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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06252007 City Council Minutes City of Seward. Alaska June 25. 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37. Page372 CALL TO ORDER - The June 25, 2007 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Vanta Shafer. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Tom Clemons led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Vanta Shafer presiding and Willard Dunham Bob Valdatta Jean Bardarson Linda Amberg Steve Schafer Robert Thomas comprising a quorum of the Council; and .... Phillip Oates, City Manager Jean Lewis, City Clerk Cheryl Brooking, City Attorney Rob Johnson, City Attorney ABSENT - None CITIZENS' COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Theresa Butts, spoke in favor of a Lowell Creek hydro design project. Estimated cost would be 9.6 cents a kilowatt over the next four years. She said once built, this facility would be free, excluding any maintenance costs. Butts thought this could generate 20% of the city's power and save money right away. She thought the city was paying 12 cents a kilowatt hour now. Butts stated the WWEC expected to double by 2030, and the commodity index project natural gas prices to increase 50% by 2012. Kerry Martin, spoke in favor of the ordinance to rezone the property for the new Library/Museum and would be free to answer any questions. Dale Hoogland, explained his son Travis was an exchange student with Japan last year and was invited back for a 6-month period. The City of Obihiro and the Resurrection Bay Lions Club were willing to have a direct exchange and created a spot for him. Hoogland asked the City for a letter of support for this exchange. - City of Seward, Alaska June 25. 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37. Page373 APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA ...,j Motion (ThomaslBardarson) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion (ThomaslBardarson) To add, "Approval of the restaurant designation permit for Apollo Restaurant" as a consent agenda item. City Clerk Jean Lewis explained that the liquor license was already approved for the Apollo Restaurant back in April of 2007, but the owners had just discovered they did not have this permit filed which allowed them to employ persons under the age ofl9, and allow persons under 21 to eat in their establishment. All city personnel had signed off on it. Motion to Add Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: The June 11, 2007 regular city council meeting minutes were approved. Ordinance 2007-003. An Ordinance Of The City Council Of The City Of Seward, Alaska, I Amending The Land Use Plan And Rezoning Of Lots 1-9 Block 8, Original Townsite Of ... Seward, From Auto Commercial (AC) To Central Business District (CBD). Resolution 2007-061. Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Mutual Aid Agreement Between The City Of Seward And The Lowell Point Emergency Service Area For The Purpose Of Firefighting And Rescue Operations. The restaurant designation permit for Apollo Restaurant was added to the agenda and approved. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards City Manager's Report. City Manager Phillip Oates stated staff had been collaborating with the Chamber in preparation of the 4th of July celebration. He notified that their trip to Washington D.C. was successful with meetings held with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Alaska Governor's office, congressional delegations and the University of Alaska. Oates was told the State would not provide written information about the cruise ship head tax until regulations were drafted within the next couple of months. A public meeting was held on June 22, 2007 on the Long-Term Care Facility, with the public's primary concern being access. Oates addressed questions from the I last council meeting which included; GPS in electric trucks, fence and crosswalks in the harbor, sign ...,j replacement on the state right of way, a letter being sent to MT AB asking ferry service be restored to City of Seward, Alaska June 25, 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page374 - the city, transformer delay, and a credit card system for parking lots. Oates also stated a letter was written to the State and Borough addressing the cost differential and supporting education in Seward. Senior Citizens Center. All repairs were on schedule and should be completed in time for the 4th of July. Electric. The electric department operated its generators on two evenings last week as a result of interruptions of electrical transmissions caused by the recent fires on the Peninsula. Staff was also discussing GCI fiber optic cable pole attachments. Public Works. Timberline should complete its waterfall debris removal today. Their trucks averaged 21 cubic yards of material per load. The ARR would credit the city $14,994 for the Lowell Canyon gravel which would be applied to the lease payment. Chamber of Commerce Report. Chamber President Ron Hewitt notified a 251 pound halibut was leading the derby. In near future the Executive Director would be recommending a resolution involving the property and the train car. Hewitt also informed the public a Dixieland band would be performing Thursday, June 28, 2007 at noon in the small boat harbor. - Seward Planning and Zoning Commission Report. Commission Chair Marianna Keil stated the Commission had approved the library/museum rezone and the rezone on the Schafer property in Forest Acres. The SMIC Development Master Plan was going forward and in the process of being endorsed. The Commission supported a bench study to define property usage conducted on the land across the bay. Keil stated the Pruitt canopy appeal was heard and the Commission found in favor of the Administration, with findings offact and conclusions oflaw due by July 12, 2007. She stressed ambiguities in the code and discrepancies with definitions needed to be cleaned up. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations Police Chief Tom Clemons reported on the process for home deaths. PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolutions Requiring a Public Hearing Resolution 2007-060. Authorizing The City Manager To Proceed With The Acquisition Of Land (Griswold Property), Comprising Approximately 9.11 (+/-) Acres Of The Southwest Corner Of The Unsubdivided Remainder OfU.S.S. 1864, As Reflected In The U.S.S.1864 KPB Replat, Plat No. 2004-03, Inclusive Right-Of-Ways Of Approximately 1.11 (+/-) Acres Extending South From The Intersection Of Oak Street And Hemlock Street And Such Additional Right-Of-Ways To Provide Connecting Access To The 8 Acre Portion Of The Property, And Appropriating Funds For The Future Long Term Care Site For A Purchase Price Of $830,000.00. - Oates held a public meeting last Friday to discuss reasons for the change in direction about site selection for the Long-Term Care Facility. Most public concerns were of access. He explained City of Seward, Alaska June 25, 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page375 the lengthy process for approval, the certificate of need taking 15 months, the bond process and two complicating factors of expensive land surveys and stabilization on the original city-owned site. The second site in north Forest Acres (Schafer property) was made problematic after the October 2006 flood. The levy was damaged and FEMA wanted it certified or elevated above flood level. This FEMA assessment took 5 months. Meanwhile, Hurricane Katrina made it almost impossible to certify levees and the purchase agreement with the Schafer's had expired. With these new developments the city revisited the issue and had three courses of action. 1) certify the levy, 2) elevate the site, or 3) consider a new site. Oates found the levy could be fixed but the federal government would not certify it, elevating the site would require more money to re-design, thus the city was back to considering a new site. Safety, suitability, cost and time were the four factors looked at. Oates stated other factors were investigated such as; co-location did not require the buildings be on the same site which reduced the original footprint ofthe land, the city losing revenue because ofthe age ofthe existing facility, bonding was not site specific, the risk of higher interest rates, and time became linked to cost because of lost revenue. Three additional sites were evaluated. The site selected was safest in terms of previous flooding problems, the seismic condition of the soil was stable, it had the least slope and the closest access to utilities, and the overall price was less. Oates conferred the city had the authority to purchase a right-of-way for a city property that had no access to it. He felt this right-of-way was important for utilities, would open up other areas for development and informed the facility would need two access points. Oates related that this property would not require an additional lift station be built for sewer. He requested the council proceed with the purchase of the property and right-of-way now, and he would hold a work session at a later date to consider all access options into the facility. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Brandon Anderson, read a prepared letter, even though some issues had been covered by the city manager. He wanted council to consider this, as it would greatly alter the subdivision and the access was a disaster. He stated 18 months of construction and staff traffic was a concern to the people in the area. Anderson thought the process itselfwas flawed and suspicious, and asked this to be postponed until homeowners could be better informed. Peggy Ventura, was speechless and bought property in the area because of the residential neighborhood. She never expected to have huge trucks driving on those streets. Ventura wanted the routes carefully considered because of the icy roads. She thought a direct route on Sea Lion would be best. She thought this was a good choice for the Long-Term Care Facility but not for the people that lived in the area. Marianna Keil, thought the purchase price was too high and might affect the price of raw land and property taxes. She requested a detailed plan before it came before the Planning & Zoning .... s , ... .... City of Seward, Alaska June 25,2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37, PaKe376 - Commission again. Keil hoped Medicaid was still funding the facility and questioned fiscal responsibility piling up. Sandie Roach', thanked the public for appearing. Her concern was with the schools and transportation. With bus budget cuts, she feared for children walking along the streets and paths in Forest Acres and reminded council to please think of ingress, egress and safety. Dale Hoogland, stated the way this site was selected behind closed doors was wrong. He thought an RFP was a better way and that the Lechner property had not been thoroughly studied. Hoogland did not feel there was enough discussion or public comment, and questioned if this was actual or potential loss of revenue by sacrificing smart decisions. He wanted the facility built but not there. He thought access was wrong and did not want to purchase the right-of-way. Kathy Byars, read a letter by Sandy Wassilie. She opposed the access of the Long-Term Care Facility because of safety and wanted to preserve the integrity of the school campus's. Safety of students were her main concern. To allow through access would further compromise the cross country running trails and school traffic. Byars echoed to not have traffic going through the school campus. - Kathy Kloster, strongly supported the purchase ofthis property stating it would work nicely for the long term care facility. Kloster stated access issues came up with every site selection. She appreciated the commitment by the council and administration to work out access issues and supported the purchase. Regina Paul, supported the nursing home as a neighbor. She understood there would be initial access issues but would love to see it go through. Lynn Hohl, wore many hats and was concerned with the cross country running trail and vehicular access at the schools. She shared concern ofthe icy streets and informed that most streets in Forest Acres were only 40 foot wide instead of 60 foot wide. She would rather not have roads going through the school. Hohl stated middle school access was more a sidewalk instead of a road, and thought there would have to be frontage once it was subdivided. Motion (Thomas/Bardarson) Approve Resolution 2007-060 Schafer also felt too much of the process was conducted in executive session. He thought Sea Lion was not an option, but down Oak and Hemlock would cost more money to build. He agreed there needed to be a work session on access. Schafer mentioned a substantial cut would have to be made through the hills for the sewer line and thought this needed more work before decisions could be made. - Dunham agreed partially about access, but disagreed not to move with the purchase. He noted the city was now two years behind schedule. He understood the residents concerns about traffic and wanted views discussed and time spent on working out the access. City of Seward, Alaska June 25, 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37, PaKe378 - Discussion ensued on the Lowell Canyon Tunnel Hydro Project. Oates agreed to make sure PACAB had all of the same information that was in the packet and Tim Barnum would add actual kilowatt hour costs. Council Member Thomas had a concern for bed loading going through the turbines. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS (No action required) COUNCIL COMMENTS Amberg stated the Senior Center was looking nice. She thanked the community for attending the LTCF meeting on Friday and tonight's public hearing. Bardarson also thanked the community for coming tonight and stressed funding for schools were also important. Schafer looked forward to the work session on access with the Borough and thought substantial input would solve the problems. - Valdatta commended the Chamber on the branding which was mentioned in the AML Touchstone. Dunham thought comments by Sandie Roach' on school bus budget cuts were disturbing. He urged the public to push for school funding since educational opportunities for children were less and less. He sadly mentioned Dodie Fillingim had passed away in Seattle and services would be July 3, 2007 at the Episcopal Church. Mayor Shafer stated they met with a congressional staffer to explore grant money options on alternate energy but there were too many big projects out there to compete with. She felt they had great meetings, met with John Katz, and spoke of economic development projects and how education funding was affecting our community. CITIZENS' COMMENTS Theresa Butts said P ACAB had been concentrating on giving good information to the city council. A lot of issues brought up had already been looked at. She encouraged department heads to attend their meetings. She stated those invitations had been politely declined in the past. Butts agreed the more information they had the better and she emphasized the engineers portion ofthe bid was less than $50,000. It was obvious to P ACAB it was a good deal on labor and Baker was not charging for personal studies or his research. She stated the CHM2 study had been looked at, and did not want to feel like they were wasting their time - COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZENS' COMMENTS City of Seward, Alaska June 25, 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page377 Amberg agreed with Dunham to proceed with purchase but public comments were needed for I access. She felt employee and service traffic should not be much and thought by working with the .... school district a lot could be accomplished to make it safer for students. Bardarson concurred to proceed with the purchase but look carefully at the access. She wanted to know if access through Phoenix had been looked into. Oates stated all sites had access issues, but reiterated the risk oflosing the emergency room at the hospital if the Long-Term Care Facility was not built. He summarized there were actual and potential losses daily and that all executive sessions held were because of negotiations, not public exclusion. Mayor Shafer noted Wesley was situated in a residential area now and had no complaints generated other than the helicopter. Traffic was minimal on any given day and each day was like "going on a wing and a prayer" with current conditions at Wesley. Motion Passed Unanimous Council takes a break at 9:05 p.m. Council back in open session at 9:10 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION - Motion (Bardarson/ Amberg) Go Into Executive Session To Discuss Strategy For Negotiation Of A Settlement Agreement. Motion Passed Unanimous Went into executive session at 9:13 p.m. Came out of executive session at 9:47 p.m. Resolution 2007-062, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Settlement Agreement To Resolve An Employment Dispute For A Total Of $50,000.00. Oates stated since the city had a partner with the settlement, and a termination would resolve with no more arbitration, he recommended approval. Motion (Thomas/Dunham) Approve Resolution 2007-062 Motion Passed Unanimous OTHER NEW BUSINESS ... A work session for the Library/Museum Project was not deemed urgent and scheduled on September 24, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. City of Seward, Alaska June 25, 2007 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Pa[:e379 Dunham discussed old Seward Light and Power records could possibly be used. .... Valdatta thought the waterfall output was inconsistent and thought Grant Lake should be looked into. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m. ! 1/ 1._' fl"- V anta Shafer Mayor .I j : /i t: j / _'>>;J 10.-(--, "rv~~ I (City Seal) . ~\HIII"I" ",'- T:: Se-, '1, ><;'\'~.---l ~~....:::'1.~ "" ~' ~.~. ....~?Oo;...~O ":. .' C","cP ''''I'~''' ~ '; :$ -+- v e. ~ . $' : : ,,: q:E;/lli : Ql : ""; t...I ::: '\ ~ : = .'~ V'~ ...'lJ."... :: . '-.\;~:..tl"l: 1 \?.....p ~ :";;/~OF/;~~"""'ti ""...""" ..... j ...