A private Facebook page came under fire at Tuesday’s Haines Borough Assembly meeting. Two assembly members were critical of “Haines Rant and Rave,” a members-only page launched a month ago by Ryan Cook. Cook is a fisherman who ran unsuccessfully in October’s assembly election. Assembly member Heather Lende said she was “really treated rather badly” by comments […]
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District expects $490K budget hole
The Haines school board reviewed a “bleak” 2018 budget draft for the first time at a workshop Tuesday. Next year’s budget appears to be about $487,000 in the hole, including a $370,000 anticipated reduction in state funding, said school board president Anne Marie Palmieri. The district will save about $100,000 through the retirement of assistant principal and curriculum coordinator […]
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Assembly extends lobbyist’s hire
The Haines Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to keep lobbyist Bill Thomas on the job until June, to advertise for a permanent borough manager in Alaska only and to award a $71,000 marine mammal monitoring contract to proHNS, a local engineering firm. Thomas, 69, is a commercial fisherman and former state legislator who worked last year as borough lobbyist for […]
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Senior Facility seeks loan
The Haines Borough Assembly last week referred to its Finance Committee a request from the Haines Senior Village for a $350,000, low-interest loan from the municipality to cover a second mortgage on the senior apartments on First Avenue South. Bob Adkins, treasurer of Haines Senior Village, made a presentation at last week’s assembly meeting. He said a […]
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Appointment of Lapham rejected
The Haines Borough Assembly last week rejected appointment of former assembly member Diana Lapham to the borough’s Ports and Harbor Advisory Committee on a 4-2 vote. The appointment was one of several Mayor Jan Hill recommended to the borough’s various advisory boards and councils. Assembly member Heather Lende asked for Lapham’s name to be removed from a list, along with […]
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Commission: Give police more money
The Public Safety Commission voted 3-0 Wednesday to recommend the Haines Borough Assembly pay an additional $63,000 in the current year budget to the Police Department to cover overtime and standby hours under a four-man force. Haines Borough police chief Heath Scott made an extensive presentation saying the police department already has incurred a $31,290 deficit and is […]
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Assembly OKs sewer plant upgrade
The Haines Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to approve a $1.9 million contract with Wolverine Supply of Wasilla for upgrade of the sewer treatment plant. The project consists of removing and replacing a 75 x 85-foot pre-engineered building, installing a new screening/grit removal system, and removing and replacing siding and roofing on a 20 x 42-foot building. Electrical […]
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Year in Review: Art, public projects dominated Haines news
Advances in the arts and public projects marked much of the news in 2016, and combined, for some novel exchanges. At a Sept. 8 Haines Borough Planning Commission meeting dominated by critics of the proposed harbor expansion project, commission chair Rob Goldberg suggested a 630-foot steel wall breakwater planned for Portage Cove might someday be an attraction. […]
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Assembly sets priorities at retreat
The Haines Borough Assembly met on Dec. 11 for a four-hour retreat at the public library to outline what members believed were their biggest priorities. Crafting a workable budget for the upcoming fiscal year and better assembly member communication – with both the public and each other – topped their ranking. Haines Mayor Jan Hill also took part in the […]
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Assembly OKs breakwater addition
The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday reversed an earlier vote and approved adding a 33-foot-long segment of steel breakwater barrier that fishermen and harbor officials called a critical piece of the Portage Cove Harbor Expansion project. But assembly members also made a concession to concerns the project deserved equal funding to ensure the aesthetics of the final product. […]