HomeMy WebLinkAbout09232013 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes
September 23, 2013 Volume 39, Page 200
CALL TO ORDER
The September 23, 2013 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at
7:00 p.m. by Mayor David Seaward.
OPENING CEREMONY
Lieutenant Louis Tiner led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
David Seaward presiding and
Jean Bardarson Bob Valdatta
Vanta Shafer Ristine Casagranda
Christy Terry Marianna Keil
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
W.C. Casey, Acting City Manager
Johanna Kinney, City Clerk
Absent—None
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CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
Tim McDonald addressed the council on the possible baseline trail. He recently discovered
Homer had a similar trail. McDonald was speaking with representatives in Homer who informed
him they were expanding their trail with cruise ship head tax monies. The community's annual
Shorebird Festival was dependent on this trail,he noted. He would like to bring this to council again
for consideration. It was an important trail and there was precedence in using cruise ship head tax
funds for this type of project.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Bardarson/Keil) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
The August 26, 2013 Meeting Minutes were pulled from the consent agenda by Council Member
Terry.
Mayor Seaward added a Mayor's Report under Special Orders, Presentations, and Reports.
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes
September 23, 20/3 Volume 39, Page 201
Council appointed Wendy Shaffer to the Seward Planning&Zoning Commission,with a term
expiring February, 2016.
Council approved Mark Kansteiner, Rose MacSwain, Mary Williamson,James Herbert and
Carol Griswold to the Election Board for the October 1, 2013 City Election.
Council approved Lori Draper,Dorothy Osenga,Marsha Vincent,and Nici Murawsky to the
Canvass Board for the October 1, 2013 City Election.
Approve the August 12, 2013 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.
SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards
Recognizing American Legion Day
Recognizing Patriot's Day
Chamber of Commerce Report,Cindy Clock stated the Board of Directors invited Bryan
Zak of the Alaska Small Business Development Council to their meeting on September 26, 2013.
On September 13,2013,Christi Bell and Ed Morrison of Strategy-Nets travelled to Seward to assist
the chamber's Core Group in resuming the implementation of their Seward's Strategic Doing Plan.
She thanked Vice Mayor Bardarson, Council Member Terry, Assistant City Manager Long, and
everyone else who attended these workshops. Collaboration was encouraged in these workshops.
There were four working groups: Seward Marine Industrial Center(SMIC),broadband,alternative
energy, and Entrepreneur's Row (industrial/commercial area near Port Avenue). It was generally
agreed that the community plan needed to be integrated with the city budget. Clock noted upcoming
meetings and events around town, including winter tourism focus groups, Meet the Candidates
Night, and the Seward Music and Arts Festival.
City Manager's Report,Acting City Manager W.C.Casey stated the following purchase
orders had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting,all through the Electric
Department: Shoreside Petroleum, $16,610.37 for generators while painting transformers; Alaska
Directional,$24,250.00 Boring on Scott Way for city system improvement for Bear Creek Volunteer
Fire Department; Alaska Directional - $37,875.00 Boring on Rough Drive for city system
improvement in Lost Lake Subdivision; and a change order had been signed for the foundation
contract for $29,815 for foundation insulation and vapor barriers for the new warehouse project.
In Public Works, the department had received delivery of the new dump truck. Road sand
was being prepared for the slick season as well as ongoing tire changes and general winter
preparations. Water/Waste Water personnel were flushing sewers and various hydrants which may be
causing some localized cloudy water. Staff was researching and working with a consultant on
options. costs, and permit stipulations for addressing the Lowell Point Waste Water Lagoon issue.
Bids were received for the City Hall Annex (the Old Library) refurbishment to ready it for City
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes
September 23, 2013 Volume 39, Page 202
Electric and Community Development offices to move in. Work was set to begin immediately. The
hew department was starting the interview process for the open Equipment Operator/Mechanic position.
The Electric Department had four outages or trouble calls since the last council meeting,
affecting eight users. The Seward High School engineering class enjoyed a field trip visit to the Fort
Raymond Generator Facility. As of September 20,2013,three of the four transformers were painted.
The fourth, and final, transformer was scheduled to be done September 24, 2013. All outages and
generation events were complete for this project. The test results indicated the transformers were in
good condition; however, the tests showed some issues which will be addressed by the Electric
Department during construction season of 2014. The department continued to work until freeze-up
and try to complete as many new requests as possible. In the Harbor Department, Moffatt Nichol
Engineering Firm was writing a preliminary design report for the 5-ton crane. It was due to be
finished October 10, 2013. The contract amount was just under$4,000. The budget adjustment to
correct the electrical charges on Z Float would be submitted to council on October 14,2013,as well
as the approval of the 2014 and 2015 Harbor Tariffs. The wash-down slab cure time was just about
over. The crew started the two pressure washers and recycling system and it all worked smoothly.
The preliminary cost of asbestos abatement in the Harbormaster restrooms was $36,000, which
exceeded the grant's budget for this project.
In the Library,high numbers attended the first Story Time of the season on September 13,
2013. A Community Book Club met every other month and anyone could join. Museum hours were
reduced during the winter to Saturdays from 1:00 p.m. - to 5:00 p.m., starting October 5, 2013 and
would be free to the public. Parks and Recreation was preparing to close for the regular season and
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changing over to off-season/winter camping at the end of the month. Department staff added D-1
material to the potholes in the Resurrection Campgrounds. Casey noted congratulations were in
order to employee Mark Stauble and Two Lakes Park, both of which received a Facility Excellence
Award at the Alaska Recreation and Park Association Conference on September 13,2013. The Teen
and Youth Center was busy with upcoming events, such as the First Friday Masquerade Fun and
middle school dances. Sports and Recreation was preparing for winter sports leagues and fall events
like the Halloween Carnival,Family Masquerade Ball and Glacier Family Medicine Pumpkin Prowl.
In response to Shafer, Casey stated that sludge removal at the Lowell Point Lagoon was the
first task at hand in his department, which was initially estimated at $900,000 (hauling and
permitting included)for this alone. In response to Terry,Electric Utility Manger John Foutz stated
he intended to discuss the department's proposed changes to the Sea Lion Avenue construction to the
Seward Site-Based Council. Foutz said he'd been in discussions with the borough to produce better
visibility. Terry wished they would continue to check in on those improvements. Casey said the
snow blower was ready for the season. Shafer asked if they knew anything about the crane for the
harbor,how that was going. Casey said they contracted for a design report for the crane, and he was
thinking the logistics would be prepared in a report next month. Keil wanted clarification on the
rumors going around town that the city wanted to take over the animal shelter to become a kill
shelter. Police Lieutenant Butch Tiner stated that was not his recollection and council could
designate it as a no-kill shelter.
Mayoral Report,Mayor David Seaward thanked Jim Herbert,city's representative for the
Prince William Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) on his latest report
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes
September 23, 2013 Volume 39, Page 203
submitted to the council. Seaward had just returned from Obihiro for the mural exchange and
thanked all the delegates who helped make this event a success. It was a great trip and would not
have been possible without the funding from the tax payers. Seaward thanked them and the council
for the appropriation for him to attend the unveiling. The mural was very large and Seaward recited
the speech he gave in Obihiro during the unveiling.
Other New Business
Approve the August 26, 2013 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.
Motion (Terry/Keil) Approve the August 26, 2013 City Council
Regular Meeting Minutes
Terry stated she pulled this item from the consent agenda because in the manager's report,
the figures given to council were deemed incorrect, and she did not want it part of the official,
permanent record.
Motion to Amend (Terry/Keil) Amend the August 26, 2013 City Council
Regular Meeting Minutes, by striking the
following language from the City
Manager's Report:
us follows:
Amount Comment
S-i4e S-1-370-0Q
S-1-4575440 R&M Steel Build-tag
Change#1 $4,9 I 4 Upgrade
change-.2 $121,600 (R25,R38)
$27,979
Design site,-Rrepare
Civil/.. : : • $493,190
E9(panttlecl-pa4-k-ing lot,per
t-Glian-ge-Or-der-#4-was-fer-in
Change#2 $28,750 floor-heat,vetoed-hy Council)
: : : ••:„ •t
Change #3 H+114+10iVil
•:• • AI of heat-&
1-011 $478,000 -
c-haftge-ig $4274949 Architectural Services
Rell-up-door-s $37,342 A4legrezza Doo47-instal4ed
S-1-0450 .
•
"g-14-I-ng •-"-:' **"• ") $44400 Rattressent-ERFoposed)
ElreAfiC Dayton style Ceiling
$1,000 Mennt-(4-)
S-1-44-14,02,5
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes
September 23, 2013 Volume 39, Page 204
Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Consent
Main Motion Passed Unanimous Consent
Discussion on converting water meter readers. Valdatta would like new construction for
automatic water meters. He felt they should give businesses a time period to convert to a newer
system of metering water usage. It was not a hardship to change the meter. He felt it needed to be a
code change. Casey said this discussion had come up before, and he talked about this recently with
his crew. They had read outs on one-half to two-thirds of the meters in town. The department still
went inside and checked against the master meter, because they weren't always the same. It
behooved the crew to keep track of what was going on with the plumbing in the building to compare
the master meter with the outside meter. Terry said if it was a code or tariff change,they should be
incentive-based, instead of punitive, and whatever legislation was written should be from a "this
point forward" position. Council directed administration to bring forward some cost estimates on
such a project.
Reschedule the work session to discuss transient merchants on the South Harbor Uplands.
After some discussion,council directed the City Clerk to bring this item back for rescheduling at the
November 25, 2013 meeting.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS - None
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Bardarson welcomed the Coast Guard ship in town. She was glad the mural project went
well and she thanked the Seward Arts Council for the upcoming Music and Arts Festival.
Keil encouraged everyone to go out and vote October 1, 2013 or vote early. She thanked
those who worked on the garden at the library.
Shafer liked idea of working with the chamber before they set the two-year budget, as
mentioned tonight. They could be proactive rather than reactive.
Valdatta said for the last three years Hertz was directing cruise ship traffic and passengers.
The Hertz representative, along with the Alaska Railroad and the Longshoremen did a great job of
this.
Terry welcomed the Coast Guard Healy members to Seward. She thanked Wendy Shaffer
for applying to the Planning and Zoning Commission and also thanked the election and canvass
board members. Terry thanked Jim Herbert for representing Seward so well on the Prince William
Sound Regional Citizen's Advisory Council and also John French,his predecessor. She agreed with
that Kerry Martin was a super volunteer.
iram.
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes
September 23, 2013 Volume 39, Page 205
City Clerk Johanna Kinney reminded everyone of the upcoming budget work session
September 24, 2013, Meet the Candidates Night September 25, 2013, and if anyone had election or
voting questions to please contact her office.
Seaward said the city should have a display at the library of all the gifts from Obihiro year
round. The City of Kenai was also having a community mural next year, and he encouraged the
council and community to be involved in the mural location for when Obihiro reciprocates.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Tim McDonald stated winter was coming fast and he noticed a lot of potholes on Adams
Street. He noted they were using some concrete and recommended staying with that as it was much
stronger. He was concerned with the Sewage Lagoon at Lowell Point. He wondered if they needed
to look at a new sewage plant if the current lagoon was too antiquated. He would like to hear more
information on the current system.
Wolfgang Kurtz stated there was a community advisory board meeting for the local radio
station on September 24, 2013. There was a big push to get things moving and he would like some
help and encouraged involvement.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS
Valdatta said they should repair the airport runway and build the proposed baseline trail in
that area. ami
Seaward asked for clarification on the two million dollars coming available for roads. Keil
added they would be used during the next fall. He was glad to hear the funds were going to be used
for roads within the next year.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:17 p.m.
aft,n_
ohanna Kinney David Seawa
ity Clerk Mayor
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