By Lucy Silbaugh The Haines Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to rescind a four-year-old moratorium on new commercial tours in the Chilkoot Corridor. The decision followed a June 30 recommendation from the borough’s Tourism Advisory Board (TAB). “Retaining the moratorium does not allow for fair competition,” TAB chair Barbara Nettleton wrote in the board’s letter to the assembly, […]
Search results
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly to weigh sales tax reallocation for ballot
The Haines Borough Assembly will discuss on Aug. 9 whether Oct. 4 election ballots should include questions about sales tax reallocation, including redirecting some revenues from tourism and economic development to capital projects. “I think we are collecting sales tax in an appropriate amount, but I think we are not allocating it correctly,” said assembly member Debra Schnabel. […]
Posted inNews
Borough manager scores highly in assembly’s nine-month evaluation
The Haines Borough Assembly gave borough manager Annette Kreitzer “above average” marks in an evaluation nine months into her job. The evaluation leaves the assembly poised to extend Kreitzer’s contract through September 2024. Assembly member Caitie Kirby said at a Tuesday personnel committee meeting she has seen “steady, gradual improvement” in Kreitzer’s job performance since her three-month […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Some seniors have paid full property tax
Thank you for your informative article last week on the senior property tax exemption. I would like to bring up an omission in your story. A Haines Borough officer stated that for the first time a resident last year donated the full amount of the exemption back to the borough. However, longtime assembly member Ray Menaker and […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
A daily covid tally could prove helpful
In light of the recent surge in local covid cases, I’m wondering if the Haines Borough couldn’t post a daily count of active covid cases, using information provided by our SEARHC clinic and a tally kept by our local government through a voluntary, call-in system for infected folks who don’t seek clinic treatment. The number determined by […]
Posted inNews
Haines joins effort to create first “green corridor” for cruise ships
Haines will join a group effort to explore the possibility of a maritime “green corridor” – a very early-stage emissions-reducing project – connecting Alaska, British Columbia and Washington state. The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously at its July 12 meeting to sign the “first mover commitment,” in which it agreed to work with other partners to “define […]
Posted inNews, Housing
Renewed plans for Hilltop subdivision clear first hurdle
The Haines Borough Planning Commission on July 14 approved the preliminary plat for Highland Estates’ 65-lot Hilltop subdivision–an area that comprises 37 acres of land south of Major Road. The project has been paused since 2015, when developer Roger Schnabel received preliminary plat approval. Schnabel told the CVN he decided to drop the project in 2015 because […]
Posted inNews
Geologists move ahead with hazard mapping
New study provides insight into 2020 Beach Road landslide There will be an uptick in helicopter activity this week near town as geologists collect data to map past and potential landslide areas across the Haines Borough. The researchers, from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) and the Alaska Department of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), are […]
Posted inNews
Disaster aid group lends hands to rebuild
It has been a year and a half since a landslide on Lutak Spur Road destroyed Steve and Sarah Virg-In’s house, and they are still without a permanent place to stay in town. But soon that will change. Thirteen construction workers from Houston, Texas, arrived in Haines last week to help convert the Virg-Ins’ garage into a […]
Posted inNews
Senior tax exemption covers 17% of Haines’ residential property
As Haines’ population continues to age, an increasing number of homes in town qualify for the state-mandated exemption from property taxes. About 17% of the total assessed value of residential property in Haines is owned by seniors or disabled veterans and exempt from taxes, according to borough data. The tax-exempt status will cost the borough […]