October’s municipal race heated up this week after a handful of residents declared their candidacy for Mayor and assembly just before Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Artist and Skipping Stone Studios owner Joanie Wagner is challenging incumbent Jan Hill for a three-year term as Mayor. As of last week only two candidates had filed for the three open assembly seats. But […]
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Public criticizes proposed salary cut for mayor
The Haines Borough Assembly considered an appeal from a resident to reimburse them for the cost of providing adequate water pressure to their future home and held several public hearings on ordinances that would decrease the mayor’s annual salary and change the funding source for service areas. John Winge, Carol Tuynman and Cindy Jones, spoke out against […]
Posted inNews
Hill seeks to keep mayor job
Haines Borough Mayor Jan Hill filed a letter of intent in May that she will seek re-election, according to the Alaska Public Offices Commission. With her letter submitted to the state, Hill can begin accepting campaign contributions for October’s municipal election. “There’s a lot going on here right now and I want to be a part of it,” […]
Posted inNews, Haines Borough
Mayor blasts assembly, calls hire a ‘set-up’
Haines Mayor Jan Hill lambasted the borough assembly Tuesday evening, accusing members of violating borough charter and saying the hiring of Debra Schnabel as borough manager was a “set-up.” “I agree with those community members who have stated that this assembly violated our charter which clearly states that the manager shall be hired based solely on professional qualifications,” Hill read […]
Posted inNews, Elections
Assembly favors former mayor for Case’s seat
Former Haines Mayor Stephanie Scott will likely fill the vacant assembly seat, left by Mike Case after he resigned last month, if the Haines Borough Assembly follows through with a recommendation made last week. The assembly will make an official appointment at their Tuesday meeting but voted 4-1 Thursday to recommend Scott, citing her experience as a municipal staff member […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Mayor playing politics with committee
The Mayor is incorrect in her Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee vacancy timeline. As noted in the PRAC minutes, we unanimously approved George Figdor’s reappointment to the committee months ago. Mayor Jan Hill ignored that request. After that reappointment recommendation, we had one empty seat available when Meredith Pochardt resigned, John Brower who had an application on file declined to […]
Posted inNews
Award launched in former mayor’s name
The estate of former Haines Mayor, farmer and science teacher Robert “Bob” Henderson has donated $220,000 and about 30,500 shares of stock from his estate to the University of Alaska Southeast. The gift will create the “University of Alaska Southeast Robert Henderson Memorial Award for Mariculture & Fisheries” to provide scholarships and research experience for students […]
Posted inNews
Mayor Hill reins in parks committee
Haines Borough Mayor Jan Hill is putting her foot down over what she sees as the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee’s overreach on the Small Boat Harbor expansion project. Tension between the committee and the mayor’s “waterfront aesthetics subcommittee” arose in April when the Port and Harbor Advisory Committee called a joint meeting with Parks and Rec to […]
Posted inNews
Mayor calls for town to turn over new leaf
Months after Haines Borough Mayor Jan Hill referred to the community as the most “hateful and vindictive” as she has seen it during her lifetime, Hill repeated her call this week for the town to turn over a new leaf regarding its outlook and attitudes. Hill said she was inspired by the energy the Freeride World Tour competitors and […]
Posted inNews
Mayor Hill limits assembly comments
Haines Borough Mayor Jan Hill used Tuesday’s assembly meeting as a “practice run” for her new policy of allowing assembly members to only speak two times per motion. Hill invoked Robert’s Rules of Order, the widely-used guidebook of meeting procedures. “To save time, no member may speak more than two times on any one motion on the same […]