The Haines Borough is inching toward a finalized plan for how to spend roughly $2.1 million in federal CARES Act funds.

In total, the borough is expected to receive $4 million in CARES Act funding in three installments during the course of this year. The borough must spend 80% of its first installment before it receives the second and third payments, each worth roughly $900,000.

The CARES Act requires payments be used exclusively to cover “necessary expenditures incurred due to…COVID-19” between March 1 and Dec. 30 of this year. Under current federal guidelines, these funds can’t be used by local or state government to replace lost revenue like sales tax or school bond debt reimbursement.

Last week, assembly members participating in an ad hoc committee settled on a tentative spending breakdown of $275,000 for a new ambulance and associated shipping costs, $200,000 for a temporary morgue, $671,000 for borough coronavirus-related expenses, $200,000 for food assistance, $300,000 for utility assistance and $500,000 for small business relief.

The $275,000 ambulance allotment was based on an estimate by fire chief Al Giddings. The borough has two aging ambulances—a 15-year-old one and a 12-year-old one. Under the proposal, the borough would use CARES Act funding to replace the older of the two vehicles. The other will be replaced at a later date using funds the borough has been saving to replace both vehicles.

The morgue allotment was pushed for by assembly member Brenda Josephson. Josephson said she and public facilities director Ed Coffland had discussed the potential of building a morgue. The structure could be assembled in pieces to allow multiple builders to work on it at the same time and could incorporate the refrigerated shipping container the borough purchased earlier this winter to use as a temporary morgue.

At the meeting, Josephson said replacing the morgue is important both for safety reasons and to allow the deceased to be handled with dignity.

Fire department volunteer Cynthia “CJ” Jones said it could be valuable to have a larger morgue if Haines ends up with a large number of bodies. The current morgue holds two bodies.

Borough chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart said there’s not a lot of guidance in the CARES Act related to the eligibility of capital projects, suggesting this is not what funds are designed to be used for. Stuart said she thought a temporary structure was more likely to be an acceptable use of grant money.

The money set aside for borough expenses will go in part toward protective equipment and payroll costs, $240,000 for the current fiscal year and $220,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. This will free up property tax revenue to help pay for the state’s share of school bond debt, which Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed in its entirety this year.

Stuart suggested some of the borough’s remaining funds could be set aside to help fund testing for asymptomatic people at the local Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) clinic.

Right now, testing is limited to those displaying symptoms and select groups of asymptomatic people including clinic employees, first responders, long-term care residents, dental patients and contacts of those who have tested positive for COVID-19. If someone desires asymptomatic testing but does not fall into one of these categories, they should contact the clinic to discuss potential options.

In addition, under current state mandates, visitors entering the state are able to avoid quarantining for 14 days by getting tested before they enter and again at least seven days after arriving in Alaska. SEARHC will honor vouchers issued by the state for these travelers.

Fullerton said SEARHC had requested the borough enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in order to offer tests to a wider range of asymptomatic people. Under this agreement, the borough would pay for tests, which cost $175 apiece, using a portion of its CARES Act funds.

Alaska Mountain Guides owner Sean Gaffney, who attended the meeting, urged the borough to channel funds to SEARHC. Gaffney said the ability to test those entering the borough is critical for allowing Haines to reopen its economy safely.

Assembly members proposed setting aside funding for food security, utility assistance and business and nonprofit relief, but left program details up to borough staff.

The suggested breakdown went before the full assembly on Tuesday. Members voted to approve the breakdown “in concept” with a slight increase to the allotment for the ambulance to allow for the immediate purchase of the vehicle.

The new allotment for the ambulance is $278,152. The increase was offset by a $3,000 reduction to the borough’s allotment. At the meeting, members authorized the immediate purchase of the ambulance because a delay could jeopardize the borough’s ability to secure such a high demand vehicle.

Interim manager and borough clerk Alekka Fullerton said now that the assembly has approved, in concept, the fund distribution, staff will draft a resolution for spending the money. This resolution will go before the assembly at its next meeting to give the public opportunity to comment.

Testifying during Tuesday’s assembly meeting, Haines Economic Development Corporation executive director Margaret Friedenauer criticized the borough’s approach to coming up with a fund distribution plan.

“The ad hoc committee was formed sort of randomly at the end of an assembly meeting,” Friedenauer said. “The public wasn’t invited in helping to brainstorm any ideas in any real direct way about how best to utilize these four million dollars.”

Friedenauer contrasted Haines’ process with task forces in communities like Kodiak and Fairbanks, composed largely of community members and business leaders.

Past CARES Act meetings have been attended by members of the assembly including the three self-appointed ad hoc committee members—Jerry Lapp, Brenda Josephson and Stephanie Scott. A handful of members of the public have tuned in, mostly via Zoom, and have been able to submit public comments.

*This story has been updated for accuracy.