The forced resignation of Eaglecrest Ski Area’s general manager is prompting concerns about whether the resort will be ready for operations during the coming ski season as well as future projects such as a gondola, with a group circulating a petition demanding answers from Eaglecrest’s board of directors and city leaders.
Dave Scanlan, Eaglecrest’s general manager since 2017, resigned last week at a request from the board that he described as a “shock.” His resignation is effective as of June 3 and the petition published online Tuesday declares it is “trying to collect as many signatures to this document before next week’s Eaglecrest board meeting on June 6.”
“Knowledgeable Eaglecrest advisors are concerned that Eaglecrest is already falling behind permitting, engineering and construction deadlines required to open the gondola in 2025,” the petition states. “Further, knowledgeable users suspect that mission critical equipment, lifts and snowmaking repair and maintenance and securing seasonal employees will not be done in time for the 2024-25 ski season.”
The petition had 267 signatures as of 9 a.m. on Friday.
The listed petitioners are Bruce Garrison, Dave Hanna, Gary Stambaugh, Rick Harris, Bruce and Mary Frances Griggs, Chuck Orsborn, Dave Audet, Mark Schultz, and Scott and Betsy Fischer.
“It was a total group effort and no one person can claim authorship,” the petition notes. “Collectively this group represents over 565 years of skiing at Eaglecrest and includes past Eaglecrest board members, one board president, former ski patrollers, mountain operations crew advisors, and ski instructors. Many in the group have skied at Eaglecrest every year since it first opened in 1975.”
While it’s understandable people are nervous about the sudden leadership change at Eaglecrest, the resort’s budget that’s about to be finalized for the coming year and general operating plans remain on track, said Juneau Assembly member Christine Woll, the Assembly’s liaison to Eaglecrest’s board and chair of the Assembly’s Finance Committee.
“(The board’s) vision has been clearly communicated for some time in terms of what their priorities are for Eaglecrest and I have gotten no indication that any of those are changing,” she said in an interview Thursday.
City Manager Katie Koester, in a written response to the group’s petition, stated the city “remains committed to Eaglecrest Summer and Winter operations,” including a budget for the fiscal year starting July that includes “a $508,000 loan to help with winter operations and provide employees with a 6% raise.”
Among the specific concerns cited in the petition are the lack of explanation for asking for Scanlan’s resignation and potential difficulty in finding his successor.
“Based on Eaglecrest’s previous experience, recruiting Eaglecrest’s GM can be a difficult and lengthy process,” the petition states. “Further, the circumstances of the previous GM’s resignation will be a red flag to potential candidates.”
Furthermore, the petitioners state, “the City Manager and Assembly have not advised the public if they were aware of the (Eaglecrest board’s) action and if they endorse or oppose the action. The City Manager and Assembly’s silence relegates the (board) to be the public’s scapegoat.”
Koester, in her message, replied that while the Eaglecrest board has independent authority in management and operational decisions, she has an advisory role and “the Eaglecrest board met their obligation under this section of code and kept me informed.”
“I have full confidence that the Eaglecrest board will be professional and thorough in their search for a new General Manager and use the support of CBJ Human Resources to ensure a successful hire,” she wrote.
Attempts Thursday to reach Eaglecrest Board Chair Mike Satre for comment were unsuccessful.
Scanlan, in an interview last Thursday after announcing his resignation, said the arrangement will allow him to return to lead or assist training at the resort for its snowmaking operations during the coming winter season.
Eaglecrest is also in a transition period to more active year-round operations, with the installation of a gondola by the summer of 2026 a foundational part of the project. The gondola has been a subject of ongoing controversy due to escalating costs, an agreement with Goldbelt Inc. which is providing $10 million for installation in exchange for a share of revenue for at least 25 years, and potential impacts of large numbers of summer visitors on the mountain.
An update about the gondola by Eaglecrest’s board, Goldbelt and the project manager for the city is scheduled at the Juneau Assembly’s Committee of the Whole meeting on June 15, according to Koester.
“At that time we will have better cost estimates, timelines, and responses to a request for an owner representative that can represent Eaglecrest’s needs for the project (all actions that were in motion before Mr. Scanlan’s resignation),” she wrote. “From a project management perspective, nothing about this project has changed – it remains a CBJ Engineering project managed by one of the City’s most competent engineers who has experience installing Eaglecrest infrastructure.”
The petitions, among their requests seeking reassurances, state such entities “should hold frequent public meetings to provide progress reports, remedial actions if delays are expected and assurances that the City Manager and Assembly are committing resources to ensure the Eaglecrest operating season and construction schedule are met.”
Woll said whatever happens with Eaglecrest’s leadership and operations going forward, the process will be deliberative and public.
“I’ll just remind people that the pace of government is slow and there’s a reason for that,” she said. “It’s because we like to be careful and include public process, and make sure people aren’t meeting in secret. And so sometimes people want an immediate reaction, immediate response, and that’s not always the way government works for better or for worse. And so again I understand why people have these questions, and want more transparency and want more communication. And that is the intent of the Assembly, it’s the intent of Eaglecrest and if it’s not happening immediately that’s just because these things take a little time.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
