KHNS asks assembly for funding
KHNS has requested $20,000 from the borough assembly in the wake Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget vetoes that eliminate funding for public radio.
The public radio station is down $74,876 this fiscal year in a cut that station manager Kay Clements told the assembly will be “particularly difficult for us.”
“We started making cuts immediately, releasing two long‐held part‐time positions, one of which is the early morning host; we are changing programming distributors in an effort to find better deals; we are incorporating several economies in an effort to keep four full‐time local staff who provide local news and keep the station transmission and programming running but there is only so much we can do before the station is operating on depleted resources and exhaustion,” Clements wrote in a letter to the assembly.
The municipality of Skagway has appropriated $20,000 to KHNS, which serves both communities.
KHNS is currently sustaining itself with money raised in their annual fundraiser last month, but July is normally the time when the state support is received to supplement that money, Clements said.
The assembly will address the funding request at their Aug. 13 meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Community waste program postponed
A publicly funded community solid waste program will not appear on the ballot this fall, but was deferred to 2020 and unanimously referred back to the assembly’s commerce committee last week for more work.
The ordinance would pay for solid waste disposal with an up to 1 percent sales tax increase. It failed after a tie vote in 2018, but Sean Maidy revived the issue last month to address “trash dumped all over the land” at Community Waste Solutions.
Assembly members said on Thursday they felt they needed more time to educate the public before bringing the ordinance to voters.
“I’m glad it’s coming back; however I am concerned it might not pass because of the same reasons it was pulled last time,” assembly member Heather Lende said. “I’d rather see this wait until the assembly and the staff have really hammered out the details.”
Maidy and Prisciandaro said that, with ballot questions on (potentially) changing police charter and sales tax on marijuana and alcohol, the addition of a solid waste program might be overwhelming for the public.
“It’s not so much the kinks we need to work out as much as the massive educational campaign that’s going to have to go about the borough. “While there are emergency services on the ballot, and tax increases, I’m concerned that we won’t have the time to educate the community,” Maidy said.
The ordinance will go to commerce committee on Aug.20 at 5:30 p.m. in assembly chambers.
Ballot Proposition Meeting
On Tuesday, July 30, the Haines Borough Assembly will hold a committee of the whole meeting to discuss three possible ballot propositions for the Oct. 1 election.
Among the proposed propositions are: a two percent sales tax on both alcohol and marijuana, a charter change to allow for areawide police, and amending use of proceeds collected from sales tax to reallocation one-half percent from tourism and economic development to the general fund.
All three propositions are in public hearings for the Aug. 1 assembly meeting.
Kiehl and Hannan to visit Chilkat Valley
On Saturday, Aug. 10, state Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Rep. Sara Hannan will visit Haines and Klukwan for town hall meetings to update residents on happenings at the Legislature.
Haines’ town hall will be on Aug. 10 at 3 p.m. in assembly chambers.
The following day, Klukwan’s town hall will be held at 1 p.m. the village Hospitality House.
The two officials will hold open office hours to meet with interested residents on Monday, August 12 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Mountain Market.