Advocates for harbor improvements now have lots of options to consider. Completing a study for the Haines Borough, PND Engineers of Juneau recently submitted five alternatives for expanding the existing basin to the south, with pricetags ranging from $32 million to $49 million, for options with all the trimmings. Those prices are still favorable to estimates […]
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Buyer meets price for Picture Point Borough may still have options
A five-acre parcel of prime Portage Cove beachfront, including the pull-outs known as “Picture Point,” is slated to be sold by October, but the Haines Borough may still have a chance of acquiring some of the property. Fairbanks attorney Mary Nordale, who oversees the Narada Trust, this week said she’s accepted an offer from a buyer and […]
Assembly will pay for Mosquito Lake heat project
The Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday voted 5-1 to use $65,000 in borough funds to pay for the Mosquito Lake School heating system. Two-thirds of the cost of the $186,550 project will be paid by a state grant. The decision keeps intact a contract with Dawson Construction and moves the project ahead, effectively bypassing objections by the borough school […]
Election season opens Geise seeks assembly seat
Two seats on the Haines Borough Assembly and three on the school board are up for grabs in the Oct. 5 municipal election. The candidate filing period for local office opened Monday and closes 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24. Candidate packets are available on the borough’s website and at the borough administration building on Third Avenue. Eligible candidates must […]
Fair gets borough funds for hall work Last-minute budget plea nets $175K
The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved its $11.7 million budget for the coming year, including a $175,000 appropriation to the Southeast Alaska State Fair to help renovate Harriet Hall into a convention center. Discussion of the fair appropriation came at the last of three public hearings on the budget, following Gov. Sean Parnell’s veto of $277,000 […]
Assembly tempers talk on non-profits
The Haines Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to fund hazardous waste collection for local businesses on a limited, trial basis and to increase grants to local organizations to $100,000. That’s down from $118,500 requested but up from $82,000 that will be spent in the current year. The decision on local grants won’t be final until the borough budget […]
Assembly debates annual grants to non-profits
The Haines Borough Assembly May 25 is slated to adopt its $11 million operating and capital budget, and will consider amending it to include as much as $118,000 in grant requests from community organizations. During discussion at a budget workshop May 11, some assembly members said community organizations on the list provided valuable services in town, but […]
Hill breaks tie, rejects raises for borough leaders
The Haines Borough Assembly May 11 voted 4-3 against giving themselves a $50 per meeting raise, with a $500 per month raise for the mayor. Under the proposed plan, assembly members also would have been compensated $50 for budget committee workshops required each year. Mayor Jan Hill cast the tie-breaking vote. She voted the raise down because she felt […]
Election rule change fuels assembly spat
The Haines Borough Assembly last week tangled over a draft ordinance revising local election laws, sending the proposed law to its government services committee for review after a heated discussion. The borough is seeking to clarify its election rules in the wake of a successful lawsuit brought by voters last fall that overturned results of an election […]
Contract assessor to be hired; Borough abandons attempts for permanent position
The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously Tuesday for contracting with an assessing firm to complete borough assessments and to train a local person for the assessor job. Borough manager Mark Earnest said the most qualified job applicant for the assessor and land manager position, Dave Lockrem of Wisconsin, declined the borough’s offer last week. “For whatever reason, it’s hard […]