American Cruise Lines visits small towns in the United States, including two ships that call throughout the summer in Wrangell for the past few years now. The company wants to establish more of a long-term relationship with Wrangell, and the city has been negotiating plans with them. Representatives visited the town last month to talk with community members on what a 40-year contract would look like.
These ships in the Connecticut-based company are small, hosting about 170 passengers each. Although only two ships visit Wrangell right now, the company plans to add another ship to the Southeast Alaska route in the near future.
But they say this one, the American Maverick, would be smaller than the other ships, accommodating just 100 people.
Director of Government Affairs, Kristen Meira, describes their travelers as mature, and many with mobility challenges who prefer the smaller ships.
“The ship is not the star of the show,” she said. “The small communities that we visit and where our guests get to come out and interact with you and learn about your communities, that is the star of the itinerary. So nice ships, but communities are more important.”
She said the company promotes community interaction and learning about culture when their tourists step foot in the small towns they visit.
“They really want to know the history; the culture,” Meira said. “They have a deep appreciation for that.”
She emphasized ACL’s commitment to community integration and economic development.
ACL would build the dock, Wrangell would fill in the waterfront for a 40-year lease
If the City and Borough of Wrangell and ACL partner up, the 40-year lease would include a new dock on Wrangell’s waterfront to ensure long-term growth. ACL would pay for the dock, but the city would be in charge of filling in the waterfront. The current cost estimate for 125,000 cubic yards of fill is $2 million.
The dock wouldn’t just be for the cruise line. Meira said that it’s really important the public has access to the dock.
“This is going to be a new, very important public asset on the waterfront, and is designed to encourage community use, and not just cruise line use,” she said.
Borough Manager Mason Villarma said the project would be a step towards developing the waterfront. It would support marine services, seafood production and local employment opportunities.
“Never has there been a time where there’s so many puzzle pieces up in the air on our waterfront,” he said. “I think we have a really great opportunity to develop our waterfront and find many meaningful economic development opportunities.”
If the city and ACL reach an agreement, Wrangell could issue revenue bonds as soon as late this year, or early next year. Villarma said no tax dollars would be involved; bond debt would be covered by revenues from the port.
“We’re authentic here.”
Both Villarma and ACL representatives emphasized the importance of community feedback and the company’s efforts to integrate with local businesses. They said this project will ensure a sustainable and inclusive future for Wrangell.
“We like having the quality of life that we do. We’re authentic here,” Villarma said. “We don’t want to be a Ketchikan, a Juneau, a Sitka. We don’t want to ramrod 1.5 million passengers to this community and ruin everything that we appreciate about it. So I think the fit and the model of ACL is something that I hear from community members, is a good thing for the community.”
Some Wrangellites support the plan, like Dawn Angerman. She and her husband own two retail stores downtown. She said although their stores get better business with the bigger ships, she still supports the smaller ones if both can dock at the same time in Wrangell.
“We’re excited about the proposal,” she said. “We are pro-mixed cruise ships. I would like to see a variety of large ones that we’re getting now, and smaller ones. In my industry, we love the smaller ones. They stay a little bit longer.”
But others have concerns. They worry about the impact of cruise ships on local businesses and the need for a balanced approach, including Brian Herman who owns Canoe Lagoon Oysters.
One resident says ACL’s “buy local, support local” mentality changed
He said for two years he supplied ACL with local oysters and seafood from other local fishermen because they had the buy local, support local mentality.
“The chefs loved them, and at the time, we were just starting to sell crab as well. And they took some crab on the boat, and they loved the crab,” Herman said. “And so it became a weekly thing, and by the end of the season, they wanted oysters on the boat every week.”
But Herman said that changed this year when the cruise line’s purchasing department shifted focus, resulting in communication issues.
“But it won’t be from Wrangell.”
He said he faced difficulties in getting timely responses and orders from the cruise line and their purchasing agent insisted on ordering two days in advance, but that wasn’t enough time to supply an order. Especially with oysters, its testing protocols and the short shrimp season.
He said he told ACL he would need a week’s notice to supply the cruise line, as in previous years.
“His response was, ‘I can get shrimp from wherever. I don’t need to get it from you.’ (He) said, ‘I can get it from Seattle,’” Herman said. “I said, ‘It’s not gonna be the same shrimp.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, I can get it. I’ll get it from Seattle, or I’ll get it from Anchorage.’ I’m like, ‘But it won’t be from Wrangell.'”
He said in the long run, ACL’s not buying local product won’t really cost them jobs, but it’s not going to help the Wrangell economy the way everybody thinks it will, because ACL sells cruise packages. Herman said their guests don’t buy much locally, because everything’s included in their trip.
“They can get salmon from anywhere, that’s right, they can, but it’s not from here,” Herman said. “They say they’re committed to doing it. But obviously their actions are not the same as what their words are.”
The meeting concluded with a commitment to ongoing communication and collaboration to achieve the community’s goals.
The proposal went through the Port Commission, Planning and Zoning Commission, Convention Visitor’s Bureau and Economic Development Board earlier this month for approval. The borough assembly will review it at its July 22 meeting.
