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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01272014 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska Cite Council Minutes January 27, 2014 Volume 39, Page 267 } CALL TO ORDER Imo The January 27,2014 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Jean Bardarson. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Tom Clemons led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Jean Bardarson presiding and Marianna Keil Ristine Casagranda Christy Terry David Squires Dale Butts comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Nanci Richey, Administrative Assistant Absent—None Vacant— One CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Russ Maddox spoke of an illegal burn that had happened near his property years ago on Nash Road. He never thought he would see such a burn again but a few weeks ago another one occurred. Maddox stated the burn would not have been allowed if it had been disclosed what the matter to be burned was. He felt this was an illegal burn and no one was acknowledging fault. Sue Lang was a business owner in the Lowell Point community who expressed continued concern on the odor that had grown worse because of the problems at the sewage lagoon. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Terry) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes January 27, 2014 Volume 39, Page 268 Approval of the January 13, 2014 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Non-objection to the liquor license renewals for Three Bears #20 and Marina Restaurant. 9 SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards In Memoriam Proclamation for Vanta Shafer. Chamber of Commerce Report,Cindy Clock stated the Chamber had an economic growth plan work shop planned for January 28, 2014. She thanked the Holiday Inn for hosting the event. The Silver Salmon Derby Committee met with the Seward Fish and Game Advisory Council to discuss enhancement of shore fishery. The recent Community Awards Dinner at Chinook's was a sold out event. Maya Moriarty won the Person of the Year Award, Joe Tougas won the Business Person of the Year Award, and Woody's Thai Kitchen won the Business Site Improvement Award. Marie Fletcher of the Liberty Theater received a plaque for doing business for over 50 years and Hugh and Iris Darling of Brown and Hawkins received recognition for doing business in Seward for of over 100 years. Clock stated she would be attending the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District's Industry Outlook Forum in Kenai this week. The next Chamber luncheon was February 7, 2014. Joe Fong would be speaking at a later luncheon about Mountain Haven. City Manager's Report, City Manager Jim Hunt stated there had been two purchases between $10,000 and $50,000 approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $31,946.00 to Digital Payment Technologies for the purchase of three automated pay stations for the Parking, Campground, and Harbor Departments, and $27,917.00 to JWC Environmental for the purchase of a new solid sewage grinder. In Public Works,personnel assisted with an erosion issue at the north dock area.A fire hydrant was losing protection due to tidal action. Chris Hansen was hired as the new equipment operator/mechanic,bringing the crew to full staff A Notice of Violation was received from the State of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation on Monday, January 20, 2014 regarding odors at the Lowell Point Waste Water Treatment Plant and permit non-compliance with several Discharge Monitoring Reports during last summer.Violations included Dissolved Oxygen(being too low), Fecal Coliform (being too high), and one instance of Percent Reduction(being low). The Electric Department had one outage since the last council meeting. There was a scheduled outage in the downtown area on January 30, 2014 to repair a damaged pole. The department was starting the process of moving their office to the City's East Annex Building.As of January 1, 2014, Homer Electric started producing power. The city has not monitored any system disturbances to the Seward Electric System so far. All Railbelt Utilities were continuing to work together on new operating procedures. In the Harbor,the Polar Bear Jump Off Festival was a success and the harbor staff would like to thank all of the volunteers that helped with this event. On January 16,2014,diesel fuel seeped out of the 50-ton boat lift and trickled down into the harbor. Staff put out absorbent pads and recovered most of the fuel. The spill was reported promptly to the proper authorities. The Port and Commerce City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes January 27, 2014 Volume 39, Page 269 Advisory Board was researching various forms of natural gas. The Harbor staff sent one certified letter to a customer that failed to advise the harbor if they wanted to continue or relinquish their slip. This represented a big improvement compared to 2013 when there were approximately 10 letters required. A January newsletter was sent out to harbor customers and the February newsletter had also been prepared for distribution. In Parks and Recreation,the department was planning a referee class for teens,reviewing job descriptions, and making improvements to the Teen and Youth Center, Rec Room and the Park Maintenance Shop. Some upcoming events were the Harmon Construction Poker Tournament on February 22, 2014 at Tony's and the Archery League every Tuesday at the Railroad Terminal. Hunt stated he received the final version of Dr. Reid's second opinion inspection of the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon and anticipated he would provide it to council and the public tomorrow. He asked for a council consensus to bring forward a resolution to request $500,000 for this issue. Council gave no objection to this request. Hunt stated administration needed to evaluate and come up with the best plan of action on the sewage lagoon and then create a Request For Proposal. He reiterated that the disposal of the lagoon material was the biggest obstacle. In response to questions, Hunt stated he had not received a letter from DEC on burning. Terry thanked Foutz for updating the costs for the Electrical Warehouse Building. Electric Utility Manager John Foutz stated electrical engineering Request For Proposal costs were not known yet and,therefore, not included in the costs provided to council. Foutz also stated they were still waiting for the projected revenue sources to be redirected. Terry requested to see a total for the project when the resolution to approve the electrical engineering contract came before the council for approval. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations Presentation by the Seward Mural Society on the 2013 Friendship Mural created in Obihiro, Japan. PUBLIC HEARINGS—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2014-012,, Prioritizing The City Of Seward's Calendar Year 2014 Federal Legislative Priorities. Motion (Terry/Keil) Approve Resolution 2014-012 Assistant City Manager Ron Long stated this was at the request of the city's Federal lobbyist in consultation with our Federal congressional delegation to select the top three Federal priorities. The three presented tonight were administration's recommendation based on the Federal City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes January 27, 2014 Volume 39, Page 270 priorities previously approved for 2014. In response to Terry,Long said there were some cost savings with the Phase 1 development m i for SMIC expansion but they were unknown. Administration wanted to stay consistent with the previously approved resolution as well, so they recommended keeping the figure at$7.9 million. Motion to Amend (Casagranda/Squires) Amend Resolution 2014-012, Moving Priority Number 1 To The Number 3 Slot, Moving Priority Number 2 To The Number 1 Slot, And Moving Priority Number 3 To The Number 2 Slot. Casagranda felt the city should take care of their existing infrastructure first. Squires asked where the$2 million amount for mitigation for flood risk reduction at Lowell Creek came from, and Long stated it was recommended by the Army Corps of Engineers and Hunt added that figure was just to pay for the city's share of the study. Since there was a proposed federal budget this year, this might be Seward's best opportunity to advocate for funding assistance federally. Terry agreed with Casagranda's reasoning,but she thought it was their best chance to get the funds for the SMIC Expansion Project at the state level, and it needed to be the top priority at all levels. Butts stated he also understood Casagranda's intention,but the project was moving forward, and this next step was extremely important to show as the city's most important priority. Motion to Amend Failed Yes: Casagranda No: Terry, Keil, Squires,Butts,Bardarson Main Motion Passed Yes: Butts,Squires,Terry,Keil,Bardarson No: Casagranda Other New Business Discussion on upcoming council travel, including selecting the mayor to attend the Alaska Municipal League Conference of Mayors Winter Legislative Session February 17-19,2014 in Juneau and selecting the mayor and/or a council member to travel with administration for upcoming legislative trips to Juneau, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. It was decided Mayor Bardarson would travel for these legislative trips and when the dates of the Seattle,Washington D.C.,and any additional Juneau trips were known,council may send additional members. Council also requested the City Clerk give them an update on their travel fund to be certain the budget could allow for this travel. Declare the council seat of Vanta Shafer vacant and instruct the City Clerk to advertise a notice of vacancy on the City Council with a term to expire October 2014. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes January 27, 2014 Volume 39, Page 271 The seat was declared vacant by council and the City Clerk was directed to advertise a notice of vacancy with a deadline of Tuesday, February 18, 2014. Council would appoint a new member at their February 24, 2014 City Council Meeting. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS—None COUNCIL COMMENTS Keil congratulated Maya Moriarty, Joe Tougas, Woody's Thai Kitchen, and Marie and the late Skip Fletcher for their community awards and recognition received at the Chamber Awards Dinner. She attended this event and there was a nice tribute to Council Member Shafer. Keil stated she was going to miss her colleague. She brought a smile to her face, she would never forget her. Casagranda thanked everyone for speaking at the meetings and those who stayed involved. She thanked the Seward Arts Council for representing Seward in Obihiro. She stated Council Member Shafer would be missed in many ways. Squires sent condolences to the Hamilton and Shafer family. Council Member Shafer would be missed throughout the community. He thanked everyone for being involved in the community, even if they disagreed. Terry said Russ Maddox was not telling the truth in his comments tonight. The burn in question was not an Alaska Railroad burn and Orion Contractors was the responsible party. Council Member Shafer was an outstanding community servant and an amazing mentor. Terry was sorry for the loss of a beloved high school student and expressed condolences especially to his family. Butts offered his condolences to all the families with losses these last few months, and specifically to the Shafer family and the Hamilton family. He attended a Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District meeting last Thursday, and spoke with the organization on hopefully being more involved in Seward. Butts would be attending the Economic Outlook Forum in Kenai. He would be reporting how Seward was doing economically and hoped to speak with some legislators and the Governor. As a response to anyone who spoke during citizen comments,he asked that they please make sure they have all of the facts first. Long stated he would be in Anchorage for an Anchorage Economic Forecast meeting and then with Butts in Kenai. He thanked Butts for attending these meetings and extended his condolences to the many families experiencing loss. Hunt said he was disappointed in Maddox's comments tonight. He was working on an investigation on what occurred with the burn and would present his findings to the council. Casting allegations was unproductive. Bardarson congratulated the winners of the Chamber awards. She conveyed her condolences to all of the families suffering right now. CITIZEN COMMENTS City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes January 27, 2014 Volume 39, Page 272 Russ Maddox spoke on the Environmental Protection Agency notifying the city and Seward oni Ship's DryDock they were reopening the investigation on environmental practices at the shiplift facility. He felt council really needed to hear what was going on. Investigations were very serious and the city needed to clean up Seward Ship's DryDock. Lynda Paquette said she would miss Council Member Shafer. Shafer was very supportive of the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon Treatment Facility. Paquette clarified some statements earlier that Dr. Reid was providing consulting work at the lagoon,and not SMIC. She noted the report that referenced the Notice of Violation at the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon was a dual notice for wastewater and air. Paquette didn't understand how government worked,but to not publicly admit that the city had a deadline to respond to this dual notice of violation seemed to be lacking in transparency. She asked everyone to make 2014 honest, truthful, and transparent and to do less talking and more doing. In response to Paquette, Hunt clarified he meant Lowell Point, not SMIC. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Casagranda clarified the second opinion by Dr. Reid and the request for$500,000 was all for the Sewage Lagoon at Lowell Point. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion (Terry/Keil) Go into Executive Session to discuss City Manager's Annual Evaluation. Council requested that City Manager Hunt attend the executive session. Motion Passed Unanimous Council went into executive session at 8:12 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 8:59 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m. oh.nna K one . can Bardarson Cit Clerk Mayor ty Seal) •y O� SE '. • V • i ` �- M 6 \• • i11 _• S_P,_„r r D J \ T` • •.ti. OF T�yQ��,j,e•.