By choosing to violate the conditions of the permit they signed, Scott Sundberg and Nick Trimble of SEABA lost their credibility. Their words and signatures can no longer be trusted. They demonstrated their disrespect not only for the law, but for the public process, the borough assembly, and the citizens who in good faith participated in that process. Likewise, the Haines Chamber of Commerce lost its credibility when it named SEABA its business of the year. By rewarding a company that willfully violated the law, the Chamber is celebrating its disrespect for the law.
While Dave Button inspires self-righteous indignation with his requests for a borough tour permit, his fellow permit violators at SEABA are celebrated. The public should be able to expect all players to follow the rules of the game. When a player purposefully violates the rules, he is ejected from the game for some period of time. SEABA has forfeited their right to play the game. Assuming Alaska Heli Skiing is playing by the rules, they might be interested in acquiring SEABA’s skier days for the 2011 season.
Katey Palmer