Fifteen Haines residents recently filed a complaint with the Haines Borough on behalf of Diana Lapham, who applied for, but wasn’t appointed to the borough’s Ports and Harbor Advisory Committee. The complaint, put together by Don Turner Jr. and Terry Pardee, says that during the Jan. 10 regular assembly meeting, Lapham’s rights were violated. The complaint, along […]
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Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Manager vote violated borough charter
At the Jan. 10 meeting, the Mayor broke a 3 to 3 assembly tie to select an interim manager from two available applicants. This decision violated the Haines Borough Charter and the equal protection clause. First, the decision violated Section 5.03(A) of the charter that states, “The manager is selected solely on the basis of professional qualifications.” Merriam Webster […]
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Legislature looking to tighten alcohol regulations
An ongoing revision of the state’s alcohol-licensing laws could have effects on Haines eating establishments. Specifically, a working group formed by the Alaska Legislature is considering eliminating “public convenience licenses” a certificate that allows restaurants to serve wine and beer after proving public support by collecting signatures in a one-mile radius. Another proposal supported in […]
Posted inNews, Police
Code review commission may start with minor offenses
The Haines Borough’s new Code Review Commission will look for guidance from the assembly and the public on what area of code it should tackle first, the group decided at its first meeting Tuesday. The assembly voted to form the commission in June to address flaws in the borough code, and in September approved Mayor Jan Hill’s […]
Posted inNews
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 […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Seward’s dismissal was warranted
I believe that the incident in which manager Bill Seward advised a company to fire an individual (Gershon Cohen) or risk not receiving a borough contract to be unethical to the degree that his release from his position was warranted. When I initially read of this I thought that there must be a law that […]
Posted inNews
Facilities chief Ryan is interim manager
Haines Borough Facilities Director Brad Ryan is once again interim manager. Mayor Jan Hill broke a 3-3 assembly deadlock Tuesday, giving Ryan the position left vacant following the Dec. 14 firing of manager Bill Seward. Assembly members Margaret Friedenauer, Mike Case and Ron Jackson supported Ryan, who served six months as interim manager last year. Members Tresham […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Please consider hiring manager locally
Here we go again, four of our assembly decided to fire the borough manager. Democratic government is supposed to move slow and deliberate. We have so many things that are power plays, or knee jerk reactions. Please slow down and accept that slow and thoughtful is better. If we were slow and thoughtful maybe we […]
Posted inNews
Seward weighs lawsuit; recall effort in works
Bill Seward, who was fired as Haines Borough manager in an emotional assembly 4-2 vote last week, is pursuing legal action against the borough for wrongful termination. A U.S. Coast Guard veteran with no municipal experience when he was hired in May, Seward on Tuesday hired Isaac Zorea, an Anchorage-based employment law attorney with 16 years’ experience. […]