HomeMy WebLinkAbout03232020 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 127
CALL TO ORDER
The March 23,2020 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00
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
Holly Wells, City Attorney(telephonically)
Excused—None
Absent—None
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
The City of Seward is currently experiencing a declared public health emergency due to Coronavirus
Disease 2019(COVID-19),so alternate methods for providing Citizen Comments were created. The
following written Citizen Comments were submitted in advance and read into the record by the City
Clerk:
Carol Griswold wrote, "If the new Parks and Rec Toolcat had not gone through the ice at
Second Lake on January 7th, would Parks and Rec be asking for another new Toolcat now?
According to the Resolution,insurance paid$46,890,minus the$10,000 deductible.But apparently
the Toolcat wasn't totaled; it was repaired and is now in use at the Harbor. When did the Harbor
request a Toolcat? I don't recall this going through the budget or Council process. In the interest of
being very conservative with expenditures in these uncertain times, I would rather Council put the
insurance money back in the Motor Pool or General Fund and give the repaired Toolcat back to
Parks and Rec where it belongs. Let the Harbor make its case for a Toolcat separately through the
budget process if necessary."
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23, 2020 Volume 41,Page 128
Michael Mahmood wrote, "I think that the city should not enter into agreement with the
Financial Engineer Company to do an electrical rate study. I think they should put this out to bid."
Bruce Jaffa wrote, "As a general note for our times I offer this comment. When no
emergency exists it is often easy to assume money or effort for a future eventuality may not be
needed. We often see this reticence in all disaster planning even, fire and police protection. When
current expenditures work,there appears to be less need for them. At times of trial and stress,it is
important to act smartly and deliberately. Now is that time.I speak in favor of Resolution 2020-004.
Passing this resolution will allow an immediate implementation of other rule changes critical to
fighting the current COVID-19 contagion. A "sunset provision" is included and should not be
abused. I firmly support Resolution 2020-024 that continues planning for the Lowell Canyon Flood
Diversion Feasibility Study. This resolution follows previous approvals of funding for this joint
multi-agency effort. The feasibility study will provide for the best technical solution to the Lowell
Canyon Diversion Tunnel. Voting for 2020-024 is forward thinking. Resolutions 2020-025 and
2020-026 provide extraordinary authority to the Manager to deal with an unprecedented public health
dilemma. I fully support a strict interpretation of our Federal Constitution,the State and Local Laws
that flow from it. I also understand tactics and in a battle there must be a unified control.Providing
this power to the manager,who I take to be a good man,with the"sunset provision"and oversight of
the Council is appropriate and necessary. I support the passage of these resolutions."
Sarah Spanos wrote,"Please share with the Seward City Council that I would support the
electric utility study to follow the proper procurement procedure and have this be put out for an RFP.
Also,I would like to see the suspension of the seasonal electrical rate,slated for increase mid April,
to be suspended indefinitely until the COV19 issue has passed."
A representative from the Seward Community Health Center provided the following comments:
Albi Tatum stated, "I'm a nurse and clinical supervisor at Seward Community Health
Center,training officer and EMT 3 with Seward Volunteer ambulance and hometown Seward girl. I
grew up in Seward,graduated from high school here,left for 20 years and almost two years ago my
family and I finally moved home. Seward is and always will be my home. I wrote this previous to
the Governor's Health Mandate Number 10,but it's still relevant.I come to you today as a healthcare
provider,representing the Seward Community Health Center with the support of other health care
entities in our community to desperately urge the local and state leaders to immediately issue a strict
shelter in place order in addition to a strict statewide travel ban. It is our recommendation that in
addition to limiting highway traffic to essential travel only as outlined by state officials with their
strong advisory on Friday, that we also place the same limitations on our port ensuring that any
vessels that come into the port are held to the same standards. Additionally, even those that fall
under the Critical Workforce Infrastructure should be held to a very high standard with specific
direction from the leadership on the expectations. For example,if a seafood processor,which does
fall under that critical infrastructure,is continuing to bring people into the community because they
fall under the critical workforce umbrella and they cannot abide by the recommended quarantine
guidelines they should be forced to self-isolate as a company and restrict their employees from going
anywhere except their facility and their housing. The following are excerpts from a letter by the
Collective Physicians of Alaska which was sent to the Governor's office on March 21'. They wrote:
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 129
"Data suggests that the majority of COVID19 infections are transferred from people who are
asymptomatic.Until we build the testing capacity to test everyone in the state and everyone coming
into the state and receive rapid results, the only solution to contain this outbreak is to institute an
immediate non-essential travel ban and home quarantine. We thank you for the steps that you have
already taken to restrict travel and encourage Alaskans to stay home, however,recommendations
against non-essential travel, and for voluntary self-isolation and social distancing are insufficient.
Due to the currently low number of reported cases,many Alaskans have not embraced the need for
more stringent measures and are continuing to move around the state without regard for their
potential to be affected or to be a carrier.This disregard has consequences which we have seen borne
out in other regions.The death toll is rising in New York,medical systems are near collapse in Italy
and our citizens continue to interact with large numbers of people for non-urgent causes. Our
medical resources are finite and we are potentially a week away from New York and 2-3 weeks from
Italy."
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (McClure/Seese) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
McClure removed Resolution 2020-022 from the consent agenda.
Seese removed Resolution 2020-023 from the consent agenda.
Terry removed Resolutions 2020-025 and 2020-026 from the consent agenda.
it
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
Resolution 2020-021,Retroactively Amending The 2019 Budget To Record Expenditures Of
$315,712.36 Paid By The State Of Alaska On Behalf Of The City Toward The City's Public
Employees Retirement System Liability For The Period January Through December, 2019,
And Appropriating Funds.
Resolution 2020-024,Authorizing Additional Matching Funds In The Amount Of$150,000 For
The City's Share Of Funding For The Lowell Creek Flood Diversion Feasibility Study,And
Appropriating Funds.
Approval of the March 9,2020 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.
Send letter of support for the appointment of Robert Ruffner to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23, 2020 Volume 41,Page 130
Seward's Day Proclamation
City Attorney Holly Wells joined the meeting telephonically.
City Manager Report. Scott Meszaros reported the following purchase orders between
$5,000 and$30,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: None.
Meszaros announced that the Deputy Fire Chief had been hired,the Human Resources officer
had submitted his resignation,and that the Library's seasonal positions would not be filled right now.
In response to Butts,Meszaros said all non-essential employees were working full-time from
home, and essential employees were working full-time from their offices, including the police
department and all department heads. All city travel had been cancelled. Employees who were
working from home may be tasked with helping out in different areas. Not all employees owned
computers at home,and the city was not connecting personally-owned devices to the city's systems.
In response to Butts, Meszaros said the city had activated a virtual Emergency Operations
Center(EOC).
In response to Baclaan, Meszaros confirmed the personnel officer was leaving. Baclaan
wondered if outsourcing that position would be feasible.Meszaros said he would have to review the
duties of the position and determine whether it could be handled in that way. Terry suggested
speaking to the Alaska Municipal League(AML)about outsourcing Human Resources.In response
to McClure,Meszaros said the seasonal positions had started to be advertised,but it was difficult to
know right now how they would be interviewed, and even if they would be needed.
In response to Baclaan,Meszaros said he would like to have council direction on whether or
not to issue a shelter-in-place mandate. Meszaros said the city was trying to be proactive with the
measures it was taking.
Baclaan asked if the seasonal electric rate could be addressed,and wondered if perhaps the
seasonal summer rate could be suspended.He wondered what the potential impact would be.Seese,
McClure,and Terry suggested the summer rate increase could be delayed.Electric Utility Manager
John Foutz cautioned council about cutting the summer rate because of the impact it would have on
the city's revenues. Terry reiterated Baclaan's original request of examining what the potential
impact would be. Meszaros stated that other communities were planning to forgive late fees and
interest, but were not planning to reduce the actual rates. Baclaan appreciated the city manager's
input,but said he would like to see what the potential impact would be;he was bringing this forward
at the wish of the public who had contacted him.
Council directed the city manager to look at the impact of not instituting the seasonal summer rate
for 30 days and 60 days by Friday this week.
Terry wished to impose a "Hunker Down" order, similar to the one put in place for
Anchorage which was in effect until March 31, 2020. Crites and Baclaan concurred.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23, 2020 Volume 41,Page 131
Motion (Terry/Crites) Establish an emergency"Hunker Down"
order for the City of Seward modeled after
the Municipality of Anchorage, going into
effect March 25, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. and
ending April 24,2020 at 5:00 p.m.
Butts thought the city was complying with the governor's mandates,and was concerned that
if the city imposed additional restrictions,the city would potentially be held accountable to provide
financial relief to businesses in the future.Baclaan agreed that the city was already complying,but he
thought it would be beneficial if the city's Hunker Down was released as a guideline, not an
enforceable mandate. McClure thought Seward had already complied with the state mandates for
non-essential closures. Meszaros said he would accept council's direction to impose a Shelter-In-
Place for Seward because it would be in keeping with the governor's mandates.
Motion Failed Yes: Baclaan,Crites,Terry
No: Butts,McClure,Osenga,Seese
Terry said the Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) had submitted a letter requesting some
financial relief;the city owned the building.Meszaros said this was the time of year for the ASLC to
start earning revenues,but because of the situation that couldn't happen. He said they had reserve
funds, but they had requested to delay payments on their electric bill; he added the city was not
charging late fees. Meszaros said the ASLC had requested to use Commercial Passenger Vessel
(CPV)funds,but he would be more comfortable having the finance director deliberate that request.
Baclaan believed the ASLC was an integral part of the fabric of Seward. Baclaan was torn
because he wished the ASLC would diversify their revenue streams more,but he also wanted to help
them;he requested to see their plan to remedy their financial hardship situation long-term.Seese said
the ASLC was not the only business in town that needed help. McClure wondered if using
Commercial Passenger Vessel(CPV)funds to help the ASLC would be allowable.Terry stated that
council had a general consensus that they would like to see how the ASLC planned to address the
shortfall in the future,and to look at potential funding sources,including CPV,if possible. Meszaros
said he would investigate and bring something back for council's consideration.
City Attorney Report.Holly Wells reported that the firm had spent 20 hours on personnel
issues, costing $14,000, and 32 hours on other legal work. The city's insurance policy required
attorney involvement for any proposed termination,which was part of the reason why the firm had
spent so many hours. In addition, Wells' firm had been preparing memos and updates for all
communities related to upcoming or proposed legislation,and would be sharing that at no charge to
the city.
Baclaan recalled that the city had three 30-minute sessions available for personnel
consultation through the city's insurance firm,AML/JIA;he was concerned that there were so many
personnel issues. Wells agreed that AML/JIA would be a good resource.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 132
Other Reports and Announcements
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jason Bickling joined the meeting telephonically.
Chamber of Commerce Report. Jason Bickling said the chamber's concern, first and
foremost, was for the health and well being of the community. He was immersed in trying to find
resources for businesses and was advocating with legislators on behalf of the business owners. He
was facilitating connecting business needs with available staffthroughout the community.In keeping
with Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) guidelines, Bickling said the chamber had
suspended marketing messages and replaced them with 'find happiness at home' messages.
In response to McClure,Bickling said he was preparing contingency plans for the Fourth of
July Festival and the Mount Marathon Race, and was hoping not to have to cancel.
Baclaan appreciated the chamber's efforts to help local businesses,and wondered what steps
business owners needed to take to apply for Small Business Administration(SBA)loans. Bickling
said the best advice was to apply as soon as possible to get in the queue;business owners could apply
at www.sba.gov/disaster.
In response to Seese, Bickling said the grant writing class was postponed for now, but the
chamber was trying to find ways to teach future classes virtually,including using social media and
Google.
In response to Baclaan,Bidding said the chamber had decided to temporarily suspend filling
the Marketing Director position; instead,the chamber had hired a contractor to help fill the gap.
Terry noted that in the chamber report,it stated that local business owner Bob Candopoulos
had submitted an application to be on the Alaska Economic Stabilization Team,and she wondered if
the chamber would be supporting his application. In response, Bickling said the chamber would
support him, and he would also welcome a letter of support from the city. Terry wished to have
council send a support letter; council concurred. The city manager was directed to send a letter of
support on behalf of the city.
Presentations—None
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment
Terry read the following passage into the record:
Ordinances 20-002 and 20-003 are due to come for public hearing and enactment tonight, but will
be postponed to a future meeting when it is safe for the public to appear and provide testimony, in
keeping with CDC guidelines on COVID-19.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23, 2020 Volume 41,Page 133
Emergency Ordinance for Enactment
Emergency Ordinance 2020-004, Temporarily Authorizing The Suspension And/Or
Modification Of Various Sections Of The Seward City Code And City Council Rules Of
Procedures Manual Regarding Public Meetings And Participation In Order To Ensure The
Health, Safety, And Welfare Of Our Community During The Public Health Emergency
Caused By COVID-19.
Motion (McClure/Osenga) Enact Emergency Ordinance 2020-004
Meszaros stated this emergency ordinance would be in effect for 60 days.
In response to Baclaan, Meszaros said this was in response to the Governor's emergency
declaration of March 11,2020.This ordinance would restrict public gatherings,cancel non-essential
travel,and close public facilities in an effort to contain the spread of the Coronavirus.Meszaros said
current events were changing very rapidly, even throughout the day, and he needed to be able to
respond quickly during this crisis.
Baclaan expressed concerns about the proposed process, and asked for more clarification.
City Attorney Holly Wells said the city manager needed the latitude to make decisions quickly and
effectively under the provisions outlined in the city's Emergency Operations Plan while under the
COVID-19 emergency. Wells said the city's Charter required council to continue having its
regularly-scheduled meetings. Wells added that, in the event two council members requested a
special meeting, but the city manager and mayor overruled and denied their request, the council
members would have the opportunity to bring something forward at the next regularly-scheduled
council meeting.
In response to Terry, Wells stated that these rules were already in place, and council was
ratifying them tonight.If council objected,then council could bring forward a resolution to alter the
rules.
Motion Passed Unanimous
UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None
NEW BUSINESS
Resolutions
Resolution 2020-022,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With
Financial Engineering Company For An Electric Rate Study In An Amount Not To Exceed
$39,850,And Appropriating Funds.
Motion(McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2020-022
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 134
Meszaros said the purpose of this rate study was to specifically examine the industrial rate
class. The vendor proposed to conduct this study had performed the last two rate studies for the
Electric Utilities Department,and had been sole sourced because professional services were exempt
from competitive procurement under city code, and also because they had past experience and
knowledge of the city's system.
McClure said she removed this from the consent agenda in response to public concern that
this was sole sourced and that it was the same vendor who had done the previous rate studies. She
wondered if there were alternative options for going out for a Request for Proposals(RFP). Seese
concurred.
Baclaan wondered how old this quote was,because it listed the services coming out of the
2020 and 2021 budget. In response,Foutz said this quote was from September 2019,for work to be
done in 2020 and 2021.Foutz said that the frozen rates for 2020 needed to be analyzed,and then the
rates for 2021 would have to be adjusted accordingly; this company would perform an analysis on
what the impact of the 2020 rate freeze was.
Baclaan was concerned that the analysis would be based on non-regular data,and wished to
have the analysis performed on regular rate data;he suggested perhaps using 2018 through 2020 data
to reflect two years' worth of regular rates plus one year of special rate data.
In response to Seese,Foutz said previous rate studies had not gone out to RFP before.
Meszaros said he had pushed the Electric Utility Department to correct the rates for the city's
four largest industrial users. Foutz recommended that previous years not be included in the study
because they were already covered under audit conditions; rate studies used previous findings to
project future rates.
Butts thought this resolution needed to wait until the economy stabilized,and with an RFP.
Osenga wondered what the results would be if this study was delayed. Foutz said in 2009,the city
had an industrial rate class in addition to the three it currently has;it was abolished because it was
considered ineffective because the rates were so low.In response to his largest customers asking for
financial assistance,Foutz approached the contractor to look at what re-establishing an industrial rate
class would look like; this would impact three customers.
Terry wished to see an RFP that included an examination of the city's current rates,a review
of the city's current classifications, including the potential of re-establishing an industrial rate, as
well as an efficiency study of the Electric Utility structure from a revenue and expense standpoint.
Terry thought the study could be conducted without requiring the vendor to travel to Seward.
Osenga thought the city should be trying to fix the industrial rate as quickly as possible.Seese
wondered if residents would get a break on their bill if an industrial rate was re-established. In
response to Terry,Meszaros said the situation was difficult because the city needed to charge enough
to make money without overcharging the customers. In response to Osenga,Foutz said this vendor
had performed rate studies for the city previously,and using them again would save the city money;
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 135
in addition, this was the vendor who had introduced the city to seasonal rates, as well as Cost of
Power Adjustment(COPA).
Motion Failed Yes: Osenga
No:Baclaan,Crites,McClure,Butts,Seese,
Terry
Resolution 2020-023, Authorizing A Sole Source Purchase Of A Bobcat Toolcat 5600 From
Craig Taylor Equipment Co. Utilizing National Joint Powers Alliance (NJPA) Discounted
Pricing Available For Governments In An Amount Not To Exceed$58,671,And Appropriating
Funds.
Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2020-023
Meszaros said the Toolcat owned by the Parks&Recreation Department had sunk in First
Lake earlier this year; it was retrieved,but the insurance company said it was totaled and paid the
city$46,890 for the loss.The insurance company didn't want to haul it off,so they offered the city to
buy it for$500; the Harbor Department purchased the recovered Toolcat for$500.
Harbormaster Norm Regis said the Toolcat was running, but not fixed; he had spent
approximately$4,000 to get it running so far, and there were more items that needed to be fixed.
Once it was fixed and operational, Regis said the Toolcat would be used for sweeping and snow
removal.In response to Seese,Regis confirmed that the cost of repair would come from his budget.
In response to Baclaan,Meszaros said the Parks&Recreation Department used their Toolcat
for sweeping sidewalks and snow removal. In response to Butts, Regis confirmed that all the
accessories were interchangeable between all the city-owned Toolcats.
Baclaan wondered if this purchase was absolutely necessary,under the current situation of the
city's state of emergency. In response, Regis said the order would take 2-3 months to come in,and
the city would have to be able sweep parking lots and sidewalks.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Resolution 2020-025, Ratifying Temporary Emergency Operation Rules And Procedures
Implemented By The City Manager In Response To The Public Health Emergency Caused
By COVID-19.
Motion (McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2020-025
Terry stated that she had removed this resolution and the next from the consent agenda
because she wanted to make sure there was an opportunity for a clear explanation of why these were
necessary; she appreciated the city manager bringing them in a timely manner.
Meszaros said after the governor declared a public health emergency for the state, he had
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 136
declared a public health emergency for the city. The rules in this resolution went into effect
immediately following the declaration, and were coming before council to be ratified.
Terry recited a strong advisory message from the State of Alaska: We expect any traveler
who leaves a community with known cases of COVID-19 to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival to
their destination community, and monitor for symptoms of illness.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Resolution 2020-026, Declaring A State Of Emergency In Response To The Coronavirus
(COVID-19) Outbreak And Requesting State And Federal Relief Assistance.
Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2020-026
Terry said she removed this from the consent agenda because she wanted to make the public
aware that this declaration of emergency would be in effect for 30 days. Meszaros added that this
declaration would have to be revisited by council every 30 days hereafter.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Other New Business
Discuss cancelling the Sister City Student Exchange Program.
Council unanimously agreed to cancel the 2020 student exchange program with Obihiro,Japan,and
would automatically accept the 2020 applicants into the 2021 exchange.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS
On-Going City Project and Goal List
February, 2020 City and Providence Financials
Letter from Yeosu, South Korea
Council directed the city clerk to reply to the Mayor of Yeosu, South Korea expressing their
sympathies, and regretting that Seward had no face masks to offer.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Norm Regis said the harbor was open,and boat lifts were being done.The office was closed
to the public,but staff was there. All incoming vessels were being screened with health questions.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN
COMMENTS
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 137
Meszaros said there was aid for businesses through the Alaska Small Business Development
Center; information was available at www.aksbdc.org.
Butts said wash your hands.
Baclaan understood how difficult it was to be at home,but it was so important to limit the
spread of the virus.He urged anyone who might need help to reach out to someone.He believed that
everyone in the city was doing what they could to stay safe, and encouraged everyone to spread
positivity on Facebook.
Crites asked if Albi Tatum could be contacted so she could finish her comments from earlier.
Council recessed at 9:58 p.m.
Council resumed at 10: 02 p.m.
Council suspended the rules.
By Council request, the representative from the Seward Community Health Center was contacted
telephonically to complete her statements:
Albi Tatum continued,"The local healthcare providers in Seward continue to prepare for the
inevitable wave of new cases and critical cases. Local and Borough estimates show that as many as
30 people just in the Seward area will have critical illness associated with COVID19. I can tell you
right now that Seward cannot handle even half of those if they all come at once.As of today at 1:00
p.m.we currently have one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Seward. The capacity to test is severely
limited at this time locally,statewide and nationwide which translates to we don't know how many
cases there currently are in our community.
There is ongoing community collaboration occurring officially 3 times per week and multiple
times daily at the healthcare level to continue our efforts to keep our community healthy and prepare
for what is inevitably coming next. We at the healthcare level are doing all that we can do at this
point.
So now to the personal level of all of this. Every citizen has a critical part to play in how this
pans out for us both nationally and locally. If our healthcare system fails, part of that is on each
person in our city, state and nation. I have noticed some drastic changes over the past week and I
appreciate the changes that have been made thus far but I fear they will not be enough. If you want
to understand the gravity of this situation ponder this for a moment,the United States has one of the
most robust and advanced healthcare systems in the world...all we have right now to combat this is
STAY HOME. That's it. That is all we can do at this point. That is how serious this is. This is an
unknown and invisible enemy. We're not asking people to go out and fight we're asking people to
stay home, severely limit who you come into contact with,and strictly quarantine even if you have
only mild symptoms. Only go to the store if you absolutely have to,only go to the post office if you
MUST and limit the number of times a week you do this. Go alone; don't take your entire family.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
March 23,2020 Volume 41,Page 138
Socially distance no matter where you are. This is all we have right now; this will give our
healthcare system a fighting chance. We don't want to be Italy; small towns like ours have been
some of the hardest hit there.
We need at least 2 weeks but that is just the start,data suggests that drastic measures taken early will
decrease the duration but only if they are drastic. 2 weeks will be a good start.
Again, I on behalf of the Seward Community Health Center with support of our community health
care system as a whole, beg you to impose a strict shelter in place mandate for the community of
Seward and our surrounding jurisdictions and as our city leaders implore you to urgently connect
with the state officials voicing our support of a statewide extensive travel ban."
In response to Terry,Tatum said the Hunker Down rules for Anchorage were more restrictive
than the state's mandates,even within their own community.Tatum said the concern with this virus
was that people were most contagious at the earliest stages when they were asymptomatic.
Council went back on the rules.
Osenga thanked Albi Tatum for her message, and encouraged everyone to adhere to the
guidelines.
Seese thanked Albi Tatum for the information.Seese said the local radio station was in need
of donations if anyone could afford it. She thanked the city manager, city clerk, and police
department,and all the people behind the scenes for all their work.She encouraged everyone to stay
home as much as possible.
McClure encouraged everyone to not judge too quickly or harshly;be kind. She thought it
was important to remember that there were a lot of people who were really alone right now,many
who were accustomed to having socialization,so call people and talk to them.McClure thanked the
city manager and his staff for their work.
Terry assured the public that Seward not only survived, but thrived following the 1964
earthquake. If we pulled together now, social distanced, and acted early and aggressively our
community would come through this.Local businesses were encouraged to take the survey on Kenai
Peninsula Economic Development District (KPEDD) website. She encouraged everyone to get
outside and get fresh air,and she thanked essential and non-essential employees for doing their best.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:18 p.m.
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