Assembly backs moving Mendenhall Glacier visitor‑center measures to full assembly; $200,000 passenger‑fee support proposed

The Committee of the Whole voted May 5 to advance both an appropriating ordinance and a resolution concerning operations at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to the full assembly for public hearing and further action.

Manager Andrew Kester and Visitor Industry Director Pierce summarized staff thinking and funding options for keeping the visitor center open and on public lands. Staff briefed the assembly on a concept to use CBJ marine passenger fees to help fund a coordination position — potentially housed at either Tlingit and Haida or Discovery Southeast — to manage volunteer operators and coordinate staffing when U.S. Forest Service capacity is limited. “It’s not … that CBJ funds staffing of the center,” Kester said; the intention is to support partners who already operate at the site.

The assembly discussed a $200,000 figure; Director Pierce told members the passenger‑fee fund balance was about…