I dig into questions about the forces and institutions that shape Juneau, big and small, delightful and outrageous. What stirs you up about how Juneau is built and how the city works?
The Norwegian Bliss, the first large cruise ship of the 2022 season, arrives in Juneau on April 25, 2022. (Photo by Paige Sparks/KTOO)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that as of Monday, its COVID-19 program for cruise ships is no longer in effect.
All of the major cruise lines had voluntarily enrolled in the program. They agreed to report to the CDC daily counts of confirmed or suspected cases aboard each of their ships operating in U.S. waters, and to follow CDC protocols for reducing the risk of transmission and managing outbreaks on board.
On its website, the CDC says cruise lines will continue reporting case counts to the agency, but the CDC will no longer share each ship’s COVID status.
Until Monday, the CDC had been publishing a daily color-coded status indicating COVID risk aboard each ship. The system was imprecise, potentially grouping ships with a handful of cases in the same category as ships with hundreds.
On its website, the CDC now says cruise travelers can contact their cruise lines directly about outbreaks during their trips. Earlier this summer, travelers said cruise lines kept them in the dark during their cruises as COVID outbreaks spread on board.
Cruise lines participating in the CDC program also had to sign agreements with the port communities they visit. The agreements lay out more protocols for reducing risk and managing outbreaks, with an eye on the impact that outbreaks could have on those communities. For example, the port agreements in Southeast Alaska say cruise passengers or crew members requiring hospitalization from COVID are supposed to go to Seattle for treatment.
In Juneau, Deputy City Manager Robert Barr learned about the CDC’s change after a KTOO reporter called seeking comment. Barr wasn’t certain but says he thinks the port agreements will remain in effect.
The website Cruise Critic reports that the reaction on its message boards was mostly positive, and that Cruise Line International Association welcomed the development.
Eaglecrest Ski Area General Manager Dave Scanlan was at a ski area called Galsterberg in Austria in April 2022 to inspect this gondola system. Eaglecrest bought the system, which is expected to arrive in Juneau in September. (Photo courtesy of Dave Scanlan/Eaglecrest Ski Area)
Kristen Strom, the marketing and events manager at Eaglecrest Ski Area, said workers in Austria finished loading the last shipping container with parts of the disassembled system on Friday. She said the system should arrive in Juneau in early September.
Eaglecrest General Manager Dave Scanlan has been sharing updates about the process from Austria, where he’s been overseeing the system’s disassembly and loading since June 26. In a written report last week, Scanlan told the Eaglecrest board that the final shipping bill may come in well under the quoted price of $845,000.
Scanlan is expected back in Juneau on Monday night.
Meanwhile, city officials are negotiating a design and engineering services contract with Northwind Architects for the gondola system. Northwind was the only firm to respond to the city’s contract request last month.
Scanlan said Northwind’s tentative timeline, plus the tight market for labor and materials, means the actual construction and installation would begin in the summer of 2023 and be finished the following summer.
More technical work must be done before Eaglecrest’s leadership can decide where specifically on the mountain the gondola will go. But the preferred path calls for a loading station at the current lodge, a midway station to load and unload near Cropley Lake, and a summit house on Pitman’s Ridge.
The ski area’s leadership thinks an enclosed lift of this kind will open up more terrain to winter users and let Eagelcrest expand activities in the summer. They say those summer activities will put the city-owned enterprise on a path to financial sustainability.
