Advocates for the Chilkat Valley Preschool packed the Haines Borough Assembly chambers Tuesday to demonstrate the extent of community support for its current plan to add on to the Haines Senior Center.
Supporters asked the assembly to extend the preschool’s lease, rent-free, for the Human Resources Building until the Senior Center addition comes to fruition and they can move into their new home.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Sierra Jimenez, who sat on a project steering committee that included CVP, borough and senior representatives, asked supporters of the plan to stand in unison, and nearly everyone in the room stood.
“By allowing the Chilkat Valley Preschool to remain in the Human Resource Building for another year rent-free, we can continue to move our plans forward according to the proposed timeline,” Jimenez said. “We’re organized, and we’re committed.”
The assembly voted 6-0 to extend the lease through June 30, 2017.
Assembly member George Campbell, who had been strongly opposed to extending the lease without a solid plan, said he appreciated receiving a budget, timeline and other materials.
Still, he was cautious of extending the lease without a foolproof plan and tried to convince other assembly members to postpone making a decision on the lease extension until June.
Assembly member Margaret Friedenauer did not support postponing the extension, saying the preschool had given the assembly all the information it had sought. Friedenauer said she, too, was initially cool to the idea of adding on to the Senior Center, but has come around.
“I realized very recently, why should I be (reluctant)? The entire community wants it. There is no reason for us not to do this. And I need to do something good. I need to sit up here and do something that the community wants us to do for a change,” Friedenauer said to a whooping round of applause from the audience.
After agreeing to extend the lease rent-free, the assembly voted 5-1 to direct staff to work with the preschool to develop a final design for the senior center addition and a facility management agreement. Member Campbell was opposed.