Hill addresses youth,
gas pipeline issues

By Tom Morphet

The Haines Borough needs to plan for the potential influx of workers who would move here for jobs related to a natural gas pipeline, mayor Jan Hill said during a talk to a dozen residents last week at the Sheldon Museum.

“I don’t want us to be behind the eight ball and have 200 people moving to Haines and we have no place for them… I want to provide services the minute they’re needed. Of all the times planning is needed, this is it,” Hill said.

Hill said the state has provided no timeline for the duration or start of work, but said that before shipment begins, years of upgrades would be necessary for the Haines Highway to handle increased loads.

In an interview after her talk, Hill also spoke on a range of issues. She said the community was “generally in denial” about a youth crime problem and that she and manager Tom Bolen would be reviewing the borough’s pay scale to make sure the town can compete for qualified workers.

Hill said she has seen school survey results showing high levels of drug and alcohol use by youths.

“Parents, I don’t think, view it the same way. We can’t fix a problem if we deny it exists. A lot of people don’t see it as a problem unless it’s their house or business that’s the one getting broken into. Getting the community to acknowledge this is a problem is the first step,” Hill said.

During her presentation to residents, Hill said Haines is at the top of the list of communities for trans-shipment of pipe for a natural gas pipeline, and just unloading a ship full of sections would take as much as three weeks.

“We will have good-paying jobs for Haines people to be able to stay here, and maybe for some of our people who had to leave town to find work to be able to come home,” she said.

Combined with harbor expansion work and interest from Canadian mines to ship ore through town, the town’s economic outlook is brightening, she said. “To me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s very encouraging.” Programs will be available to train residents for pipeline jobs, she said.

Because transfer of the Lutak Army tank farm is at least six years out, it’s unlikely to be usable for initial pipeline work, Hill said, and immediate improvements will need to be made to the borough’s Lutak Dock.

On borough wages, Hill said compensation may have to be increased for positions, including that of harbormaster, especially if duties are enlarged. “We’re fully aware of low wages, and that needing attention. We’re going to be looking at that throughout the borough. We need a careful review of salaries.”

Scant turnout at a recent downtown planning meeting was “very unfortunate,” Hill said. “I would have hoped to have seen every person with a vested interest in downtown at that meeting.”

Planning shouldn’t be do “to” people, but “with” them, she said, and it needs to be flexible. “Any time we’re planning, we need as many good ideas and good people that we can get. Planning is going to be critical to everything we do.”

The mayor said she has heard only support for a community fitness center, but she’s waiting for results of a survey before saying what role the borough government should play. “All the feedback I get is support, and that the borough should be involved. I haven’t heard anybody tell me, ‘We don’t need to do this.’”

Hill said she didn’t see a direct borough role in addressing the problems of youth delinquency, other than police work and supporting programs like a Chilkoot Indian Association project aimed at steering youths to better choices. The $400,000, grant-funded project will run five years.

Programs for youths don’t work unless youths are involved in developing them, she said. North Tide Dancers, a new Native music group, has attracted some youths, but not all young people want to be drummers or dancers, she said. “We have to provide choices to our kids that are realistic.”

Hill serves on the Chilkoot Indian Association board of directors and is vice-president of the tribe. She also serves on the board of the Haines Chamber of Commerce. She was elected in October. She also served one year as borough mayor eight years ago, when Haines had separate city and borough governments.