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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07142014 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 349 CALL TO ORDER The July 14, 2014 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Jean Bardarson. OPENING CEREMONY Lt. Doreen Valadez 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 Iris Darling comprising a quorum of the Council; and Ron Long, Acting City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Will Earnhart, City Attorney 1... Absent—Dale Butts CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Laura Erickson, applicant of the Historic Preservation Commission, introduced herself to the City Council. She adored Seward and was very interested in its history.About ten years ago,she purchased a home in Seward.Erickson stated she would like to be on the commission to preserve the history, to keep its character and to draw more people to Seward. Melinda Maddox, of the Independent Living Center in Seward, thanked the city for their efforts on the sidewalk and curb improvements and the ramp repairs outside City Hall. She asked the city not stop here but continue with the transition plan to continue to fix the problems that existed. The transition plan was something mandated by the federal government to ensure equal access. She would be glad to assist with developing the plan. Maddox thanked them again for their efforts. Brad Snowden gave the council an update on his downtown cruise ship dock idea. He stated progress was being made and he was looking at potential locations to recommend. Snowden requested each council member go down to the area to get a vision of the idea. Snowden made comments regarding business and return on investment. He also noticed a bicycle rack in a place it shouldn't be. It wasn't bolted down and thought that was not the best practice for city bicycle racks. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 350 Sue Lang of Lowell Point said this past weekend they had a stinking sewer pond and an exceptionally bumpy road. She was glad they were working hard to resolve the issue at the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon, but the city should also look at the road conditions as well for the residents and the visitors. Tom Tougas spoke on the unfinished business on the agenda tonight. He was looking forward to working with Larry Harmon, and Tougas noted he had a vested interest in this proposition. He felt strongly that the reason SMIC hadn't been developed in the last 30 years was because the city was insistent in maintaining ownership of all land. Larry Harmon had been in Seward for many years,hiring locals and local subcontractors.If Harmon had the opportunity to own his leased land in SMIC,he'd be able to invest more and develop it nicely. If the city wanted quality development, they needed to allow people to purchase land rather than just lease it. Tougas hoped council wouldn't wait for a master plan and allow this purchase process to go forward. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Terry) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda The Other New Business agenda item, "Schedule a Work Session with the State Fire Marshal's office regarding general deferment processes and State of Alaska 2012 International Building Code Amendments on October 27, 2014 at 6:00 p.m." was taken off the consent agenda by Council Member Squires. me] Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the April 28, 2014 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Appoint Laura Erickson to the Historic Preservation Commission with a term to expire May, 2017. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None Borough Assembly Report,Sue McClure stated they have had some exciting times on the assembly. They had met on June 17, 2014 and July 1, 2014 since her last report to the council. The assembly passed an ordinance changing the code to require only a simple majority of the voters instead of 60% to change the sales tax. They were addressing an ordinance to change borough elections to be conducted by mail,as well eliminating the"pro"and"con"statements from the voter brochure; and those two topics were split. The by mail voting question was addressed on July 1, 2014 and there was a lot of public input to not conduct elections by mail.Assembly Member Bagley sponsored a resolution to have an advisory vote on this year's ballot on if elections should be by mail, and that resolution failed. The ordinance was also defeated, but both items had motions to reconsider filed so the assembly could potentially be revisiting this issue on July 22,2014. Another ordinance the assembly was considering was passing a borough wide bed tax.This had received a lot City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 351 of mixed testimony. An amendment was passed to change the original intent of the ordinance allocation from 75%to the Kenai Peninsula Borough for tourism marketing and 25%to schools to 100%to tourism marketing and going out to RFP for this service. McClure was very interested in hearing from the public and encouraged folks to please contact her with their opinion on these matters. The assembly also passed a resolution to place an advisory question on the October 7,2014 ballot asking if the borough should exercise and fund limited animal control powers for animal rescue outside cities in the borough. The allocation of the cruise ship head tax proceeds would be voted on in August. Seward was anticipated to receive $306,722.50. McClure invited the public to the open house for the new Bear Creek Fire Station on July 19, 2014. In response to Squires,McClure did not think Seward would get any of the proceeds from the bed tax if approved, but Seward would still be included in the marketing efforts already in place. City Manager's Report, Acting City Manager Ron Long stated there had been no purchase orders between $10,000 and$50,000 approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting. Administration met with representatives from Alaska Department of Transportation regarding the airport runway project.A series of public meetings and scoping sessions would begin in the fall. In Public Works,the Department of Transportation assigned a Project Manager for the City's road projects and established a schedule as follows: environmental and right-of-way work to take place September 2014 through March 2015;design and engineering September 2014 through March 2015; bids solicited August 2015,and construction October 2015 through July 2016. An Invitation r.. To Bid (ITB) was advertised and posted on July 10, 2014 for Sludge Removal at both sewage lagoons. In the Harbor, the City Manager negotiated a short term lease with Raibow Fiberglass and Boat Repair, LLC that took effect July 1, 2014 with the authorizing resolution for this lease to be submitted for council consideration on July 28, 2014. The March 25, 2014 short term lease of an adjacent parcel would terminate on July 25, 2014. The D-Float replacement project was at the final closeout stage. Vigor Alaska officially began operations at the shipyard July 8, 2014. In the Electric Department, administration negotiated the submitted bid for construction of the crew space. The project should move forward soon. In Parks and Recreation,the Fourth of July weekend was busy, but peaceful. Public Works Director W.C. Casey updated council on the lagoon. He wasn't sure what was attributing to the odor problems; warm weather and heavy loading from the Fourth of July weekend could be causes. They finished installing some of the aerators today. That installation and adding calcium nitrate would hopefully mitigate some of the odors. They had a pre-bid conference this week for the sludge removal bid. He couldn't tell council how much of the smell was from the weather,and how much from the valves.It was hard to know. It was considerably odorous,but it was not as bad as last summer. In response to Casagranda, Casey stated they gave the aerators a trial run today. They were fine bubble aerators, which disseminate bubbles 20 feet down. The aerators i .. designed for that facility were diffusers with larger bubbles that went to the top and dispersed. The dissolved oxygen levels were not as high, so that showed something was going on there. The City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 352 treatment was limited right now. Today was the first day of the new aerators for a trial, but Casey noted they had to wait for approval from the State Department of Environmental Conservation to fully use them. Darling thought the Lowell Point residents asked for the city to not remove sludge during the summer season so as to not cause more odor. Casey stated the sludge removal at the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon wouldn't begin until after Labor Day. Factors such as mobilization and draining of the lagoon would have to occur first before actual sludge removal happens. Casey clarified the bid was for SMIC and Lowell Point Sewage Lagoons. City Attorney's Report, Will Earnhart stated the city's law firm worked with administration to resolve current issues including general matters advising on employment issues, reviews of resolutions/ordinances, code interpretation and code revisions. They assisted administration with the Invitation To Bid on the sludge removal at the sewage lagoons. In the Harbor, the attorney assisted with the shipyard sale to Vigor Alaska. They advised on land matters including various foreclosure and easement issues. Currently,there were some larger longstanding property issues they hoped to get resolved.The attorney also assisted the Electric Department on the appeal process amendment to the interconnect ordinance recently enacted by council. Earnhart congratulated the city on the Fourth Of July events.He had never seen a crowd that big in Seward.The police presence was there but not huge.Things were orderly and clean.City staff deserved a pat on the back. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolution 2014-054,Waiving Competitive Procurement Requirements To Authorize The Sole- Source Purchase Of A New 330 Ton Boat Lift From Marine Travelift In The Net Amount Of $1,441,087,Declaring The Current Boat Lift Surplus To Be Used As A Trade-In,Revising The Harbor Tariff To Increase The Lift Rates, And Appropriating Funds Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2014-054 Long said the need for this replacement was the current lift was a 20+year old machine.Parts were getting harder to find and taking longer to fix. The council had a history of the fee schedule before them.It was meant to better facilitate businesses doing business.Long explained some of the benefits in upgrading from a 250 ton Travelift to a 330 ton.Administration was asking to change the tariff and noted the increase was still very competitive with the other rates in the state. A separate resolution would be required if council supported an inter-fund loan.This would be helpful with the SMIC expansion project.The city hoped for some state funds to come back for the SMIC project,but was not counting on that at this point.If this resolution passed tonight,staff hoped to have this lift up and running January, 2015. Deputy Harbormaster Norman Regis said the lift was getting old,p arts were harder to find and often needed to be manufactured. It often was broken and staff did their best to keep it going. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 353 This proposed lift could take larger boats and could eventually be widened to accommodate even larger vessels. aar. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Ron Wille, of Kenai Fjords Tours, stated they liked doing business with the harbor. A reliable travel lift was very necessary and he supported this purchase. He noted last year there was a new wash down pad that instituted new fees. Wille understood these fees were necessary, but they did raise the cost of lifting a boat substantially. Now there was nearly a 25% increase in fees proposed. There was a significant amount of revenue that was generated from the boat harbor: property tax, ad valorem tax, sales tax, head tax for the docks, electricity in the harbor ($.26 a kilowatt),and raw fish tax. He thought the other costs should be factored in staffs research,not just the travelift rates. Wille noted how much rates really had increased in the last few years with the wash down pad and now this proposal.He encouraged that the interest on the loan proposed from the motor pool to be looked at and for council to consider just transferring the funds. Pinkney Cunningham, General Manager of Vigor Alaska and former General Manager of Seward Ship's Drydock, looked at the proposal very recently. Vigor was not in competition with boats that came up on the travelift. The necessity for a reliable and safe piece of equipment was vital. Regarding sole sourcing the contract,Marine Travelift was the only company he would recommend and didn't think the city wanted to be experimenting with companies far away. „r„ No one else appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed. Keil asked if the extra widening would come at a cost. Long said they didn't know what the cost would be at this point. He guessed at least a quarter million, if not more. Terry asked if the Port and Commerce Advisory Board (PACAB) had an opportunity to comment. Long said their last meeting was cancelled due to a lack of quorum,but it was supposed to be discussed. Squires understood why the rates were raised in the harbor, and if this equipment was upgraded, he understood they need to find a way to pay for it, but he was worried the city may be pricing themselves out of business. Regis said the increase was just trying to help pay for the new lift. Long said they wanted to offer advantages to not only local boats, but the local boat repair businesses in town. Motion to Amend (Terry/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2014-054, striking "to increase the lift rates" in the title, deleting the proposed new language in Section 265 of the tariff language and restating the original language. Terry thought PACAB needed to comment on this prior to council voting on this increase. Squires agreed, but thought it might stall the project to wait for PACAB to meet. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 354 Casagranda agreed it should be brought back to PACAB. Motion to Amend Failed Yes: Terry "' No: Darling, Casagranda, Keil, Squires, Bardarson Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Refer Resolution 2014-054 to the Port and Commerce Advisory Board Keil also wanted to refer this issue to PACAB but also showed concern over this delaying the purchase.Casagranda said the current lift was working and she would rather an educated decision on this issue be made. Regis estimated the quote received for the travelift was 30-60 days.Beyond that the numbers could change. Terry and Squires did not want to postpone this matter. Motion to Refer Failed Yes: Casagranda No:Darling,Keil,Squires,Terry,Bardarson Darling noted staff said the old lift was dangerous. Regis said the lift was not coming down evenly, causing the boat to twist around. Recent repairs were made and now it was operating correctly for the time. Casagranda said she appreciated all the boats that used the travelift and understood they contributed to the general fund. She noted the general fund was supporting SMIC and did not want that support to continue any longer. Terry noted the additional fee for vessels 55 feet and longer remained at $21.00. Main Motion Passed Yes:Keil,Darling,Terry,Squires,Bardarson No: Casagranda UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda Discussion and direction on selling land currently leased to Harmon Properties, LLC in the Seward Marine Industrial Center. (Postponed from the June 23, 2014 Meeting) Long noted the master plan this time included cost breakdowns that were not incorporated before. If this parcel remained in part of the consideration of the plan,staff would recommend no to this proposal, and if this parcel was sectioned out of the master plan, staff would recommend yes. awl City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 355 Long said this property was along the northern border of the boat storage area. In response to Darling,Long stated this had not been reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission but noted the commission recommended all land at SMIC be put for up lease at this point. Terry felt working with private property owners didn't negate any plans. She was in favor of moving forward with starting this process to sell. By unanimous consent, council suspended the rules to allow Larry Harmon from Harmon Properties, LLC to speak. Larry Harmon stated if someone was going to invest in anything,they would rather own it to begin with. He was unsure how much he would invest in something he didn't own. Harmon didn't know what the plan was going to be or what the rates would be. He hoped to move forward on development this fall, if possible. Inside boat storage was the intended use at this point. Casagranda asked how the master plan they were getting from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority(AIDEA)was funded.Long said it was from the money awarded to the city by the state. She felt it was important that if they had that kind of resource, they used it. Planning was really important and they were at the beginning of the planning. She wanted to see businesses take off over there. Darling hoped they could hurry this plan along,but shouldn't take this piece out of the plan at this time But she was ultimately in favor of selling city land. Terry said they should give direction to start negotiations on the sale. Motion (Terry/Squires) Direct city administration to move forward to sell the piece of property currently leased to Harmon Properties, LLC in the Seward Marine Industrial Center. Motion to Amend (Casagranda/) Amend the motion on the floor, adding "and direct administration to encourage AIDEA to speed up the development of the Seward Marine Industrial Center Master Plan." Motion to Amend Died for Lack of Second. Main Motion Passed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2014-055, Authorizing The City Manager To Amend The Contract With Arctic Elevator Company, LLC., For Elevator Maintenance And Repair, Changing The Scope Of w. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 356 Work To Include The Elevator In The Library/Museum Building Located At 339 6th Avenue, And Increasing The Contract By An Amount Not-To-Exceed $250 Per Month. Motion (Terry/Darling) Approve Resolution 2014-055 Motion to Amend (Terry/Keil) Amend Resolution 2014-055, changing the physical address of the Library/Museum to 239 6`h Avenue in the title, section 1, and the amending contract. Long stated this was to incorporate compliance for the newest elevator to the city's contract. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Consent Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2014-056, Approving An Engineering Contract With R & M Consultants In An Amount Not To Exceed$86,412 For The Design And Construction Administration Of The NE Harbor Fish Cleaning Station Project At The Seward Small Boat Harbor. Motion (Casagranda/Keil) Approve Resolution 2014-056 Long stated the current station often was full and encouraged wildlife to the area which was not ideal. This project was to be funded through grants and administration recommended awarding the contract to R& M Consultants. Motion (Darling/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2014-056, deleting the contingency amount. The motion to amend was withdrawn by Darling and Casagranda with no objection from the body. Motion to Amend (Darling/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2014-056, changing the amount in the title from$86,412 to$86,694 and the following amounts in Section 1: contract amount from $78,556 to $78,813, contingency amount from$7,856 to$7,881, and total not to exceed amount from $86,412 to $86,694. It was noted this amendment was to correct the resolution to reflect the contract amount listed in the contract with R& M Consultants. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Darling/Keil) Amend Resolution 2014-056, remove the contingency allowance by changing the dollar amount in the title and Section 1 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 357 from $86,694 to $78,813, and striking the following language in Section 1: "; in addition,a 10% contingency in the amount of $7,881 is authorized upon approval in advance, in writing, by the City Manager, for a total contract amount not to exceed $86,694" Darling felt if the project went over budget, the staff should have to go back to council for approval of more funding. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2014-057,Authorizing The City Manager To Submit A Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Application To The State Of Alaska, Department Of Transportation And Public Facilities In The Amount Of$2.684 Million For The Replacement Of B, C, And S Floats In The Seward Harbor. Motion (Casagranda/Terry) Approve Resolution 2014-057 Long stated if this work was completed,it would change the fairway lift from A and B float. This grant application would be submitted in the Tier I category for the State of Alaska, for those harbors that took over ownership from the state. The project was shovel ready. A Tier I grant was a one-time opportunity and would take care of the rest of the harbor to get to a sustainable place,Long stated. This resolution was asking for the authorization to apply for the grant. Harbormaster Mack Funk stated section 4 of the resolution noted the city confirmed its intent to provide matching funds. Additional revenue bonds were unlikely for this project. The project was really necessary as A, B, and C docks were almost 50 years old. The docks themselves were sinking and not up to the standards they try to keep in Seward. In response to Casagranda, Long said the harbor could support this match if awarded the grant. It was noted for application purposes the internal funds for matching did not have to be indicated at this time. In response to Darling, Funk stated the grant would be scored in late September/early October,then they would know the city's ranking.A high ranking would strengthen their case with the Legislature, but they wouldn't know if the money was available until June, 2015. Bardarson was glad to see this come forward. While in Juneau this year,it was apparent this opportunity may not come back again. Funk noted this one application cycle was once a year. ..., Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2014-058,Authorizing Purchase Of Two Used Ford F-250 Trucks In The Amount City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 14, 2014 Volume 39, Page 358 Of$7,500 And $8,000, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Casagranda/Keil) Approve Resolution 2014-058 Long stated these were auction vehicles staff saw as an opportunity for the city. One vehicle would replace a Street Department truck,and the other to replace a Parks and Recreation truck.They were well under the scheduled replacement or budgeted amounts for these vehicles as well as under the blue book value. The vehicle search service Car Fax had good reviews on both trucks. Long stated the City Manager had somewhat approved these in advance,but subject to council approval.If council didn't approve, the city could put them on the market and sell them. Darling asked what would happen to the two existing vehicles.Long said they would go into surplus. Casagranda asked if both existing vehicles were V-8's,Long believed they were.Keil said they should be looking to be fuel efficient but these vehicles came to them at a minimal cost. Terry stated she heard there were additional vehicles also purchased in this auction for the city. She asked if the additional auction vehicles were to be kept,would they come to council. Long confirmed they would.If approved,Long confirmed the original vehicles would be stricken from the motor pool. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Schedule a Work Session with the State Fire Marshal's office regarding general deferment processes and 2012 International Building Code Amendments on October 13,2014 at 6:00 p.m. The date was changed by council due to scheduling conflicts on the date originally proposed. Schedule a special meeting to enter into a contract for sludge removal and disposal for the SMIC and Lowell Point Lagoons.A special meeting was scheduled for August 4,2014 at 12:00 p.m. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Letter supporting Kenai Peninsula Borough Ordinance 2014-25, establishing a borough wide bed tax with exemption of cities that currently levy a similar tax. Reminder to the public that July 20, 2014 is the voter registration deadline for the State Primary Election on August 19, 2014 — Last day for voters to register to vote or update their registration information. COUNCIL COMMENTS Keil noted July 20,2014 was a Sunday,so people should register to vote online if they waited until Sunday. She congratulated the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Seward on a successful Fourth of July festival. On August 12,2014,the Alaska Legislature would be hosting the Council on State Government. Over a 1,000 legislators from across the country would be visiting Seward. City of Seward, Alaska July 14, 2014 City Council Minutes Volume 39, Page 359 Terry welcomed new Historic Preservation Commissioner Laura Erickson and begged the citizens to sign up for the Planning and Zoning Commission,the Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area Board, and Historic Preservation Commission. Casagranda thanked Regis for his hard work on the information provided tonight on the travelift. She gave congratulations for a successful Fourth of July which fell on a Friday this year. It was a safe and un-dramatic weekend. Darling thanked the City Clerk and the Deputy City Clerk for their help. Bardarson had disappointment in the Department of Transportation's timeline for paving,if there was anything that could be done to speed it up she would appreciate it. She stated she would not be able to attend the Bear Creek Fire Hall Open House and hoped someone from council could go. She thanked all volunteers and staff who helped make the Fourth of July a success. Bardarson noted it was fun to see the kids in the lagoon fishing for king salmon. CITIZEN COMMENTS Sue Lang thanked council for their efforts in resolving the odor problem at the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon.It had been an interesting summer,but they appreciated the support and the effort by staff to make it as painless as possible out there. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS—None ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:41 p.m. �i�C L2r � Jo anna Ki )C1Jt can Bardarson it Clerk Mayor (City Seal) .•! OF SE j ., *0% r• SEAL 1 • • 9 • 1 e S� •. 1 4.(34.0t'**. �' 4? • ...rr.zru•urq��