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

The Solid Waste Working Group discussed researching potential borough code change recommendations that pertain to bear nuisances in an effort to address the unprecedented brown bear damage and bear deaths this year.

“One of our problems is the definition of bear nuisance and bear attractants. I think one of the things we could do is review the code sections with respect to bear attractants and maybe tighten that up so our police can enforce it better,” interim manager Alekka Fullerton said at the working group’s meeting last week. “Right now our definition has been so broad it’s been hard for the police to write any type of tickets or enforce it.”

Police and residents have killed more than 25 brown bears this year. Bears have broken into homes, vehicles and commercial storage units causing thousands of dollars in damage. As of late October, police in Sitka issued 46 citations to citizens who created bear attractants compared to the six tickets issued by local law enforcement to four Haines residents. Juneau community service officers issued 33 citations as of late October.

Fullerton suggested that the bear task force and working group form a joint subcommittee to look at other municipal codes.

Haines Borough code states that “material completely enclosed in a structure or container which requires hand tools to open” does not qualify as a bear attractant. That’s in line with Sitka and Juneau law except that those municipalities’ codes goes on to specify that such a container would be considered a nuisance if it has proven ineffective to withstand entry by a bear whether by design or improper use.

The working group also got an update from Community Waste Solutions manager Craig Franke who said upper valley garbage collection at the Mosquito Lake Community Center isn’t getting the participation he’d hoped for since they started collecting trash on Saturdays since June.

“(We’re) averaging under 12 bags a week,” Franke said. “For the time put in, it’s kind of been a bust.”

He said more people are recycling than bringing garbage. Community Waste Solutions collects garbage at the community center on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

The group, reconvened this summer by the assembly after a two-year hiatus, also needs to fill four vacant seats. Former members have resigned or declined to participate this year.

Current members have expressed confusion as to what they are being asked to do. Fullerton said the group should take a second look at a failed 2018 ordinance that would have increased sales tax to pay for a municipally managed solid waste system. The ordinance, which was created by borough staff based, in part, on recommendations from the working group, failed in 3-3 tie vote by the assembly in 2018. Assembly members said it was rushed to make the October ballot and lacked a concrete plan.

“I think (the ordinance) changed a lot after the recommendations were made from the solid waste working group,” Fullerton said. “They wanted you to specifically look at that ordinance and make recommendations from that ordinance as well.”

The working group was initially formed to address issues such as expensive garbage disposal costs, illegal dumping, inadequate access to convenient disposal services and infrequent options for disposal of hazardous waste.