The Haines Borough Planning Commission will form a committee to address borough laws on resource extraction after differing interpretations of Mud Bay rural residential zoning language shed light on disagreements about land use in the area. The issue motivated one Mud Bay land owner to consult his attorney and say he’d seek compensation from the borough if […]
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Posted inNews
Highway police vote introduced
On a 4-2 vote, the Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday introduced a ballot question on creating a “Community Safety” service area to address the issue of townsite police responding outside its boundaries. Members Tom Morphet and Sean Maidy voted against the measure. “We’re not choosing this for (residents outside the townsite). We’re giving them an opportunity to […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly favors taking ownership of bridge
The Haines Borough Assembly expressed support for taking over ownership and maintenance of a new bridge at Excursion Inlet to be built by the U.S. Forest Service. Borough manager Debra Schnabel said the federal agency proposed the borough take ownership of a new, $700,000 structure that will cross South Creek and the right-of-way beneath it. It will replace a […]
Posted inNews
Wooten will head tour office
Carolann Wooten will take over as Haines Borough tourism director this month, hoping to use tourism as a “bridge builder” between differing interests in the community. “I’m going into this open minded,” Wooten said. “It’s a perspective I bring from outside, the hope that anything is possible.” Wooten doesn’t have experience in the tourism industry. She said […]
Posted inNews
Assembly censures Morphet
With little discussion, the Haines Borough Assembly unanimously voted Tuesday to censure member Tom Morphet for violating code and the borough’s contract with its union by releasing complaints about the Haines Police Department he had compiled from members of the public. Morphet submitted the complaints to interim manager Brad Ryan in April, then released them to reporters a week […]
Posted inNews
Winter, night service to be part of Uber, driver says
Alaska became the last state in the nation to allow transportation apps last month, and Uber was quick to roll into Haines. Gov. Bill Walker signed House Bill 132 in June that permits ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft in the state. Smartphone users can download an app that allows them to order a personally-owned […]
Posted inNews
Borough at low risk of ‘takings’ rulings
Risk that the Haines Borough would have to compensate landowners for prohibitions on resource extractions is low, a borough attorney recently said. But although findings of takings are unlikely, they are still a possibility. The borough asked attorney Patrick Munson to analyze the question of whether a complete prohibition of resource extraction activities would require compensation of […]
Posted inNews
Borough Digest
Maidy named to open seat on assembly The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday appointed resident Sean Maidy to an open assembly seat after members questioned the preferred candidate’s availability. Assembly members said last week that James Hart was their preferred applicant to take Margaret Friedenauer’s open seat until the October municipal election. Hart was unable to call in […]
Posted inNews
Assembly seeks advice on conflict code change
The Haines Borough Assembly directed the manager and borough attorney June 13 to consider revision of code that bars the borough from contracting with Roger Schnabel’s businesses. A May 30 memo from the borough attorney to the assembly stated the borough could not contract with Southeast Roadbuilders because it is owned by the brother of manager Debra Schnabel. […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
No conflict-of-interest for Schnabel
It is my opinion that Debra Schnabel does not have a conflict of interest with Southeast Road Builders (SERB), here are the reasons why: Everybody knows that Debra and Roger are siblings. It’s not a secret, the fact that they are siblings is in plain sight. It is not hidden. It is my understanding that SERB already […]