Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06222015 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 557 CALL TO ORDER The June 22, 2015 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Jean Bardarson. OPENING CEREMONY Finance Director Kris Erchinger led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Jean Bardarson presiding and Marianna Keil Ristine Casagranda Christy Terry David Squires Dale Butts Iris Darling comprising a quorum of the Council; and Kris Erchinger, Finance Director Johanna Kinney, City Clerk William Earnhart, City Attorney Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tim McDonald loved Seward and was interested in the policies of the city. He noticed a new automatic electrical rate from Chugach Electric Association was to be imposed in the near future. These rate increases happened from time to time, but noted the management of the city's assets could be better. McDonald did not understand the shipyard change in ownership. The sale of Seward Ship's Drydock to Vigor Alaska was transferring city assets,which should have been done publicly and not privately. He objected to the handling of the city assets when rates were going up and thought the city was doing a poor job of it. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Resolution 2015-058 was pulled off the consent agenda by Darling. Terry added re-scheduling the work session to discuss the possible Seward Community Health Center/Providence Expansion Project under Other New Business Items. Keil added Resolution 2015-059 to the consent agenda with no objection from council. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 558 Terry added re-scheduling the work session to review the 2014 audit under Other New Business Items. Terry added discussing the June 29, 2015 Work Session on the city's policy on nominating public property for disposal or acceptance under Other New Business Items. Terry added a City Attorney's Report under Special Orders, Presentations and Reports. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2015-059,Accepting Grant Funds In The Amount Of$50,000.00 From The Kenai Peninsula Borough For The Update Of The Seward Comprehensive Plan And Appropriating Funds. Approval of the May 26,2015 and June 8,2015 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards • Presenting RN Sikuliaq with gift from the City of Seward. Chamber of Commerce Report. Cindy Clock reported the Halibut Tournament was gaining momentum and today a 291 pound halibut was caught and took the lead.There were still 40 tagged halibut out there and no tagged fish had been brought in yet. The vendor spaces were almost all booked for the Fourth of July Festival. As of today,the State Fire Marshal was planning to allow permitted fireworks shows despite the statewide ban on the sale and discharge of fireworks due to the many wildfires occurring throughout Alaska. This year, Seward would celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Mount Marathon Race. To make it more exciting, another race up Mount Marathon would be occur on July 5, 2015 as part of Expedition Alaska's 400 mile adventure race. Clock stated the Chamber of Commerce continued to work with the city in economic development efforts. The Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District published the 2015 Situations and Prospects book, which contained good information and could be found on their website. The chamber's remodel project was finished. It improved the chamber's curb appeal and it had been a wonderful project done locally. Clock stated it had been fantastic to work with Harmon Construction. City Manager's Report. Kris Erchinger said one purchase order between $10,000 and $50,000 had been issued and approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting, which was$30,000 to Harmon Construction for the repair and replacement of sidewalks in the downtown area. Erchinger stated administration had been actively participating in discussions with the State of Alaska regarding the community jail contracts. Seward was facing a 45% cut in funding which equated to approximately $287,000. Erchinger said the city would have to cut about $195,000 if these budget cuts moved forward as planned. City ofSeward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 559 The Finance Department finished two additional audits initiated by the Public Employees Retirement System(PERS)and the Social Security Administration. Erchinger had never seen either audit occur in her time with the city,but she was pleased to say both audits went well. There was a tentative rate increase coming forward from Chugach Electric Association, but the amount of the increase was not known yet. Erchinger would inform council as that information was determined. She was working with a contractor to revisit the idea of a seasonally modified electrical rate and was prepared to have more information in the upcoming budget process for the 2016-2017 budgets. In the Public Works Department,the sludge removal project was completed mid-June. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation came in to do final inspection. Staff was now soliciting quotes to repair cell one of the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon which had been drained and would hopefully be repaired next week. The sewage lagoon at the Seward Marine Industrial Center (SMIC)was filling back up as well. In response to Keil, Erchinger confirmed that the city would not have to do a termination study for any positions as long as they kept a jailer or two. Terry requested an update and timeline for the Seward Air Force Recreation Camp lease termination. She knew there were many paving projects planned around town for next summer,but she hoped the city could put Dora Way high on their priority list. Terry asked for an update on the abatement letters that had been sent out. She had heard there was some confusion on appeal language as well as incorrect contact information. Casagranda asked where the City Manager was this evening;Erchinger stated she was asked to fill in as he was not sure he'd be back in time. Terry stated for the record that council had made a determination that they be made aware by email when the City Manager wasn't going to be at a meeting. She wanted to make sure that was still the understanding of council to continue that directive. Bardarson was still hoping the city paving project could happen this fall. She was told some companies could still pave this fall. Keil said she'd received comments about employees smoking in city trucks, and asked that the city's No Smoking Policy in city vehicles be reiterated. City Attorney Report. Will Earnhart stated he attended the last council meeting and gave a report at that time. Earnhart would not be able to attend the July 13, 2015 meeting, so he was attending tonight's meeting. He had been working on bid and contract issues for the city. Earnhart was preparing a memo regarding land use for council in preparation for the work session on June 29, 2015,which he would be in attendance for. He noted that on all of the leases he had reviewed there was a provision that rent automatically increased or decreased based on inflation and every five years an appraisal was done, so the rate on a 99 year lease was not going to be the same amount. Squires asked about lease requirements for utility connections. Earnhart confirmed lessees did not have to hook up to utilities. Squires said he had concerns with entering into long term leases that didn't require utility hook ups. Earnhart said it would be logical to include a provision requiring utility connections in the code, but emphasized the council could require all leases to include this. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 560 Terry said they should add that to the list of things to discuss at the work session next week. • In response to Terry,Earnhart said there were no cases of threatened or potential litigation at this point. Other Reports,Announcements and Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolutions Requiring A Public Hearing Resolution 2015-057, Recommending Kenai Peninsula Borough Approval Of The Benny Benson Park Replat Which Establishes The Outer Boundaries Of The Benny Benson Park, Includes The Vacation Of All Interior Undeveloped Rights-Of-Way,Easements And Interior Platted Lot Lines; Dedicates Additional Rights-Of-Way And Easements; Located Predominately Within The Park Zoning District. Motion (Terry/Keil) Approve Resolution 2015-057 Bardarson stated for the record she owned property next to this area. Erchinger said all property owners were notified of this replat and the Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing to request council recommend this action to the borough. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed Keil said this was a project that had been in the works for a long time and it was a good recommendation. In response to Casagranda,Erchinger did not believe this replat had anything to do with the goal of running electrical lines under the lagoon; it was a project that had been on a project list to protect the area for future development. It was another clean up item that Community Development was tasked with doing, one area at a time. In response to Squires,Erchinger believed the right of way for Dairy Hill to be 60 feet. City Planner Donna Glenz pointed out the areas in question on the maps provided, showing the proposed extension of Dairy Hill and Chamberlain Road. A lot of the area in question was not a platted right of way, which caused many people to drive on what should be considered private property. Dairy Hill's right of way would be approximately 60 feet wide. Chamberlain Road had parts currently with only a 30 foot right of way, but this resolution would get most areas up to 50 feet, which was the right of way standard. In response to Squires, Glenz stated there would be no physical change to the land itself and would not affect the culverts recently put in that area. This changed the platting lines for things like legal snow removal. Glenz confirmed a side walk could be put in with this additional space in the future. City ofSeward, Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 561 In response to Butts, Glenz said Community Development and the Planning and Zoning Commission only received calls and comments in support of the replat. Four public members abutting the property all supported the recommendation once their questions were answered. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed From Previous Agenda (*Clerk's Note: This resolution was postponed from the May 26, 2015 meeting and was requested to come back for an additional public hearing.) Resolution 2015-045, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Lease Amendment With Alaska Logistics LLC For Lot 2,Block 3 Fourth Of July Creek Subdivision,Seward Marine Industrial Center, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Plat No. 97-27 Seward Recording District, Third Judicial District, State Of Alaska. (original motion made by Terry and seconded by Darling) Keil declared her husband worked at Alaska Logistics and asked for a ruling on a possible conflict of interest. Bardarson did not find a conflict existed and there was no objection from council. Erchinger said the original lease for this was five years and this resolution extended the lease to 99 years. Alaska Logistics was currently paying approximately$13,000 per year in lease rates. Effective July 1,2015,that rate would go down based on inflation. Erchinger noted there was substitute language for consideration in the council agenda packet that included a new section 1.7 regarding development of leased land. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Tim McDonald was disheartened by hearing little discussion of the council on this issue before the public was allowed to speak. He stated he didn't have the same package the council had and believed the public should be able to hear council's discussion first and then be allowed to provide public comments. Speaking to the resolution, McDonald did not have any idea where the justification of a 99 year lease came from. He knew from the lessee's standpoint, the justification was to be able to get financing easier,but financing on business loans was not that long,usually 30 to maybe 50 years. McDonald felt the city and Alaska Logistics didn't need a 99 year lease. $1,000 a month was not enough to charge them,either. This was another transfer of assets to private entities that was a detriment to the City of Seward. McDonald stated so many things could happen in the next 100 years;it seemed too extreme to allow for this and thought there should be an investigation on this. No one else appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed. Keil stated the public always had access to the same agenda packet the council had. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 562 Terry asked the attorney that if Alaska Logistics wanted to transfer their lease would that have to go to council for approval. Earnhart said that was correct. He repeated his earlier comments that the lease payment was based on an appraisal of the value,which would increase or decrease each year based on inflation, and then every five years the property was appraised so that was another possibility for the lease rate to change. Butts liked how the new language proposed changes be brought back to the council. Butts said this was not transfer of assets;the city was not giving anything to anyone that could.be resold. Motion to Amend (Terry/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2015-045 by substitution, incorporating a new "Article 1.7—Development of Leased Land" in the proposed lease extension and amendment. City Clerk Johanna Kinney read into record the new language of the proposed amendment by substitution: "ARTICLE 1.7 Development of Leased Land LESSEE shall continue to operate a vessel storage and maintenance facility through the term of the lease. LESSEE understands that construction and operations of its marine-related business is a major consideration for the CITY's agreement to the lease the Leased Land to LESSEE.LESSEE shall not operate any other unrelated business on the Leased Land without the consent of the CITY. a) CITY may withhold its consent as to any proposed business or activity which, in CITY's sole discretion,is not desirable or compatible with the CITY's operation of the Seward Marine Industrial Center. b) In accordance with the provisions of Article 12, no assignment or sublease shall be permitted,unless approved in writing by CITY.Any sublease shall be expressly subject and subordinate to this Lease and the rights of the CITY hereunder. The CITY may elect not to approve any proposed assignment or sublease that might result in a business or activity that, in the CITY's sold discretion, is undesirable and/or incompatible with the CITY's Seward Marine Industrial Center." Casagranda asked if the term "CITY" meant the City Council or City Administration. Earnhart and Kinney stated in some cases it could mean council and in some it could mean the City Manager. Casagranda was concerned with who was able to make decisions on behalf of the city. Earnhart said changing the "CITY" definition to be only the City Council would have a tremendous impact on the lease and he believed some of the things should and could be done administratively. Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Squires, Keil, Darling, Terry, Butts, Bardarson No: Casagranda City ofSeward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 563 Squires restated his concerns on the lack of required utilities. Right now,this company was not connected to water, sewer,or electric. Harbormaster Norm Regis confirmed that, and added that Alaska Logistics was in communication with the City Electric Department to hook up electricity. Squires said in the past,council did not want to sell property at the Seward Marine Industrial Center(SMIC)because of the development proposed there and to avoid contradicting the future plan to be drafted by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority(AIDEA). Because of this, the city chose to lease land instead. Squires asked how this 99 year lease could affect the SMIC development plan.Erchinger thought there was concern about the land at SMIC being purchased and then not being used for compatible purposes,so the current plan was to lease the land with criteria to allow for certain uses. By doing this, the city was more protected than if they sold. Keil agreed with Erchinger that it was a marine related business, which was the plan for developing SMIC just like the recent long term lease for a storage facility with Harmon Properties LLC in SMIC. Erchinger said the lessee would pay property taxes on the land. The land was evaluated for value on a consistent basis so the pricing was always fair. Erchinger stated it was advantageous for the city because they were getting property tax, improvements, and lease payments. Darling asked who set the 8% for leasing. Council had set that rate as a policy in the past. There had been discussions on increasing,but at the time the market was telling the city that 8%was reasonable and the appraisers were recommending the 8%rate as well. Motion to Amend (Terry/Keil) Amend Resolution 2015-045, Section 2: "The City Manager is authorized to execute the lease amendment with Alaska Logistics LLC in substantially the form as presented at-this-meeting attached." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2015-045, by creating a new Section 3: "Assignments and subleases shall be approved by the City Council." and renumbering the existing sections accordingly. Casagranda requested for future cases, if there were amendments proposed to a lease the attorney previously reviewed, amendments to that lease should also receive attorney review. Keil added it was her hope to have some cost control to not have the attorney review everything. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Earnhart said they should look at this issue more thoroughly at the work session next week as the city lease policy said the attorney should review all leases. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39,Page 564 Main Motion Passed Yes: Casagranda, Terry, Butts, Darling, Keil, Bardarson No: Squires NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2015-058, Authorizing The Discharge Of Fireworks By The Chamber Of Commerce During The 2015 Fourth Of July Celebration. Erchinger said this was an annual tradition in Seward. The city was well aware of the danger of fireworks,especially this year with the multitude of wildfires across the state and on the peninsula. The proposed show was planned for the uplands and permitted by the State of Alaska. If the State Fire Marshal was not willing to allow the show to continue the city would not allow the discharge, but at this point it was allowed by the state. The city would do their best to be as safe as possible. Darling stated she pulled this off the consent agenda because of all the major wildfires occurring right now. She thought as a community they should forgo the show this year. She couldn't support fireworks this year. Fire Chief Edward Athey assured Darling that safety was the city's first and foremost priority. At this point,the State Fire Marshal's intent was to allow all permitted shows to continue, and this was a state permitted show. Athey was confident of the safety of this show because the city probably had the best location in the state. It took place on the South Harbor Uplands and the fireworks were angled over the water. He emphasized the city was very diligent about this process. Terry asked, if the road to the uplands was closed, could people be allowed to access their boats by foot traffic. Athey stated the city tried to maintain a 300 foot perimeter to keep the public back but still allowed foot traffic on the north end of the uplands so people could access their vessels. Darling agreed the city did a great job with safety, but they couldn't control everyone and consumer use could happen if the public saw the show happening, even though this show was permitted. Athey agreed, and said that was also a concern of his. He hoped with this renewed information and the ban in place,people could enjoy the show and not discharge their own fireworks. Bardarson checked the weather and rain was coming. She supported this and thought they should let the experts decide if they could or couldn't have a fireworks show when the time came. Squires asked Athey if,in the order issued by the State Fire Marshal,there were any citations for individuals caught shooting off fireworks. Athey said it did not, but they could get that information. In response to Squires, Police Lieutenant Doreen Valadez said the police had the ability to make a citation of discharging fireworks to mandatory court. Motion Passed Yes: Terry, Keil, Casagranda, Squires, Butts, Bardarson No: Darling Council recessed at 8:21 p.m. Council resumed at 8:25 p.m. City ofSeward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 565 Other New Business Items Discuss Mayor's visit to Ketchikan for Alaska Municipal League Summer Legislative Conference. August 19-21,2015. (Bardarson) Casagranda wondered if the City Manager would be attending. Council thought it would be worthwhile for the mayor to attend. Bardarson stated she would look into attending. Reschedule the work session to discuss the possible Seward Community Health Center/Providence Expansion Project under Other New Business Items.Terry requested a land use map and a flood hazard map to be available. Erchinger added it was not the administration's intent to schedule a work session around the due diligence questions submitted by the Seward Community Health Center(SCHC)Board. They were important questions,but the city determined they could not in short answer simply answer those questions. She felt at this point, the main goal was to make sure public had an opportunity to weigh in on the issues beyond the SCHC's grant application. Erchinger personally felt that the community needed to have a broader conversation about expanding the hospital before any grant opportunities arose. It was unlikely administration would ask for council support in pursuing grant support at this time. Staff would do their best to answer questions, but didn't want to push the community and council into a decision that was so large in nature. Keil wanted staff and council to look at the possibility of adding health care needs in the new Seward Comprehensive Plan. That would be a great forum for this conversation. Casagranda thought it didn't do any harm to be supplied with as much information as possible at this work session, since they didn't make any decisions at work sessions. She'd like to see what Terry was asking for as well. Terry reiterated she wanted to see ownership maps and FEMA flood hazard maps to look at the hazards for the community as a whole. Butts hoped the City Manager was looking at the information packet they received last week. As much information they could have at the meeting would be best,as that information could steer the conversation. Erchinger's expectation was trying to come up with a broader road map for future dialogues to answer the questions addressed by the SCHC and other questions. This would be a broader process than originally anticipated. She emphasized staff would not have all the answers to the SCHC's questions at this time. Squires asked if the proposed plan for expansion had changed. Erchinger said staff would be talking specifically about the information proposed by the SCHC and Providence at the March 23, 2015 work session. As far as the project was concerned, staff had come to the consensus that a$4 million project was not something they could support as there were concerns about getting reimbursed by the state for repayment. The larger$8 million proposed project would be the city's focus. Terry said the slides from the March work session with Providence and the SCHC would be helpful,too. Council rescheduled this work session to Tuesday,June 30,2015 at 5:30 p.m. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 566 Reschedule the work session to review the 2014 audit.Erchinger explained her staff was having a hard time working through this audit with the new finance software. Because of this,she could not respond timely to auditors requests. She was also dealing with staff shortage issues and said they didn't have the manpower. Right now her department was unable to keep up with the work, but doing the best they could. Currently the financial reports and the audit results to council were late. Erchinger she did not think they would be ready in four weeks, but hoped to be ready by August. She would communicate with council as they knew more. She apologized for her and her staff. Council did not reschedule the work session. Discussion of the June 29, 2015 Work Session on the city's policy on nominating public property for disposal or acceptance under. Terry stated she had to work until 7:00 p.m. on June 20, 2015. Council changed the time of the work session to 7:00 p.m. Terry thought at the work session,council should discuss Resolution 1994-101,which was the current city land disposal policy. She asked the council if there were other things they should review. Squires stated he wished to look at how the city acquired property,too. He wanted a more established procedure if the city were to accept property or not and they should have conditions. Terry said staff had full size maps for city owned property,so it would be nice to have one or two available for the work session. Butts added the Land Use Management Plan would also be helpful. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Support Letter for Federal Recognition of Qutekcak Native Tribe. COUNCIL COMMENTS Keil emphasized the importance of attending a council scheduled work session. It was inconvenient and embarrassing when council didn't have a quorum and hoped council could do their best with this. Terry appreciated all the businesses in Seward operating in the thick of the summer. She'd heard from visitors how great the customer service was in Seward. Butts added a safety note about pedestrians; there was increased foot traffic and asked the public to please be careful. He wished everyone a Happy Fourth of July. He gave an update on the Cooper Landing Fire which he'd just returned from. Seward crews were to be relieved tomorrow and newer crews would be working on the Card Street Fire in Sterling. Butts wished them the best and to be safe. Squires thanked the Seward community and the communities of Cooper Landing,Sterling, and Soldotna. Crews fighting fires received a lot of support from these communities. Squires asked administration to inquire to the Alaska Department of Transportation if they could have a cross walk or some kind of safety device near or around the Napa store near Phoenix and the Seward Highway. The city needed to do something for the safety of the community at this area,and currently it was not safe. :t City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes June 22, 2015 Volume 39, Page 567 Erchinger said the City Clerk's office provided packets ahead of time both electronically and in hard copy. Bardarson thanked Erchinger and her department for persevering through the change of their new program and staff. She wished everyone a safe and Happy Fourth of July. CITIZEN COMMENTS—None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Terry stated she would not be at the July 13, 2015 meeting. She added there was an underpass on the Seward Highway, but her kids didn't use it because it was not safe under there. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m. r' i* //t/Irt-1--ej, �� LA��I •� Jo anna Kinne ' MC -an Bardarson C. Clerk Mayor (City Seal) coo%a 3 36508, AZ' 0% o 0 SERI, ,��. r + � o p ° �J o'A E 1,'►°�/'°•° ,, <T:4-... F W'''` �'� • e.6asg IS 31k4.