10 years ago, Oct. 30, 2014
With clock ticking, preschool weighs options for site
With time running out to vacate their Haines Borough-owned building by June 30, the board of the Chilkat Valley Preschool will meet hoping to make a decision on a new, permanent home.
The board has been offered space near the Presbyterian Church and was considering siting a new structure or modular building there, but chose to take a hard look at other options, said manager Renee Hoffman.
Those include acquiring the borough’s Human Resources Building or the former Elks Lodge building on Main Street, finding a home to remodel into a preschool, or collaborating with another community group on another structure, board members said this week.
“We want all options to be on the table before we walk into something that’s not a good fit. We want to make sure we’re making the best choice for the future of the preschool,” Hoffman said.
Board member Kat Cheney said this week that the borough would like to be paid the assessed value for the Human Resources Building, a former U.S. government school built on First Avenue to serve Native children in 1905.
With an assessed value of $170,000 and the need for at least $150,000 in repairs to its roof, windows, floors, plumbing and lighting fixtures, the building doesn’t compete well with other options, said board chair Alissa Henry.
Henry estimates a new building or new modular structure would cost $400,000, as much as half of that covered by grants from philanthropic organizations. The school has raised about $51,000, but needs about half of construction costs in hand to trigger grants.
“That’s not looking very doable” with regard to the June 30 deadline, Henry said. “We kind of just need someone with a lot of money to just give us money.”
Henry said board members also met with Haines Borough School District officials about a partnership to buy the former Elks building, but the district didn’t express interest in investing in it. Henry said she didn’t see much potential in the former lodge, including because it’s larger than what the school needs and the school would likely need a partner organization to get into it.
Cheney, who spoke favorably about the Human Resources Building this week, said the borough should weigh the value of the preschool program to the town.
“We’re a nonprofit, but we’re providing a huge service to the community. Families need this. The borough wants (a new buyer) paying taxes on this building, but what if having no preschool causes families to leave town? What does that do to taxes?”
Cheney said the building is functional. “It’s not condemned. We could put new windows in it and siding. We might as well keep a historic building functioning rather than condemning it.”
Working on a solution to use the Human Resources Building is the only way the preschool can meet the borough’s June 30 deadline, Cheney said. Board chair Henry said she prefers a new construction or a new modular building “but it’s also the one we need to raise the most money for.”
Henry said meeting the June 30 deadline is the strongest reason for looking at staying in their current location. “We’re feeling the stress of the time crunch to make a big decision like this (but) we’re looking to make it a straight path, so we can pursue one option,” she said. “And the quickest choice may not be the best idea in the long run.”
The preschool is continuing fundraising efforts. The privately-operated school has 24 students enrolled.
Manager Hoffman said the Human Resources Building has always been viewed as a temporary site for the school, although it’s been located there longer than 30 years. “It’s always been in the back of people’s minds that the program was moving somewhere else, so the preschool and the borough have made only basic improvements.”
25 years ago, Oct. 28, 1999
Road count finds 750 eagles
According to a roadside count Friday, there are approximately 750 bald eagles in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.
But you’ll have to cover a lot of ground and look closely to see them, according to biologist Angie Hodgson. That’s because a majority of the birds are across the Chilkat River and spread out between 31 Mile to Chilkoot Lake.
“You don’t think there’s a whole lot until you look closely over there and see them in the trees.”
With the peak of the yearly congregation still a month away, the eagles are still widely scattered, Hodgson said. “They’re rather spread out still. There are a lot in the council grounds, and especially from 10 Mile to the airport. Since most of the river is still unfrozen, they can go anywhere and find food.”
Peak counts generally range from 2,000-3,000 birds.
Hodgson tool over the weekly road count of bald eagles from state park ranger Bill Zack in 1998. She makes 15 stops between 31 Mile and Chilkoot Lake, counting eagles with binoculars and a spotting scope.
Hodgson said the Chilkat River contains a higher than usual number of fish this fall. “It seems like there’s a lot more fish this year. There’s a lot more carcasses.”
Last week’s count of 750 is slightly below the 10-year average for the week.
From 1989 to this year, excluding 1997 when no count was taken, an average of 838 bald eagles were seen. The first of what are usually two aerial surveys by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is scheduled for next week.
41 years, Oct. 28, 1982
Appraisers begin to look at worth of Mud Bay land
State appraisers were in town last week to begin the long process of determining the market value of the land which the state will buy in order to make improvements to the Mud Bay Road.
“There’s no little form for us to fill out,” appraiser Marty McDowell said. “We have to write a book.”
Appraiser Dave Hunt said there would be no gigantic impacts on anybody because of the road. About 21 people will lose a little strip of land to the road. The only major hunk involved is at Carr’s Cove, which will probably involve a land swap, he said.
The appraisers will be back next week to talk to the property owners about what is being done and to show them how the state plans to take care of any access changes, Hunt said.
“The whole operation is generally pretty cut and dried, especially when the state is looking at small strip areas,” he said. “You’ve got an existing roadway and all we want to do is improve it.”
According to Hunt, the biggest problem has occurred because of the federal standards requirement. Some people thought that because the road had to be built to certain speed standards it meant that it would be posted at that speed, he said, adding that that isn’t true.
After Hunt and McDowell determine the fair market value of the land, their appraisal will be sent to the state for review. The state’s negotiating team would then meet with property owners.
If the property owner disagrees with the state’s fair market price, a hearing would be held by a disinterested third party who is usually a local person, Hunt said.