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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02092015 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 466 CALL TO ORDER The February 9,2015 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Jean Bardarson. OPENING CEREMONY Sergeant Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Jean Bardarson presiding and Marianna Keil Christy Terry Iris Darling David Squires Dale Butts comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Will Earnhart, City Attorney Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Absent—Ristine Casagranda CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Mike Paterson spoke on the letter he received from Alaska Waste.He thought the letter was threatening;the company indicated they would be delivering a large container regardless of what he wanted and would begin billing at the end of the month. When Paterson inquired to Alaska Waste, they made it sound like he had been skipping payments. Their comments were succinct in that the city code required all residents to pay for waste management.Paterson looked at the code and found that residents did have to use the system but he assumed the transfer station was part of the system. Nothing in the code should be construed to mean residents could not remove waste on their own. Paterson also found there were a number or residents who did not pay for garbage pickup and used the transfer system themselves. Heather Bardarson brought to council's attention the Public Health Nurse's Office was in jeopardy of closing in Seward and was concerned. The office offered a wide variety of health opportunities for all ages. She found that public health nurses had been in Seward for over a hundred years. If the office left the community it would create a void.The Public Health Nurse offered more than just vaccines - they did outreach in the community, provided resources for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, Infants and Children (WIC), and recognized their patients may be subject to domestic violence,among many other things.Bardarson thought Seward's legislators should be aware of this. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 467 Laura Jean Hughes was a clinic supervisor at the Seward Community Health Center (SCHC) and followed up on Bardarson's comments. Hughes stated the SCHC would be able to provide vaccines for children and would contact the state to see what they could do if the Public Health Nurse Office was removed from Seward,but there were things the SCHC could not provide that the state was experienced in.She stated sexually transmitted diseases were taboo,and the Public Health Nurse Office was a more comfortable place for people to go to receive care.The city should be making sure to keep this office in Seward,at least in a minimal capacity. Hughes was not sure if the SCHC could assist with a lot of the state-run programs, and emphasized it would be hugely missed. Tim McDonald stated at the last meeting the City Manager alluded to the possibility of placing a cover over the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon and that worried McDonald.Two months ago, a six-figure amount to repair the lagoon was being discussed. He assumed something like a dome would be costly.McDonald thought it was the wrong time and location for the sewage lagoon.The city had a vast history of flooding events and they shouldn't use Lowell Point as a location for sewage control.Instead of storing sewage in a deep lake,the city should be taking care of the sewage in real time. The money should be put forward to something new and not towards Band-Aids. PJ Hatfield-Bauer was new to Seward and was the new Program Manager at Seaview Community Services.The work she did was relied heavily on the Public Health Nurse's Office.This office was good at public education for the community. They kept up on the issues and also community health education and was one of Hatfield-Baurer's primary sources for referrals. There were lots of folks she saw whose income was really low and folks don't have a lot of resources to travel to. It was essential to have one place that had knowledge of all resources in town. It was important to the work she did and the families she served. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Terry/Keil) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Darling added an item under Other New Business:Discussion of the Downtown Decorative Lights. Bardarson added an item under Other New Business: Schedule a work session to discuss the policy on garbage collection. Bardarson requested the agenda item discussing the State of Alaska's Department of Transportation Building in Seward be postponed until March 23,2015. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the December 8, 2014 and the January 26, 2015 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 468 Ordinance 2015-001,Amending Portions Of Seward City Code§15.10.140.B Definitions,And §15.10.225 Land Uses Allowed Table,To Allow Storage,Warehouse And/Or Distribution In The Resource Management Zoning District By Conditional Use Permit.(Introduced and set for public hearing and enactment February 23, 201 5) Resolution 2015-011, Urging The Alaska Legislature And Governor To Fully Fund The Municipal Harbor Facility Grant Program In The FY 2016 State Capital Budget. Resolution 2015-012,Supporting The Top Transportation Priorities Established By The Local Transportation Committee,For The Purpose Of Pursuing State And Federal Transportation Project Funding. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None Borough Assembly Report.Sue McClure reported she was a moderator for the final event of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl and it was an amazing event. The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly met twice since McClure's last report to the council. The assembly funded a special assistant for the mayor on natural gas and mining. The by-mail election ordinance, which was postponed to after the 2014 borough election, came back to the assembly for consideration and failed. McClure stated it was not surprising, since an advisory vote on this issue failed by a large amount in 2014. The assembly funded $200,000 for the mayor to form a health care task force to research health issues in the borough and perhaps fund a consultant or leader of the force. An ordinance was coming before the assembly on March 17, 2015 to repeal the seasonal exemption borough sales tax.McClure pointed out that the borough loses approximately$3 million a year with this current exemption,which would have gone to the schools.The main issue lately on the assembly was an ordinance to enact code to prohibit marijuana cultivation in the borough, in areas outside cities.The introduction of this ordinance received over two hours of public testimony,most against the ordinance. Some comments were that this idea was coming too soon.The ordinance would come back to the assembly February 24, 2015 and McClure was hoping to hear input from the public on this issue.McClure added there was still an open seat on the flood service area board,and residents could live anywhere in the area to be eligible for this seat. In response to Squires, McClure was certain there would be a representative from the east side of the Kenai Peninsula Borough on the health care task force, but at this point no one was certain how many members there would be on the force. McClure added she would be going to Juneau next week with the Borough Mayor for the Alaska Municipal League Conference to meet with legislators. City Manager's Report.Jim Hunt stated the following purchase orders between$10,000 and $50,000 were approved since the last council meeting: $28,190 to Alaska Crane Co. for crane and an operator to assembly the new 330-ton travel lift; $14,253.81 to Spenard Builders Supply for wood to re-build the float sections at the North East boat launch ramp. Hunt referred to his written report included in the council agenda packet. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 469 Mayor Bardarson added she and Hunt attended the World Trade Center Economic Forecast Luncheon in Anchorage and the state was looking at a 2%increase in unemployment.The state was predicted to take a hit economically after July 1,which was when the new state budget would go into effect. Hunt added there had been some interesting discussions on liquid natural gas with the state and people were optimistic of getting a plan in place. In response to Terry,Electric Utility Manager John Foutz said the linemen and operators were moved into the new electric warehouse building,but the process of moving materials would be a longer, drawn-out process. This was because the department's inventory system was lacking, so they were moving and categorizing items at the same time, and it was time-intensive. Bardarson asked for recycling information and Hunt said staff was working on a presentation for council. In response to Darling,Hunt said the city was on schedule for the Sewage Lagoon dredging project. Terry wanted to know if short term leases could extend beyond the 120 days as mandated by city code and would like to hear feedback from administration or PACAB to look at changing short term lease requirements.Hunt said as written,short term leases were an awkward proposition and he wasn't sure if the language in the code was the best design. City Attorney WM Earnhart said he thought the intention was for seasonal short turnaround businesses,and not for major development like the ones recently proposed at the Seward Marine Industrial Center(SMIC).He had been looking with administration at this provision and thought it was not the intent of the city to enter into numerous short term leases.Hunt said that although it was awkward,short term leases did fill a need. Squires thought the allowance for temporary buildings was 140 days,so it would be advantageous to at least make those numbers the same for short term leasing. City Attorney's Report.WM Earnhart stated it had been a non-eventful month,which he thought was a good thing for the city. They continued to work on leases, agreements, and code revisions in addition to other standard city business. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2015-013,Providing In-Kind Contributions,Including City Land,For The Purpose Of Relocating And Constructing A New Animal Shelter. (Butts, Terry) Motion (Terry/Squires) Approve Resolution 2015-013 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 470 Butts,a co-sponsor of this resolution,said this was brought forward to support many entities and grassroots efforts in the community who had the goal of a new animal shelter in Seward.There was a lot of citizen efforts and support for a new shelter and Butts wanted to show the city showed support for this as well. Terry,the other co-sponsor of this resolution,added as these citizen groups were moving forward with their efforts,they needed to show support of the governing body for grant application packets. Motion to Amend (Terry/Keil) Amend Resolution 2015-013, by striking the word "services" and replacing it with "contributions" in section two. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Butts/Keil) Amend Resolution 2015-013, striking section one and replacing with the following language: "The administration shall explore the use of in-kind contributions to the relocation and construction of a new city animal shelter, including a suitable site on city-owned real property." Terry said this was a purely supporting resolution. She felt saying they would "explore options"on giving land wasn't as concrete as pledging to give land. Terry felt this amendment was getting too hung up on giving in-kind contributions. Hunt clarified sections one and two of the resolution could be stricken to say the council recognized the need for the land and would contribute the land once identified.Hunt said it was hard to commit to how section one was worded as originally presented. Secondary Motion to Amend (Keil/Darling) Amend the primary amendment, by changing the proposed section one language to: "The administration shall designate a parcel for the relocation and construction of a new city animal shelter." Secondary Amendment Passed Yes: Keil, Terry, Butts, Squires, Mayor Bardarson No: Darling Primary Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 471 Schedule an executive session to discuss power purchase agreements (Strategy for the negotiation of labor and other contracts). Foutz said the city's power purchase agreement with Chugach Electric Association ended this year, if they city wanted to terminate the contract. It was a buyer's market, so he was looking to explore potential opportunities before possibly moving forward with a new five year agreement with Chugach.Council directed an executive session on this matter be placed on the March 23,2015 agenda. Discussion on the Downtown Decorative Lights. Foutz updated the council with two options he was considering,both within the same price range for materials and labor. The first option would keep the same look of the lights by replacing the ballasts with brackets and the globes and install LED lights. It would be extensive and challenging to work with. The second option was to quote from a distributor from Alaska for a two light arm assembly and remove the current five light assembly. Costs were estimated between $66,000 and $67,000. Terry thought downtown businesses and the Historic Preservation Commission should weigh in on this.Darling said she's had a lot of input on this from the downtown merchants and most people wanted to keep the current look. This issue had been ongoing for two years so there were a lot of distraught folks out there. Darling added a local company could retrofit these lights and the city should put this out for Request For Proposals and put it in the hands of the contractor. Foutz said they had worked with a local contractor who was instrumental in developing these costs and understood the work needed to get the job done.Foutz's linemen could get the work done and clarified they have the ability to do this type of work. Terry said she agreed this was a long standing issue and was hesitant to make a decision tonight. She requested this come back to the council on the next meeting for them to give direction on and give more notice to the public.Butts said he did some research and he found in the 1920's the lights were a single bulb, and in the 1940's they were a four bulb system, so moving to a two bulb system would just change the image all over again. Council directed that providing direction to administration on the Downtown Seward Historical Lights be placed on the February 23,2015 meeting agenda. Schedule a work session on policy for garbage collection.Council scheduled a work session on this topic for Monday,March 9,2015 at 5:30 p.m. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Letter to Department of Labor Commissioner Drygas RE: Seward Job Center. COUNCIL COMMENTS Keil thought the way the state budget was looking there would be some big cuts. She was concerned about the Public Health Nurse's Office in Seward. Those services should be made available at low costs and Seward needed to keep the office open. She asked staff to write a letter to the state urging them to keep the office open, and Hunt stated he would prepare a letter. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 472 Terry added another cut that was being considered was closing the pools in the school district. There were be a district meeting on February 17, 2015 to discuss the Seward Pool and parents needed to be there.Terry said it was a safety issue,not knowing how to swim.The Chamber of Commerce's Community Awards Banquet was planned for February 13, 2015. She thanked the Seward Marine Center for hosting the National Ocean Sciences Bowl last week and remarked the event consisted of a fantastic bunch of kids, adults, and volunteers. It was a big event to have in Seward and it was well run. Butts said the Public Health Nurse had been a staple in the community and hoped council would show support for keeping it in Seward. He would be traveling with the mayor next week to Juneau and would be gone the week after. Butts congratulated the Seward High boys and girls basketball teams on a successful tournament last weekend.He responded to McDonald's comments on the sewage lagoon, and at no point did he know of any sewage ever flowing into Resurrection Bay. Butts wished there was an easy fix to the sewage lagoon issue,but there was still due process and the city was working the best they could on it. Squires supported the health nurse staying in Seward.He felt this office was more important in smaller communities like Seward and perhaps the City Manager could convey that in his letter. Squires added the Public Health Nurse's Officehealth nurse office was in the city's emergency plan, so if that office went away the plan would need to be updated. Darling also supported having the health nurse in Seward. She congratulated the Baptist Church who had purchased the Legend's Building and noted it was amazing how much volunteer work was going into their move.The church's current location was to become a child care center in the near future, so the church was moving to a new location. Hunt traveled last week to North Pole and Fairbanks on personal leave. While there, he spoke with University of Alaska Fairbanks representatives with the R/V Sikuliaq.Hunt spoke with the North Pole Vice Mayor and the City of Fairbanks Mayor as well. Bardarson said the National Ocean Sciences Bowl was a great program,but she had heard the university was looking to cut that program,so if anyone had any ideas to keep it going and show support for it,she welcomed comments.There seemed to be a lot of things scheduled to be cut.One item the city should be particularly concerned with was the jail contract with the state to subsidize Seward's jail for the Alaska State Troopers to use. That would be a big loss for the city, if that contract was cut. Hunt heard Governor Walker's administration may be backing away from that thought for now,or were now considering a smaller cut at least.Bardarson reiterated there would be state cuts this year, and they would not be easy to swallow. Tourism was on the rise, so that was good for Seward. CITIZEN COMMENTS Sara McDonald thanked the council for their support of the animal shelter tonight.She came representing citizen groups Cause For Paws and Save Our Seward (SOS) Pets, and she thanked council on their behalf for their support tonight.They had been working with Assistant City Manager City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes February 9, 2015 Volume 39,Page 473 and the City Manager.She added the groups were working with an architecture firm in Anchorage to come up with preliminary plans for a new shelter. McDonald obtained numbers from the animal shelter for the last two years of animal populations so they would make plans for a building that was of the right size for the community's needs. She announced the fundraising events of the Pet Walk and the Fur Ball were now separated because they were becoming too big to hold together. The Pet Walk would be March 28,2015 and the Fur Ball would be October 3,2015.The groups intended to keep in communication with the council. Patrick Linton of the SCHC also expressed his appreciation for the support given to keep the Public Health Nurse Services in the community.The SCHC worked with that office almost every day. As a community health center, there were things they could do to fill the gaps if the Public Health Nurse's Office went away, but not everything. It was a specialty service the public health nurse provided. Linton noted the SCHC had two physicians arriving the last week of February and the center was planning a large community event on Doctors Day for March 30, 2015. Invitations and notices would be coming out soon. The Seward Health Fair would be taking place this year at AVTEC on May 2, 2015. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS —None ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 p.m. A. L . 4i J∎hanna C ean Bardarson C ty Cler Mayor (City Seal) ''�0 SE•W V �4 O • • 1 • ki SEAL g %.votve 441>•�I T•••••4w•••�• ` %.4tE OF P �.I...I.$Ii.. •