The Haines Assembly will give the FY20 budget a third read tonight. One piece of the pie is set aside for capital improvements to the public safety building.
“It’s gonna stop right there and hang up,” said Al Giddings, the Haines Borough Volunteer Fire Department Chief.
We’re standing next to a fire engine and watching the motor that opens the bay door turn… but the door is only halfway down and not moving. A bay door is basically a garage door for fire engines. There’s money set aside in the borough budget to replace these warped and water-legged doors.
“We know that it’s such a tight time financially, but I think it would be a good investment, ” said Giddings.
So far the doors have worked when they’re needed, but Giddings is concerned that they could hold up an emergency call.
“This particular door stops quite often or jams up, so we’ve had some firefighters who said, ‘Well the engines will drive right through that if it doesn’t work, but…”