Heliport rehearing

Controversy surrounding a 26 Mile heliport, and likely litigation too, will continue after the assembly on Tuesday denied appeals from both the borough manager and heliport owners George and Lynette Campbell. 

The requests for appeal followed a Haines Borough Planning Commission meeting last month in which the commission voted to deny the Campbells a new heliport permit. The Planning Commission meeting was plagued by procedural issues, including a key court document that was missing from the packet, and commissioners who said they were unclear about the scope of their powers in the complicated legal quagmire. 

For this week’s meeting, while the Campbells and borough manager Alekka Fullerton were in agreement asking for a rehearing, they differed on why they wanted the rehearing, as well as on most else associated with the issue. 

In Fullerton’s case, she recommended a rehearing based on a video, purportedly of helicopter dust at the heliport, that was emailed to planning commissioners but not made available to the public. The public, and specifically the appellants, Fullerton said, had a right to view all the evidence being considered. 

“George didn’t have any opportunity to say, for example, that’s not even my land,” Fullerton said.

George Campbell, who spoke at the meeting, said the planning commission, among other issues, should not have considered the permit in full. Rather, he argues it should have only had the authority to consider and alter specific conditions of the permit. 

Fullerton said Tuesday that the borough’s legal position, based on input from the borough attorney, is the opposite: that the planning commission acted within their rights in considering the full permit. 

Ultimately, all the arguments are, at least for now, somewhat void: the assembly voted not to rehear the appeal in its entirety, and will hold a partial hearing on only some of the permit conditions. 

In a procedural twist, a majority of assembly members disagreed with the decision they voted for. 

“I don’t think the Campbells or anybody else with a CUP (conditional use permit)  request similar to that is going to get a fair shake with the planning commission,” said assembly member Mark Smith. Assembly member Cheryl Stickler said she “concurred” with Smith’s statements. 

Assembly member Kevin Forster joined Smith and Stickler in voting for a rehearing, leaving only assembly members Craig Loomis and Eben Sargent voting against. But still, the minority won out due to Gabe Thomas’ consequential absence from the meeting: the assembly requires motions receive four votes to pass, regardless of how many members are present. 

That meant no matter how Thomas voted, his presence would have changed the outcome: had he voted with the minority, the resulting 3-3 tie would have put the question to the mayor. Had he voted with the majority, the motion would have passed, triggering a rehearing for the Campbells. 

Note: In a continuation of the meeting on Wednesday night, with Thomas in attendance after his absence the previous night, the assembly voted to rescind its prior votes and vote again on the issue. The body then split 3-3 with Smith, Stickler and Thomas voting in favor of a re-hearing. Mayor Tom Morphet broke the tie with a fourth yes vote in favor of a rehearing. 

“There have been all sorts of allegations that the Haines Borough Planning Commission did something wrong,” Morphet said. “We’re going to review their decision. If we find they did something wrong this review will be an opportunity to do something right.” 

The upcoming hearing likely won’t be the end of the story — particularly if it doesn’t grant a new permit. Campbell all but guaranteed assembly members that another lawsuit would be coming. 

“If I haven’t proved already that we’re fighting this, I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. 

Lutak Dock settlement offer received 

The assembly went into a lengthy closed-door executive session Tuesday to discuss a settlement offer from former Lutak Dock contractor Turnagain Marine. Fullerton said the borough received the offer Friday. 

Turnagain first filed suit over a year ago, on Nov. 11, 2024, alleging unreasonable delays and unpaid invoices by the borough in the dock rebuild. The borough has disputed the contractor’s claims, and court-mandated mediation failed to reach a resolution late last year. 

Hearings in the suit have not yet been scheduled, but the borough has since terminated its contract with Turnagain. 

Fullerton did not disclose the content of the settlement offer or what was discussed in the closed-door session. She did, however, say assembly members consulted with the borough’s attorney in the session, but did not take action on the offer, leaving it on the table for now. 

Tanani Bay sewer outfall petitioned

New Haines residents were on hand Tuesday to petition the assembly to take over a problematic sewage outfall at a Tanani Bay subdivision.

The four in attendance, former Utah residents, said they bought land in the subdivision from developer Don Turner Jr. in 2019 with the intention of building homes and moving to Haines. Now, they say, the sewage issues, which they did not know about upon purchase, could prevent them from moving into completed homes later this year. 

The issue seems to have a long backstory. Turner said he developed the subdivision in 1996 under an agreement that the city would take over the sewage system upon completion. Turner submitted documents supporting that position, and assembly members seemed to agree as well. 

But according to both Turner and Fullerton, for the past two decades, no one has maintained or tested the system — not Turner, and not the borough. Then, in 2023, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation declared the system out of compliance. 

Fullerton and a majority of assembly members expressed a need and willingness to get the system back in compliance, though a formal motion putting ink to the statement failed, with Sargent and Loomis voting against. 

The remaining question seems to be just a structure to pay for the work on the system. Because the system isn’t connected to the borough’s townsite wastewater infrastructure, staff say the sewer enterprise fund can’t pay for it. Instead, Fullerton suggested subdivision residents vote to form a service area, where they would all chip in to fund borough maintenance. The residents present said they were open to the idea. 

Business continues in a mid-week special

The assembly adjourned at 10:00 p.m., leaving much of the agenda for another meeting scheduled for the following day. The Wednesday meeting will cover topics including accessory dwelling units, cell towers, Dalton Trail RMSA user fees, and harbor dead-storage regulations.