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South harbor expansion studied Engineers give project advocates much to mull

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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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]