Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

At a meeting that included colorful moments, the Haines Borough Assembly Tuesday heard the tourism director explain why she recently resigned, slashed the mayor’s salary, and issued a public apology to residents barred from the borough office last year.

They also voted to help cover rising costs in employee health insurance, and held a requested moment of silence for “warm, loving, kind thoughts for each other.”

Tourism director Leslie Ross said she didn’t resign because of the assembly’s controversial decision to hire Debra Schnabel as borough manager, but because she didn’t want to deal with the “stress of another transition.”

Ross, tourism director for three years, has worked under four borough managers. Ross also said she feels the assembly disregarded staff input on the manager hire.

“This process has made many staff members feel disrespected, feeling unheard and leaving me not inspired to try and make this position work,” Ross said.

Ross said she had other reasons for resigning and had been thinking about it for several months.

The assembly unanimously voted to reduce the salary of the borough Mayor to $6,000 from $15,000, bringing it more in line with other Southeast communities. The reduction will go into effect at the start of the next mayoral term in October.

Assembly member Ron Jackson proposed the cut, citing Alaska Municipal League data showing Petersburg’s Mayor receives $5,400 a year, and Sitka and Kodiak mayors get $6,000. Skagway’s Mayor receives $12,000 and Wrangell’s Mayor is unpaid.

Mayor Jan Hill was absent from Tuesday’s meeting. Assembly member Margaret Friedenauer, appointed deputy Mayor by Hill, served as chair.

Jackson also moved that the assembly publicly apologize to Paul Nelson and Sue Waterhouse after previous borough manager Bill Seward banned them from borough offices last year.

Seward alleged Nelson and Waterhouse last June told planning and zoning technician Tracy Cui they were going to contact her new employer and tell them she was doing a bad job for the borough.

Nelson later contacted an attorney. Some assembly members worried during Tuesday’s meeting, based on previous attorney advice, that an apology would leave the borough liable for damages.

Friedenauer asked Nelson if the borough offered a verbal apology, “Are you going to sue the borough in the future?”

“Not on this action, no,” Nelson replied.

The assembly voted unanimously to apologize.

Nelson successfully sued the borough last March and was awarded half his legal fees after a Superior Court judge ruled the assembly violated code when it charged Nelson $600 when the maximum fine was $300.

On Tuesday, the assembly also approved a Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee recommendation to find volunteers to apply for a “bicycle friendly community” designation from the League of American Bicyclists.

The parks and recreation committee made the recommendation despite a handful of residents, including Ryan Cook, Terry Pardee, Don Turner Jr. and Mike Binkie, who were opposed to the designation. Critics cited concerns the designation would cost the borough money and that bicyclists often don’t follow the rules of the road.

No one during Tuesday night’s assembly meeting spoke in opposition to the bicycle friendly designation and about half a dozen spoke in support of it.

If the application is approved, the League will send the borough placards that designate the community as friendly to bicyclists.

Sitka has had the designation since 2008. The designation doesn’t require spending on infrastructure, Sitka Borough Administrator Marc Gorman told the CVN in April.

“The city outlay has been minimal over the years,” Gorman said. “Most of the costs have been covered through public-private partnerships.”

Resident Evelyna Vignola used her public comment time to create a moment of silence.