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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08292011 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska August 29, 2011 City Council Minutes Volume 38, Page 653 CALL TO ORDER low The August 29, 2011 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:20 p.m. by Vice Mayor Jean Bardarson. OPENING CEREMONY Officer James Rouleau led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Jean Bardarson presiding and Marianna Keil Vanta Shafer Tom Smith Bob Valdatta Ristine Casagranda comprising a quorum of the Council; and Michelle Weston, Assistant City Manager Brenda Ballou, Deputy City Clerk Absent — Mayor Dunham CITIZENS' COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Steve Zernia asked the city to weigh in on the Halibut Catch Sharing Plan to express support for the charter businesses as well as Seward's economic welfare; he provided council with some language that he drafted that the city might consider using; his write -up was neutral but expressed concern about the economic impact of the plan. Rhonda Hubbard said she appreciated that the city and chamber did not have a dog in this fight and instead let the business sectors fight it out amongst themselves; she asked council to go on record saying both resources, commercial and charters, were valuable. Elle Zernia said her business was to sell commercially- harvested fish as well as process sport fish coming in from charters, so she saw both sides of the issue. She has had customers tell her they would not travel to Alaska if the Catch Sharing Plan went into action; she was concerned about Alaskan residents as well as visiting tourists curbing their fishing trips. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion (Keil /Shafer) Approval of Agenda lbw Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes August 29, 2011 Volume 38, Page 654 NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2011 -068, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract For $217,292 With R &M Consultants Inc. For Marine Coastal Engineering Services For The Seward Marine Industrial Center And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Keil /Shafer) Approve Resolution 2011 -068 Assistant City Manager Weston gave a brief overview of the two proposals submitted for the conceptual design; she elaborated that a third proposal was returned with a letter stating that the project was non - engineerable; the two bids received were very close from a money standpoint. Shafer asked how deep the basin was from the North dock to Seward Ship's DryDock; Harbormaster Kari Anderson replied that the existing basin at mean lower water was 35 feet. Valdatta asked if R &M Consulting Inc. was the firm who originally installed the Nash Road; Harbormaster Kari Anderson replied that R &M Consulting Inc. had extensive experience with various projects around the city. Anderson said R &M's scope of work would get the harbor to about 35% completion and would uncover any issues that needed to be addressed; the kick -off meeting with R &M would be held next week. Motion Passed Unanimous OTHER NEW BUSINESS Selected City Manager In Person Interview Questions. Discussion on council submitting a comment in opposition or support to the National Marine Fisheries Service on the Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (0648 -BA37) to meet the September 6, 2011 comment deadline. Smith suggested that the city request more time to respond, but felt it was important for the city to formulate a comment. He said in his experience each fishing season was unpredictable, and the more that the experts believe the season might be bad, the more they would want to manage the process. Shafer said she would agree to ask for more time for response, but did not think it was appropriate for the council to take sides. Bardarson agreed that more time should be asked for; she didn't want to see either side of the sector get harmed. sod Council asked for the letter to request the comment period to be extended to the end of October. City ofSeward, Alaska City Council Minutes August 29, 2011 Volume 38, Page 655 Gave clarification on written decision issued by the City ouncil for the August 3 tY g 3, 2011 NVision /AVTEC Fire Department Appeal Hearing. City Attorney Cheryl Brooking joined the meeting via telephone. Fire Chief David Squires asked for clarification on council's decision. Specifically, he asked if AVTEC obtained a demolition permit, would that negate the requirement for then to install the other safety measures? Bardarson said that was correct; if AVTEC were moving forward to demolish the building then they would not have to install the additional safety measures. Shafer asked for clarification on the timing; Bardarson and Squires responded that AVTEC would have 180 days, once they applied for the demolition permit, to complete the demolition. She continued on to say that in her mind, council had asked AVTEC to install the safety measures as a stop -gap measure until they could move ahead with the demolition. City Attorney Cheryl Brooking clarified the way the original decision was written for the council. The safety measures were requested in order to provide a safe environment for the students and staff from now until the time when AVTEC was ready to demolish that portion of the building. If the building was going to be demolished now, was it still the wishes of the council to have AVTEC install the safety measures even if AVTEC was prepared to move forward with their demolition permit? Squires added that council had required the safety measures be installed within 30 days in order to allow AVTEC time to apply for their demolition permit; if AVTEC were ready to apply for their permit now, would council still require the safety measures? Keil said council's intent was to have AVTEC either install safety measures or knock down the building. Brooking offered to prepare a written clarification for the council to approve. Bardarson asked what the conditions would be on AVTEC, by city code, once they were approved for the demolition permit. Brooking allowed Squires to explain to council what those would include: explanation of how AVTEC would tear the building down; locate all utilities for the building; conduct a hazardous abatement on the building to verify there was no asbestos, etc.; obtain a right -of -way permit; explanation of where the materials will be sent once deconstructed; plan for entrance and egress to the adjacent cafeteria and dormitory buildings during demolition; timeline; fire watch throughout demolition; safety /alert system to protect students and staff. L,,,, COUNCILS' COMMENTS Smith commented about the Catch Sharing in support of asking for a time extension; he City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes August 29, 2011 Volume 38, Page 656 suggested having a work session for interested parties to be able to voice all sides of the issue. ire Valdatta said the quickest and cheapest way to extend the Seward Ship's DryDock rail to accommodate the Coast Guard ships was to lengthen the rail and install a fabric cover. CITIZENS' COMMENTS Rhonda Hubbard warned the council about prolonging the response period for the Catch Sharing Plan. She said the industry needed stability and an extension would create more acrimony between the sectors and be detrimental. There was over 100 years of research on halibut runs and it was more predictable than salmon runs. She encouraged council to express their support and concern, perhaps using the language provide by Steve Zernia. Steve Zernia said his intent for Hubbard introducing the language was specifically not to be divisive between the sectors. His intent was for the council to express their concern that a comprehensive economic study had not been done. Bardarson asked if Zernia thought an extension was appropriate; he replied that only if the council was intending to take action. Bardarson said the extension was intended to allow more time for each sector to provide input as their season waned. Niklas Ranta didn't think a complete and thorough economic analysis was conducted and NOAA should put a little more effort into that research and analysis. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZENS' COMMENTS Casagranda said she didn't think council should ask for a time extension, but instead should send a letter of support, perhaps using the language Steve Zernia supplied. Shafer said she didn't think it was council's purview to take sides but would be in favor of writing a letter that was middle of the road; she said the language in the drafted letter provided was neutral and acceptable. Keil was concerned that council was not knowledgeable enough as a body about this subject, and thought it was best for the two sectors to keep communicating. Smith said it would be very impactful for both sectors to come together and provide a joint response. City of Seward, Alaska Cite Council Minutes August 29, 2011 Volume 38, Page 657 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8 :34 p.m. _ Olt -t - tr en. a Ballou c an Bardarson Deputy City Clerk Vice Mayor (City Seal) 9 QF .Sz � �a .t • • • ci L iw..