On a 4-2 vote, the Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday rejected Bill Seward’s proposal to install a buzz-in security door at the administration building. Assembly members Diana Lapham and Mike Case voted against the motion, saying they didn’t want to “micromanage” Seward. In a recorded interview with the CVN last week, Seward detailed plans to redesign the […]
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Posted inNews, Alaska Marine Highway System
Borough OKs $10K for ferry plan
The Haines Borough Assembly last week unanimously agreed to contribute $10,000 to a joint effort between the state and a regional economic development organization for creation of a 25-year strategic plan for a sustainable ferry system. Gov. Bill Walker recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Southeast Conference to draft a long-term plan for the Alaska Marine […]
Posted inHaines Borough, News
Assembly approves budget
A day before a charter-mandated deadline, the Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday adopted its $12.3 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year on a 5-1 vote. Assembly member George Campbell cast the sole vote against the spending plan. Campbell, who in previous budget hearings tried unsuccessfully to make several changes to the document, appeared to have given […]
Posted inNews
Washington, D.C. cop offered job as chief
The Haines Borough Assembly emerged Tuesday from a 45-minute closed-door session to confirm interim manager Brad Ryan’s decision to negotiate a police chief contract with Heath Scott, deputy chief of the District of Columbia Protective Services firm in Washington, D.C. Neither Ryan nor assembly members provided any public explanation for the decision at Tuesday’s assembly meeting. In […]
Posted inNews
Assembly defeats attempt to terminate lobbyist contract
A Haines Borough Assembly member on Tuesday made a move to terminate Bill Thomas’s lobbyist contract, but other members weren’t on board with the plan. Assembly member Ron Jackson wanted to direct interim manager Brad Ryan to work with the borough attorney to clarify the $45,000 contract’s termination clause and, if possible, end the contract effective June […]
Posted inNews
End draws near for ‘The Swamp’
A Haines Borough Assembly member on Tuesday made a move to terminate Bill Thomas’s lobbyist contract, but other members weren’t on board with the plan. Assembly member Ron Jackson wanted to direct interim manager Brad Ryan to work with the borough attorney to clarify the $45,000 contract’s termination clause and, if possible, end the contract effective June […]
Posted inNews
Assembly chooses Coast Guardsman as manager
The Haines Borough Assembly bucked the staff’s choice for manager on Saturday, voting 4-2 to offer the job to Coast Guard veteran William Seward over Mark Karet, a planner and development director with more than two decades of municipal experience. Three groups – one comprised of assembly members, one of department heads and one of citizens – […]
Posted inNews
Thomas says lobbyist pay was for work during session
Lobbyist Bill Thomas said in an interview last week his $45,000 pay covers only a 90-day session of the Alaska Legislature, although he may keep in contact with legislators and speak to them at other times during the year. “If you think I’m going to sit in an office all year for $45,000, well excuse me,” Thomas […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Assembly rejects proposed changes to draft budget
After an hour of discussion and nearly a half-dozen failed motions, the Haines Borough Assembly voted to change only one budget item during the spending plan’s first public hearing last week. The group unanimously approved keeping the deputy clerk position at full-time, whereas interim manager Brad Ryan’s draft budget had called for cutting the job to half-time […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Potential nicknames for wave barrier
The Haines Borough Assembly decided to ask due diligence to leave the room; no cost benefit analysis, a fake waiting list, no public referendum, and no real means of getting the additional $10 million to finish the project, and voted to put in the giant seawall across the face of Portage Cove. That’s the facts. I can’t express […]