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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05232016 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 60 CALL TO ORDER The May 23, 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 Ron Long, Assistant City Manager Brenda Ballou, Acting City Clerk Will Emhart, City Attorney Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Willard Dunham asked the city to take the initiative to display flowers in the containers on the streets. He said the concrete containers had been neglected for some time, and were being used for cigarette butts instead of flowers. Dunham thought this would be a banner year for tourism and visitors in Seward.Also,he thought some of the trees around the Waterfront Park needed some care. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Bardarson added a presentation by the Lions Club under Special Orders, Presentations &Reports. McClure removed the Seward High School Hybrid Presentation by Trevan Walker from the agenda due to a scheduling conflict, but would bring it back again in August. Butts pulled the Introduction of Ordinance 2016-002 off the consent agenda. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 61 Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the May 9, 2016 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. Re-appoint Wolfgang Kurtz to the Historic Preservation Commission with a term expiring May 2019. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards May is Older Americans Month Proclamation. Lions Club Presentation.Police Chief Tom Clemons was presented with the Melvin Jones Fellow Award. Chamber of Commerce Report. Cindy Clock stated the chamber currently had 316 members. This year's membership drive would begin in the next week or so. June 1, 2016 was the start of the Halibut Tournament, and there were new rules in place. The Mount Marathon Race was just around the corner; all vendor spaces were filled and they would be operating Saturday through Monday. The race guide was already available on line, and hard copies would arrive tomorrow. Clock hoped people would adhere to the "no pets" rule to help with public safety and sanitation downtown. GeNeil Flaherty represented Seward on the Alaska Travel Train last week. Flaherty also worked on the Military Appreciation Picnic. Clock congratulated the city on the ribbon cutting ceremony at the docks. The chamber had awarded a $2,000 scholarship to high school senior Madilyn Rae. The Combat Fishing Tournament would celebrate its 10th anniversary this year; the event would take place on May 26,2016.The Small Business Development Center welcomed a new representative; Cliff Cochran would be working with Bryan Zak. Rosetta Alcantra gave a presentation on Railport Seward last week at the chamber membership luncheon. Everyone was encouraged to sign up for the electronic project newsletter and to take the survey to provide input on the project. The next chamber membership luncheon would be on June 3, 2016. On June 1, 2016 there would be an Ice Cream Social at the Harbor 360 Hotel starting at 6:30 p.m.;this was an event for front line employees and all businesses were invited to give a 45-second speech about their business. Borough Assembly Report. Brandii Holmdahl was not present. 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 meeting: $24,500 to Metco for sidewalk removal and repair at the harbor. Answering Casagranda's question from the last council meeting, Hunt said the tee shirts for the Parks and Recreation Department had not been purchased locally.Hunt reported that Verizon had City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 62 been here last year doing groundwork,and by the end of this summer they would have 4G service up and running.Hunt acknowledged receiving a letter from Jim McCracken regarding paving a portion of the road to Lowell Point. Administration was preparing to release a Request For Proposals (RFP) for Abatement, Demolition and Removal Services which would have the following scoring criteria: CRITERIA POINTS Understanding The Project 25 Qualifications And References 25 Timeline For Completing The Project 25 Price 25 TOTAL 100 Hunt clarified that this RFP was for the Goresen and D.E. Wood properties,located on First Avenue and on Madison Avenue across from the Post Office, respectively. In response to Casagranda,Assistant City Manager Ron Long said the city had received both properties via a tax foreclosure. The property on First Avenue was developable, but the property on Madison Avenue could not be developed until or unless there was a change in the zoning code or it was consumed by an adjoining lot.Administration's intent for this project,Long said,was for both property sites to be cleared and then for the First Avenue property to be sold. Hunt mentioned that in this month's issue of Alaska Business Monthly there were several articles focused about Seward. Long said there were three shuttle bus benches built and installed, but now there were troubles with equipment and that was delaying further bench assembly. Bardarson thanked Jean Schwafel for helping to identify key locations for the benches to be positioned. Casagranda asked that the weeds be cleared around the benches as well. In response to Squires,Long said clearing out the trees on the First Avenue property was not in the plan. In response to Butts' request for an update on the city hall renovation,Long said the project would be broken up into several increments. Regarding the "island" in front of the National Parks Service building at the harbor, Long said the island would be removed and repaved to provide angled parking spots, but the traffic lane would not change. In response to Butts, Long explained that the taxi voucher program, previously funded through the borough's CARTS program, had been negatively impacted by budget cuts. Long had attended a meeting with Providence to identify and address alternative transportation for people in need of health care. In response to McClure, Hunt said an engineer had been hired to look at the boardwalk and City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 63 assess whether it could be readily connected to the Rotary lagoon. Long said administration would not be pursuing this project. In response to Altermatt's inquiry about parking pass purchases having a cut-off date in mid- July, Hunt said administration would look into removing the cut-off date. Bardarson requested administration provide a detailed summary of the expenses incurred as a result of the Orion litigation,as well as department head year-to-date expenditures of City Attorney fees. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations Presentation on Kenai Peninsula Borough Sales and Property Tax Revisions by Larry Persily. _ - 1 ' . . . - . - , .. ' • . . . • . . . , , - PUBLIC HEARINGS—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Ordinances for Introduction Ordinance 2016-002, Amending Portions Of Seward City Code § 7.10.135. Motion (Casagranda/McClure) Introduce Ordinance 2016-002 Earnhart said this was a minor amendment for a discreet purpose, affecting moorage. The issue related to an asset sale versus a stock sale and the subsequent transfer of slips that resulted. A recent stock sale of a company had resulted in that company challenging the city that they would have to surrender the slips. The City Attorney, after weighing the options, decided to transfer the moorage agreements and then bring about this ordinance to close the language to prevent this issue coming up again in the future. In response to Butts, Earnhart said the sale of this particular company was a stock sale, but the title to the vessels remained in the same name. In this case,the company was set up as a public company, and they sold their stocks and argued that just because they sold the stocks didn't mean that their assets changed ownership. The stocks represented a controlling interest. Long added that the documentation for the asset ownership did not change at all, and the Internal Revenue Service had agreed with that assessment. In response to Butts, Earnhart said the Public Use Doctrine came into play: submerged tidelands were public property and the public had a right to access that property. The city leased City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 64 access rights to use the waters, but didn't have the right to sell them. In respect to transferring moorage with a sale,Earnhart added that slips were not available for outright purchase by anyone in order to prevent a monopoly of ownership, thereby creating a phenomenon of a private entity controlling access to what was public property. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2016-037, Authorizing The Purchase Of Services For The Design And Engineering Of The Dimond Boulevard From Hemlock Avenue To Fort Raymond Substation Transmission Line From Dryden And Larue In The Amount Of$49,000 Plus A Contingency Of$4,900. Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2016-037 Electric Manager John Foutz said this resolution would finish the design of the transmission line that had been halted in 2010. This was being proposed as a sole source contract because of the history and experience that Dryden and Larue possessed. Long added that the development of the senior housing project was not the cause for this resolution,but the project would be impacted by it. In response to Butts, Foutz said this transmission line was above ground. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Review and Discussion of Draft City Council Mobile Device Acceptable Use Policy. Council reviewed and discussed the draft policy. Acting City Clerk Brenda Ballou explained this policy would come before council at their June 13,2016 meeting in the form of a resolution to be approved and formally adopted into the City Council Rules of Procedure. Discussion on the Memorandum of Understanding concerning the Museum. McClure led the discussion and stated that the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was outdated and needed to be reconsidered. Council directed administration to meet with the Resurrection Bay Historical Society (RBHS) to discuss the current MOU. McClure stated although she was a member of RBHS, she would prefer to be involved in the meeting as a council representative, and would include the mayor in the meeting as well. Following the meeting, the outcome of the MOU discussions would be brought back to council. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS City of Seward Financial Reports through March, 2016. Letter to Mayor of Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan accompanying gold pan for 2016 Funakogi Taikai Award—Mayor's Trophy. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 65 COUNCIL COMMENTS Altermatt reiterated Cindy Clock's comments encouraging the public to provide feedback through the website for the Seward Railport Project. She thanked everyone who helped with the Seward Harbor Opening last Saturday and mentioned this had been the 22"d year for this event.There were about ten boats who participated in the boat parade during the event. Butts congratulated Tom Clemons on his award. He reminded everyone that the Combat Fishing Tournament would be this Thursday, May 26, 2016. Casagranda thanked Wolfgang Kurtz for reapplying to the Historic Preservation Commission. She commended Kurtz for volunteering at so many community events. Casagranda congratulated Tom Clemons, and thanked the Police Department for their quick response to the break-ins that happened over the weekend. She reported that the Seward Flag Committee was expecting to have update for council by the next meeting. Casagranda suggested the city create an Adopt-A-Pot project for people to take ownership of the concrete planters. Keil said she was looking forward to the proposed flag design. She reminded everyone to be safe and drive carefully this coming holiday weekend.Keil thanked Tom Clemons for his community service. Keil also thanked Squires for being a good sport about receiving the Older Americans proclamation on behalf of the Senior Center. Squires thanked Tom Clemons and David Beardsley.He stated he would not be here for the June 13, 2016 council meeting. Squires reminded the public that in this community, flashing blue lights on private vehicles meant they were emergency vehicles,and drivers were obligated to yield for them. Drivers who did not pull over could be fined and lose up to four points on their license for a Failure to Yield citation; that consequence doubled for drivers of commercial vehicles. McClure congratulated Tom Clemons. She encouraged people to participate in Borough Assembly meetings.At the June 7,2016 meeting the assembly would be passing the budget.Behind Seward City Hall there was a spruce tree that had been planted in 1967,and a new sign had just been installed explaining its significance thanks to Lee Poleske and the Seward Boy Scouts.McClure also mentioned that the Juriro Wada statue had been installed at the entrance to parking lot near Zudy's. McClure had attended last Thursday's work session where there were eight people from the Alaska Railroad in attendance. McClure was distressed however, that there was not a quorum of council members there to begin the meeting, and she admonished council to take their attendance at work sessions just as seriously as council meetings. Bardarson congratulated Tom Clemons. She thanked Martha Fleming and GCI for their assistance in broadcasting the council meetings. She reminded everyone that next weekend was Memorial Day and requested residents to be safe,and encouraged everyone to tidy up their property before the weekend. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 66 CITIZEN COMMENTS Tom Tougas said Ordinance 2016-002 related to Kenai Fjords Tour's sale to the Viad Corporation via CIRI Alaska Tourism.He thought it was preposterous to think that the ownership of those slips had not changed. He thought the history of the city's slip process went back at least 40 years and that Viad should not be allowed to circumvent that process. There was an established waitlist process for slips at the harbor, and Tougas considered this to be a fundamentally unfair decision. Tougas said the Harbormaster's office did an amazing job, but it was wrong that Viad didn't have to wait. Linda Lasota was chair for the Historic Preservation Commission and treasurer for Resurrection Bay Historical Society. She said the Historic Preservation Commission had asked the Parks and Recreation Department to water the flowers at Hoben Park. Lasota thanked the City Clerk's office for their support of the commission. She reported that the Historic Preservation Commission had reviewed the full draft of the updated Historic Preservation Plan. Lasota said the Historic Preservation Commission,as a body,was very interested in what happened at the museum. She thanked council for putting the Herbert house on the Seward Historic Register. Willard Dunham thanked council for their support for addressing the flower containers.He recalled the large concrete canisters were purchased by the city and the business owners had offered to keep them up. Dunham thanked McClure for discussing the Resurrection Bay Historical Society Memorandum of Understanding and added that next Thursday there would be a board meeting for the Resurrection Bay Historical Society who were very proud of the collection they had amassed over the past 37 years under the watchful eye of Lee Poleske. Dunham said Poleske had worked for free as the museum's curator for 31 years. RBHS was concerned with the periods of closures at the museum. Cindy and David Beardsley said the Resurrection Bay Lions Club had been in Seward for a long time, and recently had been trying to find a service project. On behalf of the Lions Club, they offered to take on the flower planters as a service project. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bardarson said thank you very much to the Lions Club for taking care of the flowers in the planters. Long said the RBHS collection was valuable, but it was impossible to think the Library/Museum could be run with the same budget as it used to have; challenges for resources would continue.Long agreed with Tom Tougas'comments and said administration had to rely on the federally-issued documentation of certification for vessel ownership,and there had been no change. Hunt said administration had been concerned and conflicted with this sale all the way along. Earnhart said he also agreed with Tom Tougas, but Earnhart believed there would be considerable risk to the city if they chose to fight this battle. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes May 23, 2016 Volume 40, Page 67 Casagranda said she was looking forward to the unveiling of the boarded-up Orlander building on Fourth Avenue. Hunt said he had been talking to the owner. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. '47 i - ' i /( //,,da4,4c,f renda Balls' , CMC an Bardarson Acting City Clerk Mayor af ,rs� y. (/q[�'4��ai�� (CLt Y' sitx:r�'{7i� j^4 `t 'G =l , .. .y t5 sem 4^a .+ Cro a 7 a ^M a =s % r ti4 0.�t •ez�s !' ° sol. .' i