The Haines Borough Finance Committee brought plans for a public sauna at the pool to a halt at a recent meeting, recommending the assembly not fund the $6,500 project put forth by borough staff. The committee considered a budget amendment which would have used $6,500 from funds budgeted for trail development, but ultimately decided to remove the […]
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Borough looks to change appointment process
The Haines Borough Assembly is looking to change the way residents are appointed to boards, committees and commissions. The change is sought to increase transparency and information available to the public, proponents say. The assembly voted 4-1 at its Jan. 14 meeting to introduce an ordinance that increases the amount of information committees are required to provide […]
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Highway residents push school ideas
About 20 upper valley residents and others made an enthusiastic appeal for keeping Mosquito Lake School open Tuesday, saying the Haines Borough School District’s goal of enrolling 10 students there might be met by expanding the K-4 school’s class range, improving “marketing” or transforming it into an alternative school. Those options may involve busing students from town […]
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Borough in line for switch to pellet heat
The Haines Borough has cleared a major hurdle toward realizing its goal of converting its public facilities from oil-fueled boilers to wood pellet burners. The Alaska Energy Authority recently recommended the borough’s biomass project, which will convert 10 public buildings from oil boilers to ones burning pellets, be funded with $1.2 million in grant money from its […]
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State OKs 6 percent electric hike
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska on Monday granted local utility Alaska Power Company’s request for a short-term 6 percent power rate increase pending an investigation into whether the company’s request for a permanent, 18 percent increase is warranted. The 6 percent increase came into effect Tuesday and raises residential and small commercial rates from 13.06 […]
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Borough to alter its budget process
Budget season is around the corner, and the Haines Borough is already preparing for how it will decide to carve up the financial pie in 2015. Interim manager Julie Cozzi and chief fiscal officer Jila Stuart are working with department directors and preparing them for a potentially dismal fiscal situation. This year, Cozzi asked department managers to […]
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Chief hopeful explains leaving job
Interim Haines Borough Manager Julie Cozzi said this week she was comfortable with a police chief candidate’s explanation of why he resigned a $96,000-per-year job as chief in suburban Boise after being placed on leave in 2007. Bill Musser worked on the force at Meridian, Idaho, for 20 years before being promoted to chief in 2003. “We’ll […]
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Negotiated sale for hotel site
The Haines Borough Assembly voted unanimously Tuesday to dispose of two Main Street lots totalling about 1.2 acres through a negotiated sale. The action comes as a response to a proposal by Aspen Hotels to buy property at the site of the former primary school and build a $4 million, 49-room hotel there. Haines Borough interim manager […]
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Assembly offers Sosa manager’s job
The Haines Borough Assembly voted during a special meeting Tuesday to offer its manager job to candidate David Sosa, a 20-year U.S. Marine Corps officer. He holds a master’s degree in public administration but has never worked for a municipality. After a 30-minute closed-door session, the assembly voted unanimously to extend the job offer to Sosa and […]