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Home My WebLink About12072017 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes December 7, 2017 Volume 40, Page 322 CALL TO ORDER The December 7, 2017 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor David Squires. OPENING CEREMONY Electric Utilities Manager John Foutz led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Squires presiding and Ristine Casagranda Suzanne Towsley Jeremy Horn comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Absent—Keil, McClure, Slater CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Carol Griswold thought the letter sent by the city declaring a state of emergency was too vague and,perhaps,premature. If she were the one to receive this letter,she would wonder where the documentation or damage assessment was. She was reminded of the last emergency called in January, 2017 about the 30 inch snowfall, and thought that the city should be more cautious about calling "emergency". In the letter itself, Griswold took exception to Lowell Point being called a Village,to Bay-side being hyphenated and capitalized,and thought it was not well written in general. She questioned the process, as well, because she thought council's purpose in this situation was to decide whether there was an emergency or not before anything was sent out to the borough. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion (Casagranda/Towsley) Approval of Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous Consent NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2017-091,Declaring A State Of Emergency Due To Storm And Tidal Surge Damage City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes December 7, 2017 Volume 40, Page 323 In The City Of Seward And Requesting Assistance. Motion (Casagranda/Towsley) Approve Resolution 2017-091 Assistant City Manager Ron Long said the authority to declare a disaster or emergency rested with the City Manager. The likelihood of this event lasting more than seven days was guaranteed,which was why council had been convened for this meeting.Although the assessment of damage would take time,the declaration had to be quick because any resources or man hours spent on this event would have to be tracked and documented in a very detailed manner;this requires the city to establish accounting tracking codes, and that action is triggered by the declaration. The city would lose no political capital by declaring the emergency,and though the request for assistance may not reach beyond Juneau, there was a reasonable expectation that the state would provide some response. Hunt added that last night he had spoken to Senator Micciche, and had taken many photographs.This was not just a Seward issue,it was a life safety issue for Lowell Point residents,as well as an infrastructure concern. He had chosen the word "village" to describe Lowell Point purposefully,as well as bay-side, because those were key words that were beneficial in this type of communication. The borough had already recognized the city's request and was forwarding it to the state. Long said, on a positive note, the beach erosion prevention work performed last summer around Waterfront Park held up very well through this event.Long described this as a singular event: 28 foot swells in the Gulf of Alaska, a storm surge, a south wind, and a super high tide. In response to Towsley,the extent of the damage was primarily Lowell Point Road.The areas around South Harbor Uplands and Boulder Field sustained minor damage,and were cleaned up and repaired by the Parks and Recreation and Public Works Departments. Scheffler Creek bridge appeared to withstand the surge well. Long added that next Tuesday, engineers from R&M Consulting were scheduled to be in Seward to examine some work at Seward Marine Industrial Center(SMIC),and administration was going to ask them to examine Lowell Point Road while they were in town. In response to Casagranda, Long confirmed that the city could apply either for temporary repairs or permanent repairs,and what administration would be applying for would be for permanent repairs. Hunt said he had taken photos the damage along the road, and had shared them with the borough; he would forward them to council as well. In response to Casagranda, Long explained that when there was an event such as this, administration had to authority to take action to respond, unless it was predicted that it would take more than seven days for the event to be addressed; in that case, council would have to pass a resolution. In this specific case, engineering would have to be enlisted to examine and assess the City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes December 7, 2017 Volume 40, Page 324 damage, and the funding required to address the situation would potentially go beyond the City Manager's authority. Horn was concerned about predictions about super moon tides coming over the next couple of weeks, and wondered about the timing for having the road examined now. Long said this was anticipated to be a singular event, but they would monitor it. Council suspended the rules to speak with Public Works Director Doug Schoessler. In response to Towsley, Schoessler said there was buried warning tape over communication lines that was exposed. He was concerned with that,but pleased he hadn't seen any exposed power or sewer lines. Council went back on the record. In response to Squires, Long confirmed that there were sufficient road signs and warning signs on both ends of the road warning passenger vehicles and residents of the dangerous road conditions. Squires applauded administration for responding to this situation quickly, because it positioned the city for the greatest opportunity for assistance and reimbursement. Squires had seen the exposed warning tape for the communication lines and, in his estimation, this would be in jeopardy if there was another surge even close to this again. Motion Passed Unanimous COUNCIL COMMENTS Towsley thanked administration for their responsiveness to this event. She recalled the tide surge event in December,2009. She wondered if alerting the press about these types of events should be done judiciously so as not to scare off potential visitors to the city. CITIZEN COMMENTS Carol Griswold was happy that she came tonight because she learned a lot. She thought the letter and supporting documentation should have been more detailed to make the case stronger. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Casagranda thanked Griswold for coming tonight and for her comments. She would also appreciate having more information and communication from administration. Towsley thought the term village,at least in Alaska,had a different meaning from the way it was used in the letter. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes December 7, 2017 Volume 40, Page 325 Squires said he understood the reason why the term village was used in the letter,and agreed it was an effective word in this situation. He said the term village was actually a key term to use in situations like this. The documentation that is furnished to the borough and then passed through to the governor's office is much more than just this single letter. Long said,in this case and at this time,brevity was important and details would follow as the situation developed over time. Hunt said the January, 2017 declaration of emergency for the snowstorm was not about money,it was about asking for manpower because the Public Works Department was overwhelmed at the time and the city needed help form the borough or the Alaska Department of Transportation. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:35 p.m. r-ThAri Brenda J. Ballo�, MMC David Squires City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) "••'•,•, s.•_, of SEpy..;•.,, i• • '` o 'G� oRPiTNO'Po S °. • 1 SEAL ■ • • • ®• • • • S • ti g� . .� 1 1 4- • ! ti.,�F OF•AA-‘,,,