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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07132015 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 Volume 39, Page 568 CALL TO ORDER The July 13, 2015 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Jean Bardarson. OPENING CEREMONY City Manager Jim Hunt led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Jean Bardarson presiding and Ristine Casagranda* David Squires Marianna Keil Iris Darling *Council Member Casagranda arrived at 7:08 p.m. comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Brenda Ballou, Deputy City Clerk Absent—Terry, Butts CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tim McDonald had comments about the leases that had been coming before council lately. He was concerned about the 99 year lease for Alaska Logistics, particularly because the previous lease was for five years,which he said was a big jump,and there were no performance requirements included in the new lease to ensure improvements.He thought the rent on that lease was inadequate and should be evaluated every five years to adjust the rate.McDonald was concerned that this lease would be transferred at some time in the future and the city would not be in a position to benefit from it. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Darling) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Keil added an Other New Business Item, Discussion on Abatement. Darling added an Other New Business Item, Discussion on Budget Work Session. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 Volume 39,Page 569 The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the June 22,2015 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. Appoint Sandie Roach' to the Historic Preservation Commission for a term to expire May, 2016. SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Mayor Bardarson drew attention to the Pat Williams memoriam proclamation on the wall in council chambers. Proclamations & Awards—None Borough Assembly Report. Sue McClure reported the assembly had met twice since her last report. One item that had been getting a lot of discussion lately was the proposal to raise the cap on sales tax from$500 to$1,000 per sale.The item was tabled and,instead,the borough decided to perform a review of the entire tax code throughout the borough. The borough's Health Care Task Force was nearly formed,and Seward Community Health Center Executive Director Patrick Linton was Seward's representative.They would be meeting soon.There was also a Marijuana Task Force, headed up by Borough Mayor Chief of Staff Paul Ostrander,which was having its second meeting next week.Ron Long was Seward's representative on that task force.Another topic that came before the assembly often was that of animal abuse.There was widespread concern about animal abuse,and it was apparently not an uncommon issue throughout the borough.Concerned parties have requested the borough create a task force to address the situation. The assembly would next meet on July 28, 2015. City Manager's Report.Jim Hunt said for the past year the city had been working with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority(AIDEA)to overwinter an oil rig in Seward. Assistant City Manager Ron Long added the heat pump loop for the geothermic test well contract had been finalized and the test results would allow for a stronger grant application for a production well.There was a bid opening last week for the Seward Marine Industrial Center(SMIC) breakwater project and there were six bidders;a notice of intent to award would be forthcoming.He drew council's attention to the upcoming training for council, boards and commissions being conducted by the City Clerk and City Attorney. In response to Bardarson, Hunt confirmed that the Alaska Logistics lease included a performance clause in it,and that the lease agreement would be 8%of the appraisal to be conducted by an independent appraiser and not the City of Seward.Long added that as the value of the property went up,the lease rate would go up with it. Squires asked for clarification about the test well because he thought the pipes would be run out into the bay. Long explained that running the pipes out into the bay was an idea presented in the initial concept, but since then there was an opportunity to use a closed loop system from on shore which would result in a heating system as effective as it would if the pipes ran into the bay; the City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 Volume 39, Page 570 advantage would be the elimination of one pump entirely. In response to Darling, Long confirmed that if the system proved feasible, the system could be expanded to allow others in the downtown area to use it as well. Last week,Hunt attended a Homeland Security and FEMA active shooter training course in Kenai. Keil asked when the jail contract would be coming back to council.Hunt said council would see it at the next meeting. In response to Darling,Hunt said the status of the Orlander Building was that they submitted their plans to the city last fall, and were now permitted to do work. He could not answer to their proposed timeline for completing the project. Other Reports,Announcements and Presentations —None PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolutions Requiring A Public Hearing Resolution 2015-060,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Lease With The National Park Service For The Real Property Described As Lots 13 And 14,Block 6,Seward Recording District,Third Judicial District,State Of Alaska For 60 Years And 3 Months,With One 5 Year Option To Extend. Long said the Park Service had some ambitious plans to make improvements to the streetside and waterside of the building,including removing the paved"moat"that caused trouble for parking and snowplowing,as well as some restroom improvements.Harbormaster Norm Regis added that the city leases were reappraised every five years,so the lease rates were not stagnant throughout the life of a long term lease. Hunt said, if approved, the Park Service was prepared to invest over $2 million in the property. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened Rebecca Lasell, Superintendent for the Kenai Fjords National Park in Seward,said the Park Service would be investing over$2 million in the Seward Visitors Center over the next three years. The Park Service provided many jobs and was an attractive draw to visitors. Tim McDonald said he supported this lease and had no concerns with it being long term, unlike other leases the city has done with private businesses. No one else appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed Motion (Keil/Squires) Approve Resolution 2015-060 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 Volume 39, Page 571 By unanimous consent,council suspended the rules to ask questions of Park Superintendent Lasell. In response to Squires, Lasell said while the building located at the harbor was being renovated,visitors would be directed to the Exit Glacier location. Lasell reported that,historically, the Visitors Center didn't receive enough foot traffic throughout the winter to warrant keeping it open,but she was hopeful that after the remodel those visitation numbers would change.Lasell said their timeline was to do the remodel planning in 2015 and have stakeholder meetings in 2016. The rehabilitation of the Visitors Center would occur between 2016-2017 and then the exhibit redesign and installation would take place between 2017-2018. Squires asked Regis what he knew about how the"moat"or swale outside of the Park Service Visitors Center came to be. Squires said it related to a right-of-way and he encouraged Regis to look into it.In response to Squires,Hunt said after the swale was removed that area would be designated for handicapped parking and not for bus traffic. Casagranda asked administration for clarification on leases as it related to how the number of years was determined. Long said leases and their duration were relative to the purpose of the lease, use of the property,and return on investment. Casagranda followed up by asking if the Park Service requested 60 years and Long confirmed they had. Hunt added that all lease transfers had to come before council. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2015-061,Authorizing Restoration Of A Full-Time Exempt Position In The Finance Department Titled Assistant Finance Director,And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Keil/Darling) Approve Resolution 2015-061 Long said the Finance Department had been putting in a lot of extra hours for the last year. Finance Director Kris Erchinger said the Finance Department had had eight employees from 1989 through 2000.In 2000,when Erchinger was promoted to Finance Director,the position she vacated as second in command was not filled and the staff was reduced to seven. At that point in time,the staff was stable and had a lot of longevity.In recent years,however,there had been a lot of turnover. In addition to this resolution to add restore this position,the Finance Department was also asking for additional funds to cover overtime hours to get through 2015,as well as bringing retired employee Kim Kowalski-Rogers back in to help out. Squires asked how the proposed range for this position fell in line with other department seconds. Erchinger said this was the same range as the position had been in 2000. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 Volume 39, Page 572 In response to Squires,Long said Public Works and the Library were two departments that did not have seconds, but were enterprise funds. Long said if finance went without help, all other departments would be affected. In response to Darling, Erchinger said payroll might be able to be outsourced, but governmental accounting was a specialty field that one learned on-the-job after they became an accountant. It took an additional five or six years for an accountant to learn governmental accounting. Erchinger added that there was no one local that could do the job; payroll was complicated because it included union employees, seasonal employees, contract employees, and grant funds for some employees. Hunt added that utility billing was also complicated because it included turn ons,turn offs, accounts in advance and accounts in arrears. Keil thought the salary range was appropriate. She would support this resolution. Casagranda appreciated the work Erchinger had contributed to the city for many years. In response to Casagranda, Erchinger said she couldn't foresee ever getting rid of this position in the future because the need was great now, and would continue to be going forward. She said the auditors said that,regardless of the small size of Seward,this city was the second most complicated one to audit in the whole state. Squires was concerned that the Finance Department did not have a second in place in the event of a natural disaster or emergency,or an illness of the department head.He would support this resolution for the sake of continuity of business, on a daily basis, as well as in an emergency situation. In response to Darling,Erchinger said there were certain things like the budget,resolutions, and agenda statements that she,alone,prepared. Erchinger was reticent to outsource payroll: when she started with the city back in 1989, following the oil spill, the city lost $600,000 in federal government refunds because the emergency response hours and payroll were not coded properly. In response to Casagranda, Erchinger said they purchased the new accounting software in 2011,but delayed implementing it until 2014. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Discussion on Abatement. Keil wanted the city to take care of their own weed problem before the city spent funds on issuing citizens weed nuisance notices. Hunt said the nuisance abatement program had been successful and citizens had been responding by cleaning up their yards.He said the city did not have enough staff to maintain all the parks and properties to keep up with their own landscaping. Squires requested to see a sample of the letter that was being sent to citizens. Casagranda received a complaint from a citizen about someone driving around in a Hummer City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13, 2015 Volume 39, Page 573 delivering notices to hard working small business owners when there were lots of city-owned properties not in compliance. She was pleased with some of the positive results from the program, but was also concerned that council did not know how much money was being spent on the program. Hunt responded that he didn't care what vehicle was driven to deliver notices and he was spending council-approved funds.Hunt suggested council remove the ordinance from the books if they didn't want him enforcing it. Casagranda asked,relating to abatement,about the status of the Jesse Lee Home. Long said council would have an update at the next meeting. Discussion on Budget Work Sessions. Darling wanted to start working on the budget. Keil said council couldn't begin budget discussions yet because they hadn't received the audit results.Casagranda requested the budget work sessions be scheduled at the end of August/beginning of September, and Long agreed. Long said administration would bring council a draft schedule within the next two meetings. In response to Squires, Bardarson said council would be meeting to determine their own goals at one of the budget work sessions. Long requested that council allow administration to develop their budget requests and goals first, and then bring that information to council for input. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Proclamation for Spring Creek Correction Center's Employee of the Year Bruce Wardle. COUNCIL COMMENTS Keil said thanks for a great Fourth of July. She had been enjoying seeing all the marine animals lately. Casagranda said her mother ran the Mount Marathon Race for the 20th time this year, and one of her daughters ran for the first time. She thanked all the volunteers who made the Fourth of July Festival possible. Squires echoed Keil's comments; he had a nice holiday. He would like to see the Police Department increase parking citations for line-of-sight parking offenses that created safety hazards. Darling thanked Resurrection Bay Historical Society volunteers for stepping up to open the museum on Sundays. She had attended two People-To-People presentations in the last week or so, and she had been very impressed with how bright the students were. Bardarson agreed that the People-To-People program was wonderful.She noted she may not be in attendance at the July 27, 2015 meeting. Squires asked Hunt if the museum could be kept open on Mondays,as well,by Resurrection Bay Historical Society volunteers. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 13,2015 Volume 39, Page 574 CITIZEN COMMENTS Tim McDonald said he had a nice Fourth of July. He would be interested in learning what the visitor numbers actually were. He was concerned about the solicitation of the drilling rigs to come into Resurrection Bay; he didn't want the pristine nature of Seward to turn into an industrial armpit.McDonald also wanted to clarify the city's policy on leases;he didn't see any justification for a 99-year lease. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS , Long said administration spent zero tax dollars soliciting drilling rigs to overwinter in Seward. The Seward Ships DryDock lease transfer to Vigor was not a sale; violations of any lease involve terms to resolve the situation. Long admonished McDonald for these comments and encouraged him to seek legal representation if he believed there was fraud involved. Hunt said everyone wanted to see our community to grow. He said Vigor was an environmentally sound company and was planning to invest over $1 million in environmental improvements. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. 141LAA. freeuckvizel%) Jo anna Kinn ig C an Bardarson Ci ch Clerk Mayor (City Seal) •..••,,,•.., ••.• pF SEyi;',.,� 4.` 4,k%•••0(LPQ/ '•q�O • ` •? gip • •••••••• = • . SEAL • _ $ ..�_ .• % /. ........ • .•>•• JZ` . •y�.,k' 0FeA�P•••'