Claiming that city leaders in the Alaska capital of Juneau misspent millions of dollars, the Cruise Lines International Association on Tuesday asked a judge in a court action to stop the city from collecting anymore entry fees.
The association, reports Yahoo News, filed the suit in federal court claiming that building an artificial island with a life-sized humpback whale is an unwarranted expenditure and it seeks a ruling from the judge to prohibit the city from "imposing or collecting the entry fees, in any amount."
The group, representing at least 12 cruise lines including Carnival, Holland America and Disney, contends that the expenditure does not directly benefit cruise passengers and therefore violative of federal estrictions on entry fee taxes.
"The entry fees are only allowed for very narrow uses and they really have to be tied to the ship that the passenger arrives on, not a whale statue a mile away from the dock," John Binkley, president of the Alaska chapter of the association, said in a phone interview.
The Globe and Mail quoted Binkley as saying the city collects $8 in enrty fees from each cruise ship passenger as it also receives funds from a state charge of $5 per passenger.
This all adds up to millions of dollars each year that Juneau officials used to build an artificial island that is connected to town by an elevated walkway. The almost 1.2-hectare island features a humpback rising from a pool arching on its back, but according to the website for the project it was funded by private donations and not from the entry fees.
Central Maine quoted Juneau City Manager Kim Kiefer as saying the city administration is surprised by the lawsuit. "We have a long history of using these fees in what we believe are legal, responsible ways to be used to manage our tourism industry," said Kiefer, who is listed in the lawsuit.
Juneau is not on the state's road system and is accessible only by boat or plane as it lies in the southeast panhandle of Alaska. The city's front-line viewing position to whales and glaciers, and scenic hiking trails make it a vacation hot spot in Alaska. One million cruise ship passengers are expected by the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau to visit in 2016.
