A second company has expressed interest in operating Haines’ cruise ship dock but says it has not yet received a response from the borough.
The status of the municipal facility has been hotly debated since April, when Global Ports Holding, a cruise terminal management company, expressed interest in leasing and operating the facility.
Now, Huna Totem Corporation, Hoonah’s Native village corporation which operates multiple cruise ports around the state, has followed suit, expressing competing interest.
Huna Totem Vice President Susan Bell, a former Haines resident and tourism director, contacted mayor Tom Morphet by text two weeks ago.
“I told Tom if you’re interested in discussing what an arrangement might look like with Huna Totem, we’re developing dock infrastructure in the region and I’m happy to introduce you to our CEO,” Bell said in an interview Tuesday.
Nothing, it appears, has come of the message. Bell said she’s still waiting on a response from borough officials.
Borough manager Alekka Fullerton said she had nothing to respond to because she didn’t feel like she had been contacted.
“They would have to broach it with me,” she said Wednesday. “I’m not in the habit of responding to people without knowing they’ve asked me anything. Tom [Morphet] can respond.”
Morphet said Wednesday that he would be open to responding, but had been waiting on a proposal.
“We’re the government, we respond to people when they make specific proposals to us,” he said. “If folks think they can manage our dock in a way that’s advantageous both to them and to us, it’s up to them to make us a proposal.”
If Huna Totem is considered for a potential deal, it would be a more known entity in the region than Global Ports, which does not yet operate in Alaska. Meanwhile, Huna Totem operates cruise ship ports at Icy Strait Point, Klawock, Whittier, and a development on Douglas Island that is nearly complete.
“I think people can see our track record in Alaska and in very different communities,” Bell said. “We’ve learned some lessons in Hoonah about how such a small community can build infrastructure to handle the cruise volume.”
The regional pedigree could be significant, given that preserving local control and character has been one concern raised by community members in debate over the potential Global Ports deal.
Bell argued that Huna Totem would bring an ability to manage development in a way that would be “compatible with the community.”
“There’s respect and care needed in small communities, that the voice of residents is respected. That’s something Huna Totem has developed” she said. “Doing tourism development in your home requires building that skill and working at it.”
At the same time, community members have also raised the company’s Icy Strait Point facility as a warning case of overdevelopment.
But currently, it’s hard to evaluate any side of the debate without any formal offers on the table. On top of the lack of contact between Huna Totem and the borough, the borough has asked for, but not yet received any actual offer from Global Ports.