Skagway committee recommends $26,500 Phase‑1 traffic study after split debate

The Skagway Municipality Civic Affairs Committee voted to recommend a $26,500 Phase‑1 traffic and pedestrian study of Broadway to the full assembly, with Assemblymember Kolodie and Chair Assemblymember Deb Potter in favor and Assemblymember Dan Henry opposed.

The committee’s decision followed a public comment from Steve Heights, a longtime tour driver, who urged the committee not to fund another study and pointed to a previous National Park Service season‑long traffic study. "There is no congestion. There are no problems," Heights said, arguing tour buses and pedestrian crowds benefit downtown businesses by sending visitors into shops.

Chair Assemblymember Deb Potter framed the proposal as a scaled, lower‑cost approach to gather baseline data before budget season. She outlined three Phase‑1 options from the consultant packet: a $26,500 option with six days of on‑site data collection, a roughly $19,050 option with three days of data collection, and a $10,000 spot‑count option that would include two days of spot counts. Potter said she favored the $26,500 option because it would produce more substantive, buildable data and noted the funding could be eligible from capital project reserves; "I do like this idea of investing a much smaller amount of money for a phase 1," she said.

Assemblymember Dan Henry opposed the expenditure, telling the committee the Broadway corridor has been studied repeatedly, including city efforts and an earlier park‑service study. "I have seen this study done multiple times," Henry said, arguing additional consultant work risks repeating prior work and consuming limited municipal resources unless the new study demonstrably adds value.

Assemblymember Chloe (addressed in the discussion as a pro‑data voice) said she supported a more robust Phase‑1 scope rather than the minimal $10,000 option, emphasizing the value of visualization tools and self‑sustaining skills the vendor offered. "If we're gonna spend some money, it should be more substantial data collection," she said.

After brief final remarks, Chair Potter moved that the committee recommend the $26,500 Phase‑1 option from the consultant to the assembly. The motion passed on a 2–1 vote: Kolodie yes, Henry no, Potter yes. The motion as recorded will be forwarded to the full assembly for consideration during budget deliberations.

The packet and discussion referenced the consultant under several spellings (transcript shows "d j and a," "DGNA," and "DJNA"); the committee chair said she had requested a narrower Phase‑1 scope to limit cost and focus on initial site scoping. Funding eligibility was discussed briefly: Potter said the amount could come from capital project funds, noting the municipality had unspent CPV funds in the current year. The committee did not set a binding contract or appropriation — it recommended the consultant option to the assembly for final action.