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Home My WebLink About07152020 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 Volume 41,Page 235 CALL TO ORDER The July 15, 2020 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Vice Mayor Sue McClure 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 (telephonically) Julie Crites (telephonically) comprising a quorum of the Council; and Scott Meszaros, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Holly Wells, City Attorney(telephonically) Excused—Osenga 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. Unless otherwise noted, the following Citizen Comments were submitted in advance and read into the record by the City Clerk: Sheila Squires said she was unaware of tonight's meeting, and was concerned because it affected local businesses. She wanted more information about how the application process would work to obtain CARES Act funding. Tara Reimer was the President and CEO of the Alaska SeaLife Center(ASLC) and said tonight's resolution was for a loan that she was applying for,but was not sure would have to be used; the deadline was drawing near for the loan application,so tonight's resolution was important from a timing perspective. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 Volume 41, Page 236 1 Motion (McClure/Seese) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda yid Mayor Terry passed the gavel to Vice Mayor McClure and declared she had a potential conflict of interest because she was a board member and secretary. Terry stated she had no financial involvement with the Alaska SeaLife Center. Vice Mayor McClure ruled that no conflict existed with no objection from council. McClure passed the gavel back to Terry. Terry moved Resolution 2020-056 onto the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2020-056,Authorizing The Seward Association For The Advancement Of Marine Science (SAAMS) To Encumber A Lien On The Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) Property Supporting A Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan. NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2020-055,Establishing A Municipal Recovery Program Business Economic Relief Grant And Non-Profit Assistance Program In Response To The Economic Upheaval Caused By The Measures Taken In The Face Of The COVID-19 Pandemic. Motion (McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2020-055 Meszaros stated the public notice for tonight's meeting followed the normal protocols for noticing any meeting. Once the grant program was finalized, the city would make sure all business owners received the information. Meszaros said there were two items he wanted council to consider amending: the Tier 1 category for businesses should be changed from $20,000 to $50,000; and, the restriction for a business to receive Federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds should be stricken. Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District(KPEDD)Director Tim Dillon said he had worked with several cities around the peninsula to help create plans for distributing CARES Act funds. Dillon said the goal was to get money into peoples' hands so that they could survive the winter. In response to Butts, Meszaros said he anticipated the process, from application submission through check issuance,to take no more than three weeks. Meszaros said the applications would be ready on Monday. In response to Terry, Meszaros said he would like the grant review committee to be formed for the non-profits to include Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jason Bickling,one council City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 Volume 41,Page 237 member, one business owner, and Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District Director Tim Dillon to review the applications. Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the"How To Apply" FAQs by striking all references to Federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans, and updating the application as necessary. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the"Grants Program" under Tier 1 by striking "$20,000" and replacing it with "$50,000." Terry said this was discussed at the work session, and was intended to assist people whose businesses were their livelihood, and not just a hobby. Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Crites,McClure, Butts, Seese, Terry No: Baclaan Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Seese) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the"Grants Program" by creating a new Tier 1 which reads,"Tier 1—Up to$1,500 for businesses with 2019 revenues of$20,000 to $50,000" and move all other Tiers down. Baclaan wanted to provide smaller businesses with an opportunity to recoup some losses. In response to Seese,Meszaros said funds would continue to be distributed until exhausted. Motion to Amend Passed Yes:McClure,Butts,Baclaan,Seese,Terry No: Crites Terry wondered what the plan was for using$750,000 that was proposed for City Resiliency and Recovery. She wasn't sure the city had the staffing resources available to dedicate to this endeavor. Motion to Amend (Terry/Seese) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the"Grants Program" by doubling the dollar amounts for Tiers 2-5, and moving $750,000 from City Resiliency and Recovery to Business Recovery Grants. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 Volume 41, Page 238 Terry said, prior to this motion, the city would be providing 32% of the funds available to businesses; this motion would put 46% of the funds into the local economy. She said small businesses were the backbone of the economy and they needed all the support they could get. Terry wanted to help local businesses survive the winter and come back next year. Baclaan supported this motion,and wondered where the city had spent money on this virus; testing was done by the healthcare facilities. He didn't understand what direct expenses were incurred by the city. McClure wanted to support local businesses and non-profits. Crites said her only concern was that the city remained in a healthy position so that property taxes didn't get raised. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Seese/Terry) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the"Grants Program" for Tiers 2-5 by adding one dollar to the starting threshold. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/Seese) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the "Application" for the deadline by striking ..r the words "...by 5 p.m. on September 25th, 2020" and replacing them with "between July 20 and August 10, 2020." Terry wanted to start this program on Monday and have it open for three weeks in order to quickly get some funds into the economy, and then have an opportunity to reassess. Seese said, as a former bookkeeper, she knew how many businesses relied on their accountant or bookkeeper to handle things,and she felt like three weeks would be a short turnaround time. McClure thought the application was fairly simple. Seese said the issue was bookkeepers would be relied upon to provide income information on behalf of their clients. Baclaan wondered if there was a local non-profit that could help with that process; he added that the Chamber of Commerce had also offered assistance. Motion to Amend Passed Yes:McClure,Butts,Crites,Baclaan,Terry No: Seese Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2020-055 in the City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 Volume 41,Page 239 "Application" for the deadline by striking "August 10"and replacing it with"August 12." Motion to Amend Passed Yes:Butts,Baclaan,McClure,Crites,Terry No: Seese McClure wondered what businesses did not pay borough tax.In response,Dillon said some businesses used booking agents and would not have to submit sales tax directly. City Clerk Brenda Ballou asked for clarification about business license effective dates. In response,Terry said businesses would be required to have had a valid city business license by year end 2019, as well as an active, current 2020 license. Ballou asked for clarification on the application where it required a business to have a permanent physical location in the city. McClure said some businesses did not have a brick-and- mortar location;the way the application was written,there could be some wrong answers provided inadvertently.Terry wondered if this question was designed to separate out businesses who should be applying for funds from the borough rather than the city;she thought the question should remain as it was written.Meszaros said the question was moot because the businesses would be proving they had a valid city business license and they paid sales tax to the borough. Terry said,as this process was rolled out,if the city manager ran into any issues,he needed to bring those back to council very quickly to be addressed.Dillon reminded everyone that there was an appeal process outlined in the documents, so that would be an avenue for businesses to have their cases heard. Baclaan questioned the allotment of$250,000 to CARES Act Administration&Non-Payroll Expenditures;he thought this sounded like a high number for administering these funds, although some of it would go to legal fees. Meszaros said this figure included all the expenses that the city incurred;he added that the categories were predesignated and he just filled in the dollar amounts.In response to Seese,Meszaros confirmed that if a third party administered the program,any expense related to that would come from this fund. Main Motion Passed Unanimous CITIZEN COMMENTS —None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Meszaros thanked Dillon for helping the city navigate through this process. Dillon was proud of how things were being handled throughout the peninsula;to date,there had been approximately$30 million disbursed. Cityof Seward,Alaska CityCouncil Special MeetingMinutes P July 15,2020 Volume 41,Page 240 Crites was happy to have this resolution approved.She thanked administration and Dillon for their work. Butts thanked everyone for their hard work on this. Wash your hands. Seese thanked Dillon for helping Seward businesses. She was proud of council and the city for getting this done. Baclaan thanked Dillon for his help; he appreciated Dillon's knowledge and support. He thanked Terry for doubling the money for the businesses.Baclaan requested anyone who was sick to please stay home;take care of each other and be responsible.He encouraged anyone with questions to reach out. McClure thanked Dillon and administration for putting this together. She noted there was a lot of misinformation out there;she hoped there would be very clear directions for the businesses to follow when applying for these funds. Terry echoed everyone's'thanks to Dillon,administration and the Chamber of Commerce. She announced that the borough mayor would be in Seward on Saturday from 1:30-5:30 p.m. at Branson Pavilion. She encouraged everyone to go and remind the borough mayor that the borough used Seward's sales tax to justify the borough's CARES Act funding decisions, but were not providing any of those funds to Seward businesses or any other cities' businesses around the borough. As well,let the borough mayor know that Seward wants their schools to be fully funded, that Seward wants help with the airport and moving the Resurrection River,and let him know how important it was that KPEDD continue to be funded. Terry wanted everyone to help represent the city and let the borough know that Seward wanted support and good representation. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. IOW renda J. :a to , MC s Terry City Clerk .►••"' s. ,+ ayor ♦.( OF S�,Sgo r. (City.emiecOFtPO ),_.... 0 • SEAL ? • OF A1-�` �• ., '• ......,.. • • .,,.r