The assembly unanimously voted to raise annual boat launch fees for Wrangell’s harbors at the Oct. 22 meeting. The fees — which have remained stagnant for years — now mirror other Southeast towns’ equivalent fees.
The annual launch permit for those with a boat stall will increase from $28 to $35. For those without a stall, the fee will increase from $55 to $70. Per the borough’s figures, the average annual Southeast launch fee for those without a stall is just over $74.
The borough is also eliminating the commercial launch permit category that is currently $150.
All changes will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
The reason for the increases is simple: The borough wants to be able to afford boat ramp replacement, addition and maintenance projects. According to Borough Manager Mason Villarma, the borough’s current rate structure does not cover such costs.
Despite initial reservation at the assembly meeting on Oct. 8, Assembly Member Bob Dalrymple, on Oct. 22, said that taking care of the launch ramps is “really good rationale” for the rate increases.
“When folks talk to me,” Dalrymple said, “the most common desire is improvement for our boat launch ramps. This is hitting that need. I hope people really understand the increase will go to improving those. They’re heavily used.”
In the borough’s 2024 fiscal year — which ended on June 30 — launch fees brought in $12,876. After the fee increases next year, the borough projects launch fees will bring in over $30,000 by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.
The 1950 federal Dingell-Johnson Act provides grant money for recreational boating projects, including construction and maintenance of launch ramps. The funding comes from taxes on sport fishing gear, boats and marine fuels.
However, to receive the funding, Villarma said Wrangell would need to provide 25% of a project’s total cost. The increase of launch fees, according to the borough’s projections, would help to cover this cost.
Villarma said the borough is exploring building a second ramp at Heritage Harbor and commented that the cost of building the ramp “40 years from now, would be significantly higher,” emphasizing the necessity of increasing the fees to help fund the project as quickly as possible.
To see that the proceeds are spent as intended, he suggested the borough place funds within what’s called a restricted balance within the ports and harbor fund — which currently sits at around $3 million.
Assembly members also discussed increasing the fee by $5 once per decade to ensure the fees remain in line with inflation. Doing so would ensure the harbor fees continue to provide the borough with adequate spending power to maintain the launch ramps. The assembly took no action on future rate hikes.
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