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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02242020 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 24, 2020 Volume 91, Page 107 CALL TO ORDER The February 24, 2020 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY City Manager Scott Meszaros led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Sue McClure Sharyl-Seese John Osenga Tony Baclaan Dale Butts Julie Crites comprising a quorum of the Council; and Scott Meszaros, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused— Seese Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Carol Griswold shared her opinions on the various law firms. She believed Landye Bennett Blumstein had the largest pool of attorneys with the most experience,and thought this firm would be the best match for Seward. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous There were no consent agenda items. NEW BUSINESS Other New Business • I City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 24,2020 Volume 41,Page 108 Review and score the responsive proposals for the City's legal services. Terry outlined that the packet included the actual proposal,the city manager's memo,and the responsive proposals from each firm. Terry added that Birch Hortner Bittner & Cherot had not submitted a proposal,so they would not be considered tonight,although their flat fee agreement had been included in the packet for comparison purposes. Terry requested that council relax the rules to allow for easy council engagement and discussion;there was no objection from council. Terry asked the city manager for his recommendation on how to approach the scoring of these proposals. Meszaros said he had provided a memorandum in the packet outlining his recommendations. He considered all firms to be qualified,and all proposals were responsive;there were,however,various pros and cons with each one. Meszaros expressed concerns about the back log of work the city had with the current city attorney firm.He added that he wished for a cleaner pathway for delegating work to the city attorney so they understood what priorities to work on;he thought council should be in charge of making the decisions for prioritizing the city attorney's workload.In response,Terry wondered if establishing a budget line item for each department for legal services would help. She added that, sometimes the city attorney was engaged in legal reviews on items that were discussed,that council did not always ask for,so perhaps there could be some confirmation sought from council as to whether they wished the attorney to be engaged on certain items.Baclaan said most legal fees fell under council's budget, and when referencing a back log of work,he thought that spoke to the firm's ability to get work done in a timely and efficient manner. Baclaan was concerned that the current firm's billing did not provide enough details to identify where and how the hours and costs were actually being spent;he looked forward to receiving more clearly outlined bills. Terry suggested that each proposal be reviewed,and then council could decide which firm(s) they wished to interview. Landye Bennett Blumstein,LLP Meszaros said Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP(LBB)also represented the Alaska Municipal League/Joint Insurance Association(AML/JIA) as a client. He said,because of this, if the City of Seward ever had a conflict with the Alaska Municipal League(AML)or with AMUJIA in the future, there would be the potential for the city having to find a different firm to work with. Baclaan appreciated that LBB included training for council in their proposal,as well as the consideration of combining expertise and not duplicating it. He also liked that there were two fee options included. Terry was pleased to see the City of Wasilla included as a reference because they were doing good things,as well as Nils Andreassen from AML;she wished to have all references checked for all City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 24, 2020 Volume 41,Page 109 the firms.Baclaan added that he had been impressed with the presentation that Matt Mead from LBB had provided at the AML Conference. Osenga wondered how many attorney hours the city had used for the past couple of months. Meszaros said the total for January was 75 hours.In response to Butts,Meszaros did not confirm that any current litigation that the city was involved with now would have to be completed by the current law firm,but said there would be a transition plan developed for day-to-day items. Terry stated that she was interested in having this firm's references checked and was interested in interviewing them; council verbally concurred. Boyd, Chandler, Falconer & Munson, LLP Baclaan appreciated that this firm had experience with city code, zoning,building codes, derelict buildings and vessels,planning and zoning enforcement, labor law, and utilities. McClure was concerned that this firm's practice was to attend council meetings in person only when council requested their attendance,and not as a matter of standard practice;she thought council had become accustomed to having the attorney present once a month,although perhaps that was unnecessary. Baclaan thought the current attorney usually spoke to their monthly report when they were in attendance at council meetings,and so he didn't think that was enough reason to have them attend in person. Terry was concerned that this firm suggested providing annual reports to council rather than monthly. She believed council needed to be thoughtful and deliberative, and so annual reports seemed too infrequent. In response to Terry, Meszaros said when the current attorney traveled to Seward to attend a council meeting;they usually stayed the day after to work with administration. Jermain,Dunnagan & Owens, PC Meszaros said this firm was recently hired by the City of Homer,and they had been the City of Seward's bond attorney firm for many years. Terry wondered what"computerized legal research access"meant in their proposal. Baclaan said he received feedback from council members from other cities about this firm that indicated difficulty getting responses from the firm; one city also indicated the fees had increased up and up over time. Baclaan said he thought the proposal was fairly vague and lacked specifics. Terry was pleased to see the Kenai Peninsula Borough listed as a reference for this firm,and McClure concurred. Baclaan added that Michael Gotti gave a great presentation at the AML Conference relating to the Open Meetings Act. Butts thought this firm had the most staff and promoted themselves as a full-service law firm. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 24, 2020 Volume 41, Page 110 Motion (Terry/McClure) Invite Landye Bennett Blumstein, LLP to interview with council. Motion Passed Yes:Osenga,McClure,Butts,Crites,Terry No: Baclaan Motion (Terry/McClure) Invite Boyd,Chandler,Falconer&Munson, LLP to interview with council. Motion Passed Unanimous Motion (Terry/McClure) Invite Jermain,Dunnagan&Owens,PC to interview with council. Motion Failed Yes: Crites No: Baclaan, Osenga, McClure, Butts, Terry Council directed the city manager and city clerk to coordinate scheduling the public interviews. Current Flat Fee Agreement with Birch Horton Bittner& Cherot, Inc. There was no discussion related to this item. CITIZEN COMMENTS Carol Griswold suggested that a flat fee billing may not be appropriate for the city,and she appreciated the possibility of having the attorney attend council meetings only as needed. She supported having monthly,or even weekly,reports on hours spent. Griswold thought the main lead attorney should be present during the interview. She reminded everyone how complicated Seward was, and wanted to be sure the new firm could handle it. Lynda Paquette was excited about the potential of having a new firm,and appreciated that council was being mindful of expenses. Paquette suggested perhaps Skype could be used for the attorney to be virtually present at council meetings in order to save on costs. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Baclaan thanked Carol Griswold and Lynda Paquette for attending the meeting and providing comments. Crites appreciated the public's input. Terry wondered what questions would be asked at the interview. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 24,2020 Volume 41,Page 111 111 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:58 p.m. , Brenda J. Ball , MMC ty Terry City Clerk Mayor • (City St° oR o E114 . • le SEAL •1 o E --•— %.l'Z OF A04.04 w