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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06032020 PACAB Packet Port & Commerce Advisory Board Agenda Packet SENIOR PARADE 2020 Photo Credit: Stefan Nilsson Regular Meeting Wednesday, June 3, 2020 Council Chambers, City Hall 12:00 p.m. PUBLIC NOTICE TEMPORARY PROCESS FOR CITIZEN COMMENTSAT JUNE 3, 2020 PACAB MEETING PACABwill hold a VirtualRegular Meeting on Wednesday,June 3, 2020. Because the City of Seward is currently experiencing a declared publichealth emergencydue to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), alternate methods for providing Citizen Comments have been created: How To VirtuallyAttendThe Meeting 1.The meeting will be Live Streamed on the city’s YouTube page. Log onto YouTube and type “City of Seward Alaska” into the search bar. 2.Listen on the radio. Tune to KIBH-FM 91.7 3.Watch on television. Tune into GCI Cable Channel 9. How To Submit Your CITIZEN COMMENTS 1.Email your writtenCitizen Comments to jstallard@cityofseward.netno later than 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday,June 3, 2020. Identify whether you want your comments READ ALOUD at the meeting or EMAILED to PACABupon receipt. Comments requested to be read aloudwill be delivered verbally to PACABby the Deputy City Clerkat the appropriate time duringthe meeting. 2.If you wish to be called onthe telephoneduring the meeting to provide your comments telephonically, send an email request tothe Deputy City Clerk along with your contact information to jstallard@cityofseward.net, including your full name and the telephone number you wish to have called. The clerk must receive your request no later than 11:00 a.m. on June 3, 2020.Identify whether you wish to be called during the FIRST or SECOND citizen comment period. If you wish to be contacted for the first Citizen Comment period, please be prepared to answer your phone starting at 12:00 p.m. If you wish to be contacted for the second Citizen Comment period, there is no estimate of time to expect the call. All Citizen Comments will betimed and limited to three minutes (first period) or five minutes (second period).The telephone number will be called ONE time; if there is no answer, the clerk will move on to the next citizen. Thank You For Your Cooperation! 1 The City of Seward, Alaska SEWARD PORT AND COMMERCE ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING AGENDA June 3, 2020 12:00 p.m. Council Chambers Laura Schneider CALL TOORDER Chair Term Expires July, 2020 PLEDGE OFALLEGIANCE Bruce Jaffa ROLLCALL Vice Chair Term Expires July, 2021 CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMSSCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING\[Those who have Carl Hughes signed in will be given the first opportunity to speak. Time is limited to 3 minutes Board Member perspeakerand36minutestotaltimeforthisagendaitem.\] Term Expires July, 2020 APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA\[Approvalof Colby Lawrence Consent Agenda passes all routine items indicated by asterisk(*). Consent Board Member Agendaitems arenot consideredseparatelyunlessa commission member so Term Expires July, 2022 requests. In the event of such a request, the itemis returned to the Regular Agenda\] Lynda Paquette Board Member SPECIALORDERS,PRESENTATIONSANDREPORTS Term Expires July, 2021 Erin Lemas Proclamationsand Awards – None Board Member Alaska Railroad Report byChristy Terry Term Expires July, 2021 ChamberofCommerceReportbyJason Bickling Harbormaster Report byNormRegis Benjamin Smith OtherReportsand Announcements –None Board Member Presentations\[Presentations are limited to ten minutes each, Term Expires July, 2022 excludingQ&A, and are limited to two per meeting unless increasedby council.\]– None Scott Meszaros City Manager Norm Regis Harbor Master Jessica Stallard Deputy City Clerk City of Seward, Alaska Port & Commerce June 3,2020Advisory BoardAgenda 2 7.UNFINISHEDBUSINESS A.Items Postponed from Previous Agenda 1.Setgoalsforthesecondhalfof the year2020.This item waspostponedfromtheMay 6, 2020 meeting. NEW BUSINESS Other New BusinessItems 1. Approve theMay 6,2020 Regular MeetingMinutes. DiscusstheSewerLagoon on Lowell Point.(Paquette) INFORMATIONAL ITEMSAND REPORTS\[No Action Required\]– None CITIZEN COMMENTS\[There is nosign in for this comment period. Time is limited to five (5) minutes per speaker.\] COMMISSION AND ADMINISTRATIONCOMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS ADJOURNMENT City of Seward, Alaska Port & Commerce June 3,2020Advisory BoardAgenda 3 4 5 PACAB:Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Report (report submitted May 26, 2020) CoVid19 Update: Worked with Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership to source PPE for businesses. Cliff Krug at FT&T is acting as the point person for thatfor business that need orders. th State relief money for business is supposed to open up on May 26. KPEDD is the frontline of it, AIDEA is processing applications, and Credit Union 1 will be the lender. It looks like the actual amount to be distributed will be about $260,000. We will be hosting a zoom call with Tim Dillon in the near future for more information for our businesses. (This will be goodas the current SBA EIDL funds are only going towards agricultural businesses at this point). Director Specific Work: Financial Later in thesummer, I will be giving the council a presentation on our plan to mitigate the bed tax loss from this summer so that we can continue to provide consistent marketing services for the City of Seward. We are pursuing a number of opportunities and taking action for those mitigation plans including relief grants. As part of that mitigation plan, we are currently working with our accountantto see howwe can get the employee retention tax credit and how that works for our bed tax funding cycle. Visitor Services We are going to be opening the visitor center forweekend as the mandates have changed.We will be limited in our openings as we are waiting for staff to arrive.We will still make sure that our staff is safe. We are also usingthe Derby Booth as a visitor center extension this summer. Starting the weekend rd of May 23, we will be posting information in the windows and have visitor guides available. We will also be staffing in at peak times as well. We will be putting a Regis last week to decide the location and took care of the permits with Jackie Wilde. Seward MarineFront: th We had anall industry call on Friday, May 15withlow attendance. Word is that everyone is really busy right now (which is a good thing). The committee will be meeting again in early June and start Sustainable Tourism Conversation This has been put on hold temporarily.We will be schedulinga check in call with them sometime during the beginning of June. Page 1 6 Website We are working through the RFP process for a potential vendor. Upcoming items of interest: 5/21 Chamber Board Meeting 5/22KPTMC Board Meeting 6/2 SSD Committee Meeting 6/4 Marine Front Committee Meeting Events: Halibut Derby Elle Zernia and I are still monitoring the situation and waiting to see how things go. We have thth postponed the derby from June 15 to June 30. We will see where things are at around the beginning of June and make plans from there. th 4 of July th We have established a 4 of July Committee, which council member Butts is on, and had our first thth meeting on May 19. We will be meeting every other week between now and the 4. We are still planning on having streets blocked off in the downtown area that we normally would.It will look / feel different without the fencing up and will allow people to not be so concentrated. We will be spacing vendors further apart and allow businesses that are on the closed streets to have street front vending. More details to come. Thursday: Vendor Set up th Friday: Vendors Open, Activities, Fireworks (12:01am on 4 of July) Saturday: Vendor Open, Parade, Activities, Bonfire on Uplands Sunday: Vendors Open / Tear Down We are also looking at having some alternative fun events (some from the past and some new)and are exploring live music and some acts. Along with the situation, we will be providing signage, messaging, as well as more opportunities (hand washing stations), upped cleaning, and safety measures. Mount Marathon Race MMR Committee will be meeting May 22nd to begin to look at plans and possible postponement dates. SSSD We have two new committee members. New additions are Terry Mangold (salmon charter captain) and Ryan Jenkins (Trail Lakes Hatchery Manager). We are moving forward with the planning. Dates are Sept 8 Sept 16. Page 2 7 MEMBERSHIP REPORT: (Aisha) Total Active Members:388 No drops since 11/2019 New Members: o Latitude 60 Marine (Premium Membership) o Fly Seward (Classic Membership - 2nd business) Prospective/Processing Members: o Mermaid Grotto Cafe (new small business) o Kayaker's Cove (small business - to rejoin after many years) o Portage Transport (small business) (rejoining) Promotions & Programming Coordinator position development Working with Marissa to create a standard framework around social media event promotion and support Developing instagram and facebook channels and growing audiences Seward Area Business COVID-19 Check-Ins Hosting & facilitating weekly Zoom meetings for retail, f&b, lodging, and activities & excursion industries - Open to members and non-members Sessions are recorded and links to rewatch are shared via newsletters Chamber team following up on action items and concerns Virtual Chamber Lunch sessions - pivoted to online educational opportunities May - Brian Matson of TwoSix Digital - Digital marketing strategy for CV-19 June - Penny Gage from Alaska Growth Capital & Grow with Google - Google my Business tips and strategies Website CRM updates & support Optimizing new invoicing and marketplace modules for membership dues & benefits invoicing, joining, and renewing memberships. Seward.com transition from Chambermaster to Simpleview o designing/developing changes & accurate quote with ITS Expand Member Portal functionality & push for listing updates Seward.com - Updates still needed: Privacy Policy, Moving to Seward, Seward Conferences, Development, Resources Community Support Hosted first- o Raised almost $3000 for out of work employees online via gofundme and eventbrite donations #supportseward social media campaign generated support and action in the community - two $50 gift cards given to campaign winners. Continued promotional support for Suspended Meals program Supporting community non-profits with social media promotional assistance, including Seward Prevention Coalition, Seward Community Foundation, and Seward Community Health Center Curating and updating Seward.com landing page: Seward Area & Business CV-19 Resources Member Promotional Support Social media posts by industry w/ open business info (updated weekly) Seward Open for Business slides/pdf released via Facebook for easily portable/downloadable information (updated as often as possible. Public Google Sheet - promoted up and updated as needed. Chamber Facebook - Cross-posting Visit Seward virtual vacation campaign to increase post engagement Page 3 8 Chamber instagram- Weekly posts shared on stories about events, member activity & COVID- 19 updates Open Business one-sheets for Visitor Center window display while closed Small business housekeeping tasks blog post Event Support - Seward Silver Salmon Derby Logo Contest ended - Bethany Svabik winner, working on design to create merch / promotional materials Working on a permanent logo for SSSD Using historical photos/brochures/documents to spruce up the derby booth and add to the Derby experience Other recent/ongoing projects: Chamber By-Laws - Input on changes Research & Development of Mentorship/OJT Program with Seward HS Research & Development of Community Partner membership level Grant Writing: From Start to Funded (8-week class) Re-development of targeted leads generation program via seward.com as an opt-in marketing benefit for members July 4th Vendor application processing and communication Spearheading bulk-purchase and design of branded PPE (neck buffs) for Seward Chamber and local businesses Working with ED on developing harbor area Derby Booth as alternate/auxiliary Visitor Center location COMMUNICATIONS REPORT: (Kat Sorenson) Social Media: Virtual Vacation on social media accounts from 4/27 to 5/09. Had a good response from members with content which we bolstered with shared content. Over the two week period we saw the following organic increases (no paid advertising): Reach increase by 25% Engagement increase by 17% Views increase by 25% Highest reach was at 11.5k on two posts Branding: submitted Facebook request to change Seward, Alaska name to Visit Seward in order to make a uniform brand across social media accounts Marketing: continuing conversations with members and other communities about how to approach marketing to visitors (both in state and out of state) during the coronavirus pandemic. Visitor Resources: Put out a call for content from members to create a Seward Wedding Resource to market as a wedding destination Maintaining a landing page on seward.com with information on available lodging Messaging: Visit Seward coronavirus response video received 170,000 views on Facebook and over 12,000 unique reactions Working on a script for a follow up video with a more welcoming, but carefully crafted tone. See link for a rough draft and add ideas/thoughts/additions COVID FOLLOW UP SCRIPT Seward.com Page 4 9 Seeing an increase in web traffic, with an increase in time spent on pages (primarily from the The standard average spent on a website is about 45 seconds, the average time for the community resources page is 3 minutes! The average time spent on resources page is over 1 minute, indicative of how useful the information is! Screenshots below show more information and data: Page 5 10 PACABHARBOR he 50 ton lifts have picked up the entire harbor crew is working, we are adjusting to 1.T COVID-19 issues/mandates. 2.There is a shortage of yard space for vessels currently on the harbor side of the bay, this is due to COVID-19 and other issues, we are trying to work with vessel owners to assist them the best we can. 3.The 330 ton lifts have also picked up we have placed many vessels into the water and some vessels are showing up for maintenance. 4.The water is on throughout the harbor. 5.With social distancing on the city’s fish cleaning stations a public notice has been posted and every other hose has been removed. 6.We are still working with ADF&G to replace the North East Boat Launch Ramp, funding is currently available through the same grant, looks like the Governor approved the funding at this point. 7.The harbor is currently short one office staff. 8.The harbor crew is continuing maintenance throughout the harbor. 9.The US Coast Guard contacted the harbor about location and designs for the new FRC, which will be located at SMIC, we are currently looking at 3 concepts. More information to come later. 10.The Harbor has upgraded to the new software and are still running parallel, we are working through some minor issues. The harbor will be bringing a resolution to council with a Tariff change at your next meeting. 11.The harbormaster is working on the 2022 Municipal Facility Grant to replace G, K and L- float, a resolution is currently on your agenda. 12.The harbor has ordered the dumpsters approved in Resolution 2020-029, they should arrive sometime in June. 11 Port & Commerce Advisory Board 2020 GOALS CALENDAR DATESUGGESTED AGENDA ITEMS January 8 Meeting Set 2020 priorities. Establish committees for Seward Climate Action Plan, SMIC Development, and Energy. Provide input on Capital Improvement Plan for 2020-2021. January 15 Work Session Discuss and review the January 20, 2020 Council work session on electric rates and utilities. February 5 Meeting Discuss the halibut fishery. February 19 Work Session Review the January 20, 2020 Council work session on electric rates and utilities. March 4 Meeting Determine and provide recommendation to Council on electric department matters. March 9 Joint Work w/ Council Joint Work Session w/ Council on PACAB Priorities March 18 Work Session Review high vessel property tax. April 1 Meeting Provide recommendation to Council on high vessel property tax. April 15 Work Session Evaluate the Blue Pipeline Initiative. May 6 Meeting Give summary of evaluation on Blue Pipeline Initiative. Set goals calendar for the second half of year 2020. Update from energy committee. May 20 Work Session Discuss Public Works utilties June to end of August HIATUS –MEET AS NEEDED September 2 Meeting September 16 Work Session October 7 Meeting October 21 Work Session November 4 Meeting November 18 Work Session December 2 Meeting December 16 Work Session 12 4185 S S S 111825152229121926 p.m.) F 3F 7F 4 April 101724142128111825 August (12 2963 16233013202710172431 Th ThTh December 18529 W W W 152229121926162330 7418 T T T 142128111825152229 637 M M M 13202710172431142128 5296 S S S 121926162330132027 4 747 S S S 14212811182512128 July 636 F F F 13202710172431132027 March 5295 121926162330121926 Th ThTh November 4184 W W W 111825152229111825 373 T T T 10172431142128101724 Deadline to get materials in for packets 29629 M M M 162330132027162330 18518 S S S 152229121926152229 1863 S S S 15222913202710172431 F 7F 5F 29 June 142128121926162330 Work Sessions 6418 October 132027111825152229 Th ThTh February 537 W W W 121926101724142128 s 4296 T T T 111825162330132027 3185 M M M 101724152229121926 Meeting 2974 S S S 1623142128111825 Meeting Schedule PACAB 4 295 S S S 111825162330121926 May F 3 F 18F 4 10172431152229111825 20 6 2 973 12330142128101724 January ThThTh 20 1 8629 W W W 152229132027162330 September 7518 T T T 142128121926152229 end of August is a hiatus but meetings will be called as necessary! Holidays - 647 M M M 132027111825142128 536 S S S June 12192610172431132027 PACAB* 13 14 15 City of Seward, AlaskaPort and Commerce Advisory Board RegularMeeting Minutes May 6, 2020Volume 3, Page CALL TO ORDER The May 6, 2020regularmeeting of the Port & Commerce Advisory Board was called to order at 12:05 p.m. byChairLaura Schneider. OPENING CEREMONY Bruce Jaffaled the pledge of allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Laura Schneider presiding, and Bruce Jaffa Erin Lemas Carl Hughes(telephonically)Colby Lawrence(telephonically) Lynda Paquette (telephonically)Benjamin Smith comprising a quorum of the board; and Norm Regis, Harbormaster Jessica Stallard, Deputy City Clerk Excused – Smith Absent – Lemas CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING–None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Hughes/Jaffa) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion PassedUnanimous T he city clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2020-002, Recommending To The City Council To Authorize The City Manager To Apply For The Harbor Facility Grant For The Replacement Of G, K, And L-Float. Approval of the March 11, 2020 PACAB Regular Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Alaska Railroad Report –Christy Terry said the schedule for cruise ships was constantly changing. The firstcruise ships were expected to arrive in Seward onJuly 20, 2020, and the trains were expected to start running on July 1, 2020. 16 City of Seward, AlaskaPort and Commerce Advisory Board RegularMeeting Minutes May 6, 2020Volume 3, Page In response to Jaffa, Terry said the last cruise ship for 2020was scheduled for October 10, 2020. In response to Jaffa, Terry said Holland America had movedtheir cruise ships from Seward to Whittier, because Whittier was closer to Holland America’s resort in Denali. This move opened up Sundays for smaller cruise ships to dock in Seward. In response to Schneider, Terry said if the no-sail order was lifted, then Seward would be ready to receive cruise ships as early as July 1, 2020. Chamber of Commerce Report–Jason Bickling saidthe Chamber had made videos to promote Seward as a good place for individuals to visit. He worked with Elle Zernia to put together a Halibut DerbyinlateJune. The Chamber’s Fourth of July committee had started planning Seward’s Fourthof July events for 2020. The Chamber had movedforward with planning for the Silver Salmon Derby. Bickling spoke to business owners on a weekly basis to help them navigate the struggles posed by COVID-19. The Chamber of Commerce visitor center hadnot yetopenedto the public, but they hadan informational area set up outside of the building. TheChamber’s call volume had picked up over the past couple of weeks, and they had received calls from people wanting to visit Alaska between June and September of this year. In response to Hughes, Bickling said the Chamber was slowly integrating the customer relationship management (CRM) softwareinto their website. In response to Jaffa, Bickling said their marketing availability wasnot be affected by the change in their website’s server. In response to Jaffa, Bickling said a 70% loss in bed tax was expected for Alaskathis year.He was confident in the Chamber’splan to provide sustainablemarketing services to Seward during COVID-19. In response to Schneider, Bickling said the secondChamber video would promote Seward as a good vacation destination and reinforce the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C). Harbormaster Report. Harbormaster Norm Regis said the water had been turned on in the harbor. The harbor was working with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) to replace the North East Boat Launch Ramp. The design for the replacement of theG, K, andL Floats were95% completed. The harbor was open to the public with safety protocols in place. In response to Jaffa, Regis said social distancing signs were posted inthe harbor and every other hose had been removed at the fish cleaning stations to help with social distancing. Regis said the launch ramps at the harbor were busy. In response to Hughes, Regis said the waitlist for 32-foot slips were usually completed within six months. More transient space was gained by reducing the slips on G, K, and L float. In response to Schneider, Regis said the new harbor computer software was more user- friendly, and it would help the harbor to better assist customers withdaily rates. 17 City of Seward, AlaskaPort and Commerce Advisory Board RegularMeeting Minutes May 6, 2020Volume 3, Page Other Reports, Announcements, and Presentations Halibut Bycatch Presentation by Andy Mezirow NEWBUSINESS Review high vessel property tax. Regissaid if Seward changed their high vessel property tax to a flat tax, then it would be a $160,000 deduction from the City of Seward General Fund. In response to Schneider, Regis said this change could be made through an ordinance proposed by the City Council. In response to Hughes, Regis said taxes collected by the borough wentto the General Fund. He recommended that high vessel owners challenge their taxes if they do not agree with them. In response to Schneider, Regis said the borough collected and administered this tax. Lawrence left the meeting at 1:00 p.m. Set goals calendar for the second half of the year 2020. Motion (Hughes/Jaffa) Move “Set goals calendar for the second half of the year 2020” to the end of the agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous Motion to Postpone (Paquette/Hughes) Postpone “Set goals calendar for the second half of the year 2020” to June 3, 2020. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous Update from the energy committee. The energy committee had met to discuss the installation of solar energy panels. Discuss solar energy implementation. Motion (Schneider/Jaffa)Make the recommendation to City Council to direct the city manager to instruct the electric department to resolve the remaining issues with the solar 18 City of Seward, AlaskaPort and Commerce Advisory Board RegularMeeting Minutes May 6, 2020Volume 3, Page interconnect policy to allow community implementation assoon as practicalor by July 15, 2020. Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss Local Government Climate Action – Cohort. Motion (Schneider/Paquette) Recommend to council to join the Climate Action Planning Cohort. Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss summer hiatus and possibility of having a June meeting. Motion (Schneider/Paquette) Schedule a regular PACAB meeting on June 3, 2020. Motion Passed Unanimous INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS– None CITIZEN COMMENTS– None BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Paquette encouraged conducting virtual meetings through Zoom andthanked everyone who watchedthe meeting. She thanked everyone for wearing masks. Hughes was excited to attend this meetingand concurred withPaquettethat Zoom would be a good platform for future virtual meetings. Jaffa said we were defined by the times that we live in. The challenges that we faced define our character. It was important to face our burdens with optimism, enthusiasm, and energy. He commended and applauded the volunteers who formed our local government. Schneider thanked Sustainable Seward, Lori Landstrom, and Jenny Nacowfor making masks for the community. She thanked Lori Landstromfor her efforts regarding theClimate Action Plan. She thanked Regis and the clerk for their hard work. Schneider said we were all learning how to adapt to the new normal. She reminded everyone that wearing a mask was a sign of love, not a sign of fear, and our citizens needed to set a good example for visitors. Regis said the governor would be making an announcement this afternoon about Phase II of Re-Open Alaska. He encouraged citizens to fill out the U.S. Census. 19 City of Seward, AlaskaPort and Commerce Advisory Board RegularMeeting Minutes May 6, 2020Volume 3, Page ADJOURNMENT This meeting was adjourned at 2:21 p.m. ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Jessica StallardLaura Schneider Deputy City ClerkChair (City Seal) 20 I would like to discuss the Sewer Lagoon on Lowell Point. It is not operating as it should. i.e., one side of the north end of the pond is getting the right amount of air but the other cells are not. It’s generating odors on a daily basis. The City has not had any good engineering done since the repairs after the anaerobic problem. There should be an assessment by an engineer trained inthis type ofseptic lagoon. We’re at the beginning of the window of time for dredging under the recommended “routine maintenance” from the last engineer/consultant. Last summer there was discussion of repairs needing to be done that were never performed as far as I know. The lagoon spent most of the winter frozen over, which is not normal. It should never freeze if working properly. The city needs to put an R.F.P together for a review of the current lagoon by a qualified consultant. There were three studies done by the last firm, M.L Foster, to the tune of roughly $150K. None of those reports can be found apparently. The current Department head was not here for any of that or any of the problems. The City is flying blind when it comes to this lagoon and this summer with the lack of tourism is the perfect time to deal with any repairs or maintenance that needs to be done. Board Member Paquette 21