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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11142011 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 volume 38, Page708 CALL TO ORDER j immy The November 14, 2011 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor David Seaward. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Tom Clemons led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Seaward presiding and Ristine Casagranda Christy Terry Jean Bardarson Bob Valdatta Vanta Shafer comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Absent — Marianna Keil is` CITIZENS' COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tom Swann spoke in support of adding the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home to the city's priority list. He recognized efforts should be coordinated with the city. The Friends had always lobbied as a statewide group. They did not want to be the reason the city didn't get other appropriations, so they would work with the city to make sure that was not the case. Brandon Anderson spoke on the Civil Air Patrol and their annual fundraising project. They asked for cooperation from the community and also from the city for any funds they could give. Paul Rupple welcomed the new mayor and manager. He cautioned them to go slow while they were new in town. Priority lists in town should be infrastructure. Coastal Villages was a priority and stated the Jesse Lee Home should not be on the priority list. He felt these priorities may compete against each other. He advised those new on the council to take a walk through the home. Rupple also said there shouldn't be on the priority list paying off a bunch of lawyers to fight the RBCA lawsuit. Hilda Lespron just moved inside city limits. She had a letter from the Seward Arts Council and read it to the council. The Arts Council was requesting the City Council put $10,000 to the arts council back in the budget as it was taken out. Lespron listed the many events and performances to Seward. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page709 Emily Gustafson spoke in support for the Seward Arts Council and following through on the void original agreement of allocating the original amount of $20,000 to the arts council. Gustafson explained what the arts council was made up of and what they do for the community. Tim McDonald gave a brief report on the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association that he was a member of as Seward's representative. The good news on silver salmon was the return was projected for the next year was 35% more. There was a disease problem that the association was working with. The United Fisherman of Alaska passed some resolutions regarding invasive species and McDonald apologized for not providing them to council tonight. They also passed a resolution supporting the re- establishment of the Alaska Coastal Zone Management Program. It gave Seward another avenue for development and participation in the process. Darryl Schaefermeyer thanked the council for their past support for the Alaska SeaLife Center. He spoke on the ordinance for introduction that repealed exemptions on bed tax and wished council would reconsider this exemption for non profits. He hoped they would consider that in the light of this ordinance because non profits were struggling in this economy. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Bardarson /Shafer) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Ordinance 2011 -006 was ulled from the consent agenda. P g Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2011 -099. Appropriating $166,000 From The General Fund To The Electric Enterprise Fund As An Extra Payment Toward An Outstanding Loan Between The Funds. Resolution 2011 -100, Adopting An Alternative Allocation Method For The FY 2012 Shared Fisheries Business Tax Program, And Certifying That This Allocation Method Fairly Represents The Distribution Of Significant Effects Of Fisheries Business Activity In The Cook Inlet Fisheries Management Area. Resolution 2011 -101, Authorizing The City Manager To Accept The FY2012 Clg Grant For The "Seward Historic Preservation Commission Training And Education" From The State Of Alaska Historic Preservation Office To Allow Commissioners To Travel To Spokane, Washington And Norfolk, Virginia For Preservation Education, Utilizing $23,662.84, Including The $14,197.70 Federal Share And $9,465.14 Applicant Share In The Form Of Cash Donations And In -Kind Services. Resolution 2011 -102. Appropriating $6,783.42 For Expenditures Related To The 2011 City eri Manager Hire. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page710 The October 10, 2011 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Were Approved. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards Miles Knotek was congratulated as State Cross Country Champion. A plaque was presented to Steven Heinrich in recognition for service on the Planning and Zoning Commission Borough Assembly Report, Sue McClure stated she attended AML in Fairbanks last week. It was cold. Five other assembly members joined her. She attended a lot of sessions, learned a great deal, and renewed acquaintances with other elected officials. One of the sessions she attended was on emergency preparedness. McClure stated she wanted pet evacuation procedures incorporated into the borough's emergency plan. She was on a working group with the borough to come up with the plan for pet evacuations and was teleconferencing into these meetings. It stemmed from a federal mandate issued after Hurricane Katrina. She noted there was some talk of moving one of the Seward seats to an at large seat on the Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area Board and if the designation changed the population projections. She encouraged people to apply for these seats. r.• McClure stated there would be only one Assembly meeting in November and only one Assembly meeting in December. The next meeting was December 6, 2011 and an important part was addressing an ordinance to accept cruise ship passenger tax proceedings from the last two years. They share these funds also with Homer, as they were a port of call. She stated there was approximately $761,705 likely coming to Seward. New Mayor Navarre appointed Paul Ostrander as his Chief of Staff. She reminded the public to use borough resources — please refer to the borough website, the Seward Annex Office in the Seaview Plaza and the flood board office also in the Seaview Plaza. City Manager's Report, City Manager Jim Hunt stated there were no purchases approved by the City Manager for between $10,000- 50,000 since the last Council Meeting. In the Finance Department, the Small Business Development Center had offered a potential win/win solution to the City, related to the economic development position partnership that was previously proposed for the City. Specifically, the SBDC offered to hire a full -time person who would work out of their Anchorage office but who would be the designated business advisor for Seward. This individual would travel quarterly to Seward for 2 -3 days per trip, and would work to develop new businesses in Seward, to assist with small business loans, financial planning, etc. In exchange, they ask for an annual payment of $12,500 from the City. In the Harbor and SMIC, several customer meetings had taken place since the new Harbormaster came onboard. The City sold one sailboat to a local buyer and collected on one delinquent account. Cathodic protection (zines) had been installed at Polar Seafoods at SMIC. Three harbor employees completed OSHA safety training, and Harbormaster Funk attended a Coast City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page711 Guard Area Security Meeting. Two boats came loose in the November windstorm. The Harbor staff contacted the vessel owners. There was no damage reported to the vessels. An , re secured and c g P application checklist was submitted for Alaska Clean Harbor designation. An opposition motion was filed by the City Attorney to Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance's claim for fees. In Public Works, Pacific Pile and Marine, LP was awarded the construction contract for the SMC Dolphin Project, including all additive alternates with the exception of dredging, for a total price of $1,494,000.00 on October 10, 2011. A signed contract from Pacific Pile and Marine was signed and a purchase order not -to- exceed $1,494,000 issued. Work was expected to start this season and would be finished no later than June 1, 2012. The City would be issuing a PO for construction management within the next couple of weeks. The GIS system at Public Works was set up. Staff was working on updating and adding new data and would complete the GIS system setup for mobile units on November 22, 2011. Water and Wastewater departments were working to finish pending items for the Lowell Point Waste Water Treatment Plant permit renewal requirements. The Street and Shop Department were focused mainly on snow removal, sanding and mitigating other hazards caused by adverse weather conditions. They also mitigated hazards caused by rockslides on Lowell Point Road. In Parks and Recreation, Community Schools programs continued, Park Maintenance and Campgrounds continued ongoing maintenance, Sports and Recreation had many league and seasonal events, the TYC had events coming up like Eat Dessert First, Tri- Fun -A -Thon, and Middle School Madness. Mayoral Report, David Seaward stated October 31, 2011 he congratulated Mike Narvarre on his successful election as Borough Mayor. He attended Newly Elected Officials training in Fairbanks November 7 and 8, 2011. On November 10, 2011, Seaward spoke in Anchorage at the 21 candle light vigil hosted by Covenant House in Anchorage. He thanked everyone for contacting him for their suggestions on keeping government transparent. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations An update was given by Kevin Smith, Executive Director of the Alaska Municipal League /Joint Insurance Association (AML /JIA). PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolution 2011 -085 through 2011 -095, Adoption Of Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013 City Budget, Consisting Of General Funds, Enterprise Funds, Motor Pool Fund, Debt Service Funds And The Capital Budget. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Mark Kulstad spoke to the council on the proposed budget. He asked what the goal was for the budget process. He felt the way it was proposed was for the City Government to get a bigger piece of the pie. turi City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page712 Mary Kulstad also spoke on the budget. She asked that the budget be set aside or something %r.* be done for more work sessions for the new mayor and city manager to be a part of it. She had a financial report that was lengthy and hard to understand. She handed out her comments with questions on where the profits went in the city. Tom Tougas handed out the economic development assessment but noted nothing had been done with it. He said in the 1990's, the population was growing consistently. Since 2000, the population had been on a consistent decline. Since then, the focus had been "we want a bigger piece of the pie." Tougas encouraged investment and innovation. Right now Seward had degenerated to fighting over a shrinking piece of the pie. The budget process discouraged innovation and investment. The town was dead right now. This budget was a continuation of a decade of decline. Tougas said council should pass this budget on an interim basis. They needed a new planning process. The Public Hearing Was Closed. Shafer said this was a painful budget process. The city at the beginning was asking for three to four times as much in increases. She voted against the electric increase, but it passed regardless and she had to support it now. Council spent a lot of time on this. If they didn't pass the budget by the first meeting in December, administration's recommended /preliminary budget went into effect. If they passed the budget, council can always amend it later. She had no problem having more work sessions and more input, but right now they were in a time crunch. This was the only way she could irm see this working for all needs out there. By unanimous consent, council suspended the rules to poll the audience to see if they would want to wait for a work session after November 28, 2011 with the assumption that the approval of the budget resolutions would go on the December 12, 2011 meeting. Council scheduled a work session for December 5, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at a location to be determined. Discussion ensued about PERS and employees' liability. Erchinger explained what the city reserves actually consisted of. Resolution 2011 -096 Amending The City Parking Fees Schedule For City Owned Parking Lots, Setting Daily Parking Fees, And Seasonal Permit Passes Rates Effective May 1, 2012. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Tom Tougas asked about the rates before the council. The challenge they had with the current process was the information used was a guess. Because the budget was indexed off of assumptions and not off of actuals. He asked for actuals for 2011 parking information. The Public Hearing Was Closed. Motion (Shafer /Bardarson) Approve Resolution 2011 -096 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page713 Casagranda asked for the reason for the increase. Erchinger said the prices were the same, but permit fees would increase for sealing, striping, and patching. The slip holder passes and harbor area employee passes were not intended to change. The only recommended change was vehicles with trailer passed and visitors passes. Shafer asked which was the last parking lot that was sealed and striped. Parks and Recreation Director Karin Sturdy stated they striped their parking lots each year, but did not professionally strip or patch them. Shafer asked if they intended to seal this year, and Sturdy said they had it budgeted to seal this year for the center parking lot as the priority, the north parking lot as the second priority, then the south lot, then the employee parking lot, and then the north east parking lot. Staff was hoping for a lower bid when they bid it earlier this year, and it just depended on the price. They exceeded their revenue budget for 2011. Valdatta said he didn't see any heartburn with these increases. Sturdy felt it was fair and that it was an appropriate cost. In response to Seaward, Sturdy said seasonal passes for harbor area employees were provided. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2011 -097 Entering Into An Additional Nine Month Lease Extension With The United States Coast Guard To Accommodate Their Relocation To A New Location. 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. Motion (Shafer /Terry) Approve Resolution 2011 -097 Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2011 -098 Entering Into An Additional Five Year Lease With Chugach Regional Resources Commission For The Operation Of The Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Motion (Terry /Shafer) Approve Resolution 2011 -082 Mark Kulstad asked when he was looking through the budget, he looked at the possibility of evaluating the city's leases and that it was something to consider. There were some static lease numbers. Perhaps council should look into evaluating leases as well when they looked at the budget. The Public Hearing Was Closed. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page714 NEW BUSINESS Ordinance 2011 -006, Revising Seward City Code 5.45.015 (Hotel /Motel Room Tax — Levy Of Tax), Eliminating All Exemptions From The Hotel/Motel Room Tax Effective January 1, 2012. Motion (Bardarson /Shafer) Introduce Ordinance 2011 -006 Shafer asked Erchinger to speak on this ordinance and how much funds this would be expected to generate and who it would affect. Finance Director Kris Erchinger said this was one of the items spoken on during the budget hearings. Seward had a large portion of non taxable properties. It had been an area of interest by the council to seek ways to have the non profits to contribute. This removal would treat non profit entities in any way else that someone would be renting a hotel room. They would not be able to charge the federal or state government if they had the appropriate exempt cards, though. The city would work on defining that fully for businesses. The Army Rec Camp was legally bound by this tax. They could not compel the federal government to pay tax, though, which made it difficult to ask. There were opportunities available, though. The magnitude of what to expect in revenues was difficult to determine. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2011 -103, Authorizing Amendment No. 2 For $102,158 The Construction Contract With PCL Construction Services Inc. For Additive Alternate #4, A More Durable Stone Siding Option For The Seward Library Museum Project, And Establishing A $100,000 Project Contingency, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Bardarson /Shafer) Approve Resolution 2011 -103 By unanimous consent, council suspended the rules to allow Rise Alaska Project Manager Kent Crandall to speak. The stone siding was part of the original project design, but cut to reduce the price. What was substituted was cement board, or party board, as a fairly durable material but could break on impact and would need painting often. Terry asked if anyone on city staff was identified to manage this project. Hunt was unaware. Terry asked Crandall who was going to ensure if there were conflicts between plans to make sure change orders would cease. Crandall couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be any more change orders, but they did know some amount of change orders would come up. This contingency would allow for more change orders if they arose and staff would not have to come forward to council with change orders. Valdatta asked if the price of the siding was locked in if this resolution gets approved. Terry also asked Crandall that the change order included alternate number 4 included metal studs being changed was $15,800. Crandall stated the supporting documents in the council packet included this information. L City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes mai November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page715 Erchinger stated Building Inspector Stefan Nilsson was the on ground project manager and Erchinger helped with the financial aspect for Michelle Weston while she was away. Motion Passed Unanimous OTHER NEW BUSINESS Discussion and direction on special contracts for electric rates. John Foutz stated he was seeking direction as far as what council would like staff to do with the special electric rate contracts. At the last budget session in 2009, the industrial rate was abolished and replaced with special contracts. Council directed staff to increase special rates to 10% the first year and 5% the second year. This patterned the electric rate increases they voted on earlier when the approved the electric tariff. Discussed adding the Jesse Lee Home to a Legislative Priority List. Shafer said she would like to have information from the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home, including a letter from the superintendent of schools or the borough in support of this project and a letter from the high school supporting the project. The Friends of the Jesse Lee Home had worked very hard for about 8 years now. She had yet to see anything from CIRI on their contribution or any other groups other than what they received from the state. Shafer stated she would like to see other supporting documentation from other agencies and school districts first. 1 Valdatta said this should go as a state priority and put in on the marine section of the list. Shafer said state lobbyist Kent Dawson cautioned council to put this on the state priority list. She didn't mind if it was a city priority. Bardarson said she called Dawson today and he suggested if anything put under beneficial legislation under support of the statewide charter leadership school. Motion (Seaward/Valdatta) Direct staff to bring forward a resolution amending the state legislative priority list at the December 12, 2011 meeting under consent agenda with the following addition: $11 million capital request for Friends of the Jesse Lee Home /Balto School. This project will also remain on the city legislative priority list when it comes before council for approval. Bardarson said she would not want to put a dollar figure to this project. There was only so much money in Juneau, and the Coastal Village project was one they want to move forward, and she did not want to jeopardize that funding in any way. Each location in the state gets a certain amount of money, and she would not vote for that with the dollar amount on the state priority list. Shafer thought this should be on the city priority list, but not on the state list. Anything they City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minuses November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page716 put on the state list competed with Coastal Villages and right now Coastal Villages was their top priority. Casagranda thought perhaps Valdatta was suggesting the council should put this project on the federal priority list. Valdatta said there was federal money corning to the state, and that money should be earmarked. Seaward expressed his support for the Jesse Lee Horne Leadership Program. Bardarson supported the school as well; she didn't want to jeopardize the amount of state funding that would go to Seward. Motion to Amend (Shafer /Bardarson) Amend the motion on the floor by removing the dollar amount and put it only on the city priority list, under Beneficial Legislation as "Support of the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home." Motion to Amend (Seaward /Terry) Secondary amendment to the amendment and main motion on the floor, including adding "Support of the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home" under Beneficial Legislation to the city and state legislative priority lists. Motion to Secondary Amendment Passed Yes: Terry, Casagranda, Valdatta, Seaward No: Bardarson, Shafer Motion to Primary Amendment Passed Yes: Casagranda, Bardarson, Valdatta, Terry, Seaward No: Shafer Motion to Amend (Casagranda /Bardarson) Amend the main motion on the floor, to have the new city and amending state legislative priority resolutions come forward at the November 28, 2011 meeting, instead of December 12, 2011. Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Casagranda, Valdatta, Terry, Bardarson, Seaward No: Shafer Motion to Amend (Terry /Bardarson) Bring forward these resolutions on the regular agenda, rather than the consent agenda. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page71 Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Terry stated her support to bring this forward at the next council meeting. She thought maybe the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home and the public perhaps felt this was not adequately addressed, so this would be appropriate to have it come before council to have a discussion. Main Motion Passed (as amended) Yes: Terry, Valdatta, Bardarson, Casagranda, Seaward No: Shafer INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS (No action required) Letter, from City of Obihiro. Accounts receivable write - offfor Harbor vessel "Gipsy ". Status update for the All Hazard Mitigation Plan, Annual Report to the National Flood Insurance Program Community Rating System. COUNCILS' COMMENTS Bardarson said good work to staff on negotiating the rate on the vessel Gypsy. The AML conference was productive and she went to quite a few seminars. They all were great and she talked with other communities and their challenges. Bardarson thanked the Seward Art Council for all that they do. Shafer this year they were kicking off the holiday season with lighting the Christmas Tree, carolers, the Alaska Sealife Center community Christmas party was that night, and there were many other events happening downtown. She hopes everyone puts this one their calendar for December 1 at 5:30 Valdatta said regarding the All Hazard Mitigation Plan: he did not see anything across the bay to alleviate the erosion problem. Harbormaster Funk said he was aware of the erosion at the old cell phone tower, and he would look into the mitigation plan, but rest assured they were aware of the issue. Valdatta said Happy Holidays and to drive safe. Terry thanked the Christian Youth Organization Young Life who held their conference in Seward last weekend. Seward was listed in USA Today as one of the ten places to enjoy the "simple life." The Chamber was hosting a reception for the new mayor and city manager tomorrow. The Senior Center Open House was Friday, November 18, 2011. She thanked Steven Heinrich for his service on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Terry asked citizen's to please be a part of this commission. She requested a discussion on changing the public comment limits from 2 to 3 minutes be on the November 28, 2011 agenda instead of the December 12, 2011 as previously planned. Seaward said Happy Thanksgiving and thanked everyone for their service. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minuses November 14, 2011 Volume 38, Page718 bow Hunt announced he made an offer for the Assistant City Manager position to Seward resident Ron Long. Long agreed to take the position and he felt he would be a valuable addition to city projects. CITIZENS' COMMENTS Ron Long stated he would be attending the Fish Expo with the Harbormaster and the Chamber Director. There would be good opportunity to interface with the Coastal Village Project players as well as long standing harbor customers. Mary Kulstad announced the Chamber was hosting the party for the City Manager, the Mayor and the new Harbormaster between 5:00 — 7:00 p.m. tomorrow and encouraged those to attend. She thanked the council for their work on the budget and thanked them for the work session they scheduled this evening. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZENS' COMMENTS Valdatta congratulated Ron Long. He was excited that Long's experience with lobbying would come into play. ADJOURNMENT 6.1 The meeting was adjourned at 10:02 p.m. d G�IC�/C.ic���y --c o anna Kinney, CMC David S d C ty Clerk Mayor (City Seal) o oe oss 10 4 � q 0. $ `a rzx 2 4. f V 5 , % 47 o • 0; � ?. , ` *gcvcmma�uee 4 4 • sssassssSe o fir,..