Following a confrontation between two residents and a Haines Borough employee last week, manager Bill Seward is looking to implement a new security entrance at the borough administration building where visitors would need to be buzzed in.
Seward directed facilities maintenance technician Ed Bryant to sketch drawings for the redesigned entrance, which would involve separate doors for borough employees and visitors. Employees would be able to key in a code to their door, while visitors would be greeted by a person behind a tall counter in a small waiting room area before being buzzed in, Seward said.
“It will enhance our physical security of the building and give us a chance to assess if any one of our customers are agitated and need to be dealt with a little bit differently, perhaps, than anybody else,” he said.
The greeter will have a protocol for dealing with agitated people and a panic button that will automatically alert police.
On June 29, residents Paul Nelson and Sue Waterhouse met with planning and zoning technician Tracy Cui during an appointment about the Small Boat Harbor expansion project.
“(Cui) relayed – or alleged – that (Nelson) and (Waterhouse) said that they were going to contact her new employer and tell them how bad of a job she has been doing here in the borough. So, given the fact that they were threatening her well-being in the workplace, we called the police and had the police respond,” Seward said.
Seward told interim chief Josh Dryden he wanted Nelson and Waterhouse banned from the administration building until Cui left the job on July 1 for a position in Washington.
Dryden issued a verbal “no trespassing” order to Nelson and Waterhouse, but said based on his discussions with Cui, the conduct didn’t rise to the level of criminal threats or harassment.
“If the borough administration feels that somebody is being disruptive to borough employees, they have every right – in my opinion – to tell them they can’t be in there,” Dryden said.
When asked why Nelson and Waterhouse’s behavior qualified as “threatening,” Seward acknowledged it was more like “bullying.”
“Even that kind of conduct I don’t tolerate,” he said. “If folks want to come here to the borough, they need to be professional and behaved. They come in here to bully or intimidate or threaten, it won’t be tolerated. We’ll deal with it very decisively and immediately.”
Waterhouse said she and Nelson have consulted with an attorney and have been advised not to comment publicly. Nelson did not return multiple calls for comment.
Deputy borough clerk Krista Kielsmeier sits at the current entrance to the borough office and is often in charge of greeting visitors. Kielsmeier said she doesn’t feel physically unsafe in the office, but aggressive complaints come about once a week, including over the phone.
“I think the danger of the redesigned entrance is it is just going to antagonize people further when you try to turn them away from a public building, especially a public building where people often enter in a very agitated mood,” she said.
While attending government conferences, other municipal employees talking about their interactions with the public reinforced Kielsmeier’s belief that dealing with irritated or angry residents is just par for the course.
“Getting yelled at is my least favorite part of the job, but it’s expected when working in government,” Kielsmeier said.
Interim chief Dryden said he thinks redesigning the entrance to be more secure is “a great idea.”
“I don’t think anybody should just be able to walk in there and go wherever they want,” Dryden said. “In most other areas of our country the administrative buildings in municipalities have some sort of security, some sort of barrier that keeps people out that have no legitimate reason to be in there.”
Dryden said he sees the redesign as a sign of the times. “I know it’s Haines, but Haines is changing,” he said. “I think less people are probably leaving their doors unlocked.”
Seward said the redesign is contingent on the availability of funds, but he hopes it can be completed internally without contracting out any of the work. “I’d like to try to do it as frugally as possible,” he said.
Seward said that based on his discussions with borough staff, last week’s incident with Cui was not the first – or worst – encounter that employees have had to deal with in the administration building.
“The one thing I do want folks to understand is they can’t come in here and act that way,” he said. “They need to respect those who are in public service and understand they have a tough job, and they are doing it the best that they can.”
Former planner Cui, reached in Sammamish, Wash., this week, said she didn’t think changes like a holding room were needed here.
“I don’t think it’s necessary for such a small town,” she said.
Cui also said conversations that start friendly can become contentious, and it is impossible to know how citizens are going to treat public officials.
“People can be nice to the police but a (jerk) to me. People act different to different people,” she said.