Juneau assembly hears stark projections for Eagle Crest; consultants recommend staged funding and governance changes

A consultant hired by the city manager told the Juneau City and Borough Assembly Committee of the Whole on Jan. 27 that Eagle Crest ski area could need supplemental funding and governance changes to remain operational until a planned gondola comes online.

Kirk Duncan, engaged by the manager’s office to review Eagle Crest’s pro forma and business plan, summarized past and present operating results and laid out several scenarios. He said the enterprise has a precedent for backfilling negative fund balances but warned the current trajectory could require new infusions of general fund support and changes to the pay plan and maintenance budgets.

Duncan highlighted three cost categories the board may ask the Assembly to consider: a placeholder supplemental of about $750,000 for FY 2026 to cover services and commodities; an estimated $800,000 to implement a more competitive pay plan; and roughly $875,000 of materials and services for maintenance and operations. Taken together in a high‑cost scenario, he said, the negative fund balance could grow substantially over several years if the city increases operating support while the gondola is being built.

“Right now there’s a negative fund balance of about $160,000,” Duncan said, noting that historical swings have been large, that Eagle Crest has rebounded from sizable deficits in prior decades, and that the gondola — if it meets ridership and pricing assumptions — could eventually make the area cash‑flow positive.

But he cautioned the Assembly that revenue assumptions remain uncertain. Duncan said the project team had not performed a dedicated market study for gondola ridership and…