Haines Borough Mayor and assembly candidates differed on policing outside the townsite and Tier 3 designation for the Chilkat River at a Wednesday forum at Mosquito Lake School Community Center.
Incumbent Mayor Jan Hill and opponent Joanie Wagner, as well as assembly candidates Michael Fullerton, Sean Maidy, Diana Lapham and Brenda Josephson answered questions from community members up the highway. Assembly candidates Andrew Gray and Stephanie Scott did not attend the meeting.
Resident Ron Weishahn asked if the candidates were in favor of a Tier 3 designation. The state is still working out its process to review applications and grant Tier 3 status.
Hill said she was not in favor of a Tier 3 designation because Alaska rivers are already protected under Tier 2 status.
“I think Tier 3 is extreme,” Hill said. She said she supports responsible mining and thinks Constantine Metal Resources, the exploration company working in the valley, is being responsible.
Alternatively, Wagner said the river “definitely needs” Tier 3 protection. She said although Constantine is being responsible, they are only “temporary stakeholders.”
“But we don’t know who they’re going to sell it to,” Wagner said.
Lapham and Josephson said they were against Tier 3 protection, while Maidy and Fullerton support it.
Lapham said a Tier 3 designation might have a far-reaching impact on more than just the fishing industry, and said she was not in favor “at this time.”
Josephson said it’s important to slow down and think clearly through “something of permanence” like a Tier 3 designation. She said Haines residents she talked to who support the protection do so as a way to stop a potential mine.
“But what are the other effects?” Josephson asked.
Maidy said he is a big fan of Tier 3 because it prevents future mass discharges of harmful materials into the water. He said although agencies allow for an “acceptable” amount of chemicals to enter the waterway, it’s still polluting the river. “Water is our way of life,” he said. “(The mine) needs to adapt to what we decide.”
Fullerton said he loves the idea of well-paying jobs coming into the valley through the mining industry, but is supportive of Tier 3 protection. He said 97 percent of jobs in the mining industry are becoming automated. “The jobs that we’re thinking about are a fantasy,” Fullerton said. He also noted that there are already record low harvests of sockeye salmon.
Resident Scott Visscher asked the candidates their opinion on policing in the borough, which has been heavily discussed by the assembly and the public safety committee.
“I think we need to pull back and address it slowly,” said Hill. “Haines has lived without a state trooper.”
Wagner said she also wants to pull back and examine data about the number and type of calls that are coming from outside the townsite.
Lapham also said a slower process is better, but the crux of the issue lies with the voices in the upper valley and it is vital that they are heard.
Josephson said government should expand services based on need, but she hasn’t heard that there is a need out the road. She felt that the proposition of a boroughwide service area was inequitable.
Maidy said “I’ve heard adamantly no” that police patrols are needed out the highway, but that people do want emergency services. He said he thinks the borough should wait about six months following normal procedure without a trooper and track the data.
Fullerton wanted more urgency than the other candidates, saying it was “irresponsible” to put the brakes on the issue.
“We all should be serviced by the police department in this community. The only question is how to pay for it…When someone calls for help, I don’t want the wheels of bureaucracy to start turning.”
The candidates also briefly discussed the solid waste issue, how to make borough proceedings more efficient, heliskiing and the recent Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife studies, divisiveness after the recall effort and heroes in Haines.