Committee discusses Dalton Trail RMSA fees and asks RMSA board to report back

The Haines Borough Commerce Committee spent a portion of its Feb. 24 meeting reviewing user-fee options for the Historic Dalton Trail RMSA, which covers Porcupine Road, Chilkat Lake Road, boat launches and nearby access points. The committee did not adopt a fee structure but asked the RMSA board—meeting later that week—to examine options and return recommendations.

Options discussed included per-client commercial-tour fees (a previously proposed $1-per-client scheme was criticized as arbitrary), vehicle- or permit-based fees that better reflect impact, monthly commercial-use fees and toll-like approaches for heavy commercial users. Committee members and stakeholders cautioned that arbitrary per-person fees can be perceived as unfair and urged an evidence-based, systematic design tied to measurable impact (for example vehicle type or permit allotments).

Resident/operator input (identified in committee as Andy) warned that tourism numbers fluctuate, historical cruise-ship traffic is lower than a decade ago, and a poorly calibrated fee could push operators away. Staff suggested the borough’s commercial-tour permitting and end-of-season reporting could be used to extract location-specific data (for example, counts of tours using Chilkat Lake Road) to calibrate a fee. Members also noted many RMSA expenses are for winter snow removal, ditching, brushing and light surface maintenance; major resurfacing would require longer-term budgeting.

The committee noted the assembly will consider proposed language to place fee-setting purview with the assembly and agreed it would be useful to have the RMSA board review alternative splits between neighborhood ratepayers and commercial users before the assembly acts. The committee’s next step is for staff to relay the commerce discussion to the RMSA board and for that board to report back with data and recommended fee structures.