Historic Preservation Committee Paused
A plan to make Haines buildings eligible for federal historical preservation funds remains a controversial, and at times heated, topic.
An assembly vote to designate Haines as a “certified local government” with the National Park Service, and establish a historic preservation committee, would, proponents say, be a no-risk way to bring in extra funding. Opponents, however, see it as a trap-door to government overreach.
When the proposal was introduced a month ago, assembly members had extensive discussion, and asked a state program administrator about what costs of joining the program could be for the borough.
That continued Tuesday, and supporters of the proposal, including mayor Tom Morphet, and representatives from the Port Chilkoot Company and Haines Sheldon Museum, attempted to address concerns of new costs and regulations.
“This is not the government coming in to tell people how to manage their properties. If you have a historic property and want to apply for federal funds, this status will help you get that funding,” Morphet said.
According to last month’s testimony from the state program administrator, private citizens who do not choose to opt in to the program would not face any increased regulation.
But still, concern remains over the grants that those private citizens could receive through the program, which could require matching funds. And though the administrator and supporters of the proposal say those matching funds could be provided in-kind, and by the private property owners, others worry it will lead to costs to the borough, either in direct funding or administrative costs.
“I have questions about unintended consequences,” assembly member Cheryl Stickler said. “We know the borough is going to be the pass-through entity for the funding. Who is going to do that (administrative work) on top of their already packed schedule?”
Assembly member Kevin Forster, however, argued that outstanding questions had been answered. Forster had reservations about the program when it was first introduced, but by Tuesday, said his concerns had been allayed.
“We must have participated in separate question and answer sessions,” he said to the other assembly members. “Everything we asked said this commission by no means adds more regulations. We specifically asked multiple times if there would be additional layers of regulation, and the answer was no.”
With multiple members saying they still did not understand the full scope of the program, the assembly decided to buy itself more time, rather than taking a final vote.
Now, the proposal will be postponed until potential beneficiaries of the program present what Stickler referred to as “additional research.”
“How are you going to address the snakes in the grass — the borough time needed, borough resources needed?” Stickler said, of what she hoped that additional research would answer.
There was some resistance to postponing the proposal, rather than just taking a final vote. Assembly member Mark Smith said helping private properties raise money was beyond the scope of the assembly’s duties; lengthening the comment period, he said, would just lead to more blowback.
“People are going to come out of the weeds here, banging on the podium, saying ‘you’ve dumped on the nonprofits, now you’re going to be banging on us,’” assembly member Mark Smith said. “Stay away from government. It’s not our job.”
Forster’s opinion was that public testimony instead could clarify the decision.
“If you don’t have a big groundswell, then it doesn’t come up again,” Forster said. “If you do have a big groundswell, that shows people in this community really care about it, and our mission is to look out for the people in this community.”
The motion to postpone the final vote for another meeting passed 4-2, with Smith and assembly member Richard Clement voting against.

Cell Tower Update
In recent months, community and assembly members have talked about limiting where towers can be located, particularly relative to schools and residences, mainly because of health concerns over 5G technology. Now, limits on new cell-tower development in the townsite are moving from concept to concrete, with a final public hearing and vote on regulations scheduled for next assembly meeting.
If the regulations pass, new towers in the townsite would have to be built at least 1,000 feet away from any residence, school, day care center, youth center, or playground. That would, for instance, block a proposed cell tower at AT&T property on Main Street, which is less than 1,000 feet from the Haines School.
Representatives from tower companies have previously raised concerns to borough officials that regulating the placement of cell towers could violate federal statute, but the proposed regulations stop well short of banning new towers. They also include an exception in which the setback requirements could be waived if providers “show that without the tower they are requesting within the setback, there would be a significant gap in service coverage…” according to the borough ordinance.
The new regulations would also change the permitting process for new cell towers. Previously, cell towers were in a grey area, designated as a standard use in commercially-zoned areas according to one section of code, and designated as a more strict conditional use by another section of code. If voted into place, all new cell towers, no matter what zoning, will have to go through the stricter permitting process, which includes public hearings and a planning commission vote.
On the docket is at least one immediate cell-tower proposal that could be subject to these new regulations. The borough assembly plans to vote in two weeks whether to lease borough land near Jones Point Road to communication tower company Atlas Towers for a proposed 190-foot tall cell tower. That tower would have space for up to four different cell-providers to hang antennas.
Even if the lease is approved, it won’t immediately be a full go. The proposed location currently has no road access, and the tower company has proposed building an access road, either off of Jones Point Road or from Major Road.
The cell tower location is adjacent to a parcel owned by Southeast Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), which has weighed in to ask the tower be set back 500 meters from the edge of their parcel because of a potential hospital at that location. That ask, in a letter two weeks ago from SEARHC representative Litia Garrison, said that SEARHC has been taking concrete steps toward building a full hospital facility in Haines — including geotechnical studies and “engaging an architect” for a site plan.
Since then, SEARHC has filed a site development plan with the borough, Fullerton said Tuesday. Fullerton also said SEARHC intends to apply for a land use permit for the hospital next month.

Assembly meeting time limits
Assembly meetings could be getting shorter, but not by law. Though assembly members vowed to work on making their legislating more efficient, they failed to pass a motion that would have limited assembly meetings to a drop-dead, no-exceptions 10:30 p.m. end time.
Currently, meetings are scheduled to end by 10 p.m., but assembly members can vote to extend beyond for unfinished business. Had the new legislation passed, any business left past the meeting end-time would have been required to be pushed to a meeting the next day.
The strict end-time proposal had been introduced by mayor Tom Morphet, who said it would result in better decisions by the assembly.
“We lose a lot of efficiency and focus after 10:30 p.m.,” Morphet said Tuesday, over Zoom.
Morphet’s remote connection, however, ended up being the deciding factor. The mayor had been excused from the meeting due to travel, but did not give notice of remote participation more than 24 hours before the meeting, which meant he could only participate as a member of the public, and not as mayor.
That meant when the motion came down to a tie vote, three in favor and three against Morphet’s proposal, he was powerless to break the tie. The deadlock stood, and the motion failed.

Seasonal Sales Tax
After weeks of back-and-forth stretching right up to a final deadline, the assembly has approved a seasonal sales-tax proposal for the October ballot. Voters will decide whether or not to accept the proposal, which sets the sales tax rate in the townsite to 7% in the summer and 4% in the winter, with groceries also tax-free in the winter months. The current sales tax rate is 5.5% year-round.
At Tuesday’s meeting, there was some wordsmithing of the exact language to go on the ballot. Assembly members say their intention with the seasonal tax rate is to bring in revenue to direct toward the borough’s share of school funding, which increased this year. That’s something they hope to explain on the ballot to voters.
But in the event the revenue increase exceeds the amount needed for the school, the municipal government cannot promise that it will all go to the school.
Ultimately, the assembly voted to use language that says new tax revenue will “support the school as well as the services provided in the townsite service area.” But the intention, they said, remains the same.
“Our intention is (for revenue) to go to the school,” assembly member Thomas said.

Other Business

Building Numbering System
The assembly unanimously approved a new numbering and street-naming system for addresses in the borough. Now, new buildings will be assigned numbers based on their position on the street and in town. One main aim of the new system is to avoid duplicate addresses that could confuse emergency responders.
The legislation will not change any addresses of existing buildings.

Harbor Dead Storage
The assembly unanimously approved a new set of regulations for neglected boats in the harbor, which harbormaster Henry Pollan says will give him “more teeth for enforcement.” Now, boats that remain parked and unused in the harbor will face heavy insurance requirements and monthly fees. Insurance requirements and revenue from fees, Pollan said, are meant to both incentivize active use of harbor slips and also protect the borough from the costs of potential environmental disasters from neglected boats.