The Haines Borough Assembly soon will vote on whether to return to an application process for allocating funds to nonprofits. The assembly used an application system before the pandemic but for the last two years has distributed funding to nonprofits as part of the spring budget cycle and through pandemic relief funds. The Government Affairs and Services […]

The Haines Borough Assembly decided unanimously Tuesday to give ad hoc advisory committees clearer direction by formalizing them through resolutions. The assembly will need to pass a resolution for each ad hoc group defining its purpose, timeline and goals. Unlike long-term advisory committees that deal with broad topics, like ports and harbors, ad hoc groups are formed […]

The Code Review Commission on April 14 recommended to the Haines Borough Assembly a code change that would shift the power to suspend borough officers from the borough manager to the assembly. Currently code says the borough manager can suspend officers — the borough clerk, chief fiscal officer and attorney. But only the assembly can permanently remove officers. […]

Harbor committee violates Open Meetings Act, borough says A renovated Lutak Dock could serve as an export facility for minerals from the Yukon Territory, Yukon industry representatives told the Haines Borough Port and Harbor Advisory Committee at a March 24 meeting. Yukon mining companies are looking for an alternative to the Skagway ore terminal, which will be decommissioned in […]

The Port and Harbor Advisory Committee on March 24 unanimously recommended to the Haines Borough Assembly to allow limited commercial vessel storage in the Small Boat Harbor parking lot during the off-season. The proposal is to allow storage of 10 commercial fishing boats in the four-acre lot along the waterfront that was built in 2020 with state […]

The Haines Borough Assembly approved a smaller water and sewer rate increase than initially proposed at its Tuesday meeting, after borough finance director Jila Stuart suggested refinancing the sewer fund’s existing debt. The $1.7 million debt is being repaid over a 40-year period through 2033. The assembly voted to authorize a 5-year loan from the areawide general […]

The Haines Borough Assembly unanimously voted to send the question of commercial events in Mud Bay back to the planning commission, which discussed the issue at its last meeting but didn’t take action. The commission had been tasked with considering definitions of “events venue” and “commercial enterprise” proposed earlier this month by the code review commission, in […]