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Home My WebLink About11062019 PACAB Minutes City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Regular Meeting Minutes November 6,2019 Volume 3,Page 399 CALL TO ORDER The November 6, 2019 regular meeting of the Port and Commerce Advisory Board was called to order at 12:00 p.m. by Vice Chair Bruce Jaffa. OPENING CEREMONY Colby Lawrence led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. SWEAR IN NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS: Laura Schneider, Chair,Term Expiring July, 2020 ROLL CALL There were present: Bruce Jaffa presiding, and Comes Colby Lawrence Lynda-Paquette Laura Schneider Erin Lemas comprising a quorum of the board; and Norm Regis, Harbormaster Jessica Stallard, Deputy City Clerk Excused—Hughes, Paquette Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Phil Kaluza thanked the board for supporting the changes to the renewable energy interconnect policy. He said there was a 50 % savings when using heat pumps instead of carbon oil. He said he met with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Palmer, and they said Seward qualified for the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) with a zero interest loan. He said the program was a chance for utilities to loan money to their customers without costing the utilities company any money. Tony Baclaan congratulated Laura Schneider on becoming PACAB Chair. He said he was the new council liaison for PACAB. He was excited to work with the board and to see the new steps for the Climate Action Plan. He supported the Rural Energy Savings Program, but he wanted to make sure individuals of all income levels and living situations were being considered when changes were made to utilities. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Regular Meeting Minutes November 6,2019 Volume 3,Page 400 Carol Griswold did not support the railroad dock building commercial businesses that would compete with local businesses. She was concerned about the impact of the navy ships coming to Seward. She was concerned the cruise ship dock might not be big enough to accommodate the navy ships and cruise ships. She encouraged the cruise ship dock to provide onshore power. She asked the board to include the completion of the float system and improvement of the drainage,especially on the east side of JAG, to the SMIC Development Plan. She supported the air-to-air heat exchange program and the weatherization program. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Jaffa/Lawrence) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Schneider removed "Discuss the Lowell Point sewage lagoon", "Discuss 5G", and "Discuss electric car charging stations"from the agenda. Schneider added"Set topic for November 13,219 work session"to the agenda. In response to Jaffa, City Clerk Brenda Ballou clarified that a board member attending a meeting telephonically did not count towards a quorum and was not eligible to vote. Motion Passed Unanimous The city clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the October 30, 2019 PACAB Special Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Alaska Railroad Report. Christy Terry thanked the board. In response to Schneider, Terry said the railroad was asking to have the infrastructure put in place for onshore power. Chamber of Commerce Report. Jason Bickling introduced himself as the new Chamber of Commerce Director. In response to Jaffa, Bickling said his knowledge of the Chamber's working relationship with PACAB was very limited but he hoped to gain a better understanding of this relationship through working with the board. Harbormaster Report. Harbormaster Norm Regis said he met with the Coast Guard on Monday, November 4, 2019 with Senator Dan Sullivan. He said Senator Sullivan offered his assistance to the Coast Guard. Regis said he was waiting to see what kind of float system the U.S. Coast Guard would be using before completing the float system at SMIC. All city leases with SMIC were on hold until the Coast Guard land requirements were met. In response to Lawrence, Regis said 28 personnel would be on the U.S. Coast Guard ship visiting November 4-8,2019, along with 2-8 maintenance personnel. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2019 Volume 3,Page 401 In response to Jaffa, Regis said the Coast Guard facility in Seward housed 12 individuals and it had been recently remodeled. He said they were looking for 2 to 3 bedroom houses and duplexes but they might have to add a few rooms to the Coast Guard housing in Seward. In response to Jaffa, Deputy Harbormaster Matt Chase said the harbor had 56 stalls and 60 vessels at SMIC, including the businesses on the uplands. He said 30 of the 56 stalls were spoken for. Regis said revenues were up and SMIC was in the black $23,000 and would not be relying on the General Fund anymore. In response to Schneider, Regis said one Coast Guard ship would be coming to Seward. He said there was currently no written plan for the Coast Guard visit, but they would be working with Community Development on housing for them. In response to Jaffa, Regis said himself, Senator Dan Sullivan, City Manager Scott Meszaros, Community Development Director Jackie Wilde, Mayor Christy Terry, 3 men from the Coast Guard, and Public Works Director Doug Schoessler were in attendance at Monday's meeting with the Coast Guard. He said the Coast Guard cutter Healy was mentioned during the meeting,but this ship would remain stationed in Seattle,WA for the foreseeable future. Administration Report.—None Jaffa encouraged the City Manager to attend PACAB meetings. Jackie Wilde said the Senator spoke about the possibility of funding another Coast Guard ship, and he wanted the 6 icebreaker vessels to come to Alaska. Community Development had been working with the US Coast Guard at the federal level to make a plan for when they come to Seward. Other Reports, Announcements, and Presentations—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda Discuss next steps for the Climate Action Plan committee. Schneider said Dr. Micah Hahn and some of her co-workers at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) were working on a grant to start a Climate Action Plan committee at the university level. She said she could not attend AML, but Dr. Hahn would be holding a training session about the Climate Action Plan on Friday, November 22, 2019. She asked Regis to see if the City Manager or his Executive Liaison could attend AML on Friday, November 22, 2019 and report back to the board at their December 4, 2019 meeting. Schneider said she would meet with the Climate Action Plan committee and bring this discussion back at a future date. . Removed from agenda City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2019 Volume 3, Page 402 Review and update PACAB's City, State, and Federal Priorities. Schneider said this topic was discussed at a past work session. She requested to see the working document for the following year rather than the current year. Discuss annual review of the SMIC Development Plan. The board reviewed the SMIC Development Plan spreadsheet up until the line, "Identify and reserve a site for a fire station to serve the Fourth of July area". Motion to Postpone (Jaffa/Schneider) Postpone the remainder of the discussion on the SMIC Development Plan to the December 4, 2019 meeting. Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss 5C. Removed from agenda Discuss cicctri^ ^ charging stations. Removed from agenda NEW BUSINESS Resolutions—None Other New Business Items Review Utility infrastructure for future growth and development/rate study. In response to Lemas, City Manager Scott Meszaros said the rate study was incomplete but he expected it to be completed in either 2019 or 2020. Discuss providing a written report to Council in the 4' quarter. The board directed Schneider to provide a written report to council for the December 9, 2019 council meeting. Discuss and set topic for November 13, 2019. The board set the topic for the November 13, 2019 work session as "Discuss PACAB priorities and goals for 2020". INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS PACAB 2019 Goal Calendar. PACAB Resolution 2019-01, PACAB Priorities from February, 2019 to February, 2020. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2019 Volume 3, Page 403 Nov. 2019—Jan. 2020 Calendars BOARD COMMENTS Lemas thanked everyone for attending the meeting. Jaffa thanked Schneider for being prepared, organized, and thoughtful. He said PACAB functioned best with a good working relationship with both the city manager and the community. He thanked Baclaan, Terry, and the city manager. He thanked everyone for attending the meeting and said he appreciated the opportunity to serve on PACAB. Schneider thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. CITIZEN COMMENTS Carol Griswold asked if derelict vessels occupied some of the stalls at SMIC. She asked PACAB and the Chamber to support online sales tax. She suggested the board use Juneau and Anchorage's Climate Action Plans as guides. She believed the cell tower leases should be appraised differently than other leases. She asked the board to include cleaning up Polar Seafoods and Raibow in the SMIC Development Plan. BOARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS—None ADJOURNMENT This meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Jessica Stallard Laura Schneider Deputy City Clerk Chair (City Seal) OF •... ....... f •2 ' • : • I SEAL • -.•- s • do �tigrF OF ASP,:••••