Sitting atop the draft “wish list” for the Haines Borough’s capital requests to the Alaska Legislature is about $2-2.5 million in upgrades to Lutak Dock. Dock resurfacing and drainage improvements ($500,000), capacity upgrades and repairs ($600,000), and high mast lighting ($400,000) make up the bulk of the project. Onshore and underwater surveys to determine future dock modifications, […]

The Haines Borough Assembly recently approved a $700,000 contract with Southeast Roadbuilders for road improvements in the Chilkat Lake area. The local firm was the sole bidder on the project. The repair and upgrades project started Oct. 8 and will resume next spring. PND Engineers, Inc. designed the project and is providing onsite construction services. The project […]

The Alaska Department of Transportation is designing the Chilkat River Bridge to the highest industrial standard in anticipation of possible large shipments, Haines Borough Manager Mark Earnest said during last week’s planning commission meeting.   Chuck Correa, regional pre-construction engineer for DOT, confirmed the bridge will likely be designed to handle heavier loads, but clarified the final decision is pending a […]

A safer walk to school is just around the corner for Haines students. The Alaska Department of Transportation is proposing to build a new sidewalk running along the north side of Old Haines Highway from Third Avenue to Allen Road next year. As proposed, the 5-foot sidewalk would be raised, with 1,700 feet of curb […]

With the goal of becoming more energy efficient, the Haines Borough Assembly recently contracted with Alaska Power and Telephone to install 16 new LED lights along Third Avenue. The current, high-pressure sodium lights will be replaced by the LED lights, which are both brighter and more efficient, AP&T power supervisor Danny Gonce said. The total project will […]

A new or improved public safety building was among capital requests included on a draft “wish list” of borough projects to the Alaska Legislature compiled by manager Mark Earnest. Earnest presented the “first working draft” during Tuesday’s assembly meeting. It also includes Lutak Dock upgrades, road improvements on Third Avenue, pool upgrades, road maintenance equipment and sewer treatment […]

Responses to a recent Haines Borough survey showed residents viewed fire, ambulance and police services, and K-12 education as most important to the community and also the most deserving of a new building. The mail-in survey sent to local post office boxes was intended to gauge opinions and priorities of residents on the borough’s public facilities and […]

Haines Borough Mayor Stephanie Scott said owners of the shuttered Coliseum Building on Main Street are agreeable to taking boards off windows during summer months, but balked at Scott’s idea for a mural on the structure. “I’m a little discouraged, but I’m not giving up. I still believe conversation should be the solution versus taxation (and regulation),” Scott […]

Haines Borough Assembly members are scheduled to consider a proposal from manager Mark Earnest to extend his contract through June 2014 at Tuesday’s assembly meeting. Assembly member Joanne Waterman made an unsuccessful motion for the renewal at an assembly meeting last month, after Earnest informed assembly members he’d changed his mind about leaving the job at the end of […]

The Haines Borough has accelerated a fence-building project at Lutak Dock after learning that a Jan. 1 deadline for project completion cannot be changed. Work was to start this week. The borough will plow snow around the job to ensure it gets done on time, manager Mark Earnest told the assembly last week. The borough in March received a $233,000 Homeland […]