A dispute between tour operators and lodge owners Fred and Sue Folletti about the use of Chilkoot River Road which flared last summer hasn’t gone away.
Some tour operators are questioning a Haines Borough request that they not pull over in front of the Follettis’ lodge there. Borough officials, including police chief Gary Lowe, made the request at a preseason meeting with tour companies.
“We’re asking them not to stop and park there,” said borough clerk Julie Cozzi, describing the zone as between the bridge turnoff and the Follettis’ property. “We’re not enforcing anything. We’re asking for voluntary compliance.”
The Follettis brought the issue to the borough, asking that the municipality’s “code of conduct” for tour operators be enforced in front of their property, Cozzi said. Sue Folletti this week said she had no comment on the matter.
The code, signed by tour operators, includes”to not impede the flow of traffic unreasonably,” including not stopping in the roadway, and “to be responsive to public concerns brought to our attention regarding the conduct of our operations on public land and rights-of way.”
Prohibiting stopping at the spot, however, would represent a big change, tour operator Dan Egolf recently wrote the borough. “The area that was proposed to eliminate only commercial parking is right across from what has been called ‘Bear Bend’ and has been used commercially for bear viewers for over 20 years that I’m personally aware of,” Egolf e-mailed the borough May 17.
Egolf wrote that three other tour operators besides himself “are not at all keen on losing any public parking spots along the river… A meeting of those businesses that stand to lose from this proposed regulation is of the utmost importance,” Egolf wrote.
Park ranger Preston Kroes is waiting to hear back on an inquiry to the state Department of Transportation’s right-of-way officials, asking if they would be involved in the discussion and whether vehicles stopping there is a concern for them.
Kroes said it’s technically illegal to stop on a public roadway and block traffic, but he also understands buses have been stopping there for years and operators are trying to make a living.
“We’re trying to solve this through the borough or a gentlemen’s agreement. What it may come down to is more of a gentlemen’s agreement between the Follettis and the tour operators that they won’t do it or they’ll keep it to a minimum,” Kroes said.
Cozzi said the conflict also potentially raises a question of whether the borough’s tour permits can restrict activities on state lands.