The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday advanced to a second
– and possibly final – public hearing an ordinance scheduling the sale of
borough property, including the primary school property, to Feb. 12.
A request from Community Waste Solutions to increase the rates for
solid rates collection was referred to the government services committee.
In a letter to the borough, Tom Hall, president of Community Waste
Solutions, said his company had contracted with Carson Dorn Inc. of Juneau to study
collection costs in advance of determining how much of an increase he’ll seek.
Collection rates established in 2001 did not reflect increases in the
cost of fuel, power and insurance, Hall said. The company signed a 10-year contract with
the borough in 2001.
The company can’t adjust rates without the assembly’s
approval. The assembly’s government services committee will review the results of the
study and the company’s proposal.
Assembly members on Jan. 8 discussed a recommendation by the planning
commission that the borough lease and not sell the primary school property in order to
maintain control of the land. The commission cited potential future growth of the school.
Alaska Mountain Guides has expressed interest in buying the property,
but not in leasing it.
Assemblywoman Deborah Vogt said she favored the commission’s
recommendation because it’s impossible to know if the borough might need the
property. She added that there "were dozens of ways to convey the property." At
the Jan. 15 meeting, Vogt said borough code allowed the assembly to designate land for
particular use in the terms of sale, and also allowed for a negotiated sale.
Doug Olerud spoke in favor of selling at the Jan. 8 meeting. "The
government can’t control everything forever," he said. The property should be
sold to help repay the borough $350,000 it spent in August 2005 to buy land to expand the
school, he said.
At the Jan. 15 assembly meeting, Vogt said code provisions indicated a
lessee would be required to pay "10 percent of the value of the property in rent
every year," an amount equal to $40,850 in the case of the primary building.
Mayor Shields said at the Jan. 15 meeting that another party had
informally expressed interest in the property, but not in leasing it.
The sale of borough land in Skyline, Four Winds, Big Boulder, Excursion
Inlet, and Chilkat Lake subdivisions will also be up for public comment on Feb. 12 as part
of the same ordinance.
An ordinance to amend borough code to allow migratory bird hunting
within a specific area of the townsite was adopted unanimously on Jan. 15.
Two resolutions allowing the borough to pursue state Department of
Transportation grants for renovations to the Small Boat Harbor, including floats,
utilities, and grid repair, and a boarding float for the sport boat launch at Letnikof
Cove, passed unanimously.
