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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05092016 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 54 CALL TO ORDER The May 9,2016 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 Dave Squires Dale Butts Sue McClure Deborah Altermatt comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Brenda Ballou, Deputy City Clerk Will Earnhart, City Attorney Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING—None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Squires added a report for Community Health Center (CHC) Building Committee under Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations. Butts added a discussion on city employee step and merit increases under Other New Business Items. Bardarson added proclamations for National Correctional Officers Week and Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run Day under Proclamations& Awards. McClure moved Resolution 2016-035 to the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 55 The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2016-035,Authorizing Funding In The Amount Of$50,000 To Serve As Matching For A State Of Alaska Department Of Transportation Re-appropriation Of Funds To The Seward Area Paving Improvements Project,And Appropriating Funds. Approval of the March 29,2016,April 11, 2016 and the April 25,2016 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards National Historic Preservation Month. Building Safety Month. Harbor Opening Weekend & Blessing of the Fleet Proclamation. National Correctional Officers Week. Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run Day. City Manager's Report.Jim Hunt reported the following purchase orders between$10,000 and $50,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $37,060 to Potelcom for JCN Power Cable, $21,379.60 to Potelcom for 2"and 4"PVC, $11,775 to Potelcom for JCN Cable, $22,022.42 to Anixter for Operating Supplies, $10,000 to Stellar Designs for T- Shirts, and $16,617.18 to Procomm for Parks& Recreation Department Radios. Hunt added that the 2016 Water Quality Report had been released from Public Works and Seward had outstanding water. In response to Keil, Hunt said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could not complete their annual inspection of the Lowell Canyon Tunnel,and would not attempt the inspection again until the Spring of 2017,but the completion of that inspection was not necessary for the tunnel repair work to continue.In response to Butts,Hunt confirmed that the Bobcat/Toolcat that Public Works would need to replace was the "old one" and had suffered irreparable damage to its frame. In response to Casagranda, Hunt said Nancy Perea was currently the Acting Public Works Director,there was currently an offer out to someone for the Project Manager position,the Finance Department only had one vacancy for a Utilities/Billing position, and the Library/Museum was actively in the hiring process for all positions.In response to McClure,Hunt said the lease for the Air Force Rec Camp property was still valid, the U.S. Air Force was continuing to make their lease payments,and it would probably be next spring before they were in a position to raze the buildings and remove the utilities infrastructure. In response to Bardarson, Hunt said the street sweeper had been repaired and was being used today. In response to McClure,Assistant City Manager Ron Long said the new public Wi-Fi at the Waterfront Campground and the Harbor would cost the city less than $10,000 to get up and City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 56 running. Administration planned to provide basic Wi-Fi for free, and then charge users to upgrade the service if they wanted a faster connection. City Attorney's Report. Will Earnhart said he continued to work with administration on various matters. Other Reports,Announcements and Presentations Community Health Center(CHC) Building Committee. (Squires) PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinance 2016-001, Amending The Land Use Plan And The Zoning Designation Of City Owned Lot lla-2, Fort Raymond Subdivision, Replat No. 4, (Replat Pending), Located At Approximately 2200 Dimond Boulevard, From Park(P)To Multi-Family(R-3). Motion (Casagranda/Squires) Enact Ordinance 2016-001 Long said this was necessary to move the project forward. 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. In response to Squires, Long confirmed that the easements would be noted on the plat. Butts asked for clarification on the funding that Kenai Peninsula Housing Initiatives, Inc. (KBHI)sought for this project.Long said KBHI had received all the funding necessary to complete the project. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2016-036,Authorizing Sole Source Contracts For Professional Services Required To Permit Erosion Mitigation Work For The Snow River Transmission Line Crossing, Including Permitting By Solstice Alaska Consulting In An Amount Not To Exceed $19,803, Engineering By AWR Engineering In An Amount Not To Exceed $58,758, Surveying By SurvBase Surveying And Mapping In An Amount Not To Exceed $35,709 And Geotechnical Study By Shannon And Wilson Geotechnical And Environmental Consulting In An Amount Not To Exceed $36,630, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed $150,900, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2016-036 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 57 Long requested council amend the title and provided a lay down with suggested language. Long said this was a fast-moving emergency project;a temporary repair was critical to stabilize the situation. Down the road, a long-term solution would be addressed. Motion To Amend (Squires/Casagranda) Amend the title of Resolution 2016-036 by striking the word"Service"to read"...Sole Source Contracts...", striking the word "Conduct" and replacing it with the word "Permit" to read "...Required To Permit Erosion...", and adding the word "Work" after the word "Mitigation" to read "...Mitigation Work For The Snow River...". Motion To Amend Passed Unanimous In response to Squires, Hunt said he was unsure if insurance would cover any part of these repairs.Following up,Squires asked if the Alaska Department of Transportation(ADOT)would be contributing. Long said administration was addressing that with ADOT, and administration was hopeful it would result in collaboration. To Electric Utility Manager John Foutz, Squires asked if he had been able to fly over the area of Snow River to view the situation. Foutz said he had not had the opportunity yet, and it had been recommended to him that he wait a couple more months until the snow thawed on upper elevations. Bardarson noted the T-198 structure was not referenced in the Fee Proposal included in the packet. Foutz said the T-198 structure was located further back away from the river than T-197 and T-199 structures,and so was in less jeopardy.Foutz said the repair for the T-198 structure would be addressed in the long-term project. Main Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Discuss employee step and merit increases. (Butts) Butts said given the better-than-expected fourth quarter sales tax results,he wished to have administration bring forward options for providing step and/or merit increases. Keil disagreed and said she would prefer having a work session to hold this discussion.Keil thought it would be prudent to delay this until after council had a chance to review the audit results. Hunt said the state was running behind on reporting. In response to Bardarson, Hunt confirmed the state would be required to finalize reports by July 1, 2016. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 58 Long suggested that council wait until the legislature adjourn before holding a work session. McClure supported the idea of having a work session and also agreed that council should wait until after the legislature adjourned. Squires suggested that council look at what the budget was just before the cuts happened,as a starting place for the discussion, but thought the work session should be held soon. Casagranda added that the cost of insurance should also be considered. Council scheduled a work session to review options for employee step and/or merit increases on June 27,2016 at 6:00 p.m. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Letter to Jade Gamble of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the update to the Alaska Federal/State Preparedness Plan for Response to Oil & Hazardous Substance Discharges/Releases (Unified Plan). COUNCIL COMMENTS McClure said several things had happened since the last council meeting. She had attended the school board meeting and saw Seward High School Principal Trevan Walker do a presentation about hybrid schooling. She was so impressed that,following that presentation,she requested Walker do the same presentation for council at the May 23, 2016 meeting. The Kenai Peninsula Historical Society met in Seward last weekend; one of the presentations was by Lee Poleske and involved research about Seward's historical gardens. During his research, Poleske discovered that Chamberlain Road,which was actually named after former City Council Member Chamberlin,had been misspelled on the street signs. Casagranda congratulated the harbor staff on a smooth construction project for the A,B,C and S Floats, which was done in a timely manner and was under budget. Casagranda had recently completed a construction project herself, and found the Building Department to be easy to work with. She provided an update on the Seward Flag Project: the committee had received and judged 385 entries;the entries were narrowed down to two,and those had been sent to a graphic designer for interpretation; the original seven judges were now trying to get together for final judging. Butts thanked everyone who participated in and volunteered for last weekend's Pink Cheeks Triathalon. Butts asked how parking violations were handled; Police Chief Tom Clemons said parking warnings were given by his officers in the downtown area,but the Parking Department was responsible for the parking lots at the harbor. Altermatt said the entire community was invited to an Open House at Orca Island on Sunday, May 15, 2016 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Altermatt was happy to see how the Harbor Opening Day had grown into a community-wide event. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 59 Bardarson said the second graders would be visiting City Hall on Friday,May 13,2016.She also thanked the Building Department. Long wanted to return to the discussion about the Air Force Rec Camp lease; as a general statement, he thought it was critical to have performance measurements in place for leases. At the May 23,2016 council meeting there would be a presentation about the borough's proposed sales and property tax changes. City Clerk Johanna Kinney reminded council about the work session on May 19,2016 at 6:00 p.m. at the Seward Community Library Museum regarding the Railport Development Plan. McClure said Saturday,May 14,2016 was the community clean-up day,and litter bags were available to everyone at the landfill. CITIZEN COMMENTS—None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS—None ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m. anna Kinne M 41x-9 can Bardarson City Clerk Mayor 'fir' a .. .....^ (COIS/661V1407''p I10 • aa; r• ve or r • f