Haines would lease the old Mosquito Lake school to a nonprofit for $58.80 a year

The Haines Borough is moving to lease the former Mosquito Lake School and Community Center to Four Winds Resource Center, a nonprofit, for $58.80 a year. The Assembly holds the first of two public hearings on the six-year lease Tuesday.

That figure comes from an amendment the Assembly adopted this month. At its Oct. 13 meeting, members voted unanimously for Eben Sargent's amendment "to state the rent term is $58.80 per year," then advanced the ordinance 5-1, with Mark Smith opposed, according to draft minutes.

The lease posted for Tuesday's hearing doesn't match. Listed as amended Sept. 22, three weeks before the vote, it still sets rent at "$58.80 per square foot per year." Applied to the 5,374 square feet of commercial space the lease describes, that would come to about $316,000 a year. The posted lease has not been revised to match the vote.

The lease covers the school building at 999 Mosquito Lake Road, part of the garage and about 2.5 acres. It would run from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2032, and Four Winds could renew for three more six-year terms on terms the borough offers then. Four Winds would pay the utilities, including fuel oil, heat, electricity and water and sewer, and the borough would waive a security deposit.

The ordinance finds it is in the borough's interest to lease the building for less than its appraised value, citing borough code that allows leases to nonprofits. Neither the lease nor the ordinance gives the appraised value. The lease also says the borough and Four Winds may agree in a separate management agreement to suspend rent.

Four Winds describes itself as a volunteer-powered hub. A 2023 community foundation newsletter listed its activities as a community garden, local art exhibits, candidate forums, planning workshops, yoga, game days and a tool library.

The Assembly's second hearing on the lease is set for Nov. 18.