Wrangell discusses and debates lots of issues — some more important than others — on the community Facebook page, at public meetings and at private gatherings. Those differences of opinion are, in a way, a glue that binds the community. People feel better when they are heard.

Which is why everyone in town should participate in the borough’s tourism survey. It’s for our own health, economic and community well-being.

Few issues are as up front and seen as up close as several tens of thousands of visitors walking through town every summer. Few issues are as important to Wrangell’s economy as those tens of thousands of visitors paying sales tax on the goods and services they buy, and the fees that the ships they rode in on pay to the port and harbors fund.

And while business owners, their workers and all the self-employed people who sell goods and services to tourists clearly gain from cruise ship passengers and independent travelers who fly into town, others in the community don’t see it the same way. They see too many people on the sidewalks they want to use, and meandering on the streets they want to drive across.

But grumbling doesn’t help anyone or anything. The borough wants to hear from the community as it continuously improves Wrangell’s tourism planning. The survey asks just a couple dozen short questions, looking to learn how tourism works or doesn’t work for the community, and what direction people think the borough should take in its marketing efforts.

Economic Development Director Kate Thomas says the point is to find a balance that works for residents and provides income to businesses and the borough — remember that 20% of sales tax revenues go to the schools.

The survey is available on the borough’s website under the community tab until at least the end of November and may stay open longer to ensure it collects enough opinions to adequately represent the community.

Todd Montegomery, director of the Tourism Sustainability Lab at Oregon State University, is helping the borough with the survey project. “Our goal of this is to help communities find the right balance, and knowing that’s going to be different for every community,” he said.

Government builds trust by listening to community opinions before making decisions. And sharing constructive opinions before those decisions are made builds a better community. Take the online survey at https://bit.ly/Tourism_Stakeholder_Survey.