HomeMy WebLinkAbout10012018 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
October 1, 2018 Volume 39, Page 534
CALL TO ORDER
The October 1,2018 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:00
p.m. by Vice Mayor Marianna Keil.
OPENING CEREMONY
Jeff Bridges led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Marianna Keil presiding and Sue McClure
Ristine Casagranda Jeremy Horn
Suzanne Towsley Sharyl Seese
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Jeff Bridges,Interim City Manager
Brenda Ballou, City Clerk
Absent—Squires
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING—None
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Casagranda/McClure) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Motion Passed Unanimous
There were no consent agenda items.
NEW BUSINESS
Resolution 2018-082, Authorizing the Electric Utility Manager To Sign The Memorandum of
Understanding For The Creation Of The Railbelt Reliability Council And Submit To The
Regulatory Commission Of Alaska.
Motion (Casagranda/McClure) Approve Resolution 2018-082
Bridges expressed concerns,particularly regarding the funding stream that would go towards
supporting the organization.
Council suspended the rules to speak with Willard Dunham.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
October 1, 2018 Volume 39, Page 535
Willard Dunham,the city's representative to the Alaska Railbelt Cooperation Transmission
Electric Company(ARCTEC),said there was currently no law on the state's books to authorize this
oversight, and was the first effort to bring forward organized, voluntary regulation. Dunham
recommended that council approve this resolution.
Council went back on the rules.
Electric Utility Manager John Foutz said Seward was the only city that had not yet signed a
memorandum of understanding.Foutz clarified that Transco was one organization,and the Railbelt
Reliability Council (RRC) was a different one; both would act as a checks and balances with the
other. The two separate organizations would move forward simultaneously.
In response to Casagranda, Foutz said there were no boards in existence yet for either
organization. ARCTEC hired GDS Associates, Inc. (GDS) to create the RRC as a self-initiated
solution to propose to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska(RCA). Transco would be governed
separately by a board of utility members and the American Transmission Company(ATC). Foutz
said the RCA was the regulatory branch of the State of Alaska which was commissioned to protect
cyber-security and reliability for the railbelt utilities.
In response to Casagranda,Foutz confirmed that ARCTEC was the nonprofit that hired GDS.
GDS reported to the RCA that their recommendation would be to create two entities: Transco and
the RRC.The RRC would report to the RCA;the RCA would have to approve any fees that the RRC
proposed.
Keil said ARCTEC was formed in response to a threat from the state legislature.Adding to
that, Foutz said there was $56 million in the state railbelt funds, and the state said they would not
release any funds unless the utilities demonstrated they could work together,therefore ARCTEC was
formed.
In response to Casagranda,Foutz said that the most advantageous reason to be a part of this
related to cost and reliability. Foutz said the bottom line was that there would be an organization
formed, and the city could be a part of it or be at the mercy of it.
Bridges said he agreed with Foutz and Dunham that this was a concept that had been
percolating for many years, and it would be more beneficial for the city to be involved rather than
sitting on the sidelines.In response to Towsley,Bridges said approving this MOU did not mean that
the City of Seward was handing over any control; we were only committing to working with the
other utilities,not giving up any sovereignty.
In response to Towsley,Foutz confirmed that there were no provisions within the MOU that
would allow the City of Seward to withdraw from the RRC.
Motion Passed Unanimous
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
October 1, 2018 Volume 39, Page 536
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Casagranda was hoping that citizens and council alike would stay engaged on this topic;she
was concerned that this important topic came forward as a special meeting with laydowns. She
wished for the most amount of education as possible. She felt that council members deserved to have
more and better training on electric utility rates .
McClure reminded everyone that tomorrow was election day,and that the Seward Music&
Arts Festival would start Friday.
Towsley echoed some of the same concerns as Casagranda; she would appreciate more
training.
Keil thought that administration should provide regular reports to council and the public on
this topic.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
John Foutz reminded the public that there had been presentation provided at the energy fair,
and would continue to do provide information to the public and council.
111 Willard Dunham thanked council for approving this resolution.In the past,there had been
many attempts made by the state legislature to take over this regulation.
Lynda Paquette reminded everyone that there would be a Seward Civic Engagement
training on initiatives and the Public Employees Relations Act(PERA)on Thursday this week,and
on October 18, 2018 the topic would be business licensing.
Becky Dunn thought the city needed to enforce businesses operating without a business
license or paying taxes. Sales taxes helped pay for roads and infrastructure, schools and hospitals.
Dunn encouraged business owners to sign up as members of the Chamber of Commerce as well.
There were a lot of steps that a business had to go through to get licensed; she thought it was unfair
that some businesses operated without a license.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS
Towsley thanked Paquette for the Seward Civic Engagement education meetings. October
18,2018 was a holiday for the city,and the library would be closed,so an alternate location would
have to be found.
McClure reminded everyone that there would be a test of the emergency response system on
Wednesday.
Bridges said there was to be a federal emergency alert test that had been rescheduled to this
week.
City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
October 1, 2018 Volume 39, Page 537
Keil thanked Dunn for speaking up; she thought the business license process should be
reviewed,particularly relating to zoning.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:24 p.m.
B nda J. Ba lou, C Mari nna Keil V
City Clerk Vice Mayor
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