The Haines Community Marching Band finally got its “booming baseline”-the sousaphone-after four years of fundraising, just in time to win first place in the Southeast Alaska State Fair’s parade last month. “Everybody told me we weren’t a real marching band without a sousaphone,” said Sue Waterhouse, band founder and lead brainstormer behind the hunt. The […]
Search results
Posted inNews
Committee rehashes fund ordinance
At a finance committee meeting Tuesday, assembly members Brenda Josephson and Tom Morphet rehashed a debate to reallocate sales tax revenue funds from tourism and economic development to the areawide general fund. Rather than advancing the ordinance, Josephson and Morphet scheduled another finance committee meeting next week to further discuss it. In July, assembly member […]
Posted inLocal News, Haines Borough
Borough Briefs
School enrollment higher than projected Haines school enrollment is more than projected, which will result in an increase in the school’s budget. Last November, school administrators had projected this school year’s enrollment at 233, which would have resulted in a $154,000 loss in revenue for this fiscal year. Enrollment is now projected at 246, school […]
Posted inNews
Borough staff shakeup: 3 employees to leave, chief looks to Wrangell
Two Haines Borough department heads and one administrative employee are vacating their positions within the next month, and a fourth department head is considering a job offer elsewhere. At least one position will remain temporarily vacant. Haines Borough planner Holly Smith and executive assistant to the manager, Krista Kielsmeier, have submitted notices of resignation to the borough manager […]
Posted inThank You Letters
Sousaphone at last thanks to donations
Sousaphone makes debut, Band wins Grand Champion Award! Thank you, Haines! Four years of fundraising recently paid off when the Haines Community Marching Band was able to purchase a brand new sousaphone. This project was also made possible by a grant from the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation, an Affiliate of The Alaska Community Foundation. This […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Should the assembly be in charge of police chief?
The assembly voted 5-1 on July 18 to elevate the Haines Borough chief of police position to a borough officer. That would put the chief directly under the supervision of the assembly instead of the borough manager. At least one assembly member has criticized the move as leading to politicization of the police department. The chief of […]
Posted inNews
Boroughwide policing back on the table
The Haines Borough Assembly voted 4-2 to advance a charter amendment that would again put the question of boroughwide policing on the October ballot. The ordinance would amend the charter to make it legal for police to respond to calls for help from Lutak, Mud Bay, and the Haines Highway- a job they’ve already been doing in cases […]
Posted inNews
Borough to pay $450,336 for school debt reimbursement
The borough is set to pay $450,336 for school debt this year, bond payments which had largely been covered by the state since 2005. On Monday, the Alaska House Finance Committee passed a bill reversing $92 million of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s $444 million in vetoes, but failed to reverse the governor’s veto of $48.9 million […]
Posted inNews
Hamilton awarded $4.7 million bid
The Haines Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the $4.7 million Portage Cover boat launch project to Skagway-based company Hamilton Construction in a special meeting. The project includes a two-lane boat launch ramp, parking lot and harbor park. At a July 23 meeting, the borough assembly voted to postpone three of the smaller projects included in the […]
Posted inNews
Chief Scott up for reappointment
by Jenna Kunze The Public Safety Commission this week recommended the borough manager reappoint police chief Heath Scott, whose three-year contract will expire July 20. “I proposed to my boss that I’d be happy to sign a five-year contract,” Scott told the commission on July 8. “Provided discussion go well in those areas I’ve asked […]