Lack of a quorum cancelled Tuesday’s scheduled meeting of the Haines Borough Assembly. Members Norm Smith, Joanne Waterman and Jerry Lapp were absent. Tuesday’s meeting has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 5. A regular meeting also is scheduled for March 12. A meeting that would have been held Feb. 12 was canceled and rescheduled in advance, due to anticipated absences.
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Posted inNews
Assembly still grappling with nonprofit funding
How the Haines Borough should distribute money to local nonprofits has been discussed for years, and the issue continues to vex the assembly. Mayor Stephanie Scott proposed at a borough assembly meeting last month to establish an ad hoc committee to deal with the issue of doling out money to nonprofits, but the resolution failed after assembly members Norm Smith, Jerry […]
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Assembly to review executive sessions
A Jan. 22 closed-door meeting of the Haines Borough Assembly may have violated Alaska’s Open Meetings Act and borough code, according to borough officials. Assembly members met as a committee of the whole prior to the regular assembly meeting and effectively extended borough manager Mark Earnest’s contract until July 2014 by determining he achieved a “satisfactory” performance […]
Posted inNews
Earnest scores a ‘satisfactory’
The Haines Borough Assembly gave manager Mark Earnest a “satisfactory” evaluation Tuesday, a decision that came during an executive session at a committee of the whole meeting. Mayor Stephanie Scott announced the decision during the regular assembly meeting that followed the closed-door session, but did not elaborate. Based on interviews after the meetings, it appears the satisfactory determination relied heavily on […]
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Skaters mull improved, moved ice rink
A grant opportunity recently renewed the efforts of a local volunteer organization to move the ice rink from the fairgrounds to downtown, but board members are hitting the brake on the initiative, at least for now. Until Tuesday evening, Haines Hockey board members intended to bring the issue before the Haines Borough Assembly in the form of […]
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2012: The Year in Review
The earth moved in 2012 and the shift wasn’t only the “slump” on the side of Mount Ripinsky that cleaved a house and split Lutak Road. Four-term incumbent state Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, aiming to become Speaker of the House, lost his seat to Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a 23-year-old Sitkan seeking his first political office. Klukwan, Inc., once among the wealthiest Native […]
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Lutak Dock at top of borough’s ‘wish list’
Both the Haines Borough Assembly and the planning commission agreed that $2.6 million in upgrades to the Lutak Dock should top the borough’s capital requests “wish list” to the Alaska Legislature for the upcoming year. The assembly ranked 13 local projects according to most pressing need and adopted a resolution establishing those priorities during its Dec. 11 meeting. The […]
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Borough inks deal with mine firm
The Haines Borough Assembly took a step toward establishing Haines as a potential transshipment port for minerals when it voted during its Dec. 11 meeting to authorize entrance into an agreement between the borough and a Wellgreen mine developer. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the borough and Prophecy Platinum Corp. allows the two parties to exchange […]
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Car tax encounters opposition: Assembly wants more details on proposal
Haines Borough Assembly members and residents expressed misgivings about a proposed motor vehicle registration tax Tuesday. The assembly postponed a vote on the motor vehicle tax ordinance, which would compel residents to pay $22 every two years for each of their vehicles regardless of size, type, and age. The tax would raise about $40,000 annually […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Scuttle the proposed vehicle tax
We are now expected to pay for abandoned vehicles belonging to others? Norm Smith has it correct. It is another tax increase. Thanks, Norm, for being opposed. The borough proposes to pay for a tow truck, on-hook insurance, car crusher, impound lot, pit for hazmat drainage, separator pit, disposal of hazardous materials, storing hazardous materials annually until July, compliance monitoring […]