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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06162020 City Council Special Mtg Minutes City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes June 16, 2020 Volume 41, Page 197 CALL TO ORDER `re The June 16,2020 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 11:00 a.m. by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY City Clerk Brenda Ballou 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 Excused—Osenga, Crites, Butts Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING—None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Baclaan) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous There were no consent agenda items. NEW BUSINESS Terry provided an overview of the procedure for conducting the interviews. Each firm would have up to 15 minutes to provide a presentation to council, followed by council members taking turns to ask pre-determined interview questions. Council members were advised to take notes that they could refer back to later when the interviews were scored. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes June 16, 2020 Volume 41,Page 198 Conduct interviews with city attorney firm candidates. Boyd,Chandler, Falconer& Munson,LLP Attorney Brooks Chandler provided a brief presentation. He said he had first moved to Alaska in 1977, and by 1986 had started his own law firm in Anchorage. His firm served as the longest serving city attorney firm in the history of the cities of Nome, Dillingham, and Unalaska. Chandler stated that he would personally handle 85-90%of the work for Seward for at least the first year so that he could get a clear understanding of the issues facing the city. He would be assisted by his partner, Patrick Munson,who had a specialty in labor and employment. Chandler said his understanding was that assignments would be routed to his firm through the city manager, city clerk, or the mayor in order to control the budget and prioritize the work. He provided a flat fee option, and would want to define the scope of work; he didn't recommend continuing with the current fee structure being used by the city. Chandler said he loved being a municipal attorney,and that local government was the purest form of democracy.He understood that hundreds of hours of service were provided by local elected and appointed officials,and he appreciated those who served because they wanted to contribute to their community. Council conducted a round robin interview of the candidate. Council recessed at 11:47 a.m. Council resumed at 1:00 p.m. Landeye,Bennett,Blumstein,LLP Attorneys Matt Mead and Leslie Need provided a brief presentation.Mead said LBB was established in 1979; they had 18 attorneys in Alaska, and 12 more in a second office in Portland, Oregon. Mead said some of their current clients included the cities of Wasilla, Emmonak, and Chignik, as well as the Northwest Arctic Borough. LBB also worked closely with the Alaska Municipal League. The firm had expertise with native corporations and tribal governments, real estate property, banking and bankruptcy, general litigation, taxation, utilities (telephone), remote seller sales tax, and labor and employment. Need said she and Mead would be the primary points of contact for Seward,and they would assign work to the appropriate attorney within their firm.She said they would also be responsible for keeping an eye on the budget and bills. Mead and Need said the cost proposals they provided could be adjusted as council wished. They offered to provide training to council members,as well as employees. They were prepared to attend council meetings as often as desired. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes June 16, 2020 Volume 41, Page 199 Mead and Need said they believed that open communication was important. Mead said he would rather be fired for giving good advice than be retained for giving bad advice. Council conducted a round robin interview of the candidate. Council directed the city clerk to provide a score sheet at the June 22, 2020 council meeting so the body could conduct an evaluation of the interview and make a selection. CITIZEN COMMENTS—None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Seese thanked all the attorneys for traveling to Seward for the interviews today,and was glad the weather was good. Baclaan agreed it was a nice day, and thanked the attorneys for driving to Seward. McClure thanked the attorneys and said it was always sunny in Seward. Terry agreed that it was always sunny in Seward, and was thankful for the traffic because it meant visitors. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 1:57 p.m. Brenda J. Ballou, MC 's Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Sear,►)• O* SEkq•. • t SEAL = • -n . vas:?:?Alt. �tigTF OF A\r,