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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07262018 City Council Special Meeting Minutes1 J City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26 2018 Volume 40, Page 482 CALL TO ORDER The July 26, 2018 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor David Squires. OPENING CEREMONY Lt. Doreen Valadez led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Squires presiding and Marianna Keil Sue McClure Sharyl Seese comprising a quorum of the Council; and Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Will Earnhart, City Attorney (telephonically) Absent — Horn Ristine Casagranda Suzanne Towsley CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Bruce Jaffa thanked Jim Hunt and Ron Long for their service and their accomplishments. Lynda Paquette thought any major decisions should be postponed for a week due to the full moon. In April, 2017 a proclamation was presented to recognize We Love Us which was intended to create peace and harmony in the community; she wanted the community to be at peace and for everyone to put aside their emotions. Carol Griswold emailed council this morning with suggestions relating to the city manager position unfilled for a period of time; she wished council would be stringent in their search. Griswold thought it would be fiscally responsible to leave the Assistant City Manager position unfilled for the time being. She was dismayed to learn that the city manager had put a department head into Acting City Manager status for a day, and essentially hired himself as the new Assistant City Manager. Griswold was concerned that this attempt was pushing the edges of ethics and legality, and she encouraged council to make the city manager's resignation effective immediately. Mike Ritz encouraged city council to accept the resignation of the city manager, and to ban him from future employment with the city. He was concerned that the recall application submitted by the city manager would cost the tax payers money. Ritz thought that the use of a police officer to deliver a termination notice to the home of an employee was a gross mishandling of public funds. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26, 2018 Volume 40, Page 483 Further, the terminated employee was later trespassed from city hall and not allowed to attend a council meeting. Wadeen Hepworth thought it was time for the city manager to go, and that it should be effective immediately. In business, when someone turned in a resignation, it usually went into effect immediately. Iris Darling concurred with Carol Griswold, particularly about not hiring a new assistant city manager position; the city had been fine for many, many years without having an assistant city manager. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda Casagranda requested to remove the last-minute addition of the executive session from the agenda. Her objection to having this added was that it went against code because it was not timely. In response to Squires, City Clerk Brenda Ballou stated that the city attorney had requested to add the executive session today because he considered it to be of critical importance, but that it was up to council to approve the agenda. Keil felt it was important to hear out the city attorney because there may be a legal issue to consider Towsley agreed it was important to listen to the attorney, but was more concerned that this action was outside of city code. McClure requested to hear a justification for this request from the attorney. City Attorney Will Earnhart stated that it was absolutely essential, and actually required under the city's insurance policy, for council to hear what the attorney had to say regarding the city manager's resignation. Earnhart stated for the record that neither he nor his firm had any interaction with the city manager surrounding the appointment of a department head to acting status and the subsequent hiring of the city manager as the new assistant city manager. Earnhart said that at 12:30 p.m. today, City Manager Jim Hunt withdrew his application for the assistant city manager position. McClure thought that it was important to hear what the city attorney had to say before moving ahead. Towsley stated that Hunt was not present at tonight's meeting, and was concerned with having an executive session. In response, Earnhart said council was technically not in compliance, but the timing was extremely difficult and the risk to the city would be greater by not having the executive session. 1 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26 2018 Volume 40, Page 484 In response to Casagranda, and in relation to Horn's absence at tonight's meeting, Earnhart confirmed that a waiver of absence from a special meeting could be submitted before or after a special meeting. Motion to Postpone (Keil/McClure) Postpone the special meeting until a five-day notice can be provided. Keil thought a five-day notice would allow the public to have proper notice. In response to Squires, Earnhart said council had ten calendar days from the date of written notice of resignation to exercise the option to either terminate immediately, or else the city manager would remain for thirty (30) days. Casagranda thought there were a lot of members of the public in attendance, and felt there had been adequate notice provided. Towsley concurred. Keil was concerned that by moving forward with this meeting, council would be putting the citizens and the city in financial risk. If the meeting was not postponed, she said she would leave the meeting. Motion to Postpone Failed Keil left the meeting. Main Motion Passed Yes: McClure, Keil, Squires No: Casagranda, Seese, Towsley Unanimous The agenda was approved, to include the executive session. Squires directed the city clerk to contact the absent council members Horn and Keil to request their presence at tonight's meeting. Towsley objected. Motion to Appeal (Towsley/Casagranda) Motion Failed Council recessed at 6:23 p.m. Council resumed at 6:30 p.m. Appeal the decision of the presiding officer to contact the absent council members Horn and Keil. Yes: McClure, Seese, Squires No: Casagranda, Towsley The city clerk reported out: The city clerk called Council Member Horn at 6:25 p.m.; there was no answer and the mailbox was full so no message could be left. The city clerk called Vice Mayor Keil at 6:25 p.m.; there was no answer and the clerk left a voice mail requesting Keil to return to the meeting on behalf of the council. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS — None City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26, 2018 Volume 40, Page 485 EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion (McClure/Seese) Go into Executive Session to discuss matters, the immediate knowledge of which would clearly have an adverse effect upon the finances of the City. In response to Casagranda, Earnhart confirmed that the reason for this executive session was in response to a threat against the city by the city manager. Motion Passed Yes: Seese, Towsley, McClure, Squires No: Casagranda Council invited City Attorney Will Earnhart (telephonically) to remain. Council went into Executive Session at 6:36 p.m. Council came out of Executive Session at 6:57 p.m. NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2018-065, Accepting The Resignation Of City Manager James Hunt And Setting The Terms For His Departure From City Employment. Motion (Casagranda/McClure) Approve Resolution 2018-065 McClure recommended council accept the effective date of August 22, 2018, as stated in the resignation letter. Seese agreed that council should accept the letter, but thought it should be effective immediately. Primary Motion to Amend (Seese/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2018-065 in Section 1 by striking the words, "...on August 22, 2018" and replacing them with the words, "...effective immediately." Secondary Motion to Amend (Squires/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2018-065 in Section 1 to Secondary Motion to Amend Passed Primary Motion to Amend Failed read, "The resignation of the city manager is accepted and the employment agreement between the City of Seward and James Hunt for City Manager services shall terminate on August 22, 2018." Yes: McClure, Towsley, Casagranda, Seese No: Squires Yes: Seese, Towsley, Casagranda No: McClure, Squires Fi 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26 2018 Volume 40, Page 486 Main Motion Passed Yes: Towsley, McClure, Casagranda, Seese No: Squires Other New Business Discussion of hiring process, deadlines, and appointment of members to negotiate a contract for an interim city manager: 1. Memorandum by city clerk 2. City manager job description 3. Seward city manager public recruitment notice for advertising in the newspapers 4. Interim city manager contract (example enclosed for Marvin Yoder dated December, 2006) Casagranda was concerned that the employees would not be overloaded with work, and that hiring an interim city manager was held expeditiously. Earnhart said the Alaska Municipal League (AML) had a list of interim city managers who were readily available to step in and fill the role of interim city manager. McClure stated that there has been a public expression of waiting until after the October, 2018 election to conduct the hiring process Council directed the city clerk to make the following updates to the public notice of the Interim City Manager Opening: strike the words, "area wide year-round population 5,000" and replace it with the words, "city-wide population of approximately 2,700"; add the words, "...and parking" to follow, "...streets, parks & recreation"; change the average number of cruise ships from 50 to 73; and, strike the words, "Required to be a resident of the City of Seward..." and replace it with the words, "Required to reside in the City of Seward...". Council directed the city clerk to make the following updates to the Interim City Manager Employment Agreement: under Rates of Pay and Terms of Agreement, change the fast paragraph to read, "[Name] agrees to devote full time on behalf of the City and not engage in any other business, unless approved by council, and have overall responsibility and authority designated under Seward City Code (SCC) 3.05.015."; change the rate of pay to "[Blank]" per month; change the rate of annual leave accrued to "[Blank]" per month of service or "[Blank]" hours per year; and, under Housing/Moving Expenses, change the words to read, "...a one-time sum of [Blank] for moving expenses...". Discuss the process for advertising and hiring an Interim City Manager, and direct the city clerk to advertise for the position. Council directed the city clerk to advertise the job opening in the Seward Journal on August 1 & 8, 2018, and also in ADN for one time each of those two weeks. As well, council directed the city clerk to advertise the job opening online in the following places by Monday, July 30, 2018: International City Managers Association (ICMA) website, Alaska Municipal League (AML) website, Seward City City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26, 2018 Volume 40, Page 487 News, MyAlaska website, and optionally on the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) website, and the Alaska Association of Municipal Clerks (AAMC) website. Council set the deadline for receiving Interim City Manager applications on Monday, August 13, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Schedule a work session to conduct public interviews for Interim City Manager applicants. Council scheduled a work session to conduct public interviews for Interim City Manager applicants on Thursday, August 16, 2018 at 5:15 p.m. Council would hold a special meeting immediately following the adjournment of the work session to discuss the candidates. Direct the City Manager to coordinate with the Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA) to schedule a review of administration, personnel, and city council by a Local Government Specialist. Direction previously given May 29, 2018. Council directed the city manager to coordinate this review. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS — None COUNCIL COMMENTS McClure thanked everyone for coming tonight and said she appreciated the involvement. Towsley thanked everyone for coming to take part in the process. Moving forward, she wanted to proceed with what was best for the city. Squires thanked Hunt for his service to the city and thought he did a good job for the city; there were a lot of projects underway that still needed attention. He thanked everyone for coming tonight and staying through the meeting, and thanked the attorney for his advice tonight. Squires thanked Bruce Jaffa for being reappointed to PACAB. CITIZEN COMMENTS Bruce Jaffa said it was a very interesting meeting tonight; tonight's topic was one of the most important roles for council to attend to. The city manager had a tremendous responsibility and had to make important decisions. Although he lived out of town, Jaffa said he had heard many confusing things from citizens — he cautioned council to not get caught up in the minutia, and encouraged everyone to keep their eye on the big picture and what was best for the community of Seward. Cheryl Seese wanted to say for the record that Jim Hunt had not been treated fairly or with respect and dignity; she thought that was very wrong. She did not understand the point of council's City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26, 2018 Volume 40, Page 488 discussions tonight if they weren't going to carry through with their actions. She expected more, and wanted to know how she could support council and the community. Carol Griswold was pleased that the city attorney was not part of the city manager's attempt to become the assistant city manager, and she was pleased that the city manager had withdrawn his application for assistant city manager. She was displeased that the job description had not been updated for the interim city manager position. She wished the next city manager contract would contain all strikeouts and updates. Griswold wondered why there was no administration representative at the dais tonight. She wished council would not allow the hiring of the assistant city manager position. Mike Ritz thanked council for enduring what they had gone through. Whether or not he agreed with council, he appreciated their service and time and effort. He encouraged an outside audit of financial records. Lynda Paquette referenced Margaret Wheately who was a consultant in corporate behavior. Wheately recommended that leaders have three focuses: pay exquisite attention to relationships; restore thinking, cooperation, and teamwork in the work place; and, have a personal, individual practice to bring peace into your daily life. Becky Dunn wanted to recognize Police Lieutenant Doreen Valadez as her retirement approached in April, 2019, and said it was important to encourage female police officers. Dunn also wished to dispel the rumor she heard that people from outside of city limits could not speak at council meetings because for 30 years, she lived outside the city and had always felt very comfortable speaking to council and administration throughout the years. Jason Ebberson wanted to see council consider opting back into the Alaska Public Employment Relations Act (PERA). Cheryl Seese wanted to add that, regarding qualifications for the next city manager, part of what was important was to create relationships on the state and federal level; she thought Hunt had done a good job with that. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Casagranda said the best way to support council was to communicate with council. She encouraged citizens to contact her, and also to offer solutions. She agreed that she would not like to have the assistant city manager position filled at this time in order to allow a new city manager to hire. In response, Squires said that could be discussed at the next council meeting. Casagranda replied that she was concerned that the position might be filled by the next council meeting; Squires said he didn't see that there was a way for that to happen. Casagranda stated, as an individual, her opinion was that that position should not be filled at this time. Casagranda thanked Carol Griswold for her ideas and suggestions, particularly with the recommendation for striking through the city manager contract language in order to be more transparent. She encouraged everyone to start changing the story for Seward, and provide positivity. Casagranda would support having more female officers. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 26, 2018 Volume 40, Page 489 Squires concurred that the contract should show strike outs. He agreed with having diversity on the police force. Squires said Hunt had informed him yesterday that he would be in Anchorage today. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m. drenda IiAo City Clerk ••'•ssssssrsr•••• . OF SEIV ••• (City Seal) .•q •, '• SEAL `• =Y+ 1611 •••45! ••/•�A. . 4�•' •i •4gTE OF AV S, �. rrssss uw� David Squires Mayor 1 F�I E