Tourism, Cordova Center and raw fish tax discussed at town hall meeting

City manager says risks are present but could pay off

Cordova City Manager Alan Lanning speaks to members of the public during a town hall meeting to discuss the 2018 city budget of $10.5 million on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 at the North Star Theatre. Photo by Emily Mesner/The Cordova Times

City Manager Alan Lanning laid out details on the city’s $10.5 million budget for 2018 on Tuesday, Jan. 16 to more than 50 Cordovans gathered at the North Star Theatre to learn more about their community’s financial situation.

Residents also learned that the city’s permanent fund currently holds $8 million, with hopes to raise that amount to $10.5 million. This would provide the city with one year of funding if needed.

Two million dollars of the budget services the city’s debt, which currently stands at $20 million.

The city’s general fund has $5.77 million, one million of which is invested. According to Lanning, last year the city gained 10 percent from their investments.

Lanning spent the hour explaining the budget, along with future plans to bring revenue to Cordova, including the tourism industry.

“I know some of the history of big cruise ships and that’s not a favorable thing,” Lanning said. “But tourism’s really where some dollars come in. You can really make some money doing that, not only for taxes for the government, but for the businesses.”

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One resident, Mark Potvin spoke against bringing tourism into Cordova.

“I don’t think tourism is going to work for us, because you can see what it did to Seward,” he said. “It used to be a rich little fishing town; now it’s ruined. They roll up the sidewalk in the wintertime, there’s no tax. There’s only service jobs.”

There were many questions raised during public comment, including discrepancies in the raw fish tax, which Mayor Clay Koplin provided further insight to.

“The reason we budgeted $400,000 is because that’s what we thought we were actually going to get the first year, but the average is $1.1 million a year, so if you budget $800,000 then over time you should build up some reserves there,” Koplin said. “(We’re) trying to keep those raw fish tax funds at a level where if you have a bad year, then you have some reserves. If you have a good year, you put something in reserves.”

In response to questions regarding expenses of the Cordova Center, Koplin said the city paid only one-fifth of the total cost of the project. Cordova’s portion was $4.5 million compared to the total cost of $30 million.

Lanning also mentioned high profile events have been brought to the Cordova Center by the Cordova Electric Cooperative. Both Lanning and Koplin noted the space is being used extensively.

2018 Action Items:

  • Comprehensive plan review
  • Chapter 4 review: Internal house keeping
  • Chapter 18 review: 16 and 17 to follow
  • Waste oil project 2018 Phase II – system efficiency
  • Reorganize Phase I – system efficiency
  • Marketing event promotion – Phase I: Brainstorming
  • Project development – RV Park
  • Marketing promotion improvements

The new strategic plan increased from the previous 60-page document to nearly 200 pages after four-months of council work sessions.

Lanning noted that for 2017 the main focus was on the budget. This year the focus has shifted to form a new comprehensive plan with the goal of economic stability.

“I think at $10.5 million, given efficiencies and where we’re going, that’s pretty close to a sustainable number,” Lanning said. “You just have to make a choice about how much risk you’re willing to take in order to make improvements to your community.”

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