Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell will make a social call to Haines Tuesday for a half-day visit, including stops at the American Bald Eagle Foundation and Haines School.
He will visit Ketchikan before stopping in Haines, and then head to Skagway Tuesday afternoon before returning to Juneau. Parnell is seeking re-election in 2014.
Parnell’s press secretary, Sharon Leighow, said the governor will attend an eagle feeding demonstration at the foundation at 10:30 a.m. and have lunch with students at noon.
Parnell also will meet with manager Mark Earnest and Mayor Stephanie Scott, though those meeting times have not yet been finalized, Leighow said.
The secretary described Parnell’s trip as a “community visit.” He won’t be holding public sessions, though the public can attend the eagle feeding.
Assembly member Debra Schnabel, who will also meet with Parnell Tuesday morning, said a member of Parnell’s press team called to make the one-on-one appointment. Schnabel said if members of the public want her to ask Parnell any specific questions, they can contact her and she will pass queries.
“I think a better way for the governor to come to Haines is to come to the Chilkat Center and sit on the stage and answer questions,” Schnabel said.
Scott said she has several points she wants to raise with Parnell, including his commitment to maintaining municipal revenue sharing in the state’s budget. Scott would also like to hammer home the importance of the ferry system to Haines.
“I want him to understand that it’s not an optional method of transportation for us and that we really require it to be reliable and dependable, and (need it to be) kept in a state of repair and replacement,” she said.
If there’s time, Scott said she would like to take Parnell on a tour of the borough’s sewage treatment plant, which has recently drawn complaints due to its overpowering odor. “That would be wonderful if he would be able to help us fund an upgrade or full-on replacement of that critical infrastructure.”