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Haines PRAC backs borough recommendation for Picture Point and Cemetery Hill trail access, sends amended FY26 list to assembly
Summary
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee voted April 9 to recommend borough action to improve access at Picture Point/Front Street and Cemetery Hill and to forward an amended FY26 budget request (removing Lily Lake improvements) to the Assembly. The motion includes asking the borough to coordinate permitting and potential gravel support while volunteers offer labor.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee of Haines Borough voted April 9 to recommend that the Borough Assembly pursue access improvements on Front Street/Picture Point and Cemetery Hill (River Road) and to send an amended FY26 budget request that removes the Lily Lake overlook entry.
The committee’s chair opened the discussion by reviewing last year’s action requests and FY26 priorities, which included keeping the municipal pool open year-round, supporting the Haines Dolphin swim team, and a $2,000 budget request for Haines Little League. The clerk also summarized prior material-support requests for waterfront trail maintenance, benches and picnic tables, and signs; PRAC’s FY26 allotment was listed at $10,000.
A committee member moved that PRAC recommend that the assembly authorize improvements to "access" on River Road/Picture Point and at Cemetery Hill and to coordinate any required truckloads of gravel or brush clearing through the clerk. The motion, as clarified during discussion, is a recommendation to the assembly (not an immediate authorization for volunteers to alter borough land unaided). Committee members debated whether volunteers should coordinate directly with state agencies for work on non‑borough land or await assembly direction, citing ongoing Title 18 code questions about what constitutes a borough project.
Clerk (role) advised the group that Title 18 currently requires additional review for borough projects exceeding $25,000 or otherwise defined as borough projects, and recommended routing project recommendations to the assembly so the borough can determine whether planning commission review or ADA compliance review is needed before work proceeds.
After clarifying language to request improved "access" (rather than specific construction specs) and to omit the completed Lily Lake overlook, the committee voted in favor by voice. The committee also voted to forward an amended budget list to the assembly that retains requests for the pool, Little League support and material supplies for trail work while removing Lily Lake from this cycle.
The PRAC decision frames the next step: staff will place the recommendation and the amended budget request on the assembly agenda under the newly established "9(d)" recommendations-and-requests slot so the assembly can consider funding, permitting and any review obligations before work begins.
What remains unresolved is whether the borough will supply gravel or formally authorize volunteers to move borough-provided material. Members were urged to include rationale in the recommendation (for example, that volunteers will provide labor) so the assembly and planning commission can weigh ADA and other compliance issues before authorizing physical changes to borough land.
The committee’s approval means the assembly will now receive PRAC’s amended FY26 priorities and the recommendation to address access problems at Picture Point/Front Street and Cemetery Hill, and will decide whether to allocate funds or direct borough staff to coordinate further.
