Water shortages are a thing of the past for Haines Borough, according to water and sewer supervisor Dennis Durr. Last summer, drought conditions and a low snowpack led to shortages and mandatory water restrictions for Haines residents. To prevent another situation like last year’s, the water department is making three major changes, Durr said. The department […]
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Posted inNews, Public Safety
PRAC to promote avalanche safety
The Haines Borough Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will discuss buying avalanche safety equipment for public loan and how to increase avalanche awareness, safety and education with the community. Committee member Scott Sundberg, a former co-owner of a heli-ski company, brought the idea to the group last week. He said he wanted to raise the issue because […]
Posted inNews
State DOT, resident head to court over eminent domain dispute
Conflict between the state and a Haines Highway resident over property acquisition to accommodate the highway’s reconstruction is headed for a trial after months of failed negotiation. Although the state has the legal right to acquire private property when deemed necessary for the public good, property owner “Bud” Filipek says the state is lowballing the […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly rejects taxes, leans toward cuts to close expected budget gap
Funding priorities in the upcoming budget cycle for the Haines Borough Assembly include education and public safety. For everything else, funding levels are negotiable, assembly member Paul Rogers said. An assembly meeting last week with borough department heads and Nils Andreassen, executive director for the Alaska Municipal League (AML), focused on ways the borough can accommodate state […]
Posted inNews
U.S. census begins hiring for count
The United States 2020 census is recruiting local hires this month, with the decennial population count in Haines to begin in March.The U.S. Census Bureau is advertising a $28-$31 hourly wage with flexible hours. Individuals can apply online at https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html. Barb Miranda of the U.S. Census Bureau in Juneau said that local hires will be responsible […]
Posted inHaines Borough, News
Assembly to solicit interest for vacant seat
The Haines Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to solicit letters of interest to fill its sixth seat left vacant by Sean Maidy last month. Immediately following the Dec. 10 assembly meeting, Maidy resigned his seat over a dispute over charter amendment. “I resigned because I cannot be a party to an assembly who willingly and knowingly violates their […]
Posted inNews
Flat budget still hurts, leaders say
Gov. Mike Dunleavy released his flat-funded 2021 budget last month, with the biggest threats to Haines being a prolonged hit to ferry service, a larger responsibility for school bond payments, and a one-third funding cut from the community assistance program that helps pay for areawide services. The proposed budget totals $4.5 billion in state spending […]
Posted inNews
New data quantifies 2019 tour season
From May through September last year, 85,330 people toured the Chilkat Valley by four-wheeler, boat, bus, bike, plane or on their own feet, according to data collected by the borough for the first time. In late 2018, the Haines Borough Assembly amended borough code to require tour operators to submit annual customer numbers based on location by […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted
Lollipops will return to the Haines branch of First National Bank of Alaska soon, branch manager Allen Turner said this week. Free suckers disappeared at the bank about a month ago, due to an apparent mix-up in Anchorage. “No one knows why they stopped ordering them, but that’s been resolved,” Turner said. Bank workers said they give […]
Posted inNews
Long-awaited sauna opens at the pool
Tom Morphet John Carlson installs the cedar siding last month during the final stages of its construction. The sauna opened Dec. 23. Haines residents seeking respite from the biting cold can now warm up in the public sauna, opened Dec. 23 at the Haines swimming pool. The 7-foot by 9-foot structure took seven years, $11,000 […]