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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11132007 City Council MinutesC'irt~ r!l~.Se•t,•<„-rl. ;llasc„+ Cip~ Cau+ci! Ahn+Nes ~'~'ueet+ther l ). ?(/(! % 1''vlunuc s 7, !'ttXc 44' The Novenrbcr 13, 2011? regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by ivta}'or Clark Corhridge. OPCNING C;IvKF.I•IONl' Police Clticl'Tom Clemrn~s led tlrc pledge of a4fegiancc to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Clark C'orbridge presiding and Willard Durtltanr LindaAmberg Boh Valdatta Jcan Bardarson Betsy kellar comprising a quorum of the Council; and Phillip Oates, City Ylanagcr Johanna Dollerhide, Acting City Clerk Cheryl Brooking, City Attorney ~ .46yENT' -Tom Smith, excused 0177"LENS' COVIA4FNTS ON ANY SUBJECT E3(CI:PT THOSF. I'i•EMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC IIEARING I,,ynn Hohl, gave a brief school hoard report. Hohl recently attended a sta[ewide conference of the Association ol'Alaska School Boards as well as a district budget meeting in Soldotna. Shc stated many important topics were discussed and Hoh4 gave the council recent updates with the Board of education. Russ Aiaddox, stated the £PA pubtishedtheir conclusion nn contamination in the Sfv11C area and the results were accessible on the Internet. The ePA conchrded the areas examined were contaminated and he hoped the city would use this evidence to clean up SNI1C. Carol Griswold, spoke nn Urdirrancc 2007-008 to allo~t~ tmvnhouscs by conditional use permit. Griswold said townhouses were not a land use, but a type of development. Rathor than consider al lowiug them in the downtown conunercial business district, Griswold thought cooncit should consider wltcrc town houses should he added. tihe didn't lcel this urdinance was ready to move forward. APPROVAL OF A(:F:NDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Dunham/Bardarson) Approval of Agenda and Cmtsenl Agenda City nJ.Se,rard, Alaskn Cin' Cmrnr iI :Llinures V ~ nrher 13 X007 I'olame 37. Page 448 Motion Passed Unanimous J 7 he clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: The October ll, 2007 regulnr cih• council meeting minutes were approved llugh Darling was appointed as Srvvard's citizen representative to the Kenai Peninsula Borough 1!:conomic Development District Board. 'there w•as no objection to the liquor license renewal for the following businesses; Thorn's Showcase Lounge and Chinook's 1Yatcr•front. Ordinance 2007-007, amending the Land Use Plan and rezoning of tract D, of the USS 1864, Seward Long '1'crm Care Facility Subdivision (preliminary plat) and rezoning the north portion of tract :1-l, of the CSS 1864, Seward Long 't'erm Care Facility Subdivisimr (preliminary plaq from single family (RI) to institutional (INS), lion oducerl and set for public hearbtg .1'nrentber 16, 1007) Ordinance 2007-008, amending Seward City Code Title 15, Land Uses allowed table 15,10.225 to allow townhouses by conditional use permit in the central business district (CBU). (intruduc•eJ utrrl set fir public hearing :'S'oti•e»ther _'6, 10071 Resolution 2007-117, authorizing the city manager to eater into a contract with Michael L Foster and Associates for an amount not-lo-exceed 5142, 572 fa• the purpose of conducting a water source study. Resolution 2007-118, approving amendment no. 12 to the contract with Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh and Zaue & Associates to extend the term for federal lobbying services through December 3l, 2008. Resolution 2007-119, approving amendment no, l9 to the contract with Kent 1lawson Cmnpany, Inc. for state lobbying services through December 31, 2008. Resolution 2007-120, approving pay'menl of 513,090 to Harmon Construction, loc. for Asbestos Abatement in the Seward Municipal Building. Resolution 2007-121, authorizing the city manager to direct rental income from lots 1 through 6, block 8 original townsite of Seward, :1laska into a reserve account for the development and construction of the Seward Communih' Library Museum. SPECLIL ORDERS, PRESf!:N'I'A'I'IONS ADD REPORTS Proclamations and Awards ++ A proclamation was read for Adoption Awareness ~1onth. Citn o! SetrarJ, Alaska C'in C'ouricil,4finures ,Vat~ember 13, _'001 Volume 37, Pagr 4.39 L BorvuKh Assembly Report. Borough Assembh' Representative Rou Loug had nothing to report as the Assembly canceled their Nvvember 6, 2007 meeting due to the Alv9 L conference. ht response to questions, Long stated no court date had been set regarding the term limit propositions that were approved and contradictory• to those elected to the Assemhly and School Roard. City Manager's Report. City Manager Phillip Oates staled the F.PA inspection ofSew•ard Ship's Drydock was completed and Oates had provided a summary of the report to council tonight. EPA's "no further action" designation did not relieve the facility from complying with appropriate Alaska state regulations. Based on analytical results, no hazardous substances were going into the bay, but on the SMIC site itself. Oates stated the oily needed to address this mailer with Seward Ship's in conjuncliun with the EPA lindings. The Electric Dcpartntcnt was continuing courts ro inrprvvc maintenance for each power line. right-of--way and improve access to all lrausmissiwr lines. 71icy were working on short and long term solutions lur the trauslurntcr replacement at Laving. 'fhc 1500 kva transformer that served Scward's custorttcn Yrom Lawiug to Victor C'rcek and Chugach customers in an emergency failed late Uctober. Staff was currently providing power to Seward customer's from Chugach's distribution system as a temporary solution. The department was still getting requests for new service instal tattoos and staff was continuing to +vork with GCI on their request to attach additional fiber optic cables to utility poles. The Public Works Street Department had begun winter snow removal operations and performed maintenance on some of the drainage ditches. 1Vatcr and wastewater linishcd re-routing the+vater under the creek at the waterfall; personnel were still working to lied a solution for the lisp ditch cub crt failure. The city had scvurd water service prublents, alt were now repaired and back in survicc. Staffwas planning and implementing upgrades at the #1 Lift Station. Consmrction was now finished at the Senior Citizen Center, although Oates just received word that the elevator was broken. He thought it would be fired by the neat day, though. Staff was proceeding with the installation of the new boiler in the basement of city hall now that the asbestos abatement was complete. In other areas, Oates met with Dan Oliver of the Seward Marine Center un Uctvber 31, 200? and members of the L"AF administration to compare 5cward with other potential duck sites for the Alaska Region Research Vessel. Library hours were changing December 1, 2007 to he open seven days a week. An iutruductiou vCthc ZUU7 hrternational Fire Code and discussion of changes the Slate has made to the code would be coming to the council soon. Charlie Forrest and 1im Pipkin transferred from the Public Works Department to the Electric Department. The I lailoween Carnival was a great success, Oates congratulated Parks and Recreation for organizing a great event. City Attorney Report. City Attorney Chrn9 Brooking rcpvrtcd the attunrcy's provided advice on taxes and fees, comments on proposed contracts, resulutivns, vrdiuances, administrative r.. mailers and employrncnl issues, eminent domain, land use management, lease and land use matters and matters related ro the harbor expansion project. Oral argument evas scheduled for November 20, 2007 tier the Clean Water Act litigation case against the city by the Trustees of Alaska. Brooking City gfSeivurd, .Alaclut C'it~~ Cbuncil.hlinute~ ..\~bvember 13, ?007 ['plume 37. Pn~e~ 4S0 noted 1b'ohlforth, Johnson, Brecht, Cartledge and Brooking had a new attorney, Claude Hutchins, and encouraged anyone to come by and meet him if they were in town. ,,,~ Sen and Port and Commerce Report. Deborah Altermatt stated the board had met last week. '1'hcy had w atchcd a power point presentation given by i larhotntaster Scott Ransom, and she thought council should sec it as well Ron Long was appointed as the new chair, and Theresa Runs the new vice chair. llespite administration's suggestions, PAG'1B decided to keep having monthly meetings through the remainder vl'thc year. They would be meeting tomorrow at noon to discuss P:\CAR's roles and respnnsibi litics. It was her pleasure to come before the council as the chair and was excited to tom the gavel over to Mr. Long. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations A report by USDA forest Service, Seward Ranger 1istrict was given on the Chugach National Forest. Seward District Ranger Jeni Evans, introduced herself spoke ou thc• Mary Lowell Center and the Service's reduced participation in the project, mainly due to decreased budgets and the canbiuing ul the Seward and Moose Pass offices. The forest service stil I wanted to he a part of the project, but budget constraints wvuld prevent them from taking a large role in it. PUBLIC HEARINGS ~4ulivn (Dunham/~'aldatta) Place the public hearing item, Resolutions 21107-100 through 109 under unfinished ~. business. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolutions Requlring A Public Hearing Rrsvlutivn 2007-097, amending the Port and Harbor Tariff b}' increasing by 5"/o all moorage, wharl'agr, bust lift, and other harbor rates and fees (excluding passenger Fees), effective January I, 2008. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed. Oates stated [he original intent of having this resolution outside of the revenuerbudget resolutions was to be able to send this out in the upcoming billink cycle to give better notice to its customers, but then w•as postponed for review in conjunction with the budget by the council. Motion (Bardarsou/Ambrrg) Approve Resolution 2007-097 Mutivn to Amend (Rardarson/llunhan[) Amend Resolution 2007-097, section one to read as fellows: "The Cin• Council of the City oCSeward resohes to amend the Port ,~ and Harbor Tariff by increasing harbor moorage, wharfage, oval lift, and all other Gtr n1 ~4'x'arrt..4lacka C'irv Lourrct! ,bHnu7cs ,9nvembcr' 13. ?00? t'ofurnr .R' r''+Qe 4'~t fees by 5"/",with the exception of passenger fees w~hictt shad rcntain at S+3.S(1, and bast launch fees." :~rnbcrg washed to snow if the S°%~ increase was going to go into a specia4 i'und or just to the harbor turd. She wanted lu know because public input she had received teas oat favorable to the increase, but could he if it was guaranteed to go into a certain fund. Lhurham understood the 5"/" was to compensate Utc operating costs and debt service payments. This ~"/o should be going into the harbor enter(n-isc 1hnJ, not to something specific:. Ibfotiou to Amend Passed Unanimous Kellar wanted to know if a 3"/o increase would be possible, instead of 5%. Oates staled a 5"/o increase would come close to what the harbor needed to keep up with deferred maintenance and improvcrncnts. ~1ain 1\Tntion Yassed ilnanimous Council recessed at 8:SU p.m. 1 Council recessed at J:UU p.m. y Resolutlon 2007-100 throueh 2007-1 U9, Adoption of Fiscal Years 2008 City Budget, Consisting of General N'unds, Enterprise Funds,'I'hc 1lotur Pool Fund And -I'he Capital improvement Budget. ~intice ofdic public hearing.heing4wsted and published as required bylaw ryas noted and the public heating was opened. f)ehorah Altertttalt, wars coneemed with Seward'y ecottumic develupntenl. She did not feel economic development to be apparent with this budget. Of the 10 increases proposed, 9 of ahem tvuuld affect the harbor and its businesses. It ryas only a metier of time tahen clients would take their busitmss to another tntvn, ~~hich tvouid hurt Sewasd's ecutx>my dsamatica44y. Sur Kaanta, spoke on the slip assignment fee befat'c the council and felt it was nut right for the city to charge this lee. She ieh the harbor staff was better than implied with this fee. She was on the slip list and thcrcl'ore not impartial, but Ich the harbor fees just kept increasing and implored the city council to correct that. .ferrti~ ~Yaliezrr, knew the council had a difficult task ahead of them. It ryas not lone, ago whin the city went lium ?",b to 4"/o sales tax. N'aliczer feh it was time for the city In cut the budget, and not increase the sales tax once again. Run IIewitt, a business owner and resident outside the city, felt the city should not have to keep raising its rates. Business owners would pass on these increases to their clients and would become less competitive with other towns and ultimately would go elsewhere. Hewitt spoke on the mazke[ing contract with the chamber. 13usincss owners relied heavily un the chamber for marketing, and Hewitt felt the anwunt the city gave the chamber should not decrease. Ciro nJSe»~n.~d .9Lpkn City CounciLblinutcs :4'uvember 13, ?007 I'uhrnre 77, Page 452 Marianna Keil, felt city employees should he dealt with through attrition. She suggested .,. huilding the city shop and electric department together to col costs. She asked council to postpone the opcratiug hudget. Seward conzisted of its citizens, and council should remember to do what rues good for its citizens, and not just the entity of the City of Seward. Kell asked council to wait on several of the budget resolutions before them tonight. Ron Lung, urged council to leave the system in the harbor in place as well as the working relationship with the Chamber of Cunuucrce. Sheryl Srese, had a hard time trying to find the new budget plans online, but just found the initial hudget. She couldn't sec any of the changes made per the councils direction. She asked council trot pass the bud•r;ct turright, t;i look at more cuts. Sete iiidrt~t event the city [o keep adding costs each budget year. iris Bartint;, also requested council postpone to the. f )ecemher [ U, ZOii' mating. The new proposed changes were not found for the public to view. tike personally would like to see the council postpone the budget to the l0`" and promised they would get more input. Debbie VanTussel, from the Holiday hm Express, also asked the council to postpone approving the hudget tonight. She fell more people were going to go to .Arrchurage and not Seward with the increase in bed and sales taxes. She hoped council looked at ways to cut the hudget. Jn Ellen Abbuth wasjust as concerned as the people inside the cit}•. She didn-t believe ii was economically le;rsiblc to keep increasing costs to keep people in the city. Abbott didn r understand why the city was going to raise electric rates to residents outside the city limits. Shc Ccl it was taxation without representation. Sandie Roach', stated the more people Seward could get to walk through its business doors. the more profit, as opposed to increasing the cost and having less people. Roach' read a letter she had sent to council earlier that day. Shc did not agree with the health insurance plans the city - employees currently received. Greg Carpenter. expressed concern on the increase in bed and sales tax. ,\s a lodging operator, he felt it was going to be a serious threat to his business. Thc• boroue.h mx Baas also raisin~~ ibis next year, and Carpcutc:r rhnr+ght this eves going to b<• .r text pr;ihlerrr for business c5cc rte<n in Seward. Ordurarrrr.c far Jntroductiort 1)rdinance 2007-009, amending Seward City Code table 15,10.220 to add a note regarding -imitations oe drvrloprrrent of tract f) of iiSS t86d Jrssr Lee Homc Subdivision Seward Long Term Carr Farilih• Rcplat. limn»duced and set Joe puhNr hc~ari,rg ,~brernher '6. 10U'} !n response to Dunham, Ua[cs said this ordinance came about as a concem ofthe use of the property other than the use of the Long Tenn Care Facility. This was language drafted by the city City n) J'ctvrn~rl, nfusktr Citi GuuncrLi4inuree h'~t~emb~r (3 2QQi {i,lwnr i7. !'a KC 453 attorney to expeditiously resolve the issue. It did no[ restrain the council and could be changed again, it .vas showing intent to the seller on how the city was planning to use this land. Oates r stressed this could be revisited again. It was not a covenant, and had nothing to do with adjacent land. Brooking contirnrcd this was cotTect. It did take a public process and an affirmative vote of the Council to change this ordinance, however. Motion (Dunham/13ardarson) Introduce Ordinance 2007-009 1\lotiou Passed t}naaimous UNFINISHED IIUSINF.SS - Nouc i\EW Bl1SINESS Resolutions Resolution 2007-1 UU, adopting the Cin' Cenrral Fund operating budget fur calendar year Z0U8. Uales said [he city succecdul in engaging the public in the budget process artd thanked all for their coruntcnls. Ile explained the general fund to hopefully clarify some misperceptions that may plr. exist. Uates stated the budget a'as balanced before them now, wish >ustainable service levels and an increase in reserves, although he had hoped the increase would have been higher. This covered the SRIIC deficit and bed loading removal for Iloud mitigation. Ii did nut use any electric enterprise reserves, and cut Icgal fees, cell phone and travel use. Oates anticipated council to vote for road improvement's, no seasonal sales tax, and inemase in health insurance to the employees. The general fund budget also included a bed [ax increase 1'rum 4°/n to G"fin. Motion (Bar'darson/Dunham) :approve Resolution 1007-]00 Alution to Postpone (Kellar~`aldatta) Postpone Resolution 2007-)00 to the December 10, 2007 meeting Aflrr some discussion, Kellar withdrew her motion to postpone and the main motion was put back on the floor. r\mberg asked iCthey staff had any indication of the third quarter sales tax. Oates did not have a figurC fix Antbcrg, but staff estimated an increase in sales tax revenues. Fiuancr Director Krls F.rchingcr stated csscnlial)y staff took the Zt)Ob sacs tax revenues and incrcast:d that figureby' 7°%, and taking that increased number and increase it by au additional 9"/r, to predict the ?008 sales tax revenues. Dunham asked if council passed this resolution, how it would rcllcCt in any changes in the rest oY the budget resolutions. Oates noted it would not have an affect at all. Dunham thought the restitutions were out of order. then. Rardarson agreed, but as she understood il, if council passed City' ojSPH'nrd, Alaa.ka Ci(i~ C'mnu~i! afnu~rec 'Jo~embcr I ~ >UU7 Pi~lume 3i. PQQC A54 these resolutions, additional resolutions would still need to come forward for council to amend i tariffs and the city rude. J 1liotion (Dunhanilliellar) lliscuss Resolution 2007-100 after Resolution 2007-109 on the agenda. Moliun Passed 1`es: 6rllar, 1'aldatta, Dunham, Mayor Corbrid~e No: :1ntberg, Bardarson Resolution 2007-101, adopting the V1'ater Gntrrprise Fund hudget for calendar year 21108. Ogles stated thf s was a balanced budget. "fhe cost of increase of a.6% iuchided no increase in tales, but began repayment of the $3.5 million dollar loan for the Third Avcuue waterline. Afution (Bardarson/Dunham) Approve Resolutiou 2 110 7-1 01 Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2007-102, adopting the Wastewater Enterprise M'und hudget for calendar year 2008. Oates stated this was a balanced budget and recommended approval. Motion (Bardarson/Amberg) Approve Resolution 2007-102 Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2007-1113, adopting the Seward Marine Industrial ('enter Enterprise Fund budget for calendar year 200ft. hates said there was no way to make this hudget look good. General fund reserves would he used to cover the Sv11C deficit that existed until 201 I. Motion (DunhanilBardarson) elpprovr Resolutiou 2 0117-1 03 Flardarsnn asked about the 2.4" b increase to the budget. F.rchinger said the increase was in general administrative costs, which equaled to $1 f1,47A. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2007-101, adopting the Small Boat IIarbor Enterprise Fund budget for calendar year 2008. Oates stated stalTpresented this as a balanced budget. Increases were mainly due [o rising ~ costs of utilities, fuel, and salary and benefits. I~`ew revenue sources could support a bond of $12 million, and ifthe slip assignment tax was approved, it would be equivalen[ to one yea's moorage to Cin'Gf Scnwrrl, Alnsb`7 Cih'Cbrlrrcil.41wu7es' ,1~ov€ntber ! ~, ?00? Vofurrsc 37 Page 4« ^cw slip assignment holders only. Motion (Rardarson/Pmtham) ~lolion ter Antettd (LkellarlDunitam) Approve Itcsolution 2 110 7-1 04 Amend Resoltstion 2607-104 to remnvc She $150,000 slfp assignment 1're under miscellaneous operating revenue. In response. to yuestion<, Erchingcr stated the 0.9^/n casts increases were just how nnrch -on the cxpenseside- costs have gone up since the 2007 budget. The S 150,000 would be on the revenue side, so those two costs were unrelated. Erchinger ctaril-red the intent of the stall assignment tax was to create a source ofrevenue from which the city could match state ntoucy for harhor improvements. Kellar teas under the impression the 5% increase in Resolution 201)7-097 was to match grant funds. She thought the slip assignment fee w•as oppressive and an excessive cost, as well as unfair and selective, llunham was in agrecuwnt with Kellar, he would prefer for everyone to cant' thu burden. The idea ofeharging someone double for waiting to get in the harbor seemed dishonest and a breach of faith. Ambcrg a~~ced with Kellar and Dunham. She Iclt it w•as excessive. A once a year maintenance fee lur everyone was a possible suggestion to go into a deferred maintenance fiord. Amberg had not heard any support for this fee. Oates reconunended perhaps council could postpone this re>olution and let stedTcome hack with possible variations instead of amending it now. Motion to Amend hailed 1liotiat to Postpone (Bardarsou/:~mbrrg) Minion to Postpone Passed 111ution (i)ardnrsonlAmUrrg) OT11ER NEN' BUSINESS Motion (Valdatta/Bardarsun) 1'es: Dunham, Kellar, ~laym• Corbridge No: Amhcrg, Bardarson, Valdatta Postpone Resohttiou 2007-104 to the .November 2(i, 2007 meeting. Cnauinwu~ Postpone tUe rest of the bud~rt items (Resolution :007-100, 105, 1lIG, 107, 108, 109) to the Novrutbrr 26, 2007 in order to ad,juurn on time. Postpone the appointment of a council representative to the Kenai Yeuinsula Borough Economic Development District L0' of.SK,~vrd dlarkn Cih+ Coma! .bJinutrs A`ovembNr 13 100? Ynlwne ??. J'agv d5G Board to the November 26, 2007 meeting. ... Motion Passed C:nanimous INFORAIATION.A). ITE'~IS A\D REPORTS (A'o action rryuirec!) COC~NCIL C'l).~1b1ENTS Dunham slated the Seward PTA wanted hci~ple t... Iririciliate in :n. cduc;~ii,~nal surce~. 'Jnuemherl4a++d)5,?007.ITwasimportanilotl~ .,<~;~!~r~ .. .~:~;~.:,+; 1~:;:~;.~>. could be picked up at any of the schools in town. Rrilar rcce+grrrzed the powerful voices ~,.'ti,:~~..c.l 1~.~_~I~~ ,.i~,~,.~i ~_urci.~ ,~~+~~r, .,-rcc~ic,i .~ student government conference. CITILF:NS' COiVIb{LETS Deborah :~Ilermatt thanked council 1'or making this budget process open to the public. She appreciated council looking carefully into the slip assessment fee. Alterman had queried a lot of people, and received only negative feedback on it. She suggested council look into a maintenance fee far all slip holders, but suggested it was something they shouldn't arbitrarily pick in the next few weeks and recommended they send it to PACAB for research. .Altennatt thanked the council for their wUrk. The Seward Rotary was putting nn a wine lasting benefiting the P.A.R.K.S. project this - wcckcnd. COUNCiI. ANb AD`'lIN1STRATION RESPONSE'I'C) CITI7.ENS' COM1iMEN'fS F.\ECGTIVE SESSION ~lolion (DunbamBardarsonl Go into rxrcutivc session to evaluate and discuss reiu+bursement for Japp Creek Lrvrr repairs in accordance with Resolution 2007-079 that cu++id lead to litigation. lyfotion PassrrJ L`r+animu+JS Currse++t Council went into executive session at 10:40 p.m. C'a+ncil came ou! ufL•xeetrrive session at !0:>S p.rrt. ADJOUR:NMEN"1' 1'he meeting was adjourned at 1 I :00 p.m. C,~;r~, ~. „ irS:.p;, r_'ilrCnundlali!nurc Y~.nrru+~~, {'olurr!e J?, PaZr~l?7 n :; ~~. ! is F~ e=ti.T ~^`i ~`.-Cr~f~t._Glr~ ''~--~.~ ~fohanna llollerhide. /Assistant (_ ity Clerk r:~nnr~,~t, ~C~e~(1~~bF SFl q~` Cr\~GppPO~r, ~~J .,. c 9 ; ~~, ~ ~. _" ~ `r''`~ti~ 0~~.• /~~~ Clark Corbridgc Mayor