While many are thankful 2020 has come to an end, it does not necessarily mean an end to 2020's problems. Wrangell, like many other communities around the world, has struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainties. With the start of the new year, city officials, businesses and other community members are looking toward 2021 with cautious optimism.
"I think it's going to be a very mixed bag, to be quite honest with you," said city Economic Development Director Carol Rushmore. "There's a lot of promise moving forward into 2021, but it's going to take time. How much time, that is the big unknown right now."
An October 2020 survey by Rain Coast Data showed that many industries across Wrangell suffered. Revenues for 2020, collected from 114 responding businesses, were on average down 50% compared to the same period in 2019. The tourism industry was hit the hardest, reporting a 77% decline.
Rushmore said a lot of how 2021 goes will depend on the COVID-19 vaccine, and how the pandemic continues. She said she is hopeful for things to be safe enough for a tourism season this summer, but that will depend on many factors outside of Wrangell.
Locally, she said the economy is going to take a while to recover. She compared the economic hits of COVID-19 to the sawmill closing in 1994. That was a hard blow that took years to bounce back from, she said, but eventually things improved. Though the mill closure and the pandemic are two very different situations, there are some similarities that the city is looking at, Rushmore said.
"It's a different situation, completely, but there can be some correlations about recovery on that," she said. "That's kind of what we're trying to look into. ... There are so many unknowns still, but there's a lot of promise as well."
Rain Coast Data's survey showed a roughly 50% decline in revenue for the fishing and maritime industries. Wrangell fisherman Mike Lockabey said he anticipates some improvement in his line of work, but is not expecting too much. Last year's crab harvest was very good, he said, but crab prices were down by half. The 2020 salmon season was also rough.
Lockabey said 2021 could see some improvements to crab and salmon prices, depending on the markets and catch sizes. He said he doubts it will be enough to fully recover from 2020, but any improvement is good.
"Compared to 2020 I think it will be a little better," he said.
Retail and wholesale businesses saw a reported 49% decline in revenues. Marlin Benedict, with Ottesen's True Value, said Wrangell was blessed to have seen such limited cases of COVID-19. As for the future outlook for the community, he said the only option is to hope for the best.
Lisa Messmer, of Buness Bros., said their business had ridden out 2020 mostly unscathed. She had not looked at their books, she said, but business seemed to do OK for the most part, though she shares the sentiment of other community members hoping for a better future.
Food and beverage services saw a reported 35% decline in revenue, according to Rain Coast Data. Aaron Powell and Jennifer Ludwigsen, of Totem Bar & Liquor, said they are mainly just hoping to avoid shutting down because of a response to the pandemic. They have faced lost business, but Ludwigsen said they were extremely thankful for Wrangell locals and their regular customers who are still coming by and supporting them.
Clarissa Young, with burger eatery J&Ws, said they saw a decrease in business throughout the year. However, numbers were really ticking upward for December and January. They were really thankful for local support through the year, she said.
"The only part of 2020 that was hard was the lack of tourism," she said. "We hope for the best for 2021."
Another area of the Wrangell community looking to the future is the nonprofit sector. Lt. Jon Tollerud, of the Salvation Army, said they are actually in a comparatively good position to offer aid to people in 2021 due to a proactive approach they took in 2020, he said, as well as the generosity of the public.
"We spent the entire year ensuring that 2,500 people would have two meals a day for a year," he said. "That was our goal with what we purchased and what we were ready for. What we gave out was not even a quarter of that. The community upped their giving, as well, both within the pantry and financial donations to ensure that people were still being able to be taken care of."
He added, "We saw quite a big swing toward the positive, which is unprecedented in Wrangell to start with, and definitely not something you expect during a time of great need like we experienced."
The Salvation Army' goal for the year is to be prepared for three hot meals a day to 2,500 people, Tollerud said. All in all, he is excited to see what the new year could bring, but is remaining cautious.
"I don't want to say we're not cautiously optimistic, because we're always cautiously optimistic, but I think this year we're kind of taking a bit more of a risk with some of our programs, because we want people to realize that the Salvation Army is here for them in every capacity," he said. "You don't just have to be in need to stop by the Salvation Army."
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