September 11, 2014 – Another sinkhole opens at Lutak

A fourth sink hole has opened up at the Lutak Dock, a reminder that the Haines Borough structure is in serious need of repair or replacement.

The hole about 18 inches in diameter was discovered last week, said harbormaster Phil Benner.

The hole is a result of fill leaking out the steel and earthen dock’s structure into the ocean, Benner said. The dock’s structure resembles huge, upright coffee cans (called cells) full of rocks and fill. The connection points between the cells are failing, causing the material to leak out, he said.

“Without digging up the whole area, it is speculation, but since it’s four different spots and all at the same distance away from the face of the dock at the connection points, there appears to be a systematic failure through the dock at the connections,” Benner said.

The borough previously has plugged sink holes with progressively larger and larger material. Holes typically reappear until the fourth or fifth round of fill is added, Benner said.

Because PND Engineers is in the midst of a structural investigation of the dock, the borough is going to leave the sink hole as-is. “PND asked us to just not fill it and see what happens,” Benner said.

In 2013, assembly members identified $2.6 million in improvements to Lutak Dock as the borough’s highest priority on its “wish list” to the Alaska Legislature. The upgrades would include repairs and improvements aimed at making the dock a potential transshipment port for ore and other minerals.

In 2014, the improvements moved down to second place on the wish list, behind the wastewater treatment plant.

The legislature hasn’t funded the project.

Mayor Stephanie Scott said she is taking U.S. Sen. Mark Begich’s field representative Sally Smith out to the facility soon to look at the sink hole. “We need money to fix that thing,” Scott said.

“It’s not very sexy; nobody really cares about a freight dock, because we don’t know where our stuff comes from,” Scott added. “We lose the dock and we lose fuel, we lose food.”

Public facilities director Carlos Jimenez said he expects to see the draft report from PND in the next two to three weeks. “I think it’s going to be a pretty complicated fix,” Jimenez said. “It’s going to be millions and millions of dollars.”

Benner said the borough is considering all funding options. “I think there are a variety of things we can look at. Of course, bonding is always one. And there is the route that we’ve been looking at for the past five years, which is a combination of public/private funding through the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.”

September 9, 1999 – Attorney pans head-tax proposal

A Haines Borough attorney this week delivered a blow to a proposed local head tax on cruise ship visitors. 

Borough attorney Stacie Kraly said the tax would be illegal. The borough last week decertified a petition certified by the Citizens for a Balanced Budget that proposes a $2 head tax on passengers of large cruise ships 

Kraly wrote that since state law prohibits the borough from collecting taxes other than sales, property and use taxes, taxing cruise ship visitors isn’t allowed. “There is no taxable event – no sale is taking place, nothing is rented, no service is being performed; those transactions are the only ones that can be subject to a sales tax.” 

The proposed fee isn’t a property or a use tax, narrowly defined as a tax that may be imposed only after a person avoids paying sales tax elsewhere. “Under the statute, a use tax is limited to the use of tangible property, and there is no corresponding sales tax the borough was unable to collect,” Kraly wrote. The Haines Borough currently collects only property and sales tax. 

Kraly also attacked the proposal on constitutional grounds, claiming that the measure would violate the U.S. Constitution’s “Commerce Clause,” which prohibits taxation of interstate commerce without a clearly-related use for collected revenues. “The fee would be imposed on all cruise ship passengers regardless of whether they use a specific facility or service. Thus the fee is general in application and as such there is no relationship between the fee and its application.”

Ironically, compliance with the commerce cause would likely put the initiative in conflict with the state’s constitution, Kraly wrote. “The petition as proposed does not create a relationship between the fee and the use; however, if such a relationship could be established, (for example if the fee was to be used for the docks and harbors), the effect would be to dedicate revenues, which is not a permissible subject of an initiative under the Alaska Constitution.”

Despite the new opinion, and borough clerk Jackie Lawson’s Sept. 1 decertification of the petition, measure sponsor Peter Enticknap said he’ll file the petition anyway, with the 185 signatures required to place a boroughwide ballot before voters. “The initial response was that it’s okay, now she’s changed her mind. We’re going to complete the petition and turn it in… this is the third time we’ve got a conflicting opinion. We need to proceed and see what they do.”

Enticknap previously put the head tax on the same initiative petition as a companion accommodations and tour-tax measure, but split the two on Kraly’s recommendation. Kraly also is reviewing the companion measure, which if adopted would impose a 5 percent tax on overnight lodging, RV park use and tours conducted in the Haines Borough. 

Enticknap said both measures are popular. “We have people calling us who want to sign… No one has had anyone refuse to sign. I think there’s tremendous popular support for imposing a passenger tax.” 

A third initiative, an advisory measure to limit lage cruise ship visits and direct sales tax revenues, was certified recently. It will appear on the Oct. 5  borough general election ballot.

August 29, 1974 – Local woman attends world craft fair in Canada

Mildred Sparks returned early last week from two weeks participating in a world craft show in Toronto, Canada. The only Alaskan at the show, Mrs. Sparks was one of the only three U.S. craftspersons participating in the show. 

It was a case of “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” after seven long distance calls requesting her to appear at “In Praise of Hands – The World’s First Crafts Exhibition.” Mrs. Sparks finally said “yes” at the eight call. Show officials said they had heard of her work from her having been chosen Alaska Mother of the Year in 1967. 

Having decided at the last minute that she would attend, she consequently did not have some of the papers which would have speeded her way through Canadian Customs at the Vancouver Airport. After considerable delay, she was ushered by a customs official down the runway where her plane was about to take off; doors were opened, and she went aboard to the applause of the other passengers. 

On display in a glass case at the booth where she worked were her bead work, baskets, and an uncompleted Chilkat Blanket on which Mrs. Sparks is working. She worked on her crafts from 10 in the morning to 6 at night, with three hours off during the day. Some 45,000 people came through her booth to watch her and ask questions. 

“My tongue was so dry from answering questions,” she said. 

Following her appearance at the show, the Canadian government toured her to Montreal and Niagara Falls. She was particularly struck with the contrast between the Canadian side and the U.S. side – the Canadian side was much cleaner than the U.S. side, she said. 

Since the craft show lasted from June 10 through Sept. 2, show officials asked Mrs. Sparks stayed another two weeks until the show closed, but the heat (106 degrees) and humidity made Alaska look very inviting, and she did not remain. 

“In Praise of Hands was presented at the Ontario Science Center by the World Crafts Council, the Canadian Guild of Craftsmen (Ontarior,) the Sports and Recreation Bureau of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, and the Ontario Science Center. Craftsmen from all over the world showed their techniques and wares, and Mrs. Sparks said she was very impressed by craftspeople from Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. She found the costumes – one more than 100 years old – of the Czech dance group fascinating.