Should the Haines Borough suspend its open container ordinance during the annual Great Alaska Craft Beer and Homebrew Festival?

Mayor Jan Hill this week said she and others in the borough office are discussing that idea, following last weekend’s 24th Beer Fest, which occurred without arrests or major problems.

Beer Fest participants, many who travel around town on foot, carry open cans and bottles of alcohol, including while walking along Haines Highway between the festival at the fairgrounds and downtown’s makeshift campsites.

“Do we really want police stopping their cars eight times on that stretch? This would be like a special event permit. We give consideration to special events all the time,” Hill said.

Interim police chief Josh Dryden said this week he would need to consider the idea. “I can see both sides, the negatives and the positives.” Dryden said “not that many” tickets were written for open containers over the weekend. One littering ticket was given when a festival-goer refused to pick up a bottle he discarded.

“Every time (officers) had the chance, they’d educate a person on borough code regarding open containers. They’d encourage people to finish their drink and throw it away. As long as they weren’t breaking (bottles) on the ground, that’s my biggest issue,” Dryden said.

Mayor Hill said the key to improving the event is to make changes as needed, based on what actually happens instead of impressions.

Hill said residents have complained to her about visitors wandering around with open containers, but she is grateful those people are on foot. “They’re very responsible. They park their vehicles and they walk. I appreciate that… I know there are people who feel inconvenienced by Beer Fest, but people have to look at the bigger picture. It’s a huge economic impact to the community.”

Jessica Edwards, who oversees Beer Fest as executive director of the Southeast Alaska State Fair, said a middle route on open containers might be to allow them only in camping areas.

The fair doesn’t promote downtown camping, Edwards said, but allowing open containers might require officially designating such camping areas, as well as adding porta-potties.

Over the weekend, toilets plugged in two restrooms too small for their adjacent tent cities. (The CVN on Saturday counted 133 tents at Tlingit Park, 111 at Fort Seward parade grounds and 38 at Port Chilkoot beach.)

“We’re going to have to designate where people can camp if we’re going to have more bathrooms and allow open containers,” Edwards said.

Residents critical of the festival declined to speak on the record this week, but two mentioned discarded trash as among concerns. Hill said she drove around early Saturday morning and saw very little litter.

Chief Dryden said police responded to reports about public nudity, public urination, loudness and people trying to climb over fences. “None of it was felony crime, but it kept us busy. There were people lying down on sidewalks, and open containers, and stuff like that… We needed more people. It would have been nice to have another four or five (officers) for the weekend.”

There were no arrests and one intoxicated person was taken into custody for disorderly conduct but wasn’t charged, he said.

Dryden said a plainclothes officer in the crowd of 1,700 during Saturday afternoon’s tasting event didn’t find any problems. “Maybe the idea of it kept people from acting in a certain way. I really don’t know.”

Dryden refused to say if the officer “made contacts” with festival-goers. “I’m going to keep that to myself.”

Main Street shop owner Rhonda Hinson said she was worried about her shop’s location between two bars before the festival, but a couple empty beer bottles was all she had to clean up. “That happens pretty much any weekend anything’s going on.”

Hinson said she seems to see more festival-goers are discovering her store. “They’re coming in on a regular basis.”

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