Community Voices
Daily Sitka Sentinel - Letters to the Editor
Letters regarding Cruise Ship issues - Starting August 28, 2023
August 28, 2023
Cruise Control
Dear Editor: On Tuesday, Aug. 1, I reported to Sitka Police that I was intoxicated by diesel exhaust during the prior week of July 23 to 29 by tour coaches. I worked outside at the corner of Lake and Seward streets for the month of July. My work there included cleaning the parking lot, painting latex lines, patching concrete, minor roof patching, bush trimming…
February 14, 2024
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: I watched the Assembly meeting last night (Feb. 13), and it seems that we are not going to be stopping the tsunami wave of cruise ship passengers any time soon.
The cruise ship companies don’t seem to care what we want. The local businesses that cater to them and benefit from their passengers have a right to do so and are…
September 30, 2023
Leach Statement
Dear Editor: I am a service-connected disabled U.S. Army veteran. When I was commissioned as an Army officer, I took a solemn oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. I did not abandon that oath when I was honorably discharged. The Sitka city manager, John Leach, took a similar oath when he was commissioned in the…
January 25, 2024
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: I have lived in Sitka since July 3, 1976. I’ve lived here so long because I deeply value the quality of life that Sitka offers.
I support tourism. I support tourism that provides jobs for permanent Sitka residents. I support tourism that does not pollute. I support tourism that does not adversely affect my life in Sitka. Tourism in…
September 22, 2023
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: I was pleased to see that man wanted to reduce the number of cruise ships coming into Sitka. I’d like to suggest even a more powerful way. Let’s have a Sitka Day when no cruise ships come into Sitka. One day a week for residents to take their families and guests to Fortress of the Bear or the Alaska Raptor Center and not be swamped…
January 22, 2024
Quality versus Quantity
Dear Editor: We want visitors to very favorably remember Sitka as being different from other communities. We want residents to enjoy sharing the town with others. We want businesses to succeed financially at their endeavors.
Quantity consists of modifying human interactions, land and sea use, and most significantly, compromise. The visitors are…
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April 16, 2024
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: Going downtown today to do a few errands, I noted a whole lot of new faces. Oh, yikes. Must be the season has started already.
Now it’s true, I myself love to travel. I’ve probably traveled more hundreds or thousands of miles than you’ve had hot dinners. My style of travel is rather different than the cruise ship fandango, however.
I tend to roam around by train or local bus, or by foot or by hitchhiking. I go in order to participate in something local – tree planting, giving puppet shows, visiting friends, music festivals. I walk the side streets, flâneur around in out-of-the-way neighborhoods, and get lost. You meet local people that way, which for me is a delight, one of the reasons one goes out into furrin lands with all their possible discomforts and dangers. Yeah, of course I love stunning architecture in historic ancient sites. Gorgeous scenery ain’t bad, and exciting vibrant cities with cultural riches, delicious food, and fabulous music are pretty enriching.
But it’s also the people.
So I enjoy interacting with some of the summer visitors to Sitka. It’s nice to pay back and help make their stay here pleasant and even perhaps memorable.
But swarming crowds make this much more implausible, and I fear they cannot really have that great a time here on a short, jam-packed, port-of-call whistle stop, elbowing through congested streets.
So, while not being ‘‘anti-tourist,’’ I am much troubled by the huge numbers of folks coming by cruise ship.
The woes and dangers that are being inflicted on Sitkans are fairly well expressed by others.
I’d just like to point out that cruise ships, by their very nature, are injurious to the natural world and the ‘‘pristine’’ waters they travel through to get here.
Go to https://foe.org/cruise-report-card/. Friends of the Earth has put out report cards for the various lines. Grades range from C to D- to F.
Cruise ships are out to make money, not to protect the ‘‘pristine’’ waters they travel through.
I’m not a member of Friends of the Earth, but I think they are pretty skookum with their research. And I’d call myself an actual friend of the earth – I love this old planet, and the glories and marvels that make up our home. It is only planet we have.
So I’d rather not see it trashed.
I liked visitors to Sitka when they came the old way, by ferry. Stayed a while. Dropped more money because they were here longer, and left with sweeter memories.
Memories are, after all, what make up a life that will have been worth living.
NM, Sitka
April 12, 2024
Diesel Exhaust Pollution
Dear Editor: Please go to the following URL address and read this portion of PLAW 109-Subtitle C-Clean School Buses.
Sec. 741. clean school bus program.
Sec. 742. diesel truck retrofit and fleet modernization program https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus
School buses are a problem, but mitigating policies can be implemented immediately. For example, prohibit idling of the engines while loading and unloading children, provide air filters at the entrances, nearby rooms, and heating intake vents at the school.
However, this does not address a unique Sitka problem. The school buses are only present twice a day. But, the cruise ship tour buses drive back and forth through the Blatchley School zone for hours. On April 8, 2024, the first cruise ship (Norwegian Bliss), docked at the Sitka Cruise Terminal and the tour buses began concentrating diesel fuel exhaust toxins as they traveled to downtown Sitka (approximately seven miles one way).
I personally counted every single bus that passed Blatchley Middle School and drove through the roundabout. I counted 280 bus trips that day for seven hours from 10:32 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The average time between buses was 1.5 minutes. This constitutes an unprecedented concentration of diesel exhaust pollution in a seven-mile two-lane traffic corridor. I doubt that this occurs anywhere else on Earth. It is poisoning every resident and business along this traffic corridor. But it is particularly onerous inasmuch as it adversely impacts the health of children while they attend school. See: https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/how-air-pollution-is-destroying-our-health/children-and-air-pollution.
I have recently sent emails regarding this problem to the CBS Assembly, the CBS School Board, and the Sitka School District. I received only one single response: Deidre Jenson, assistant superintendent, Sitka School district – ‘‘Thank you for sharing your concern. We’ll continue to be looking for and evaluating opportunities to improve this.’’ Silence and platitudes.
In addition, this bus traffic is risking physical injury to our children as they play at the outdoor basketball court, ball field, on campus during lunch, and at Moller Park. They are next to a freeway for seven hours each school day.
So far, Sitkans have sat blithely by and have allowed the cruise ship industry to do this to us. No one I know is anti-tourism. But, this is unconscionable. We’re sacrificing our children for profit. If we don’t do something now, we’ll never be forgiven, nor will we ever forgive ourselves. It must stop this now or we can sit by for the next cruise ship season (April to October) and hope.
RD, Sitka
April 12, 2024
First Cruise Ship
Dear Editor: It breaks my heart the manner in which our first cruise ship passengers of 2024 were treated at the roundabout.
I hope these narrow minded people are never treated in such a rude manner when they travel. Embarrassed for Sitka,
LL, Sitka
April 10, 2024
Cruise Tourism
Dear Editor: It isn’t news that the uptick in cruise tourism the past two years has disrupted many lives in Sitka, in countless ways. For many residents, cruise visitation in Sitka crossed the line from welcome or tolerable tourism to over-tourism – in an overshoot many believe requires correction.
That’s how our new organization, Small Town SOUL, sees the situation. We are pro-tourism – including cruise, convention and independent tourists/travelers – and believe that Sitka can have a strong economy with the cruise component reduced to a scale that is in balance with the reasons Sitkans choose to live here.
Our roundabout rally midday Monday commemorated both the start of another “oversized-ship” cruise season – in a month when even some businesses would rather not have ships – and the season’s kick-off by a mega-ship of a size emblematic of the discord in town.
We regret and apologize for one sign at the rally that the rest of us hadn’t noticed, and which some in town have rightly noted was unfitting.
For those who feel visitors were caught in the middle, you’re right – but we hope you will recognize that many of your fellow Sitkans are caught in the middle, too, by the ongoing cruise over-tourism.
We did try to be kind, yet informative, with our signs. In the end the message is to the cruise industry, that dramatic change is needed.
Our attention will now turn to a third initiative, which is the reason our nonprofit formed.
Our website is https://smalltownsoul.org. The acronym for SOUL is Save Our Unique Lifestyle.
Klaudia Leccese, President
Small Town SOUL, Sitka
February 14, 2024
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: I watched the Assembly meeting last night (Feb. 13), and it seems that we are not going to be stopping the tsunami wave of cruise ship passengers any time soon.
The cruise ship companies don’t seem to care what we want. The local businesses that cater to them and benefit from their passengers have a right to do so and are contributing to our local economy and generating tax revenue.
Perhaps it’s time to change our approach and consider what we can gain from the insane influx of cruise ship passengers. We should absolutely be charging as much of a head tax as possible and using that money to benefit our community so that those of us who do live here year-around can be rewarded for enduring half a year of extra traffic and a jam-packed downtown. We would all benefit from freshly paved streets or a lower utility bill.
I would be much happier about having to stop to let 50 people cross the street while driving through town knowing that they were contributing to our community, not just taking from it. The cruise lines have been using us and our community to generate a profit. It’s time that we do the same.
ND, Sitka
February 8, 2024
Tourism
Dear Editor: The following letter also was sent to the Tourism Task Force members.
One night, a man was searching intently for a lost object. A passerby asks “what are you looking for so carefully”? “My keys, I have lost my keys.” “You lost them out here and cannot find them?” “No, I lost them in the dark alley back there.” “Well, why are you looking for them out here?” “Because the light is better here under the street light, of course.”
This debate of tourism and “more or less cruise ship passengers” with regard to the maintenance of the Sitka we all love and want to sustain is like looking for the keys under the street lamp. It is not where things got lost.
The real issue about our quality of life being eroded is not about the number of tourists who come to Sitka or not. It is about the enormous demands including land, energy, Internet bandwidth, and traffic level – in short, ALL the resource demands placed on our little city by the increasing volume of federal, state, and municipal development in our city as well as the increasing tourism. We have evolved from a small fishing community on an island off the coast of Alaska to a government reliant community with most of the revenues coming into Sitka, not generated in Sitka but originating off island. Another way to say that is that the financial control and wellbeing of our lives is not in our hands but in the hands of those who are distant from here and have no real regard for what it is like to be a Sitkan.
I think it is imperative to change the debate and solutions from the tunnel-vision of a fixed number of cruise ship passengers and to address the real and crucial issue of WHO is going to manage our resources and HOW are they going to be managed. THAT is what we need a solution for, not just the number of cruise ship passengers (even if the light is brighter on the cruise ship passengers).
RP, Sitka
February 2, 2024
Cruise Terminal
Dear Editor: Chris McGraw’s new “community-focused tourism policy” (covered in a Sentinel story on Monday) deserves a close look and a response. The policy will be in effect from 2025 to 2027.
I have reviewed his press release and its attached three-page “Berthing Policy for Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal.”
In summary, on six days per week the policy allows berthing of two ships at the Cruise Terminal. On four of those days, one of the ships may have a capacity of over 4,000 passengers.
That McGraw said he doesn’t know if these limits would reduce the overall number of cruise passengers in Sitka (since some ships anchor or dock elsewhere) sets off an alarm bell.
So what does this policy REALLY do? Can it meaningfully reduce the impact of cruise tourism on our heavily over-toured town?
To find out, I applied the new policy to the 2024 and 2025 ship schedules. What pops out immediately is this: the four-megaship-per-week limit is never triggered!
That’s because 2024 had only three ships of over 4,000 capacity. The 2025 schedule has four, but one stops here only once, in a week with only two other megaships.
In short, so-called “limits” in the new policy do nothing to remediate the irresponsible boom in Sitka cruise tourism. The “limits” allow 50% more megaship visits – 88 – up from an average of 58 for May-September in the 2023-2025 schedules.
Yet the new policy calls itself “responsible tourism management,” and a “responsible and sustainable approach.” What?!
The 2023 “All About Sitka” schedule tells where passengers land for each port call. For days with total capacity of over 5,000 (triggering Lincoln Street closure), I evaluated the role of ships at the Terminal:
– Of the approximate 60 May-September street closures, 24 were on days with two ships at the Terminal and no other ships in town;
– On 13 of those 24 days, one of the two ships at the Terminal was a mega-ship (and there were no other ships in town).
– An additional 26 closure days had one mega-ship at the dock and at least one other ship in town; and for just 5 of those days the Terminal had no second ship.
– The other 10 closure days had two non-mega ships at the Terminal and one or more other ships in town.
Real limits are needed. If they’re on ships, attention to all from the high-2,000s and up is needed.
LE, Sitka
January 25, 2024
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: I have lived in Sitka since July 3, 1976. I’ve lived here so long because I deeply value the quality of life that Sitka offers.
I support tourism. I support tourism that provides jobs for permanent Sitka residents. I support tourism that does not pollute. I support tourism that does not adversely affect my life in Sitka. Tourism in Sitka for the past two years has not done this. It is no longer tourism, it feels like an invasion.
The average cruise ship tourist is here for less than one full day out of the year. I am here for at least 330 days every year spending money almost daily. I have been a homeowner for almost all the years that I have lived here. I pay property taxes and support year-round local businesses. But the wants and needs of seasonal cruise ship tourists outweigh mine. They roar past my house in buses that pollute. The majority of the money that they spend on their trip goes to the cruise companies, not to Sitka enterprises. The city blocks off our streets for their convenience. I am forced to see porta-potties in my lovely downtown. Parking spaces are hard to come by. The tourists overwhelm Sitka’s Wi-Fi and computer links, to our detriment. Because of all the extra people in town the restaurants, lodges and tour ships periodically clean our local grocery stores out of specific groceries so that we have to do without certain food items. Sitka has a housing shortage. The summer season employees hired to work with tourists compound the problem.
I want Sitka to continue to be a small, vibrant, rural Alaskan community as opposed to a seasonal cruise ship service destination. The only way to maintain Sitkans’ quality of life is to limit cruise ship tourism to a long-term sustainable level. Sitka needs to control the tourism trajectory and draw a hard line that supports small town values over the cruise ship industry’s apparently unlimited desire for increased seasonal dominance.
PH, Sitka
January 25, 2024
Tourism
Dear Editor: Some thoughts: I’ve enjoyed sharing our scenic, endearing town with visitors all these years.
As a traveler and tourist myself, I’ve found it’s one kind of experience to walk and live among locals and quite another to line up and shuttle from one activity to the next. Pushing for maximum visitor numbers makes a homogenized visitor experience inescapable. Capping our number at 240,000 makes possible a more memorable visit among the 8,000 or so of us who live here. Thanks,
CC, 42-year Sitka resident
January 22, 2024
Quality versus Quantity
Dear Editor: We want visitors to very favorably remember Sitka as being different from other communities. We want residents to enjoy sharing the town with others. We want businesses to succeed financially at their endeavors.
Quantity consists of modifying human interactions, land and sea use, and most significantly, compromise. The visitors are compromised by the volume of their kind, we as residents are compromised by their presence. Small business success is compromised simply because quantity requires lower margins.
More does not always mean better. Think of the fishing industry; more fish in a given year or too many types of fish lead to lower value. Quantity in another way may be viewed as commodity rather than finished product.
Sitka deserves to be recognized as a high value destination rather than another port of call. We need to protect our economy from the influence of external factors such as the foreign owned entities that rely on quantity for their profit margins.
International trade is essential, look at where most of our consumer products are manufactured – Asia. The lower cost of manufacturing is why we benefit from international trade. What is unique about the cruise visitor industry is, in essence, requiring U.S. business owners to accept operating at lower standards of profit by accepting higher volume of visitors.
Sitka and Alaska have a history of foreign trade and the visitor industry can be viewed as a continuation of that legacy. The cruise industry is a world-wide multibillion dollar enterprise. Alaska tourism is engaged in the world-wide export of memories and experiences. We are a raw material necessary for the international travel industry. Even though our visitors are principally U.S. and Canadian citizens, the industry is driven with a world-wide perspective.
Yes, we need a visitor industry. Yes, we benefit from the cruise industry and it can benefit also from limitations. Life is a negotiation and the community of Sitka has the legal right to negotiate terms that all of us benefit from.
Establish an ideal number of total visitors (not just the cruise industry) and learn to live with the amount for a couple of years. Quality does not happen overnight. I suggest no more than 250,000 total visitors. Each year evaluate the success and failure of local businesses to determine what business endeavors are succeeding and which are failing. I believe the evaluation of the failure rate will find the total revenue for certain activities cannot be fixed with economies of scale. Be prepared to experience numerous startups that emotionally the owners want to succeed but, in the end, the net income just is not there. A low barrier to entry may imply many things, but it does not address the inherent risks of financial success.
I also believe the city should consider a head tax that provides the funding for the direct demands of the visitor season. Not doing so is in form subsidizing the visitor industry at the expense of the residents. The city already has wagered the industry provides adequate sales tax as an integral part of its financial support. One cannot ignore the again inherent risk that is associated with visitor spending (or lack thereof) and demands on the community infrastructure. Thank you,
BS, Sitka
January 19, 2024
Schools and Pollution
Dear Editor: From the l668 to1875, in England, chimney sweeps used children for this job simply because of their small size: They could fit into the narrow and enclosed spaces that adults couldn’t. These boys and girls (5 to 10 years old) rarely survived to be adolescents, suffering and then dying from multiple diseases, the worst being “chimney sweep cancer.” This is a perfect example of what happens in so-called “Free Markets.” But, there is no such thing as a “Free Market,” because someone, somewhere, somehow pays for it. “Free Market” actually means anything goes in the name of monetary profit.
You’d think that this kind behavior would be in the past, but today in Sitka, 456 years later, it is flourishing. Thousands of cruise ship passengers are being shuttled in 45-foot-long interstate motor coaches through the Blatchley Middle School Zone and the Baranof Elementary School Zone. So, instead of our children sweeping chimneys, we are driving the chimneys through our school zones and crop dusting students, faculty, staff and administrators with toxic pollutants (including, but not limited to, CO, Co2, carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides, elemental carbon, asbestos, and micro particles from tire wear). Google and read: “A review of the effect of traffic-related air pollution around schools on student health and its mitigation” in the Journal of Transport and Health, volume 23, December 2021. This study concludes that among other considerations, “the government should actively reduce the number of vehicles near schools and reduce congestion.” (Page 1 paragraph 4, and page 2 paragraph 1). This scientific journal article references over 100 research studies in refereed/peer reviewed journals. These are facts not opinions.
I have two grandchildren at Blatchley Middle School this year and I will have three grandchildren at Blatchley next fall. Two of my grandchildren have medical conditions that are exacerbated by the pollution from diesel buses. After a record number of cruise ships in 2023, there are plans for even more in 2024. Cruise ships are expected in April and into October in 2024. That is, our children will be exposed to poisonous emissions at school during April, May, eight days in August, September and October.
Chris McGraw has made his position on profits over people clear: “If there’s demand to come to Sitka, and the infrastructure is available for space, as a private business owner, and if I can accommodate them with respects to my resources and my shuttle operation, I’m going to book that ship,” McGraw said. “Obviously, we have a significant investment we’ve made here over the last 10 years. And you know, the point of a for-profit business is to get a return on that investment. So we do that through customers, and our customers are the cruise ships.” As reported in the Sitka Sentinel.
Other business owners have expressed the same priority. They advocate “balance.” Well, I am not willing to balance this equation with my family on one side of the scale and money on the other. Note: greed is one of the seven deadly sins. As my wife said at the latest task force public meeting: “Our children’s air is not for sale. Our children’s safety is not for sale.” Human health and lives must not be measured in dollars and cents. Especially when these 54,000-pound motor coaches are hurtling down Halibut Point Road, Lake Street and Sawmill Creek Road to stores that sell T-shirts, fur underwear, souvenirs, fast food, and luxury items. Our children are being sacrificed for trivialities and not needs.
You’ve all heard the expression: “I’d step in front of a bus for my children” (or any loved one for that matter). Well, I am stepping in front of these buses to protect my loved ones. I want all of you to ask yourselves: “How many children should we sacrifice?” I’m betting that it’s zero if it’s your child or family member. I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to save my family. I will spend my last penny until my last breath pursuing every legal pathway to stop this outrage. Whatever the ‘‘cap,’’ there must be zero cruise ship shuttle buses poisoning our children while our schools are in session.
RD, Sitka
January 16, 2024
Cruise Ship Numbers
Dear Sitka Assembly members and Daily Sitka Sentinel Editor: Before you come up with a number…
Deciding the best annual or weekly or daily numbers of tourists from cruise ships is putting the cart before the horse. The question is not how many tourists will visit Sitka from cruise ships, but what is the comprehensive plan that will address cruise ship overtourism. ‘‘Address’’ means to identify, plan and implement real measures to minimize the negative aspects of cruise ship passengers to Sitka. The acronym SMART (Doran, 1981) is good to revisit. Make your actions Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Any discussion of cruise ship passenger numbers to Sitka must address the following issues:
Environmental Impact: Cruise ships contribute to air and water pollution.
Overcrowding: Large cruise ships overwhelm Sitka, causing overcrowding of people and traffic.
Cultural Disruption: High volumes of tourists arriving simultaneously from cruise ships disrupt the local community and lead to cultural clashes with residents who have different values.
Loss of Authenticity: Sitka is becoming commercialized and is losing its authenticity as it caters to mass tourism, eroding the unique character of Sitka.
Resource Consumption: Cruise ships require significant resources to operate, including fuel, water, and food, as well as impacts on health care, emergency services and WiFi and electrical demand. Large numbers of tourists also impact local animal populations.
Limited Economic Benefits: Despite the influx of tourists, the economic benefits to Sitka residents is not significant. Cruise passengers spend less per person compared to traditional tourists, with much of the revenue going to cruise line operators rather than local businesses.
Safety Concerns: Cruise ships face safety issues, including the risk of accidents, onboard illnesses, or outbreaks of infectious diseases. Incidents such as shipwrecks and engine failures have occurred.
Seasonal Overload: Sitka experiences a surge in visitors during cruise seasons, leading to boom-and-bust cycles for Sitka that caters to tourists. Housing and workforce availability are adversely affected.
Labor Issues: Cruise ship staff, often from different countries, face challenging working conditions, long hours, and limited access to local and regional labor rights and protections.
Waste Disposal: Managing the waste generated by cruise ships, including sewage, solid waste, and hazardous materials, is a significant challenge for both Sitka and the cruise industry.
Please implement a SMART plan to address these concerns of cruise ship visitors to Sitka.
JF, Sitka
January 10, 2024
Tourism Survey
Dear Editor: I took the online survey about tourism.
I was appalled at how biased it was against tourism.
I wasn’t able to answer some of the questions because they were worded as if I was against large numbers of tourist. I feel as though the survey is not valid and should be redone and presented by a non-biased group.
I am for as many tourists that want to come to Sitka should be permitted to come, with as quiet and as non-polluting buses as possible.
LIL, Sitka
January 5, 2024
Two Kinds of Tourists
Dear Editor: I want to thank [Assembly member] Thor Christenson for reminding our Assembly (and the rest of us) that we have two kinds of tourists who come to Sitka each summer. Our city government seems to be emphasizing the cruise ship passengers who bring lots of numbers and who patronize ‘‘summer’’ businesses like curio shops and fast foods.
Some of these businesses choose not to remain in Sitka during the winter. They board up their stores – as in Juneau and Skagway. The other kind of tourist comes for several days to experience our beautiful surroundings – to fish and hike and meet local folk. These visitors patronize a wide range of year-round Sitka businesses: short-term rentals, grocery stores, outdoor supply stores, charter boats, car rentals, fuel, restaurants, etc. They also buy ‘‘tourist’’ souvenirs and local art. By using resources that we have in place year-round they sustain our community.
The community of Sitka is, indeed, a destination for tourists. We have natural beauty, attentive neighbors, thick-textured arts, science which supports both our classrooms and our fishing fleet, comfortable shopping streets. When I first came to Sitka in 1975 I quipped: ‘‘three cars ahead of me at our one stop light is a traffic jam.’’ Much of this is not available to huge numbers of part-day cruise ship tourists. Are less-polluting buses and limits on downtown sidewalk packing sufficient to sustain sense of community?
Tax income vs. maintenance of Sitka’s ‘‘quality of life’’ seem to me to be the dominant drivers of city support. It would be interesting to compare the taxes each tourist group brings to Sitka. I assume that 580,000 part-day visitors (those who bought a cruise trip which stops briefly in Sitka) spend more than fewer multi-day visitors. Is the difference in tax revenue enough to risk a fundamental change of Sitka from stable community to tourist attraction? Should tourist money ‘‘feed’’ year-round small local businesses or a single mega-business?
I would like to see information comparing these options and asking for community preference between ‘‘cruise ship tourist destination’’ and ‘‘sustainable community’’ as goals for Sitka planners.
DSS, Sitka
December 29, 2023
Cruise Ship Survey
Dear Editor: The lack of restraint on cruise ship tourism in Sitka has left me feeling helpless. For this reason, I encourage every Sitkan who cares to speak up and voice their opinions. The city of Sitka has limited all persons 14 years of age and older to submit a survey with their hopes regarding upcoming years of tourism in town, and while many of us feel that 500,000 annual visitors is too much, we’re struggling to pinpoint just how much is too much, so let’s make a comparison just for perspective: Juneau is our state capital and a close neighbor to Sitka at just 100 miles away. Their resident population sits around 32,000 people and their ‘‘town’’ receives roughly 1,100,000 cruise ship passengers annually. Sitka has a residential population of around 8,500 (about a quarter the size of Juneau), yet we received around 550,000 cruise ship passengers in 2023. Per capita, Juneau received 34.37 passengers per resident while Sitka received 65.88 passengers per resident last year.
While I don’t condone turning Sitka into a ‘‘mini-Juneau,’’ I do make the comparison so we have a ‘‘ballpark’’ figure of how much may be too much. Using these numbers, Sitka could theoretically ‘‘handle’’ an annual cruise ship visitor tally of just under 300,000. But such a simplistic comparison fails to account for several things: Juneau is able to offer a variety of entertainment options (icefield helicopter tours, the Mount Roberts Tram, Taku River Lodge, Tracy Arm Tours, Allen Marine Tours, etc.) that allow them to disperse overwhelming congestion away from the city center, and they boast roughly 150 miles of state and city roads, making the transportation of said visitors more manageable. Sitka is much more limited in space and transportation, meaning that we still might not be able to comfortably accommodate the same rate per capita as our capital.
Regardless of how exactly you want Sitka to move forward, it is crucial that each of us becomes involved in this conversation; the fate of Sitka’s future depends on the courage and conduct of what the citizens do today. Voice your opinion. Take the city’s survey at https://www.cityofsitka.com/TourismTaskForce.
DE, Sitka
December 29, 2024
Tourism
Dear Editor: I concur with the thoughtful letter Chuck McGraw wrote last month – tourism has a positive impact especially on the cost to provide services by our city government which is most important to citizens on fixed income.
It also has major positive impact on our business community, but in addition it also has a major positive impact on Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Sitka Sound Science Center, Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center, to name a few.
Our beauty, diversity, culture, pride and the fact we respect, like and take care of each other is not lost on the tourists. And when I talk to them we all lament why the rest of our country cannot do the same. I know our city government and tourism leaders are trying to mitigate some of the negative impacts on tourism and with your help they will do so. I hope everyone has a good 2024. God bless.
GP, Sitka
December 7, 2023
Tourism
Dear Editor: I am, among other things, one of the retirement age seniors that Mr. McGraw referred to in his extremely well-written letter regarding the issue of tourism that is at the forefront of concern of many Sitkans.
In the 30-plus years I have been a resident of Sitka, I too have witnessed the slow but steady demise of independent economic opportunity in our community. When I arrived in Sitka, “The Mill” had just closed and I became aware of the “scrambling” that residents were doing to find or create gainful sources of income. Many were able to do so and others moved on to other communities which offered better opportunities. When I arrived in Sitka many people had not heard about the Internet, and no one imagined using it for shopping as it is used today. Like most new creations of man, it can be a blessing and a curse. The Internet makes the obtaining of goods at cheap prices readily available but it has killed many local retail businesses that just cannot compete with gigantic warehouses and enormous buying power of today’s etailers like Amazon. Being a small business owner and having a retail business is rewarding but an unrelenting challenge to be sure! Today, formerly thriving storefronts in our town center are empty, or occupied by transient summer tourist-driven businesses.
As Mr. McGraw pointed out, the opportunities for independent work and operating one’s own business are decreasing. When looking at the current and major sources of employment in our community, we have become a government-reliant community – many of our year-round employers are now city, state and federal agencies such as SEARHC, the USCG, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Court System, Forest Service, TSA, Park Service, and of course, the City and Borough of Sitka. And those jobs, too, have their blessings and curses.
As we all know, times are bad for many people outside of Sitka. Affording the opportunity to people from the lower 48, and in fact from around the world, a brief respite of a visit here to see the beauty in our world, to smell the fresh air, and to receive a friendly hello, is a gift they can get in few other places nowadays. Let us share what we take for granted or we want to guard selfishly, but let us share this gift by responsibly managing our tourist visits rather than swamping ourselves by failing to do so, or by simply trying to make them go away.
I agree with Mr. McGraw that it is the future of Sitka that is the key matter and, like it or not, tourism is an economic resource to assure the health and longevity of our very special community in Southeast.
RP, Sitka
December 5, 2023
Tourism Open House
Dear Editor: In the lead up to the next ‘‘open house’’ on cruise ship tourism, I would like to express my ongoing concerns about the absence of robust data to support the discussion. Benefit and impact can be measured in a lot of ways; however, in the open house session held in November, economic benefit arguments were offered using sales tax data that failed to distinguish between seasonal and year-round businesses, or receipts from online purchasing! New business registration data also failed to distinguish between seasonal and year-round businesses.
These distinctions matter if we hope to make good decisions and create a sustainable local economy.
Without a much more rigorous approach to assessing the value proposition of unregulated cruise ship tourism we can’t even begin to answer reasonable questions about economic benefit.
I have been trying to get a preview by redistributing the Sitka Assembly’s recent gift of $1 million from 2023 sales tax receipts. It is interesting to see how it looks if we treated it like the PFD and gave something to every resident. One million dollars divided by 8,500 people comes out to $117. 65 each. Now let’s divide $117.65 by the number of days when cruise ship passenger numbers exceed 50 percent of Sitka’s year-round population – that was 71 days in 2023. Which takes us to the handsome sum of $1.65 per person, per day, for excessive wear and tear on our collective psyche and lost summertime amenity. This feels like we are running as quickly as possible to sell our community very, very, short. We must be able to do better? [emphasis added]
LM, Sitka
November 29, 2023
Cruise Tourism
Dear Editor: Having spent 72 years as a lifelong Sitka resident, I feel compelled to address the concerns about cruise passenger visitation that have been raised by others in our community, particularly those who are either retired or nearing retirement age. Their call for a significant reduction in cruise tourism has led me to question their consideration for the future of Sitka, particularly the well-being of our younger generations.
Throughout my lifetime in Sitka, I’ve witnessed the ebb and flow of economic drivers that have shaped our community. Industries like timber, the oil boom of the 1980s, which brought significant infrastructure improvements to Sitka, and the heydays of derby fishing and the open entry permit era in the commercial fishing industry. I was fortunate and able to take advantage of the opportunities presented during this time.
Regrettably, none of these industries offer realistic economic opportunities for our younger generations. Even the fishing industry, once a hallmark of Sitka’s economy, has become an almost insurmountable challenge for young people due to the high costs of boats, permits, and fuel, coupled with the persistent low prices for fish.
Compounding this dilemma is our aging population and the continuous decline in school enrollment. Young families are leaving Sitka because they perceive limited opportunities to establish themselves here. The high cost of living and the scarcity of economic prospects underscore the fact that the concerns of retirees may not fully grasp the challenges facing our youth.
In this sobering reality, the cruise industry stands as a crucial pillar in sustaining Sitka’s economic well-being. It not only provides essential job opportunities but also supports local businesses, which are lifelines in the face of these daunting challenges. For many young families, the cruise industry represents one of the few available avenues for economic stability and growth.
Rather than endorsing a reduction in cruise tourism, we must confront this disconnect and seek a more balanced approach that takes into account the concerns of retirees while safeguarding the industry’s undeniable benefits for Sitka’s future. It is our collective responsibility to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for all Sitka residents, regardless of their stage in life.
CM, Sitka
November 20, 2023
Traditional Town Hall
Dear Editor: I advocate TRADITIONAL town halls for helping resolve deep local issues, or at least to help develop mutual understandings by hearing our fellow Sitkans.
On the cruise issue, some are saying this format is “no good” because there would be time to hear only 30 or so people speak.
Not true! Records – of what likely is Sitka’s largest town hall hearing ever – show what is possible. On July 5, 1977, at Centennial Hall, I observed the event as a Sitka newcomer.
It was a congressional field hearing on the controversial bill H.R. 39, which was passed three years later as ANILCA and which established Southeast’s first designated wilderness areas (including the West Chichagof and South Baranof) and confirmed subsistence rights.
Held the day after Sitka’s 4th of July parade and the July 2 and 3 all-Alaska logging competition (in Baranof School’s playground), the hall was packed not just with locals but with loggers and other timber industry people from all over Southeast.
182 people testified in that single day, July 5. All who had pre-registered got two minutes, and some others likely testified at the end. In that pre-Internet age, registering to testify required a letter or telegram to the Subcommittee, in Washington, received by June 24.
The whole event was later transcribed and officially published – you can download it here: https://bit.ly/5July77
To accommodate so many speakers, at 3 p.m. – after speeches by the six congressmen and testimony by 36 dignitaries (mayors, tribal leaders, timber industry representatives, etc.) – the hearing was split in two. A table of three congressmen took testimony in the main hall, and three others did so in the Maksoutoff Room (Assembly chamber). Both rooms were open to all to observe.
Witnesses were called in groups of five, and had been encouraged earlier to form their own groups so that individual could pool their time if desired; often one spoke for all. Congressmen’s questions could be answered by any of the five, and each congressman had a time limit for his quizzing. There was good dialog.
See Rep. Seiberling’s transcribed instructions to witnesses, pages 1-3 of the record.
The Sentinel’s July 6 article gave good coverage. Though it states both 100 and 150 as the number of testifiers – surely hard to tally on the fly, with two rooms – the above 182 is my count from the transcript’s actual witness list (pages III through VII).
So, on the cruise issue, there is a way for all of us to hear what anyone has to say, and for unfolding discussion through successive testimonies. Here in the 21st century, the event can be streamed from one or more rooms, and be archived on YouTube. We have digital means for transcription and (if needed) witness preregistration. Whether observed live or accessed later, a TRADITIONAL town hall meeting like this would promote mutual understandings and help break down “silos.” I think it is what Sitka needs for the present highly contentious issue.
LE, Sitka
November 15, 2023
Tourism Gathering
Dear Editor: I went to the Monday evening tourism gathering. It was sure well attended. I gave my two minutes of my view there.
I confess, in the last 20 or so years I make most of my living from the visitor industry. I enjoy those opportunities, and giving the visitors a genuine and quality experience of a beautiful Alaskan town and way of life. My thinking is that half million people are far too many. I think 300,000 is a decent goal.
When I had my first Sitka tour business from 1999 to 2008 all the downtown shops were open year-round. We had at most 200,000 visitors give or take. There were no empty stores downtown in the winter. I have had the opportunities to go to Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway in the tour season and the off seasons. All of them are ghost towns in the winter.
I believe the numbers will keep growing unless we limit them to a sustainable number – 300,000. If not, the jewelry shops will come in, and chase the local owners out and Sitka will be a winter ghost town and a crowded, smoggy, bus-fumed, overcrowded tourist trap in the summer.
It will not be the Sitka we love to live in. It will not be a unique, genuine, lovely real town where a visitor can have a moment with a real local person. It will be just another overcrowded summer amusement park, with not much concern for quality of life for residents or quality of experience for visitors.
And, finally, too many people coming in big mobs affect the whole atmosphere, crowding the locals, and each other, causing everyone to lose appreciation for each other, and long lines everywhere. Sitka used to have such a different atmosphere than the other towns. It no longer does. My two bits. Thank you.
JB, Sitka
November 14, 2023
Tourism Town Hall
Dear Editor: I attempted to attend the ‘‘town hall’’ last night and was bottlenecked at the entry, spilling on to the sidewalk. Evidently, both of the big rooms were unavailable, appearing to be not in use, while the overflow of caring and concerned local citizens of Sitka who came out to participate were obligated to sign in, and then were divided into two separate groups in two separate rooms to watch the two separate presentations; further, dividing up into four specifically designated break-out sessions; divide and conquer? Never the less, certainly a way to diminish what might have been a productive conversation on tourism amongst us all this night.
I read in tonight’s Sentinel about the rejection of Larry Edward’s second attempt at an initiative petition seeking a special election to cap the number of tourists. Perhaps, the city or Assembly members could help craft the language, as clearly there are a lot of locals who would like to have a say through the voting process, after having lived through the first season with the Lincoln Street closure and other inconveniences. I think we would all like to see minimal impact, and that the visit be more enjoyable for the tourists, not be herded around like cattle standing in lines, but rather dispersed.
There are many among us who may have solutions, and creative ideas. These are my three suggestions: 1. Move the outhouse down to the Totem Square side of city office building parking to get it out of view and away from the food booths. 2. Many times, Lincoln was closed off, and there were no tourists. I suggest the city hire a rover or two to keep an eye, be more spontaneous, to open Lincoln after it has been vacated. 3. Unfortunately, the city no longer owns the old hospital property which could have been the perfect staging area for buses, taxis, shuttles, Uber, etc., to take the tourists to the different sights and downtown; however, evidently the city does own the public health building and adjoining parking lot which might be used as a hub to disperse the visitors.
I really appreciate this opportunity to express some thoughts on this important issue, as I couldn’t stay for the ‘‘open house’’ event. Gunalcheesh! I would ask that an actual town hall in one room be called to address all tourism issues in an open forum with a panel of stakeholders, and knowledgeable members at large with a moderator and scribe. I can only add that there are plenty of things happening in this town that ‘‘would not be enforceable as a matter of law.’’
Respectfully,
KL, Sitka
November 13, 2023
Alarm
Dear Editor: The town of Sitka disallowing vehicular access to all of downtown Lincoln Street during cruise ship season is illegal because handicapped and elderly people must have vehicular parking and access.
Tobacco smoking outside Ernie’s and Pioneer bars has to be disallowed because pedestrian exposure to tobacco can cause the deadly anaphylaxis reactions.
GF, Sitka
October 23, 2023
‘Cruise Boom’
Dear Editor: Thank you to the hosts of the invitation-only special showing of Ellen Frankenstein’s excellent ‘‘Cruise Boom’’ documentary Thursday evening at the Mean Queen Dungeon. And thanks also to the many caring community members who participated in the cordial discussions that followed.
I think the film succeeded in conveying our community’s mixed sentiments toward mushrooming numbers of cruise ship passengers. The conversation afterward, too, expertly moderated by Izzy Haywood of Spruce Root, covered the whole gamut of perspectives.
I was a bit surprised, though, that there was so little mention of recent and ongoing efforts to cap cruise visitor numbers. The pizza and beer, I guess, served to stimulate more convivial and less potentially confrontational exchanges.
A point that never seems to come up when we talk about cruise ship visitors here in Sitka, but which I feel needs to be mentioned at least occasionally, is the enormous amount of damage these travelers are inflicting on our planet’s climate. Without getting into facts and figures which some find boring or confusing, I’ll just point out the following: someone who hops on a jet from Savannah to Seattle in order to board a cruise ship for a ten-day trip to Alaska is a veritable atmospheric arsonist compared to someone who drives to a nearby National Forest and goes camping over their holiday.
In short; regardless of how you feel about crowds of visitors or the closure of Lincoln Street, big-ship cruises to Alaska are utterly unsustainable due to the fact that they absolutely require the combustion of enormous amounts of finite fossil fuels. The cruise boom can’t last, and the longer it does the worse off we’ll all be.
JHH, Sitka
September 30, 2023
Leach Statement
Dear Editor: I am a service-connected disabled U.S. Army veteran. When I was commissioned as an Army officer, I took a solemn oath to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. I did not abandon that oath when I was honorably discharged. The Sitka city manager, John Leach, took a similar oath when he was commissioned in the U.S. Coast Guard as did each of our Assembly members. Yet, in the Sitka Sentinel, on September 15, 2023, John Leach, used the local newspaper as a bully pulpit in an attempt to convince Sitkans to voluntarily give up our rights under the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. In so doing, he attacked one of the pillars of our democratic republic.
First Amendment:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Since his “public statement” was not published via a Letter to the Editor, and doesn’t appear to be a political ad, I would like to know if this was an official city Assembly authorized policy statement. Or, did Mr. Leach use his position as Sitka city manager to lend credibility to his personal opinion?
In any event, Mr. Leach wants us to leave it to him and city government to fix the external diseconomies associated with crowding and cruise ships (e.g., interstate buses driving on the roundabout and dominating intersections while turning, restricted access to public facilities, air, noise and water pollution, traffic jams and public safety (it took over 30 minutes last September 2022 for my wife to break through the downtown blockade to get me to the Emergency Room at SEARHC). Thank goodness my injuries (concussion, abrasions, neck, shoulder and knee strains) turned out not to be life threatening. But, what if I had been having a bleeding concussion, stroke or heart attack?
So, I’m not convinced that Mr. Leach, and the city government, are capable of fixing problems that they blithely sat back and let happen. I fear that failed 18th century laisez faire economics has reared it’s ugly head again in Sitka.
Furthermore, America citizens tell the government what to do, instead of the government dictating to the citizens. I urge you to sign the petition to have a special election addressing the regulation of cruise ship tourism in Sitka, and then vote, yea or nay, in the election. Exercise your right to have a say on the future of Sitka and tourism. Or, submit to John Leach’s authority and follow orders from on high.
RED, Sitka
September 26, 2023
Tourism Support
Dear Editor: I just do not understand all of this animosity towards the tourists.
First of all, Sitkans should be pleased we are getting tax income, stores are getting business, and the tourist attractions are busy.
Second, the city is making the proper adjustments to accommodate for the increase in tourists.
Third, learn to share. When you are a tourist somewhere you want to feel welcome.
I just do not understand what all the complaining is about. I am against signing anything that limits tourists enjoying Sitka.
All tourists, as many as want to come, are welcome in Sitka.
That should be our motto.
LL, Sitka
September 22, 2023
Cruise Ships
Dear Editor: I was pleased to see that man wanted to reduce the number of cruise ships coming into Sitka.
I’d like to suggest even a more powerful way. Let’s have a Sitka Day when no cruise ships come into Sitka. One day a week for residents to take their families and guests to Fortress of the Bear or the Alaska Raptor Center and not be swamped.
We had a couple of days this summer when visitors were 10,000 – that’s more than the number of residents in Sitka.
I think it fair for us to have one day a week without cruise ships. Give us a day!
MAH, Sitka
August 28, 2023
Cruise Control
Dear Editor: On Tuesday, Aug. 1, I reported to Sitka Police that I was intoxicated by diesel exhaust during the prior week of July 23 to 29 by tour coaches. I worked outside at the corner of Lake and Seward streets for the month of July. My work there included cleaning the parking lot, painting latex lines, patching concrete, minor roof patching, bush trimming and sweeping up. No heavy solvents nor dust. Yet, I had exceeded the threshold levels of exposure to experience nausea, headache, dizziness. Foolishly I was in ‘‘the smoke and exhaust and noise corridor’’ without an air fed mask. I tasted it; I inhaled it.
Many of us pass through that zone several times daily, but few stay continuously. Bring your cartridge respirator (air fed pumps will not work) and ear muffs.
Relish and remember this day, Sitka. CLI master plan for Sitka hides bigger ships, more ships, way more tourists for you to share. Anyone want to discuss that? We were once told it will ‘‘self-regulate.’’ How so? Just more high-up Vancouver double talk.
I don’t buy it! CLI cares about cash for beds and drinks. Not where they dump their load. Only to crush the very essence of their bragging.
Cruise line industrial is dirty business. With a nice paint job.
As worldwide pushback grows, expect more pressure to dock these big boats in new, naive ports. You check them out, i.e. Skagway dock buried?? Let’s push that wealth over to lil ole Sitka!! Not here!! I like limited entry. More on that later.
No gripe should go without suggested solutions: Here you go:
1. Use ‘‘extra’’ head tax money to get an industrial hygienist in here to sniff and identify pollutants;
2. Limit daily tourists to 4,000;
3. Raise the head tax to make up for less sales. And price out mass hordes;
4. Park or shred buses that don’t pass a regular, stringent certification;
5. Require the CLI reps, dock owners, coach owners and tourist planning committee to sit near roundabout sidewalk a full day. A calm day. With 8,000 tourists ‘‘sharing Sitka’’ with them;
6. Fill in Swan Lake for more bus parking. Another name change will be required.
PH, Sitka,
Pro-tourist, pro-regulation
August 28, 2023
Cruise Ship Tourism
Dear Editor: As another spring gets underway, out city’s ongoing investment in cruise ship tourism raises questions for the Sitka community. The most troubling question may be whether we as a comunity have the foresight and the discipline to set some meaningful boundaries.
Multiple consultations have identified fears over how the benefits and downsides of tourism are being experienced by different parts of the community. These themes have emerged again in the most recent survey of more than 6% of the adult population undertaken in 2022 by Pardee-Rand; 63% of respondents reported that quality of life in Sitka was decreased by the much larger tourist numbers in 2022.
How much does congestion and additional heavy vehicle movement cost Sitka residents and business in stress, air pollution, road damage, community cohesion, and town charachter? How can we weigh the economic benefits and the negative impacts, only some of which can be reduced to a dollar value? Can we distigusish between the benefits of cruise ship tourists and independent/small boat tourists? Is the only way to assess citizen wishes toward tourist numbers at the ballot box?
Those who have signed on to this letter would like to see urgent efforts to quantify and characterize both the positive and negative impacts of opening our “arms” to the multitude of cruise ship customers. We believe the community deserves the opportunity to see and act on this information BEFORE the 2024 season schedule is being finalized in October. We do not believe that Sitkans should wait until 2025 to set some initial boundaries on cruise tourism.
Sincerely,
JB, EF, AH, MW, KC, BC, MP, RVDB, JN, KL, GB, KH, BC, LSH, TH, CC, PB, ES, LM, KK, CV, KB, BK, CK, FT, GP, HM, BB, PK
Sitka
Testimonials
“What has happened in Sitka since 2010? We have blown the doors off of infrastructure. We have put in $140 million dam expansion. We built a new hatchery out at Gary Paxton Industrial Park. We put in a new dock at a Gary Paxton Industrial Park. I'm not sure when Silver Bay came online, if that was post 2010, but they may be part of that new infrastructure. We are planning on putting in a new and expanded boat haul out – new infrastructure. We have a new expanded regional hospital – new infrastructure. We have a new Coast Guard presence; we are having a fast response cutter coming in – new infrastructure. Both with the hospital and with the Coast Guard Cutter, we are going to see an increase in our population. We actually took a decrease from 2010 – we're going to go back up. But both of those entities provide year round living-wage jobs, and opportunities for Sitkans to go out and get those jobs. The other thing, we are putting in a new and expanded floatplane dock. We have the new and expanded airport coming down the line – more infrastructure. And then we have a new cruise ship dock – more infrastructure. I've heard rumors that the industry is putting in a new theater on the AML lot – new infrastructure. I've heard AML is moving to the Sportsman's Association – more infrastructure.”
Verbal Testimony of JF, Sitka | January 16, 2024
An open letter from P.R.A, of Sitka – October 20, 2023
Sitka — Too many summer tourists, and no representation at SEARHC Hospital
Giant tour ships have stopped requiring COVID testing and masks. Some tourists bring COVID, RSV and flu or other respiratory infections to Sitka. They have inadequate medical facilities and personnel on these ships.
So the sick tourists come to town and go to the Emergency Room or to Urgent Care. Year-round residents often have to wait hours in the waiting room to be placed in a bay at the Emergency Room. They have to sit for two or three hours, sitting in chairs or wheelchairs in the hall, waiting to be seen – some with life-threatening issues.
I spoke to Fred Reeder about this when I ran into him in Juneau. He said that he was told that some months he received reports that one tourist off ships was admitted to the hospital. This is incorrect.
I believe that to get accurate information, the staff at the SEARHC emergency room must be queried; doctors, nurses and ancillary personnel.
The staff are exposed to so many persons who are sick with COVID, RSV, flu and other respiratory infections that they have contracted these illnesses. That means the remaining staff must work extra hard to very [hard] to keep up with the patient load.
This summer, the SEARHC pharmacy did not have the medicines I needed because tourists depleted the supply. I would have to go back for the meds I needed.
The new SEARHC Hospital will still have only 25 beds.
My immune system will not allow me to go around large crowds of people. So I was stuck at home for most of the summer of 2023, because up to 10,000 visitors would come to Sitka in a day.
Since SEARHC bought the Community Hospital, they have not made any arrangements for the residents of Sitka to have a voice about the hospital. Other SEARHC communities that get their primary care at SEARHC have been allowed to have a community advisory board to help make SEARHC of SEARHC deficiencies.
What could make this better? What concrete steps can be taken to address these problems?
1. Establish a Sitka SEARHC clinic advisory board like many communities served by SEARHC have, to advise SEARHC of problems and issues.
2. Have monthly meetings of the SEARHC advisory board with Emergency Room and Urgent Care staffs (boots on the ground), not just the SEARHC administration, to capture data on number of tourists seen, diagnoses, and whether admitted. We need data to solve this problem.
3. Work with Mr. Fred Reeder, Port Manager of Cruise Line Agencies Alaska, to establish funds for SEARHC to hire extra staff during high tourist months, and to order more drugs for SEARHC Pharmacy to meet patient needs more timely.
4. Put a cap on the number of tourists allowed off cruise ships on Sitka at a time.
Submitted by
P.R.A.
10-20-23