Slick marketing is pervasive in our society. Unfortunately, the Ports and Harbors Committee (and other borough entities) are now using this approach in selling our dock project to the community. This lack of transparency is seriously interfering with our community’s ability to make informed decisions on critical issues.
It’s misleading to call a new, industry-driven scheme to build an ore terminal here “Phase 3” of our community dock repair project. Constructing an ore facility at Lutak is not simply an add on to our long-needed and uniformly-supported effort to repair our dock. To hide the impacts of the ore terminal and its associated haul road (Haines Highway) under the cover of the dock repair is a disservice to our community and its future.
I ask our officials to be more forthright and label the so-called Phase 3 of the dock project for what it actually is: Phase 1 of a new, separate, and community-changing ore facility project.
As we know from Skagway’s experience, there will be huge and lasting impacts from the transport and transfer of toxic ores on our highway, through our town and along our shoreline. There will be lots of new and critical questions and concerns for the public to carefully scrutinize before moving forward. And there will be lots of community stakeholder groups (highway and town residents, fishermen, etc.) whose voices will need to be heard.
George Figdor