Skagway Parks & Rec work session presses for outhouses, Lost Lake cabin and multiuse-trail estimate

The Skagway Municipality Parks & Recreation work session on Sept. 19 centered on prioritizing projects for the coming budget cycle, with members urging action on restroom facilities at Lower Lake, advancing a Lost Lake cabin project, and reviewing an Interior Trails estimate for a proposed multiuse trail.

Chair Kate Kalode, who led the meeting in the Assembly Chambers, said the committee’s goal was to update newer members and identify priorities to recommend during the FY25 budget process. Kalode noted the packet included a manager’s update and separate engineering and planning materials the committee should review.

Wendy Anderson, a Skagway resident, opened public comment by pushing the committee to resume work on the Denver Trail access project and to address development at Lower Dewey Lake. “It would be nice to get some movement back on that again,” Anderson said, and she stressed restroom access as an urgent concern: “If we’re gonna be investing in any kind of infrastructure up there, we need more outhouses up there. That’s become a real health hazard.”

Assembly member Dan Henry emphasized limited municipal funds and urged prioritizing facilities that address immediate use and safety. “What I see mostly jumping out at me is that we have budgetary concerns for moving most of this stuff forward,” Henry said, adding that outhouses at Lower Lake should precede installing kayak infrastructure.

Orion Hansen, an assembly member, said the Lost Lake project could begin with volunteers using FY24-appropriated funds to purchase materials for an outhouse this winter, with a cabin planned in 2025 provided additional funding is allocated. Hansen described a practical design consideration: the outhouse should allow crews to “get the barrel out from underneath it, fly that out, and then put a fresh an empty one back in,” to avoid repeated excavation or abandonment when tanks fill.

The packet also included a proposal from Interior Trails for roughly 7 miles of new multiuse trail between the Bridal Range and Da’e with an estimated construction cost of $120,000; Kalode said that estimate is not yet in the city budget and would require discussion during the budget cycle. Hansen asked staff to follow up on a prior $73,600 survey and engineering work done on the Denver/Denver Glacier route to determine what deliverables exist.

Kalode noted a $25,000 FY24 allocation tied to Lost Lake (described in the packet as for foundation materials and helicopter freight) that expires Dec. 31 if not used. She also pointed out that the packet showed $50,000 for community garden remediation investigations (not the full remediation cost) and listed the Shoreline Park welcome garden as a FY26 capital item at $100,000 in the current capital improvement program.

Committee members discussed seeking sales-tax or general-fund lines to advance high-priority items and asked the chair to check with the manager’s office for details about the purchased kayak racks, possible outhouse cost estimates, and the Interior Trails deliverables. Kalode said she would bring the items and requested staff follow-up to the city manager to inform FY25 budget recommendations.

Orion Hansen moved to adjourn at the meeting’s close; Dan Henry seconded and the assembly voted in favor by voice vote.

Next steps: the chair will follow up with the manager’s office about kayak-rack siting and costs and ask staff for a synopsis of prior engineering work on the Denver/Denver Glacier trail to inform FY25 budget recommendations.