The Haines Borough has increased occupancy of the assembly chambers, meaning 15 additional residents can squeeze in when elected leaders are addressing hot topics.
Since late last year the borough has been limiting occupancy in the room to 45 people, a restriction that has left members of the public out standing in the hallway. They’ve questioned why the public can’t get in to public meetings.
Borough facilities director Brad Maynard said he thought the room – which has a sprinkler system and two exits – should be able to hold more than 45. “I actually did the calculations from architectural standards and discussions with MRV Architects. What the fire department moved (capacity) to was more realistic for that space.”
The room could accommodate considerably more people without chairs, he said. He said there’s likely to always be occupancy problems. “If we raised the occupancy to 100, 150 people would show up.”
Putting a speaker system in the hall for overflow crowds is a “great idea,” he said. “I could put a P.A. system with a remote mic. That would be a piece of cake.”