A new tour permit using Portage Cove
Local Aimee Creelman was awarded a permit to develop a new tour option in Haines: forest bathing.
“Forest therapy, forest bathing, has been described as something like a meditation in nature. It’s not a nature walk, it’s not a hike. It’s more of, following a standard sequence that the guide leads the participants through. Helping folks to immerse in nature through engaging in their senses,” Creelman told the Assembly on Tuesday evening.
It may be called bathing, but in practice people are fully clothed for the outdoor mindfulness exercise.
Creelman’s company, Alaska Nature Immersion, proposes giving visitors a guided, immersive nature walk through the 7-acre Portage Cove day use area. Creelman expects to start by leading one group per day, with up to 10 people at a time. If they’re cruise ship visitors, she expects to meet them at the cruise ship dock and walk, otherwise people can meet her at the state park.
Some assembly members questioned whether Creelman’s plans would interfere with potential camping in the area. Right now, it is prohibited in the state park – but Haines residents, including Mayor Tom Morphet, have been pushing the state to reopen the area for campers.
Assembly member Debra Schnabel successfully amended the permit.
“It is a campground first and foremost,” Schnabel said. “Let’s just say it becomes 10-20 people a day and the participants in the tour become irritated or find the campers inconsistent or incompatible with what they are doing; it’s the camping that really prevails it is not the tour companies.”
Creelman said she is flexible and feels the two uses are compatible. A sentiment echoed by Assembly member Kevin Forster.
“Do you go camping? I mean, when you’re hanging out in your tent, and you’re looking at the canal, is it really a huge issue that there’s going to be some people that are peacefully meditating in the same field?” he said. “I don’t see that as a conflict…That feels like what you would hope and expect when you go camping in a public campground.”
Ultimately, the assembly granted Creelman her permit on the condition that she not challenge the use of Portage Cove campground for camping.
Former clerk returns to help with projects
Former clerk Alekka Fullerton is set to return to work for the borough on a contract to work on specific projects. In a report to the Assembly, borough manager Annette Kreitzer said Fullerton will help with elections, the junk car program, auditing contracts, and other types of legal agreements.
Additionally, Kreitzer said Fullerton will hopefully be working with her replacement soon – helping the next clerk get up to speed on elections. The clerk plays a critical role in local elections including pre-planning, certifying results and filing campaign disclosures.
Morphet asked to see the agreement between the borough and Fullerton. Kreitzer said she could sign contracts “up to $25,000,” but would get the agreement to the assembly.
A new contract for household hazardous waste disposal
Assembly members voted unanimously to award a nearly $70,000 contract for household hazardous waste disposal services to Juneau-based COX Environmental Services. That includes funding for barge transport on AML, and Seattle container transport.
“This is actually one of the more popular things the borough does do,” said assembly member Gabe Thomas. “It gets filled up pretty fast.”
The annual household waste collection is on July 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the public works shop on 519 Union Street. There’s a 220 pound waste limit per household or business.
The cost for the service has climbed in recent years. Both manager Kreitzer and Thomas said people should review the guidelines for what to bring to avoid dumping things that are not actually hazardous or could be disposed of in other ways.
Borough Attorney
The borough may be close to replacing its outgoing borough attorney and law firm.
In late April, the borough’s longtime firm decided not to renew its contract. However Anchorage-based Jermain Dunnagan & Owens, P.C. applied.
The exact rate of pay per hour depends on attorney price and the type of legal services needed but, according to the firm’s proposal, it would be between $140-$300 an hour.
Assembly members were weighing whether to approve the contract which budgets nearly $175,000 for the new contract. But, manager Kreitzer said there had been some last minute changes needed in the contract and assembly members agreed to push the discussion back to its July 23 meeting.
Advisory votes
Mayor Tom Morphet floated the idea of putting advisory questions on the October ballot that he said were intended to give assembly members the opportunity to gauge public sentiment on issues the borough is grappling with now.
Among other questions, he suggested ones about the design of the Lutak Dock, the development and operation of a mine at the Palmer Project, assisting SEARHC in building a new hospital in Haines, and the disclosure of real estate sale values. Morphet said those questions were supposed to help prompt discussion among assembly members, but they drew sharp criticism from members of the public and those on the assembly alike.
Assembly members Gabe Thomas and Natalie Dawson both said they thought the questions would inflame tensions in the community.
“It’ll divide the town even more,” Thomas said. “Drive a spike right through it.”
Dawson said the wording of the questions is crucial, and disagreed with the idea of asking people yes-or-no questions on big issues, particularly at the local government level where “all of the work is done in the nuance.”
Morphet disagreed. He said he thinks advisory votes empower Chilkat Valley residents to tell city leaders what they want and how they want it.
“To me, this is a very cheap opinion poll,” he said.
There was an effort to postpone the issue indefinitely, but that failed. So, it will likely come before the assembly again.