On a 5-1 vote, the Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday denied a request by Dave Button to operate a kayak tour in Lutak Inlet.
Button previously sued the borough when it didn’t renew his tour permit. The borough had compiled a long list of complaints about his operation.
On Tuesday, only member Scott Rossman voted against the denial, and he said his vote was a symbolic one for free enterprise, not one for Button. “A lot of people operate a lot of businesses in such a way that’s not ethical. I think it’s the free market that should take care of that, not government.”
Invoking the character Dean Wormer from the movie “Animal House,” member Daymond Hoffman asked how a person like Button could ever again get a permit. “People can fall out of the good graces of the borough. What’s the process of rehabilitating themselves? Is there some kind of double-secret probation they can go on?”
Member Jerry Lapp said there should be a probationary process.Joanne Waterman said she’d support a probationary period, but not one for Button.