of health care in the region and to provide a sustainable platform for the future for health care in the region," Director Wahl told the board.

Wahl said the clinic has already completed an initial stabilization phase after federal grant conditions were imposed and later lifted. The next phase, Wahl said, is to remove ambiguity in the municipal code that currently lists the facility and the nonprofit under the same name, to negotiate a lease for use of the Portland House, and to establish the nonprofit's own financial and personnel structures.

Wahl explained the financial picture in the meeting packet: about $1.3 million in federal grant funds—roughly one‑third of the clinic's budget—annual municipal transfers that fill funding gaps, and clinic billing revenue. Wahl said the board is exploring a short‑term arrangement to access a small percentage of clinic billing revenue as seed money for nonprofit start‑up costs, with the intent that revenue from a new retail pharmacy would backfill that amount when the pharmacy is operating.

"The idea was we could use some money out of our revenue line and backfill that with revenue from the pharmacy when the time became appropriate," Wahl said.

Wahl outlined a timeline for the pharmacy: pharmacy software (Rx30) will be installed in the clinic the week after the meeting, the clinic will operate a non‑retail dispensary and run pharmacy workflows for about three months to establish ordering and telepharmacy procedures, and the retail storefront is planned to open in Portland House on or about July 1 to coincide with the summer tourist season.

Wahl said the initial retail hours would likely be about 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer, with a smaller schedule in winter. The board discussed staffing and operating needs; Wahl said the plan anticipates hiring two pharmacy technicians and one cashier for the summer season and that those staff would be employed by the nonprofit once the storefront opens.

Board members raised funding and logistics questions. One board member summarized the draft's request as seeking a $25,000 monthly advance from the municipality to make the nonprofit viable during startup; Wahl and other participants said the amount and structure can be refined in the letter and by applying for municipal and private grants. Wahl said a municipal grant program can supply up to $25,000 for initial nonprofit expenses and that other private grants (Rasmussen Foundation, Alaska Community Foundation) have longer timelines but are possible sources for renovations and capital projects.

Board member Bob Dietrich noted the Portland House use has been donated to the clinic for specific purposes and emphasized that the donation is for use, not ownership. "The use of the facility has been donated for two specific purposes, possibly three: the senior center and the pharmacy," Dietrich said.

Wahl and board members also discussed a nonmonetary lease with the municipality to formalize responsibilities and liability, and a later memorandum of agreement that would specify operations, IT, personnel and other details before the federal grant is transferred to the nonprofit.

The board directed Wahl to revise the draft with a concise summary up front, to combine timeline and project lists into a single roadmap, and to pursue "fast money" municipal grant options while applying for larger private grants for renovation and longer‑term work. Borough manager staff and other municipal offices were described as already aware and engaged in the process.

Votes at a glance

• Motion to recess as the clinic board of directors and sit as the Dahl Memorial Clinic board — Moved by Bob Dietrich; second by Hager. Roll call: Simmons, Mandeville, Dietrich, Hager, Nannini, Lockett, DeKennedy — all voted yes; outcome: approved.

• Motion directing Director Wahl to edit, finalize and return the draft letter of intent to the board for approval before submission to the assembly — mover not specified in the transcript; second: DeKennedy. Roll call: DeKennedy, Laquette, Hager, Dietrich, Mandeville, Simmons, Nannini — all voted yes; outcome: approved.

Next steps planned by the board include returning a revised letter for approval at the next incorporated board meeting, submitting a request for a nonmonetary lease of Portland House to the assembly, and applying for municipal "fast money" grants to cover initial nonprofit legal and advisory costs. Wahl said the clinic will continue to operate the in‑clinic dispensary for controlled medications while moving most retail prescriptions to the new pharmacy.

Meeting context: discussion occurred during a special meeting of the Dahl Memorial Clinic board convened as the incorporated nonprofit board; the agenda item was noticed on the meeting packet and no members of the public addressed the board during the item.