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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11072018 PACAB Minutes City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Minutes November 7,2018 Volume 3,Page 348 CALL TO ORDER The November 7, 2018 regular meeting of the Port and Commerce Advisory Board was called to order at 12:02 by Chair Terry PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Schneider led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry (chair), and Carl Hughes, Laura Schneider, Lynda Paquette, Erin Lemas Absent but excused: Bruce Jaffa and Colby Lawrence Also Present Matt Chase, Deputy Harbormaster GeNeil Flaherty, Executive Liaison Brennan Hickok, Assistant City Manager Jeff Bridges, Interim City Manager Suzi Towsley, Council Liaison CITIZEN'S COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tom Tougas came to the meeting to speak on the matter of a new cruise ship dock that has been suggested by Brad Snowden. He explained what his experience is with the cruise ship industry and tourism. He stated that Seward will always be a turn port for cruise ships unlike Juneau and Ketchikan which are Ports of Call locations. Which means, all the luggage and passengers are offloaded, and go onto their next destination. Then the ship is awaiting the next group of passengers that board in the afternoon and the ship leaves in the evening. When a cruise ship does come in early in the morning, it becomes very busy with the loading and unloading of cargo. The noise would not be something that people will put up with. What we should be doing is fully supporting the Alaska Rail Road and building up the existing cruise ship dock to be the best it can. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Hughes/Schneider) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Be sure that laydown gets in legislative history. Note: 9A - Letter from the Interim City Manager is regarding the Seward airport. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Minutes November 7,2018 Volume 3, Page 349 SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS JAG—Operations update Doug Huff was joined by Tim Jagielski,Vice President and Co-founder, Chuck Minton, Senior Vice President and Chuck Gilbrech. Doug first stated that JAG is happy to be here in Seward and that the company is willing to work with community in any they can. A power point presentation was provided while Doug spoke about how they company is growing and bringing a lot of revenue to Seward. Alaska Railroad Report—Christy Terry submitted her report electronically but added that the railroad terminal will be working with the parks and rec department to have the archery program again this fall. Chamber of Commerce Report—Cindy Clock provided her report electronically but added KPEDD (Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District)has on their website pictures of all of the towns from the Peninsula and Seward was listed as the Peninsula's Maritime Powerhouse. Seward is not just a tourism industry but also a marine support industry. The Seward Chamber of Commerce is advocating for a few projects such as a letter of support for the DOT (Department of Transportation)to get a grant that will go towards bridge replacement during the mile 17-21 road construction project. Looking into a seasonal signal light at the intersection of Port and the Seward Highway. Additional free shuttle seating for the 2019 season since we will be having more Port O'Call cruise ships. She also mentioned that SMAF (Seward Music and Arts Festival) is the same weekend that AVTEC (Alaska's Vocational and Technical Education Center)will be celebrating their 50th anniversary. Lastly, she showed a new catalog from PrAna clothing that has photos from Seward included in its pages. She also thanked JAG for their commitment and partnership with Seward. Harbormaster Report—Matt Chase thanked JAG too. In addition to the submitted report Matt said that the contract with Hamilton has been extended until December 31st and the project is almost completed. Updates on the progress will be given on a continuous basis. Administration Report—Brennan Hickok spoke about the Lowell Creek Hydro project. The city council approved YourCleanEnergy to do a feasibility study for hydro power with possible results by the end of the year. He also stated that administration finally got the grant documents for the heat loop project and asked for support to encourage council to approve moving forward with it. One last comment was in regards to the sale of the electric utility. The finance department is gathering all of the information that they can to provide information to any interested buyer should it go up for bid. Jeff Bridges stated that there was decision made at this time to actually sell the utility. This is going to be a long process should it be decided to sell. PUBLIC HEARINGS NONE UNFINISHED BUSINESS NONE City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Minutes November 7,2018 Volume 3,Page 350 NEW BUSINESS - Motion (Hughes/Schneider) Approval of the May 2, and the October 3, 2018 Minutes Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss Legislative Priorities There was discussion regarding the priorities and it was stated that if anyone had any additional information or questions, they should contact Norm or the administration. Annual review SMIC Development Plan The board continued their review of the plan and the board will conclude its review at the next meeting. Motion (Schneider/Paquette) The November work session was set for November 28 and the title will be to discuss the legislative priorities and continue the annual review of the SMIC Development Plan. Discuss the 2019 PACAB reporting to council Chair went over the way the schedule works for council. Discussion regarding Vessel Property Tax Chair suggested postponing until administration can get more information. Update on Sewer and Water utilities Chair suggested postponing discussion until there is actually more information. Motion (Hughes/Lemas) Move the regular meeting from December 5th to December 19th. Motion Passed Unanimous Discussion of PACAB calendar OTHER NEW BUSINESS Board Comments: Paquette thanked Tom Tougas for coming and talking about the cruise ship dock and commented that the cruise ship companies should work with the local businesses to bring visitors into town. Schneider thanked JAG for their presentation and administration for working with YourCleanEnergy. Happy Thanksgiving. She thanked Jackie Wilde for coming and invited her to come back at the next meeting since we did not get to hear from her. Hughes thanked JAG and welcomed the new board members. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Minutes November 7,2018 Volume 3,Page 351 Terry thanked JAG and Council member Towsley for coming. Thanked the administration for their continued support. Thanked Matt for filling in for the Harbormaster. She stated how nice it soilis to have a full board. Also, that maybe for the December 19`h meeting, an invite to Justin Sternberg, the Blue Pipeline representative to come and talk. CITIZEN COMMENTS Anthony Baaclan stated he is not in favor of a stoplight. He also thinks something should be done to bring the cruise ship visitors into town. He congratulated the new board members. BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE TO CITIZENS' COMMENTS The Jeff Bridges stated that administration would work with DOT to look into a stoplight or similar solution for the intersection of Port and Seward Highway. Schneider said that Jonah Swiderski who has Seward City Tours has a package for visitors from the cruise ships. It is the cruise ships that determine what activities their patrons get to do. She suggested that the downtown merchants should come together and talk to the cruise ship companies about a downtown experience. Paquette also thanked JAG and stated that it is the cruise ship companies that create the packages that visitors have and that maybe better marketing for the local businesses should be approached from a new perspective. 1 ADJOURNMENT ugi Meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m. 900a40 GeNeil Flaherty Chris Terry Executive Liaison �Qga,o,„,�u Chair (� ee:4 OFS4 ,`; � `OW Qg„A``Sb v (City Seal i ♦�• SEAL . _ —.' 1 .1 or ,.