The Haines Borough Assembly faces another difficult decision that will impact the lives of Beach Road property owners—whether to expedite the process of restoring power and permanent road access to homes by excavating down to the original road, or to allow the state-funded geotechnical stability assessment of the area to be completed.

This winter, the state contracted with a geotechnical consulting firm to study the stability of the Beach Road neighborhood to inform decisions about short-term and long-term access. Houses in the neighborhood have been without road access and power since Dec. 2 when a landslide tore through the neighborhood, destroying several houses and killing two people.

Findings from the first phase of the geotechnical assessment were released earlier this month. The two options for short-term road fixes, outlined in the preliminary findings report, are reinforcing the existing temporary access road and excavating slide debris down to the original road. The current temporary access road is in rough shape after the spring thaw.

At a meeting earlier this month, Beach Road task force members determined excavating would be the preferred method for improving road access. Although more costly, it has the advantage of being a necessary step to more permanent repairs.

At Tuesday’s assembly meeting, borough and state officials cautioned the assembly that moving forward with the excavation could jeopardize funding for the geotechnical study. Although the first round of the study was finished this month, the findings report recommends a second round to verify preliminary findings as winter data collection was hampered by snow.

“If the borough assembly determines to move forward immediately with debris removal without conducting further site safety analysis, then it’s going to be pretty difficult for us to make the argument to FEMA that… the safety study remains necessary (in order to open the area to regular traffic),” Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Emergency Program manager Sam Walton said. He said the same logic applies to restoring permanent power to the neighborhood.

The first round of the stability study cost $345,527 and the second round is likely to cost a similar amount, according to state geotechnical engineer Travis Eckhoff, who oversaw the winter project. Right now, the cost is being covered by the state, which will receive a 75% reimbursement from FEMA.

Eckhoff said Tuesday that a findings report from the second round of the study likely won’t be available until December. As of Dec. 2, 2021, Beach Road residents will have been out of their homes for a full year.

Neighborhood residents who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting expressed a range of views, but the predominant theme was a desire for more information prior to weighing in.

“My position would be to kind of delay a decision so all the residents can discuss because I don’t think any of the individual residents want to go forward with a solution that might negatively impact their neighbors,” Todd Winkel said. Winkel is one of two neighborhood representatives on the Beach Road task force.

The assembly agreed to postpone a decision while the borough gathers more information about the scope of the second round of geotechnical study, which could begin as soon as June.

In other Beach Road-related news, the assembly introduced an ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting that would allow the borough to retroactively reassess property value for homes damaged by a disaster.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Olerud said the borough is looking into the possibility of installing cameras at the entrance to the Beach Road neighborhood in response to residents’ security concerns. He said the borough is also working to acquire signs that accurately reflect borough policy regarding Beach Road neighborhood access. Current signs say access is prohibited and violators will be prosecuted. The neighborhood is technically open to the public, although the borough is asking non-residents to stay out.