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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09252006 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska September 25,2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page239 CALL TO ORDER ..... The September 25, 2006, regular meeting ofthe Seward City Council was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Vanta Shafer. OPENING CEREMONY Police Lieutenant Tiner led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Vanta Shafer presiding and Willard Dunham Steve Schafer Robert Thomas Bob Valdatta Jean Bardarson comprising a quorum of the Council; and ..... Clark Corbridge, City Manager Jean Lewis, City Clerk Cheryl Brooking, City Attorney Johanna Dollerhide, Assistant City Clerk Absent - Dorene Lorenz, excused SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards A proclamation was read announcing October as Fire Prevention Month. A proclamation was read to Marsha Vincent for her participation in the Lost Lake Breath of Life Run. The Hoben Park interpretive panel was unveiled to council by Parks and Recreation Director Karin Sturdy. Borough Assembly Report. Borough Assembly Representative Ron Long stated the Assembly met on September 5, 2006 and passed a resolution opposing the Alaska Railroad's application to the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for a herbicide spraying permit. At the same meeting, the Assembly appropriated a state grant for $10,500 to help the Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area for updating their flood mitigation plan. The Assembly ..... met in Homer on September 19, 2006 and enacted a measure that required a residency requirement to qualify for the senior citizen property tax exemption. Long said it was possible that the mayor might veto this. An ordinance was introduced and set for public hearing on October 10, 2006 to set the City of Seward, Alaska September 25, 2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page240 sales tax rate at 2% should proposition two on the upcoming 2006 Borough Election ballot be ~ defeated. The Borough was not prepared to implement a sales tax increase for the rest ofthe budget ..J year. The Assembly appointed applicants to the Moose Pass and Cooper Landing Advisory Planning Commissions, bringing them to a full quorum. The Assembly would not have a meeting on October 3,2006, and Long encouraged all to vote on Election Day. City Manager's Report. City Manager Clark Corbridge recommended council postpone the resolution opposing the Railroad spraying herbicide to allow time to plan a work session on this issue. Corbridge clarified the pavilions were not estimated at a million dollars. A resolution was before the council tonight to construct one pavilion for $397,000. Corbridge hoped council members would attend the Alaska Municipal League on November 11-17, 2006. Corbridge's report consisted of: Public Works - The department was putting together an RFP for siding the Senior Center building, with additional lighting included. The four inch lip on the road would be reduced to two inches and the final two inches would be filled next spring. It had been determined there was a $2 million earmark of state funds for paving, with no required City matching funds and this was a possible way to get 4th Avenue paved. Assuming the weather was cooperative, Corbridge thought the Street Department would complete paving several patches and potholes in a couple of weeks. Lon!! Term Care Facilitv - The Certificate of Need was finalized and submitted. Final platting action was scheduled to go before the Kenai Peninsula Borough platting committee on October 9, 2006. The design for the facility was 95% complete. The rezone land use amendment was before the council tonight. The final design was slated to be complete once local and final reviews were done and Corbridge anticipated this to occur by the end of October. j I j ..... Electric Department - The department was spending a lot oftime on the Chugach Electric rate case filing. As of September 21, 2006, this rate case had not been filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA). The proposal would represent a significant shift in margin-earning responsibility from the distribution function to the generation and transmission function. The Elhard Assessment District was making progress and staff was working with the City Attorney to be certain all necessary components were in place when the item was brought forth for council approval. An agreement was reached with A VTEC about the distance learning center, and A VTEC had agreed to reimburse the City for actual costs of material used in the project. The City worked with IBEW to settle two more grievances prior to arbitration last week, with two more scheduled to be heard in mid-November. Salvation Armv - There was a problem with the legal description included in the purchase agreement which was another reason the approval process had been so slow. A new agreement was immediately produced and sent to the main office of the Salvation Army in California. PERS - Governor Murkowski sent out a letter acknowledging the Alaska Retirement Management Board approve a dramatic increase in retirement costs for state and local governments ~ and school districts. The Governor recommended the State of Alaska fund the entire amount of the .... increased contribution on behalf of school districts and local governments. City of Seward. Alaska September 25,2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page241 ..... Community Development - Staff was working on CRS/ISO Flood Certification, which was the annual basis for flood insurance rates in Seward. Mail-outs were being sent to land development service providers and to private property owners. Staff was preparing the annual grant application for 2007 for the replacement of the Hoben Park Fountain. Matching funds for the grant would be derived from an existing appropriation made by the Council and other funding sources were being explored, including the Alaska SeaLife Center's generous offer. The Marv Lowell Center - Plat reconsideration action had been postponed to October 23, 2006 due to the Borough's schedule. A resolution allowing the City to begin the request for proposal (RFP) process for marketing, management and operation ofthe conference facility within the Center was before the Council tonight, which would help staff proceed with the planning and budgeting for the facility. Corbridge responded to questions from council. PERS Report. Finance Director Kris Erchinger described the Public Employees Retirement System; touching on the current issues and problems with PERS, the future of the program, the city's involvement with PERS, and the challenges the city was faced with regarding the program. .... City Attorney's Report. City Attorney Cheryl Brooking stated the city attorney's continued to work with administration on drafting and providing comments on contracts, resolution and ordinance drafting, public requests analysis, election inquiries, and the appeal ofthe Washington Street vacation. The attorney's also worked on the lease amendments with SAAMS and on the harbor expansion project. Brooking addressed Councilmember Schafer's inquiry on providing settlement agreements to the public. In most cases, settlements were public, but personnel cases were protected and not public documents. It was confidential under state law and city code. If the person signed a voluntary release, it could be presented to the public. Chamber of Commerce Report. Laura Cloward stated the AR Train USA generated 2,183 people and set a great standard for the rest of the state. Cloward would be attending an upcoming All-American Road meeting. Tomorrow night was Meet the Candidates Night and it would be televised on GCI. -- Planning & Zoning Report. Marianna Keil stated the commission had met four times this month. Planning and Zoning approved the rezone for the Long Term Care Facility, the plat for the facility, and amended the plat to include a buffer zone for residential community to provide lesser impact and widened the street. She thanked staff for their work with this proj ect. The Commission had a special meeting to issue a conditional use permit for rock extraction from Lowell Canyon. Kay Strobel left the commission to move to Oregon. Keil thanked council for the prompt appointment of Robert Hicks. The Planning and Zoning Commission was thankful for the new staff in the Community Development Department. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations City of Seward, Alaska September 25.2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page242 A Mile 0-8 update was given by DOT Project Engineer Allen Drake. ~ , - Council recessed at 9:02 p.m. Council resumed at 9:10 p.m. CITIZENS' COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING. Tim McDonald, said the council had a lot of difficult decisions to make tonight. He sensed there was something wrong with the PERS issue before the council tonight. The price of$400,000 for a pavilion was ridiculous, and he assumed it would go over budget as well. McDonald felt it wouldn't be a problem for the community to pitch in and build the pavilions themselves. Scott Egger, said there was a new access area going in the Clearview Subdivision that was running North/South and 75 feet off of an already existing alley. He was curious why this was going through without public notice and comment. Egger met with the City Planner to discuss some ofthe problems in his area. He wondered where the Clearview Subdivision was on the city's priority list. Two union grievances recently prevailed on the union side and most of the grievances that were inquired about were contractual issues, not personnel issues. Sharyl Seese, was concerned with the $15,675 purchase for new exercise equipment for A VTEC on tonight's agenda, and wondered ifit was a conflict with private enterprise. Seese hoped council would approve the liquor license transfer of location for the Elks Lodge before the council tonight. 1 ..... Susan Ernst, addressed Resolution 2006-097 for the purchase of exercise equipment. She was not against the city promoting community fitness, but felt this purchase was competing with the two gyms in town. The city should be moving out of this market instead of investing in it. She wished the rent credit could be used in another way. Ron Long, expounded on the city attorney's comments on the railroad exempting themselves from planning and land use regulations. Long was appointed to a committee to look at this issue, and was pleased to hear the legislature was addressing this issue. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Thomas/Bardarson) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The following was removed from the consent agenda and added to the regular agenda by unanimous consent: .~ ...... Resolution 2006-097. authorizing the city manager to purchase an elliptical cross trainer, upright bike, recumbent bike, stair climber and treadmill, plus a $300 delivery set up fee, for a City of Seward, Alaska September 25,2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page243 total of $15,675. -- The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: The August 28, 2006 regular city council meeting minutes were approved. The transfer oflocation of liquor license for BPO Elks Lodge #1773 from 4th Avenue to 419 5th Avenue was approved. Resolution 2006-100, approving and adopting the financial forecast of the 2006 Seward Conference Facility feasibility report prepared by the University of Alaska, Anchorage Center for Economic Development and Agnew Beck and tasking administration to draft a request for proposal for the marketing, operation, and management of the planned conference center in the Mary Lowell Center to a non-profit. Resolution 2006-101. authorizing payment in the amount of $28,100 to the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, as application fee for the Certificate of Need for a Long Term Care Facility to be located in Seward. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment .... Ordinance 2006-010. amending the Land Use Plan and rezoning of Lot 7a, Block 17, Federal Addition Clark-Tougas preliminary replat from Single Family Residential (R1) to Auto Commercial (AC) and Lot 9a, Block 17, Federal Addition Clark-Tougas preliminary replat from Single Family Residential (R1) to Two Family Residential (R2). Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Corbridge stated this ordinance had been through the planning department and administration recommended this be passed by council. Kevin Clark, said this rezone was a learning opportunity for him to determine the difference between the land use map and the zoning map of Seward. He clarified the land use map was what the community wished the zoning in Seward to be, and the zoning map was actually how the city was currently, legally zoned. When Clark purchased the property that was before the council tonight, the land use map said it was zoned R2, but in reality it was zoned Rl. Since the property contained two houses, this rezone was essential to receive a proper appraisal. Motion (Dunham/Schafer) Enact Ordinance 2006-010 Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS ..... Items Postponed from Previous Agenda City of Seward, Alaska September 25,2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page244 Resolution 2006-095. opposing the Alaska Railroad's permit request to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to spray an herbicide mixture along the railroad right-of-way inside Seward city limits. f l ...J Motion (Lorenz/Bardarson) [motion previously made from September II, 2006J Approve Resolution 2006-095 Motion (Dunham/Schafer) Postpone Resolution 2006-095 to the October 23, 2006 regular city council meeting Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous Consent NEW BUSINESS Ordinances for Introduction Ordinance 2006-011. amending the Land Use Plan and rezoning Forest Acres tract A, Seward Long Term Care Facility Subdivision (preliminary plat) from Rural Residential (RR) and Resource Management (RM) to Institutional (INS). I Corbridge stated this was the tract in which the Long Term Care Facility would be located. ..... Staff was asking for this to be rezoned to Institutional, which was appropriate for the facility. Motion (Thomas/Bardarson) Introduce Ordinance 2006-011 Councilmember Schafer declared a possible conflict of interest, as he was the property owner. Mayor Shafer ruled a conflict did exist and Schafer excused himself from the dais. Motion Passed Yes: Thomas, Dunham, Bardarson, Valdatta, Mayor Shafer Abstain: Schafer Resolutions Resolution 2006-097. authorizing the city manager to purchase an elliptical cross trainer, upright bike, recumbent bike, stair climber and treadmill, plus a $300 delivery set up fee, for a total of $15,675. Corbridge stated the rent credit program was designed to make improvements without making an adverse impact on the City of Seward or on the A VTEC budget. The intent was to provide benefits to the A VTEC students and to the general public. ~ ~ Motion (Thomas/Dunham) Approve Resolution 2006-97 City of Seward, Alaska September 25, 2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page245 .... Valdatta said other gyms were in Seward now and he did not feel this was a proper purchase. Schafer didn't think the city should be providing this service anymore as there were two capable fitness facilities in Seward. Parks and Recreation Director Karin Sturdy stated the funds discussed tonight were a part of the Parks and Recreation budget. Rather than helping A VTEC out financially, a mutually beneficial rent credit program was implemented. It was easier for A VTEC to have the city buy this equipment, which was selected by A VTEC. It would be a piece of property belonging to the State of Alaska; the city didn't pay any actual money to A VTEC for use of their building. The city paid A VTEC their rent through the city's custodial contract and through this rent credit program. Thomas understood the conflict of competing with private businesses, but knew that A VTEC provided affordable opportunities for recreation to the public. The private facilities were expensive for many people in Seward. Bardarson asked if A VTEC picked out the equipment. Sturdy responded in this case, an employee with A VTEC chose these pieces of fitness equipment. Valdatta suggested putting the money towards repairing the sauna and the racquetball court. -- Schafer felt this amount seemed very high for an equipment purchase while Thomas didn't think it was unfairly priced. Sturdy pointed out it was for commercial use. Dunham felt the gym facilities were crucial for A VTEC and very important for the students. He saw the importance of this purchase. Bardarson said it was not a matter ofthe equipment being purchased, as they would always be purchased, either the city would purchase the equipment or give the facility the cash. Motion Approved Yes: Thomas, Bardarson, Dunham, Mayor Shafer No: Schafer, Valdatta Resolution 2006-98. authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Swenson Construction for the construction of one waterfront pavilion in an amount not to exceed $397,000 and appropriations. Corbridge stated the city was tasked with replacing the community's pavilions. An RFP was put out earlier this year for design services. Public meetings occurred to come up with the design, and Swenson Construction won the most recent bid for constructing services. ...... Motion (V aldatta/Bardarson) Approve Resolution 2006-098 City of Seward, Alaska September 25, 2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page246 Mayor Shafer felt this was way too much money for a pavilion. It was suggested to her to have a professional foundation built, and the community volunteer and pitch in to build the rest. Thomas and Dunham also felt this was too expensive. t ...J Project Manager Tom Shepard said the city was bound to pay Davis Bacon wages by state law; and the design and size was chosen by the public. There were many features that couldn't be sacrificed, such as wind screening. Shepard cautioned the council on liability issues with community projects. Schafer suggested council table the resolution and look into this for the time being. Motion to Postpone (Dunham/Valdatta) Postpone Resolution 2006-098 until the December 11, 2006 regular city council meeting to re-evaluate the bid process Motion to Postpone Passed Yes: Bardarson, Schafer, Valdatta, Dunham, Mayor Shafer No: Thomas Resolution 2006-99. authorizing the payoff of the Seward General Hospital unfunded Public Employees Retirement System liability in the amount of $1,708,125.74 and authorizing inter fund loans in the same amount. ... Corbridge stated the city was going to try to pay this unfunded liability by taking the money from two city funds as a loan with interest. This was important to get the unfunded liability for the Hospital paid off during this window of time, because the $1.7 million debt was estimated to turn into $7 million of debt. The city would be paying this amount back to the funds at a 5.25% interest rate over the next twenty years. Motion (Thomas/Bardarson) Approve Resolution 2006-099 Mayor Shafer asked why the city wasn't borrowing money elsewhere, since interest rates were not that high right now. The mayor also wanted to know if it was necessary to pay this off before council adopted the 2007 budget. Corbridge said the city could borrow from other sources, but this interest rate would be more advantageous. He did not think the city should wait on moving this forward, it was possible the window of opportunity could close before budget adoption. Thomas was in favor of the payoff and he was under the assumption the city couldn't bond for this purpose. It seemed smarter to pay the interest back on the loans to the city instead of anyone else. Thomas felt the sooner they mailed the check, the better for the city. Schafer agreed it should be paid off, but didn't think it should be taken from the accounts they were proposing to take the funds out of. He asked why not take it from the $19 million the city had in reserve funds. ..J City of Seward, Alaska September 25,2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page247 ..... Finance Director Kris Erchinger clarified this money was coming out ofthe city's reserves. The supposed $19 million assumed in the reserve funds actually consisted of all the funds in the city. The reason the city chose the Electric Maintenance, Repair and Replacement Fund and the Motor Pool Fund was because those were the two funds the city felt they could take money from without damaging the fiscal stability of other funds. Erchinger stated the motor pool had the ability to lease equipment so immediate needs could be accommodated. Dunham felt the city needed to move quickly on this and pay offthis debt. Ifthe funds were available, then it should be done. He also didn't like to see such a large amount of money being taken from the motor pool fund. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Council scheduled a work session on October 9,2006 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the SMC Dock. Council discussed and decided to issue a letter of support for Fish and Game Proposal 6. Council discussed the City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney evaluation forms and made changes. ..... INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS (No action required) - None COUNCIL COMMENTS Bardarson was a volunteer on the ARTrain and announced it was a wonderful exhibit. There was a successful fundraiser for Seward resident Susie Szawinski with cancer, and that Marsha Vincent had again helped organize another great fundraising event. Schafer was thankful for the right to vote in America. He encouraged everyone to get out and vote October 3,2006. Schafer felt citizens did not have a right to gripe if they did not vote. Thomas said vote early and vote often. He agreed with Dunham's concern with the sidewalk lip by the Senior Center, but pointed out the state had provided a smooth, even edge on the corner of the street and hopefully the public could be directed to use that instead. Valdatta complimented the Wind song on their recent event but thought it was a little too crowded, but a successful event, none the less. ..... Dunham agreed ARTrain was a great event. He thanked the railroad for the use of their facility and the volunteers this weekend for the music and arts festival. A street light was out on Alder and Dimond, and hoped it would be replaced. Dunham spoke on his comments made regarding the development position and clarified that he was not referring to the former Development Director, but a former City Planner. City of Seward, Alaska September 25,2006 City Council Minutes Volume 37, Page248 F Mayor Shafer attended the Mayor's conference on global warming last weekend, and felt it ..J was a successful conference. It did not matter if people thought they were contributing to global warming, the issue was the planet was melting. Ifthe sea level kept rising, Seward would lose much of its community. She felt Seward could make a difference by reducing its carbon emissions, thus reducing energy. Shafer had a lot of new ideas on how to save energy. It was nice to meet Mayor's from all over the country. CITIZENS' COMMENTS Tim McDonald, said a divided community created a travesty and the city was not getting full representation. The city was not being fair to people outside the city limits. He felt propane may be the way to go in replacing the generators. Kevin Clark, spoke on the acceptance ofthe report ofUAA feasibility study and pointed out the best location ofthe Mary Lowell Center was the location it was projected to be at right now. He attended the permitting work session and left with the impression that the city had done a good job since Project Manager Shepard had been on board. The contractors in attendance commended the city, as well. The city was heading into budget time, and the topic of privatization needed to be addressed. Scott Egger, urged everyone to get out and vote, no matter who people voted for. Egger touched on the access issue on Resurrection and Marathon, and was concerned this kind ofthing, if ....I continued, could produce a lot of problems. It should have been addressed in public with input. He encouraged council to drive by this area and get an idea of what was going on. Egger hoped to hear comments from council on what was being done in the Clearview Subdivision. He was curious to see if anything was moving ahead. Egger commented on a hearing on wrongful termination he recently participated in. He appealed a decision, and alleged receiving a letter that he was successful and had been wrongfully terminated from the City of Seward. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZENS' COMMENTS Thomas asked Corbridge to get back with council on what was going on with the alley issue in the Clearview Subdivision. In response to McDonald, Thomas stated there was an answer to the representation issue and it was annexation. It was not an unsolvable problem. Valdatta asked Mayor Shafer about the foliage in counterpoint to global warming. Dunham remembered the discussions for the easements. He thanked everyone who showed up during the permitting/planning work session and felt the process was improving. Dunham thought it was a good meeting and was very pleased with it. Mayor Shafer thanked Corbridge for finding the $2 million for the roads. :1: , .... ADJOURNMENT City of Seward, Alaska September 25,2006 The meeting was adjourned at 10:54 p.m. ~ ,Jff~A.$J/b.-J",~,adr~ Jean Lewis · -fiy City Clerk (City Seal) """"",,, '''''''''.J.. OF S~h "'" ..... ~ .......... ~~'" ~ r:-... opO,!;):', .,. ~ v.. ,.Of' . 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