Why Do I Keep Mentioning Leavenworth, Washington as a good model for     

Haines? Read the following story and does this not sound familiar? 

Substitute their loss of railroad with our loss of cruise ships and I think you 

will see the connection.

Part of our answer is ski/trail development and a unique downtown theme
 plus year round events for our visitors!

Leavenworth gets consistent repeat visitors from nearby communities!
(Think Juneau and Whitehorse)

Mid 1800's

The first people to roam Icicle Valley were the P'squosa, or the Wenatchi. as the settlers called them. They survived by fish­ing, hunting, picking berries, digging camas roots and other native plants. The salmon runs brought thousands of American Indi­ans from all around the inland Northwest to harvest these great fish all along the Wenatchee River and Icicle River. The gatherings lasted weeks and included ritual dancing, trade, stories and contests.

Mining brought an influx of people to after gold was discovered in what is now known as the Blewett Pass area in 1860. Of the hundreds of mines "The Hummingbird" continued production until 1975. The min­ing camps housed miners of all nationali­ties including Irish, Scandinavian, Chinese, German and English. Those in the camps depended on a small settlement in the val­ley, present-day Leavenworth, for shipping, supplies and liquor.

The settlement was named Icicle. from the American Indian word "nasikelt" or "narrow-bottom canyon."

Railroad, lumber boom,
1890-1920s

The first route across Stevens Pass was built by The Great Northern Railway Com­pany (GNRC) in 1892. The townsite was across the river from Icicle and was named Leavenworth the same year rail construc­tion began. Captain Charles Leavenworth, president of the Okanogan Investment Company, purchased the land in present- day downtown and laid streets parallel to the new tracks.

The railroad was completed in the dead of winter 1893. It was the valley's first con­nection to the west coast and everything east. Leavenworth became railroad central. Seven sets of tracks were laid downtown where Highway 2 is now. GNRC also built a roundhouse for turning engines where the present-day Enzian Inn is located.

The riverfront at the present-day En­chantment Park was the staging point for the area's second biggest industry, timber. LaFayette and Chauncery Lamb, brothers from Iowa, arrived in 1903 to build the state's second largest sawmill. The Lamb- Davis Lumber Company brought in a $2 million fortune after two years of business. At one point the company employed more than 1,000 men.

Leavenworth's streets were abuzz with saloons, brothels. a general store, a school and an opera house. The town was lawless until 1906 when an official city government and sheriff's office were established. The area's population exploded to eight times its original number, from 300 in 1900 to 2,500 in 1915, which is approximately the population in Leavenworth today. Between 1910 and 1920, the first hospital, library, cemetery, orchard, modern water system and irrigation district were created.

Industry leaves, depression
sets in, 1920s-1960s

In 1925 the GNRC announced its plans to relocate its headquarters to Wenatchee and move its tracks away from Tumwater Canyon's dangerous avalanches through"` Chumstick Canyon instead. The pullout was a heavy blow to the town's economy.

The sawmill closed a year later. Most /of the river-accessible logs had been harvested and shipping was difficult with the loss of the railroad. The sudden loss of Leavenworth's two driving industries, in addition to the first and second world wars, caused a mass exodus. Those who were able to find work depended on the U.S. Forest Service, schools, the hospital, small businesses or logging operations.

Life remained slow for 30 years. Leavenworth area residents enjoyed light­ing the Christmas tree in the City Park and also baseball leagues, town dances and church events.

A world-famous ski hill shook up the quiet times. A group of Norwegian settlers built a toboggan run and a ski jump in the late '20s. Skiing became the new buzz in town, bolstered by the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club established in 029. Spectators in waves of 10,000 a weekend came to watch the international jumping competition, which several locals won. The events stopped when international ski jumping standards changed in the mid-1970s.

Project. LIFE Rescues town

By the '50s it was clear that outdoor recreation was not enough for the town to make a living. Businesses were failing. Leavenworth was dubbed a welfare town and jobs were hard to come by. A group of residents banded together to find a way to end the 30-year depression. They were determined not to let their Leavenworth die with the ages.

Want further information then visit  http://www.leavenworth.org/modules/pages/index.php?pageid=1

Or wait for the next edition of this Blog

Cheers and Happy New Year

YUP, same story! (Continued) THE new future for Haines 

Visited Leavenworth.12/19/2011

A delegation from Solvang, California (http://www.solvangca.com/ Danish Capital of US - recently came to Leavenworth to see what Solvang was doing wrong as they also have a theme town, but based on Danish (Holland) type architecture. Leavenworth was willing to share their ideas and give guidance.

Since our last visit Leavenworth has adopted a “mascot” and they now have a roving “nutcracker” that circulates around town as their “greeter”. The Chamber received an award winning advertisement by contracting with a startup Internet promoter and was awarded top recognition for their towns promotion

Denny Nichols (Owner of B&B and Chamber Board member of 8 years) feels that success of this promotional project has launched the new firm and today it would cost 50 times more to have this same firm attempt what they did for this project. The advertising promotion message and video was intially somewhat contraversial to some members of the Chamber but has become one of their very best successful promotion efforts.

Denny (Nichols -was ….ovich) (when younger) was commerical fisherman working out of Kodiak for “Slov” fishing group in Washington. Spent considerable time in oil industry. Wife Georgeanne (?) was born in Skagway in 1940's. Father was in military and left within 8 months. They own and operate the Bosch Garten Bed & Breakfast, 9846 Dye Road in Leavenworth, Washington. 1-509-548-6900 or 1-800-535-0069, email innkeeper@boschgarten.com, or visit www.boschgarten.com.

Will communicate via email with Denny on how Leavenworth Area Promotion (LAP) is funding Chamber LAP efforts

Chamber runs local tourism office for community + Chamber activities

Street maintenance done by local government and county including sidewalks.

Leavenworth has 2500 residents

Per restaurant manager 2011 saved by Canadian visitors. Canadian border is approximately 150+Miles from Leavenworth but exchange rate is in their favor and they are willing to travel to Leavenworth.

Christmas lights installed by hired Chamber Staff, spends whole month of November installing lights around town.

See photos and video taken 12/19/2011

See their TV Advertisement on YouTube

Best Tourism AD - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unQz4kFJ2Tg

Leaveworth in Winter - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXndihLNCk4

Picked up 10 current publications from local newspaper promoting area.

Icicle Brewery moved in after another was purchased and relocated to another

state.

The majority of Washingtonians that visit Leavenworth come from within 100 miles and are repeaters. The Canadians come from all over and of course the destination is promoted by bus tours and ?

Denny mentioned that the State of Washington had discontinued its Tourism Advertising efforts and therefore the individual communities are carrying the burden of local promotion.

Amazing the amount of visitors moving about the business section on a Sunday night and Monday morning. The kids were on their slides throughout our visit with a constant volume of “happy sounds” as they burned off their energy. (The slide area would less than that found on the slope from the backside of the old school down to the area behind the Haines Borough offices).

The temperatures in Leavenworth are colder than the surrounding area and is located within hilly to mountainous terrain. There is a river (Chilkoot River equal or less) that runs adjacent to the town along one side.

The Leavenworth Chamber acts as a clearing house for local guest housing to insure visitors can find adequate lodging. The Chamber also promotes nearby communities as a result many outside businesses are part of their Chamber membership and they get the overflow or visitor's choice. Leavenworth has about 650 members in the Chamber which is significant for a town of approx 2500 residents.

Leavenworth concept was built in effort to save the town as the area transitioned away from logging and mining as local industries. Was apparently at one time near “ghost town” levels when the idea was developed based on two nearby entraprneaurs that had achieved success with the nearby resturaunt and believed Leavenworth could survive by converting to a tourism town. The met tremendous resistance but persisted with their own efforts and gradually the town converted as they saw the success of the new concept. Today 50 years later, it receives a huge visititation due to its unique setting and promotion. It is about 140 miles from Seattle and 150+ Miles from the Canadian Borders (2 entry points).

In the center of town and activity center is several kiosks and a large Gazebo. The Gazebo is a center for music and entertainment and a reason for visitors and their children to linger in business area.

Need to work closely with our new Tourism Director and Haines Chamber President.

Haines needs to seriously consider a similar conversion to attract from the only two large population cernters in the Region, Yukon and Juneau. Needs to focus on winter events to provide year round employment and income. Need to bring the Chamber and Borough Tourism group together to coordinate and effort. Need “start-up funding” from Tourism sales tax receipts and a concentrated promotion effort (like Chamber did years ago with Whitehorse advertising firm) to promote Haines as a destination. Perhaps the Borough/Chamber efforts coordinated with the improved facilities at SE Fair Grounds would provide adequate events and facilities to support concept.

Blending an Octoberfest type celebration combined with focused promotional efforts during Yukon holidays with special local merchant discounts and promotions to attract Canadians, summer events and winter activities would help stablize our communities economy with very little opposition. With successful conversion of our towntown area and local participation our local businesses would be stimulated and outside investment would find its way into our economy.

We need to stay focused on port development for the Yukon mining developments and continue efforts to find more affordable energy rates for our businesses and residents.

We also need to “squelch” local residents from creating a negative atmosphere against visiting Canadians which I have been told exists. 

HAINES ASSEMBLY PONDERS SUPPORT OF CONNELLY LAKE HYDRO PROJECT!

The following (below) was to be presented at our recent Haines Assembly hearing on whether to support AP&T's application to FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to explore  Connelly Lake project site to determine the feasibility of a new hydro-electric generation source for Haines.

At our Assembly meeting held, November 29^th, I suspect EVERY environmental extremist was at the meeting beating their drums on loss of fish habitat, and every conceivable scenario from impacts of building a dam, potential flooding if dam is breached, construction problems and our local fishermen claiming the same. The Assembly Chambers was packed to the limits and several of us had to sit out in the entrance.


After listening to Pam Randles, Tim Shields, Rob Goldburg, Burl Sheldon, Gerson Cohen etc. etc. it became completely evident this was a coordinated effort and these folks do not care about the well being of ANY resident in Haines. They strongly believe that fish habitat and natural surrounding far exceed the basic needs of everyone who consumes electricity.


They do not even want our public utility to begin investigation of our only suitable hydro-site which could provide EVERY resident in Haines with lower cost electrical rates, remove the existing potential catastrophic loss of hydro power via our current underwater cable dangling in a local fiord and provide a source and surplus of clean, renewable electric power for Haines!


The Assembly decision to support this study was in jeopardy when Damon Hoffman, Steve Vick and Norm Smith "waffled", but the full Assembly vote decision finally gave Borough support of the FERC application.


The process used by our Assembly proved once again that the imposed 3 minute time limit is really a dis-service to all residents who feel passionately about a subject before our governing body. 

In my opinion, this discussion should NEVER have been made without a full public discussion in a town meeting type setting where ALL the facts could have been presented and discussed rather than just 3 minute segments.


Granted the 3 minute limit reduces the time spent by our Assembly, but is that really important or should there be a forum for complete exchange of information (not just a regurgitation of the same testimony)? An opportunity to introduce new and important information to insure our elected officials have all the information, facts and have heard from their constituency before making a decision which may impact all of us.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SUPPORT THE FEASIBILITY STUDY OF CONNELLY LAKE HYDRO PROJECT

November 29, 2011

As you know, last year our Haines Chamber, Economic Development Committee spent over 5 months assessing our community’s economic health. We studied all major SE Alaska communities in an attempt to understand how Haines fit into the “puzzle”.

One of the basic elements evaluated was our electricity rates. We found and verified that Haines pays twice the rate of these other communities. (except Skagway which is on our same hydro-electric feed.)

Even more surprising was the discovery that, according to AP&T, we do not have ANY surplus power available during the winter months, which is unique among our sister SE Communities.

Even worse was the learning our only source of hydro-electric power was suspended underwater and AP&T would not attempt to recover this cable IF it were to fail and fall to the bottom of our local Fiord.

Our scenario is similar to our earlier computer's it is not a matter of IF the computer fails, but WHEN the failure will occur.

WHEN we lose our existing cable we will be forced to immediately switch to diesel generators and Haines residents and businesses would see an immediate increase in our rates which could last greater than 6 months.

We have a perfect recent example of how this might impact Haines, based on the events in Juneau in 2008 when an avalanche destroyed Snettisham Hydro transmission lines . (Twice in two years). The Juneau Economic Development Council conducted a study on the impacts of this event to the Juneau business community.

AEL&P rates did not just double, but increased 5 times to $.52 per KWH! 51% of Juneau business's RAISED their prices to compensate for the increased cost of electricity! And Juneau was paying less than 10 cents per KWH and the price of diesel was $4.17 per gallon. And “luckily” for this “unlucky” event it occurred in the winter months, when cruise ships were absent or the financial impacts would have been greater.

Can you imagine the impact of paying even 4 times our current rate? --$.92 KWH and higher outside the Haines Townsite? What can you conceive of the financial impact to everyone in Haines!

DEVEASTING!

EVERY business and resident in Haines is DIRECTLY impacted by the high cost of energy and these costs are indirectly passed on to every loaf of bread, piece of meat, gallon of milk, sheet of plywood, Borough office, and every family in Haines.

*SEE JEDC (Juneau Economic Development Council) (link below) report on the financial impacts to Juneau businesses when avalanche damaged) Snettisham transmission towers and Juneau had to switch to diesel generators) - Published on this Blog.


 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N1nByRiipTvzACUUd4GYJLKmzmvisf5hYhAp_QUMHzs/edit?hl=en_US

The decision to support or not support the exploration of AP&T on the feasibility of Connelly as a potential source of hydro power is probably one of the most important decision's you will make which will impact the future health and well being of our whole town.

Electricity if one of the 3 essential services needed in EVERY community.

Maybe this is one of the factors used by the Alaska Dept of Labor when they published their 2010 forecast, Haines will experience a 37% population decline by 2025.