Resident urges action on illegal dock tour sales, suggests raising passenger head fee

Andrew Cremata told the Skagway Assembly on Thursday that he had observed what he believes are widespread, illegal tour-ticket sales on the town dock and urged officials to press cruise lines directly and consider increasing the passenger head fee.

"All but one cruise line was selling illegally on the docks," Cremata said, describing undercover observations and a recent handwritten ticket he traced to a dock seller. He said port staff had sent letters warning operators but that sales continued. "When they do it, there are a lot of people in this town on very thin margins. ... I think they're just flexing on us because they can."

Cremata asked the assembly to consider a substantial head-fee increase — suggesting $10 per passenger — to cover municipal costs such as added policing and services tied to cruise-visitor impacts. He also urged the assembly and the school to pursue alternate funding sources amid what he described as potential state funding cuts.

Manager Deach later told the assembly that two municipal studies are near completion: a CPV study to quantify cruise-industry costs to the municipality and a port tariff study that will inform potential rate changes. "We have two different studies... that 1) look at the cost of the cruise industry on the municipality and 2) the port tariff study," Deach said; staff expect to present results to the ports and harbors advisory board soon.

Assemblymembers responded in discussion by noting prior work on passenger fees and flagging legal and operational considerations. Assemblymember Morgan said raising head fees had been discussed in prior port deliberations and suggested revisiting the idea. No formal assembly action to increase the passenger fee was taken at the meeting.

Next steps: staff indicated the studies will be finalized and brought to advisory bodies and the assembly for further consideration.