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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01142008 City Council MinutesCilr uJSerrard..~lacbn Cih' C'ouacil,tliruat~ Jnrraan' N. 1UUR I~oiunm• 37 Pare 4~4? CALL TO ORDF,R The January 1 ~, 2008 regular meeting ofthe Seward City Cuuncil was called to order at 7:311 p.nt. by IViayor Clark Corbridge. UYEN'ING CEREMONY lieutenant Tincr Icd the pledge of allegiance to the flag ROIL CALL There were present: Clark Corbridge presiding and Vl'illard Dunham T,inda Amberg Bob Valdatta Tom Smith Betsy Kellar Jean Rardarson canprising a quorum of the Cuuncil; and Phillip Uates, City Manager Jean L.c+vis, City Clerk ARSF.NT -None CIT17.R\S' COMMENTS ON ANY SIiBJEC'1' EXCEY'1"CHOSE l'1'EMS SCHEUULEU FOR YIJRI.IC HEARING Tim Sezn+vinski, +vas curious to know the cmmcil's opinion on the Seward Ship llryduck GPA report and suggested the Region Director in Seattle would address the council to clear up any questions on the report. Linda Lasuta, felt the public notice on describing Resolution 2007-124 was inaccurate because she received a bill Gom outside the city limits and inside and theypaid the same charges and lees lur both. By the city borrowing money from the electric fund to the general fund, she thought art ol•tuwn utility payers +vcre supporting the electric fund. Carol Gris+vold, spoke in opposition about the operation at Seward Ship's Drydock. \\ ith people having cattccr and ravcus with disligured bills, she fell there was some4ting drastically wrong with the environment. tike showed enlargedphotoyaphsofsandblastingwithoutcontainment,chips on the beach, recycled glass pushed into the beach mixed with chemicals and paint chips, artd urged the council to order Se+vard Ships Drydock to enclose their uneontained pollution and have them fellow best management practices. MaU Gray, c~pressed his feelings from reports read about Seward Ship's Drydock. He thought the city needed to catch up with industry best management practices. Other communities GN ujSeo•urd, Alusku r'ih' Cnunci! ,lVinufer Jrtnuan' 14. ?OOR I'olurne 37. Pnge 483 had been brouglu into catfonnancc. 1'hc DEC' report found several substances and listed it as a contaminated site. Russ Maddox, iterated the DrC report said Seward Ships Drydock was a contaminated site and stated the city could he held liable for the clean up. I [e thought contaittment needed to be re- applied tothe lease. ~faddos stated no +vater samples were taken, only srdimcnl samples, and TBT had been found off the shipyard complex. lle wanted to see a comprehensive assessment dune. John trench, also spoke to contaminants found by EPA at Seward Ships Dryduck and emphasized the EPA analysis was based on a "superl'und site" ++hich Seward was not, but conccnlratiuns wcrc signiliranl lur TBT and other known carcinogens. French said sea utters in our area had tested positive and thou wcrc other detected levels, therefore this was getting in the marine system and was toxic to organisms. He felt Seward Ships I)rydock had not complied with the requests in the report and the city should not ignore that. Mark Luttrell, stressed that one of the worlds most deadly toxins was heing released across the bay. Now that this was known, he felt the city should do something about it. Protection should be forced into the lease and sandblasting be maintained to protect the ecosystem of the area. Cornell thought at this point it was an easy fix, but urged the city not to wait far something irreparable to incur. He rou +vantud the city to force wntainment and new wording to the lease. Jeff stow, spuku and gave an update on the latest construction plans for the Mary Lowell Center (MCC). Since the design was completed two years ago, with the footprint spanning across ~.. Washington Street, the partnership had changed. Currcutly the platting decision was being challenged in Superior Court. Mow stated in September ?007, the Forest Service revised their nccals and dow•nsized dramatically, which would have a significant impact on the design ol'thc building. DJ Whitman, thought it would behoove this council to pay attention to what DEC and EP.4 +vere saying and not listen to the interpretation of others. Dunham wanted the rouocil to suspend the rules to allow )•tow to speak further. Rules were suspruded b,Y unanimous consent. Jeff Mow, stated a work session would be scheduled to discuss the citys participation in the Mary Towel l Center He recapped that the. agrccnrcnt was I S% ul'a 37,000 square loot building on the original design, and he thought the cin•'s share would stilt be 15%, only of a smaller building. Design of the MLC had not gone beyond the 3~% completion level because of pending changes. Rcdcsi~,m would be needed. Per the National I Iistoric Preservation Act, Mow stated the National Yark Set~'icc had completed a determination of eligibility ofall structures on the properties that they had purchased, and none qualilicd for National Historic District designation. The Park Service was resubmitting them individually to the State Historic. Preservation Ulliccr lur arwther evaluation and the consideration period was expanded. Funding for the cortshuction had not yet occurred. Muw said although an omnihus hill had a two million dollar line item in it. the Adminish'atiat had not signed it. Site preparation needs were being explored. Since none of the huildings were on the +~ historiu register, and if some construction funds wcrc approved, hazardous mitigation would begin C'iry'vlSt~ourd, a!u•+'ku CiiyCotencil A/mums Junuury !4. 3~OR Volume J7 PaAe 484 and the Sully's building and the Harbor f)imter Club would be removed. Legends and the Mai residence would remain a bit longer because of their use. r. AYYKOVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT ACF.NDA Motion (Bardarson/Smith) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agcuda Motion Passed Unanimous The following was pulled from the C:nfinished Business patiou o!'thc agcndaby the administration: Resolution 2007-121, Amending The F:Iectric 'Tariff "I"o Establish A New Fer To Equalize Charges To Customers Outside Of The Cite 1 Jmits, With Customers Inside The Seward Cily Limns Effective January I, 2008 (Postponed finm 1 //?h cY l ?'lll nreerrirls;l. The following was removed from the consent agenda: Designated Dorene Lorenz-Lindsey to serve as the community representative 1'or Seward on the Friends of the Jesse Lee Flome Project ~9eetings. "I'he clerk read the following approved consent arcnda items: _ The November 2G, 2UU7 and llecember lU, 2UU7 regular city council muting minutes lrerr approved. The ticward City Council wished to continue the existence ofthe Yort and Commerce Advisors' Roard through .lanuary 31, 20(19. No objection to the liquor license renewal for the Marina Restaurant. Ordinance 2008-001, Revising Seward City Code Section 5.3,045 (Computation 1\laximum Tax), lucreasing 1'he Sales Tax Cap From $500 To $1,000, Effective January 1, 2009, And Rescinding Ordinance 2007-010 ~rus n1n•ork~ced noel setJora public hearing ai./nnunrl•?8, _'008. Resolution 2008-001, ;~ulhorizing The City Manager 'fo Enter Into A 60-Month Lease Agreement ~Vilh Office Tech [ncurporalyd Fur Four Replacement Copiers Por City Hall, The Harbor, Aud "I"he Fire DeparUneut For A Base Amount Nut To Exceed $70,040. SPF.C.'lA1.ORDF.RS, PKF:SF:N'I'A'1'IONS AND KN;PUK'I:S Proclamations and ;wards Polar Bear Pluu£e Presentation A Prescntation was given nn the Alaska Employer Support of the Guard and Keserve (ESGR) by State Chair Michael A1ichnlsky and Executh~c Director Mike I.arscn. Cln• of Seward, ~tlosko r'iR' Garners ~blinurec Janunn !4.:008 fbltrrne t7. Vuge 485 Patriot Awards were given to the City of Seward and Sgt. Valadez after being .,. nominated by ~[ajor Malcolm Brown and Staff Sgt. Eddie Armstrong. Borough assrmbly Report. Borough Assemby Representalivr Run Lung nosed a iol of hard work fiom the harbor crew to prepare the area for the Polar Bear Plunge event and lhanl:ed them. At the Iasi meclin~•, in addressing adoption of the state capital project priorities, talk came up about cuts to terry service for Homer and Kodiak. Long couldn't help but notice the increase in volume Ievcl addresaiug cuts compared lu the entire loss of ferry service for Seward. They hoped to adopt their federal priorities on February 2, 2008. Long stated they removed support for' the Chuima Coal Project from their federal priuritics, and passed a resolution for state support for Seward being named "mural capital of Alaska." `I'hc Assembly would also be putting forth a resolution to appropriate $10(1,000 from their software company to accommodate the sales tax cap change, and their .tune 30 CAFR report was in. Long explained the Borough entered into a partnership with >tational Association of Counties issuing discount cards which provided prescription drugs to uninsured. Long stated this wac going very +vell. Other topics discussed: an ordinance that would prohibit Assembly members from sitting on individual city councils failed, an ordinance prohibiting appearance by telceonlcrcnec was defeated, one to extend an option to Chuitna leased land was addressed, a climate dtanyc impact plan and how projects were affected ryas adopted, and an ordinance was introduced for the intpoundntcut of vicious dots. A reconsidered resolution passed on exempt status property tax calculatious which put the law back as it was. [f a senior was eligible for the petnranent fund dividend, they would be eligible for rcductiou. Artd linally, two changes to title 29 would he introduced at the January 22, 200R meetine. In response to council questions. Long said the $20U,OOU "revenue sharing" that they called "energy assistance" was proportioned out ro conunwtitics. City Manager's Report City Manager Phillip Oates apologized for the long report but he had a tot to mention after the holidays. The 2008 Alaska Regional National Ocean Sciences Rmvl (yO5Bl. Phis bowl would be held iu Seward un February 9, 2008 with the finals being held in Seward on April 2G'h and 27°i at the Alaska Scalife Center. Guvcmor Patin accepted the invitation to attend "Se+vard Iditarod Days" on Fehmary 2, 2008. City .4PUIT health insurance. The city's APU f I' health insurance went to art 80'20 plan and increased individual and family deductibles to $2~0 and SS00. Out of pocket maxinuuns also increased. i Lone 'form Carc Facility (LTCFI The purchase of the Griswold property for the Long Temt Care Facility was completed. Bub Hicks, the new Community Development Director, would provide primary interface on the construction of the LTCF. The invitation to bid .~ should be out soon with the bid opening and notice of award to occur the tirsl week of March. Completion of the project should occur in late Augtrst or early 5eptcutbcr 2009. Cirv o(Srnrarel. Aln.ckn Cifi Corruci/;l/inures Jnrurttn l4. ?f)08 {'uLrme 37 Prtfw ~R6 Harbor. Four applicants ++rotdd be interviewed for the harborniaster position. 'they arc Tammy Peterson of Dutch Harbor, Rubyu Pars, Mike Baker and Kari Anderson, all of Seward. Oates and Deputy Harbormaster Jim Lewis attanded the Corps of L•ngineers first Alaska Regional Pons :u~d Harbors Conference. There was agreement shat the State needed to include a vision for ports and harbors in in long range transpurtatiar plan. A "shared vision fur Comprehensive Study of Alaska•s Navigation Transportation Syslcm" was signed. Fish llitch. The city was moving forward +vith removal of the culverts at the lish ditch. bVith the cheapest lix bring a free flowing channel, a dead end would he created nn both sides with no vehicle access across, but a pedestrian bridge would he put in. ADF&G may assist in funding this project. Telephone Voice Over IY Ylan (VOIY). The city was also nwving forward wish this phone system afrer meeting wi[h TelAlaska's engineers. 7'clAlaska would provide an assessment of replacing cell phones inside die city limits with the VOfY technology. City wide completion due mid-February 2008. i Governors carnal budget was updated and included: -Revenue sharing of $297,4 l b for Seward. --State DOT funding for Seward Maintenance Facility of S3.2 million. --AVTEC received funding for culinary arts facility replacement, new maritime safety training facility, deferred maintenance and software upgrades. --No Cundiug was included for the Jesse Lee Home or the levee project. Electric. the KCA pustpunui the implcrnentation of the new rates in the settlement agreement with C'lurgach until the cud oCMarch artd a portion of the electric crew moved to ~~~ 4°i Avcnuc. Seward Port and Conurerce Advisory Board Annual Report Chairman Run Long used the laserfiche system on the intemet to research his report and thought it worked +acll. MTjor topics and items im~estigated were: ^ The catcuded cargo fee and recommended deletion with a possibility to look at later. ^ The SM[C Development Plan was written. ^ ,blcmbcr Butts was sent to the alternative energy conference in P;rirbanks. ^ 1\`ork sessions were held on Lowell Point Hydro Project. Resuhed in a split vote and Ibnvardcd uu. ^ Late passenger penalty fecincrcascs were researched. ^ Membership troubles. ^ Budget presentations on the general frmd, harbor, SMIC and other items. ^ Continued economic forum discussions. ^ Proposed code amendments describing the rote and duties of PACAB. UNFIVISIIF.D BCSINESS-None City Council recessed at ~):0S p.nt. City Counci I resumed a[ 9:1 S p.m. Designate Dorene Lorenz-Lindsey To Serve As "1'he Community Ncrresentative b'or Seward Cite ofSewurrf, alnskn City Council A~linutec Junuun !4, 2005 t'olumc 37. Page 4N7 On 1'he Friends Of'I'hc Jcssc Lee Home PrnJect Meetings. Amberg asked for this be pulled from the agenda and wanted to know why the city was appointing a citizen to someone else's board. She stated Lorenz was already on this board. Oates stated the Friends ui7esse Lee Home reyuesled Lorenz be validated by the council. City Comtcil Unanimously Decided It Was Nol Their Business To Tell Thr Friends Of The Jcssc Lee Home W'ho'I'hry Should Appoint :1s A Community Rrprrsrntalive To Their Board And'1'herefor•e No Motion'I'o Approve Came Forward. Discuss And Give Guldancc Pcrtaining'1'o'1'hc Seward Ships Dry Dock EPA Report. Oates explained what he knew from the CPA report. He stressed the city was not the cnl'urccmcnl agency for this. The city would follow die recommendations of dte state and federal agencies that were conducting enforcement. Best operating practice negotiations had not been aerecd on yet. Oates stated the city could possibly default the Icase, but that would be premature to enter into until the enforcement agencies concluded their investigation and negotiations. ADEC would Tile fur igjunclive relief in state court ifthey did not ultimately comply. It would be at that time that the city would take action on default of the lease. ADCC had not agreed yet, rnt what existed on dre ground and what the clean up would be. ... Oates was told liy ADEC, that this was not a superfund site and ground contamination would consist of scraping off the top of the laud and disposing at the landfill There was contamination based on the CPA report. Oates noted that based un legal opinions, the City, as land owners, could be potentialh liable if Seward Ship's left the facility. Uatcs had sent letters asking SSD to keep the city appraised of any interactions. Oates reyuesled council agree to the following guidance: r The City would continue to actively monitor the best practice negotiations. Il'SSD [ailed to agree with negotiations, DCC would go to court. r At that time the City could look into default of the lease. Amberg wanted a work session artd thought possibly a third party would be helpful. Oates would continue to work on asking DL•C and T-.PA to come to town. Dunham agreed with the city attorney and cautioned interjecting into the middle of what was the responsibility of the state and federal agencies invuh•ed to enl'urcc. Smith stated as owner of the property he wanted to sec the actions and timeline by these agencies given to the city, and thought it only fair for the operator to know the playing lield. Noting This N'as :1 Continuing Issue. Cih• Council Agreed To Continue As'1'hc City 1llanager thrtlincd, And Wished To Br Kept Appraised Of The Situation And Requested A Possihic ('Jry of J'es.ard..4frrsker Gtr CnmrriJ ,1 Jiunres Jarmnrv 14. ?OU8 !'nJrene t? Pngc 488 V-'ork Sessiat lu Thr Future. IVk'UR141A'I'IUI\AL ITEMS AI\D REPORTS (14n rrctrorr reyrrired) Certified Municipal Clerk Certificate by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks fur Johanna Dollerhide. Providence Seward i\4edical Center Financial Statement for November 20O•7 Commendation letter firom Senator Gary Stcvcus ~. Representative Paul Seaton to the Seward Library Museum Steering Conunittcc. un the 49er' Ball. COl?NCI1. CC)MMF.;V'I:5 Amherg thanked the street department for keeping up on the snow. She also congratulsted Johanna Dollerhide on her CMC certification and wished all a happy new year. Dunham congratulated Marilyn Reynolds on the great Polar Rear Plunge Festivities that she had always produced, and thought there were major changes with transportation patterns and agreed with sikmin~ on with the shared vision. Ile wanted the city manager to monitor serious internal problems he had heard of with Chugach Electric. Bardarsun also congratulated the Polar Bear Committee and the organizers of the 49er hall. Kellar also thattkcd dtc Library; Museum for the 49er ball and thanked the city employees for the swift sno+v removal. Cl'fIZENS' CU~1!\1EN"1'S Johu French, agreed with Dunham that the city not interject into the middle of DF.C negotiations until it became a serious problcnr. Hu disagreed wish the attorney and thought the city could he held liahle on actual fines. He thought it would bc. appropriate to informally inform SSD to meet the expectations, and do hest practice negotiations. French suggested tttc Coast Guard A4arine Safety program as another place to look for hest operational practices. He said the EPA report shu+ved statistically significant differences and was above the threshold as pollution. DJ Whitman, wanted alt to know the Coast Guard's vessel Sycamore was in Seward tier repairs and their vessel Spar would be here in late rebruary. Whitman wanted the community to +vclcumc them to town. Matt (:ray expressed empathy with the cuntplicatcd 5SD problem and understood how hard it was dealing ++•ith regulatory agencies. He thought it was good drat the contaminants were now on the table and being discussed. and commended the council for catching up and doing things right. L Cray also appreciated the collaboration on getting the old car removed frrnn the wetlands at the head of the bay. Cit~~ofScnvard Alnska Cih'!'++++nril,t4inutes Junnury l4. 1008 4 ohn>sc tJ, YaGe 48U COUNCIL pND AU.~11N1S'1'KA'1'lON ItESYONSE. TO CITI'7.F.NS' CONtViRNTS ..1 Dunham thanked DJ \~'hitman for the notification of the t'isiting Coast Guard and wanted the community to give them a big welcome. b'aldatta stated there was a citizen who was causing problems with the harbor contractors on their project and was becoming a public nuisance. h had not only become a nuisance but a safety hazard and he stressed those actions must be put to a stop. AD.IOURNIICNT T'he meeting was adjourned at lU:U4 p.nt. ;-~-' i - Jcan.'~cw•is, CMC City C.iesk Clark Corbridge Mayor (City Seal) ~3+~F ~'/~~~I-•!s~ !~ f-. 1 ~ 4~ w~~ C~S'r~f~'~~R4Tf:. c1 ~.~, d l~ ~~ ~ •_ i~ w ~ ~Z~ ~ 0 Y M Si 4 ~