By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Assembly voted Tuesday to renew the city’s contract with the Chamber of Commerce to continue providing visitor and convention marketing and services for the community.
The Assembly voted 6-0 for the Chamber – and its tourism arm Visit Sitka – to continue marketing Sitka as a convention and tourism destination, and provide other visitor services through December 31 of 2023.
“At least with the amount of time we’re into it now, I have found the Chamber to be in compliance with the terms set out in their scope of service,” City Administrator John Leach told the Assembly.
The contract runs according to calendar year, but funding is approved by fiscal year, which started July 1. The contract is for $300,000 a year, with an additional $231,200 approved by the Assembly during the annual budget review.
The question was whether the city should exercise the renewal option in its present contract. Leach noted the unusual timelines, with the Jan. 1-Dec. 31 contract period different from the city’s budgetary fiscal year, July 1- June 30.
“It gets weird with this offset because if this option is exercised tonight ..., we will be extending into calendar year ’23 so half of fiscal year ’24,” he said.
Funds for the contract come from the Visitor Enhancement Fund, whose revenues are from bed tax collected.
Some on the Assembly stated their wish to revisit the timeline, since most other spending decisions the Assembly makes are during spring budget deliberations.
Chamber Executive Director Rachel Roy said today that the Chamber requested the calendar year contract, since having the contract expire in the middle of the tourism season would be disruptive and it would be challenging to switch contractors at that time of year.
Visit Sitka was started by the Chamber in the fall of 2015, and has provided services since then. The current contract was signed in 2018, and was renewed in 2021. Tuesday’s vote was the second renewal of the current contract.
Thor Christianson wondered whether it was time to revisit some of the goals of the contract related to marketing Sitka, since the community is experiencing a boom in visitors.
“When we started this we were trying to get more people here, and now the mission is changing to taking care of the people we have - it’s not a simple thing,” Christianson said. “Things have changed and at the very least we need to look at the goals and maybe renew or redo them.”
Roy commented today that an ongoing marketing effort is needed, even if the goal is not to increase the number of visitors in town.
“It is critical Sitka continues our destination promotion to ensure we can keep a robust and healthy visitor industry,” she said. “Especially now we’ve set up the infrastructure with private investment in tour companies, the cruise terminal, attractions ... For Sitka to back off marketing and programs, and connecting with visitors, would be detrimental to our industry.”
This summer the Chamber has taken on additional duties, with funds appropriated by the Assembly from the Commercial Vessel Excise Tax for expenses related to the Short-term Tourism Plan. Those duties include taking community feedback, managing street closures and garbage and restroom services.
The contract up for discussion also includes a destination assessment, Roy said. The Chamber is working with a consultant on how to improve Sitka as a destination, to increase per-visitor spending; and enhance Sitka’s quality of life.
“It looks at the whole picture,” Roy said today. “It’s about how we can enhance our community and make Sitka better.”
On the discussion of expanding the contract, Kevin Knox took note of the projections for a larger cruise ship season next year.
“Based on this season and the projections for future seasons, it does feel like we have a greater scope of work that could be done by a contractor – whether it’s Chamber/Visit Sitka or someone else,” he said. “It feels like we are headed down a road where we really could use quite a bit of additional scope of work done by the contractors, rather than all the new things the city has taken on.”
Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said it’s important to review the contract since the outlook has changed since the time it was signed.
“To make sure our goals are aligned, to make sure the contractor is working within the scope of what the Assembly is desirous of and that we have a cohesive relationship going forward,” he said.
The Assembly talked about a work session to revisit the scope of the contract in the spring, given dramatically changing circumstances.
Dave Miller said there’s no telling what next year will look like.
“Next year could be a whole new year, money-wise,” he said. “Six, seven dollars a gallon for gas, food is going up, everything’s going up. Who knows what next year’s going to be like as far as people coming to town.”
He said he doesn’t think Sitka will have the cruise ship numbers expected, and it should think about targeting its effort toward longer-term visitors staying three to four days who spend more than cruise ship passengers do; and marketing conferences.
Under public comments Laurie Booyse, director of Visit Sitka, said Visit Sitka is focused on attracting independent travelers, a market that has been shifting.
She said Visit Sitka is a destination marketing organization, which could evolve into a destination marketing and management organization. “And that would be something where we would be working with the city, in line with what we’re doing now,” she said.
Fishermen’s Dock
In other business, the Assembly passed a resolution to apply for $2.7 million from the state to replace the fishermen’s work float on the Japonski Island side of the bridge. The grant calls for a 50 percent local match.
The dock was built in 1988. The city is applying for a Tier II grant, which covers half of the estimated $5.6 million cost. The matching grant program was not fully funded last year, and this is the second time the city has applied.
Fisherman Chris Ystad, who is on the Port and Harbors Commission, said it’s an important piece of infrastructure to the fishing community.
“This is a critical piece of infrastructure for the harbor system,” he said. Fishermen use the facility regularly to work on stabilizers, troll poles and nets. The industrial park dock does not work for those particular purposes, Ystad added.
On a question of where the rest of the match would come from, city staff said the city has $1.46 million in working capital in the harbor fund to help meet the match, and city staff said they would look for other grants to come up with the difference.
On a question of making sure the city has access to the workfloat across land it does not own, Leach said, “Although there’s not full resolution on the property, the new or future property owner for that parcel – through conversations he and I have already had – I think there is going to be a lot of cooperation on ensuring at least access, if not some sort of potential subdivision or maintenance of that easement, to ensure we maintain access to that workfloat. I see it as low risk.”
Eisenbeisz said, “If we are successful in this grant, I would encourage that to be worked out if you would appreciate my vote on the issue.”
Coast Guard Day
Also at the meeting the mayor read a citation for U.S. Coast Guard Day, which is August 4. The day marks the anniversary of the creation of the Coast Guard, which started in 1790 and received its present name in 1915. Sitka is a “Coast Guard City,” home to five units: Air Station Sitka, Cutter Kukui, Aids to Navigation Team, Marine Safety Detachment and Electronic Support Detachment Detail. “We thank you and your families for your service,” the citation says.
