In an effort to shield the borough from legal liability, borough staff last week halted public discussions about revoking or suspending Alaska Excursions tour permits at Glacier Point at the assembly’s commerce committee meeting. At Tuesday’s regular assembly meeting, the assembly voted 6-0 to refer the matter to the borough’s attorney. Alaska Excursions owner Robert […]
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Posted inNews
Cruise visitors to jump by up to 25,000
Foot traffic coming across the Haines dock from cruise ships and the Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry next season is predicted to increase by 17.5 to 19 percent, according to the tentative 2019 cruise ship schedule from the Haines Borough Tourism Department and Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry’s projections. The total number of cruise and ferry tourists who headed to Haines […]
Posted inNews
University leads working group
A consultant hired by the University of Alaska is leading what many expected would be a locally organized working group addressing opportunities and concerns regarding the university’s timber sale here. Morgan Howard owns Morgan Howard Productions, a communications company based in Seattle. The university hired Howard to facilitate a local working group. Howard will determine […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Back to the drawing board: staff to research sales tax on pot
The Finance Committee asked borough staff to research taxing marijuana at the retail level. The borough currently charges an excise tax on marijuana cultivation, but instead may decide to levy a special tax on consumers. An excise tax, which is different from a sales tax because it is imposed by the assembly instead of voted […]
Posted inNews
Borough settles with harbor contractor
the Haines Borough Assembly unanimously approved a $598,000 settlement to be paid to small boat harbor contractor Pacific Pile & Marine for its claim of differing site conditions. PPM claimed last summer that the harbor basin was harder than described in contract documents, causing a $1.1 million budget increase. In 2013, PND Engineers analyzed the dredge basin […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Sales tax now exempt for renters
The assembly voted on Thursday to adopt an ordinance exempting sales tax for long term residential renters. The new ordinance defines long term as nine months or more, and adds that “rent” or “lease” refers to a dwelling, apartment, or commercial establishment. “It often happens where somebody rents a house — they rent it by […]
Posted inNews
DOT to curb blind corner on Third and Main Street
The Alaska Department of Transportation will soon extend by nine feet the no-parking zone on Main Street in front of Talia’s Treasures. In an effort to address perceived traffic hazards, Haines Borough and Chilkoot Indian Association officials have been working with the DOT to improve traffic safety at intersection of Third Avenue and Main Street. Citizens have […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly to rehash cannabis tax
Should the Haines Borough target only local marijuana growers with its new excise tax? Assembly members are split. The borough currently levies a $5 per ounce excise tax on “marijuana that is sold or transferred from a marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana store or marijuana product manufacturing facility.” Haines Borough manager Debra Schnabel requested clarification from the assembly […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Voters to decide on police service areas
Voters in Mud Bay, Lutak and Haines Highway who live outside the townsite will have the option to create on-call police service areas in their neighborhoods when they head to the ballot box in October. The Haines Borough Assembly voted 4-2 Tuesday to approve an ordinance that, upon voter approval, will levy up to 1 mill in property taxes […]
Posted inNews
Tie vote stops waste ordinance from making ballot
A ballot question to create a publicly funded solid waste program stalled Tuesday after the Haines Borough Assembly’s split vote. The proposed ordinance that would levy up-to-a-1-percent sales tax to pay for the program passed during its first public hearing after Mayor Jan Hill broke a 3-3 tie. Hill was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, attending an Alaska Municipal League meeting […]