By Gretchen Wehmhoff
Borough Manager Brad Ryan submitted his resignation to the Skagway Assembly on Sept. 27. His last day will be in the beginning of January 2025.
Ryan accepted the Skagway borough manager position in 2019, starting his tenure on Sept. 1 for a three-year contract.
Ryan took over for then interim manager, Stan Selmer who had taken over for interim manager Tom Healy in 2019. Prior to Healy, Scott Hahn had the permanent position until he left for a position in Rifle,Colorado in the summer of 2018.
Current Deputy Borough Manager Emily Deach and treasurer Heather Rodig worked together to fill in the empty positions. Deach took on the part-time challenge three times while maintaining her job as then borough clerk. Deach has expressed interest in the position.
Skagway Borough Code allows for the assembly to appoint a new manager without formal advertising or a minimum of candidate applicants, although some of those methods such as in person interviews and search committees have been used in the past decade. Ryan was in a final group of six applicants in 2019.
Prior to arriving in Skagway, Ryan was often the interim city manager in Haines. Coming to Skagway was timely.
Within six months of arriving, the COViD 19 pandemic threw the cruise industry, Skagway and the world into a spiral. Coming out of the pandemic, Ryan negotiated completion of the end of a 55-year lease with White Pass & Yukon Route. On the tail of the lease was an angry cliff prone to slides above the Railroad Dock. He worked through the future of Dahl Memorial Clinic and a $65 million bond to update Ore dock and the marine services area. Of course, the new floating Ore dock literally fell apart on the way to Skagway, but Ryan also managed to work with parties to get the dock to Skagway a week before the first ship was to tie up. And that was only the last five years.
“Manager Ryan led Skagway through two potentially catastrophic events but, in my opinion, his greatest accomplishments were modernizing local government and maximizing staff morale while maintaining the highest ethical standards,” said former mayor, Andrew Cremata.
The order of replacing Ryan will be on the next assembly agenda and will most likely discuss reviewing the job description and salary, which has not been updated in years.
In his letter to the assembly Ryan supported Deach as the next borough manager.
“I am in full support of Emily Deach assuming the manager position. She is more than qualified,” said Ryan in an email.
Assemblymember Orion Hanson agrees.
“We certainly know who Emily is, as in her capability. She’s been quietly running our government for a long time, with tremendous intelligence and objectivity. Just her ability to negotiate all the different paths of government – it’s always impressed me,” Hanson said.
He believes that Deach’s familiarity with the staff and City Hall will work well with employee morale and productivity.
Of course, it is still up to the assembly to make the decision.
Ryan has taken a position with the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward. He starts in early January.
