The borough is working with the state on a new management agreement for the Petroglyph Beach State Historic Site which would result in the municipality collecting fees from commercial users and putting the money toward improvements at the popular visitor attraction.
Revisions to the 1998 management agreement between the borough and the Division of Parks are being negotiated and could be finished in early June, Preston Kroes, Southeast area superintendent for state parks, said May 21.
“We are modifying the management agreement with Wrangell so that they can collect fees and issue permits,” Kroes said.
The new agreement will not transfer ownership of the property; only the responsibility to issue permits, collect fees and manage the site.
State law requires commercial tour operators that bring visitors to Petroglyph Beach to obtain an annual permit and pay a per-visitor fee since the historic site was designated in 2000. The permit and fee requirements are not unique to the Wrangell property — all commercial operators using a state park or historic site are required to help pay for the upkeep.
But the requirement was never enforced in Wrangell until a complaint in 2023 about tour operators offloading visitors on the beach instead of accessing the site from the road and viewing platform. The complaint alerted state parks personnel to the fact that they had forgotten about the Wrangell site — there are no state parks personnel in town.
Though the parks division tried to enforce the fees the past couple of years, compliance was minimal and only a few tour operators paid for an annual permit and collected the $6 fee from visitors.
The annual permit is $350.
Wrangell can charge less than the state, but not more, Kroes said.
Though the summer visitor season already has started, there will be a transition period before the borough can set up a permit and fee system.
“We would move as efficiently as possible to create a process and structure for permit applications, issuance and fee collection,” as soon as the new management agreement is signed, Borough Manager Mason Villarma said May 21.
Villarma said he is working with Economic Development Director Kate Thomas and Parks and Recreation Director Lucy Robinson to put together a plan for how Wrangell will collect the fees and maintain the site.
Turning over fee collection and management to the borough is “a good solution,” Kroes said, as the state parks agency lacks enough staff to enforce or administer the program in town. Besides, he said, the borough “knows who is doing business,” which will make it easier to keep track of commercial operations.
Under the existing management agreement, Wrangell was responsible for trash pickup and light maintenance at the six-acre site, with the state taking on major improvements. But the borough, tour operators and residents have grown frustrated by the lack of state spending on improvements, such as the viewing platform and parking.
With the new agreement, Wrangell will be fully responsible for upkeep, maintenance and any improvements.
Knowing that the fees will be spent in town, the borough hopes for better compliance from tour operators.
Borough officials have been discussing revisions to the management agreement with the state since last year.
The state parks division recently struck a similar deal with the Haines borough for local management of a state park near downtown Haines, Kroes said.
Statewide, the parks division collects about $5 million a year in fees from commercial tour operators, cabin rentals, campsites and parking fees, but it’s not nearly enough for all the work needed around the state. It’s a competitive process among park advocates to win legislative approval for specific projects.
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