The Haines Borough Assembly voted 4-1 Tuesday in support of a redistricting plan that includes Haines and Skagway in a state House district with Petersburg, Wrangell, Kake, Hoonah, Angoon, Pelican, Yakutat, Metlakatla and Prince of Wales Island. Assemblyman Steve Vick cast the dissenting vote, asking to eliminate language in the resolution that tilted the borough’s support toward a map […]
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Posted inNews
Assembly OKs 3rd heli-skiing company
The Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday approved Alaska Mountain Guides (AMG) as the third helicopter skiing tour operator in the borough. The assembly voted 5-0 to approve AMG’s permit application. Member Greg Goodman was absent. AMG applied for a permit last year, and the assembly delayed action so a mayor-appointed work group could make recommendations on a […]
Posted inNews
Assembly OKs 2,600 skier-days
After a fifth public hearing to discuss a revised helicopter skiing ordinance, the Haines Borough Assembly on Tuesday adopted an ordinance that would permit up to three operators to share a 2,600 skier-day limit. The ordinance passed 5-1, with member Greg Goodman opposed. He said the ordinance was “on the right track,” but still flawed. Borough manager Mark […]
Posted inAlaska Marine Highway System, News
Skagway, Haines mull joint projects
Hydropower and transportation were two items on what Mayor Jan Hill called a “limitless” list of potential areas for collaboration between the Haines Borough and Municipality of Skagway. “There’s so many things we could be doing together, but in order to do something well, we need to have a focus,” Hill said. She was in Juneau for a Southeast Conference […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Make only working group’s changes
As a member of the Haines Heli-ski Working Group, I want to share some thoughts. People need to know that the ordinance before the assembly is not a consensus product of our group. One positive thing that came from the process was that, with few exceptions, the meetings had a courteous tone. Respectful discourse is […]
Posted inNews
Public squeezed out at assembly meeting; Chambers doesn’t hold half turnout
The Haines Borough Assembly needs a new home or improvements to its current chambers, leaders said after Tuesday’s meeting, where more than 40 people forced into the hallway by overcrowding outnumbered the 38 audience members inside. It was the third time in as many months that citizens attending an assembly meeting were left standing in the hallway […]
Posted inNews
Assembly advances 2,600 skier days
Following more than an hour of comments at a Haines Borough Assembly public hearing Tuesday, members advanced a revised helicopter skiing ordinance that would permit up to three operators to share a 2,600 skier-day limit. The ordinance will have at least one more public hearing, its fifth, set for Tuesday, March 8. The assembly advanced the amended […]
Posted inNews
Skagway makes rec center work
As MRV Architects of Juneau proceeds with a study to measure demand for a potential Haines community recreation center, the Skagway Recreation Center is entering its second decade. “Although it is highly unlikely that user fees alone will ever be able to cover the cost it takes to maintain and run the facility, our elected […]
Posted inNews
Major heli-ski issues up in air
With less than a week until possible adoption of a revised helicopter skiing ordinance, a mayor-appointed work group has yet to reach consensus on its most controversial elements, including numbers of skier days, a map of permitted areas, and allowing a third operator. “These are all contentious issues that will require a lengthy public process,” […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Community center would benefit area
Is it too late to build a community center instead of a recreation center? If possible, could a community center and a recreation center be built? I would like to know if the Mayor and assembly could vote on building a community center or a recreation center, or, as an alternative, could they vote on building a […]