Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Agenda Public Comments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Assembly amends agenda, removes senior‑exemption item; residents press sales‑tax petition and plastic‑bag ordinance
Summary
The assembly approved an amended agenda to prioritize Lutak Dock discussion and unanimously removed a requested senior-exemption appeal. Public commenters presented a sales‑tax petition (500+ signatures) and urged updated plastic‑bag rules and greater local input on the Haines State Forest plan.
The Haines Borough Assembly amended its agenda at the start of the April meeting to move a Lutak Dock item and two severance‑tax agenda items immediately after the mayor’s report. The amendment and the final approval of the agenda as amended passed unanimously.
In a separate procedural action the assembly removed agenda item 11c4 — a Larson senior‑exemption appeal — at the applicant’s request. "I move to remove 11c4," an assemblymember said; the motion, seconded and voted on, passed unanimously and the clerk was asked to record the withdrawal.
During public comment, online speaker Barbara Nettleton asked the assembly to act on a petition asking the borough to pause a seasonal sales‑tax increase and return the rate to the winter level (4.5% effective May 1). Nettleton said the petition contained more than 500 signatures and asked for a 10‑minute presentation slot later in the agenda to press the request.
Other public‑comment items included the plastic‑bag ordinance and the Haines State Forest Management Plan. The chair of a local recycling group (speaker 21) asked the assembly to introduce ordinance 26-04738 for public hearing on May 12 and a second hearing May 26 to strengthen the borough’s plastic‑bag rules, arguing the plastics in use are not recyclable or compostable and pose wildlife hazards. Tommy Thompson, speaking about the Haines State Forest Management Plan, urged stronger local decision‑making and criticized the Alaska Division of Forestry for insufficient community input.
The meeting also included a brief BOR (Board of Equalization) update from Barbara Nettleton: she reported the local market is flat, new construction costs, and inspection cycle changes for remote properties — procedural information the assembly may use in planning and lands management.
Ending: The assembly assigned time later in the calendar for a formal presentation on the sales‑tax petition and proceeded to the Lutak Dock agenda item prioritized by the amended agenda.
