Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01112021 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 341 CALL TO ORDER The January 11,2021 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Tony Baclaan Sue McClure Sharyl Seese(telephonically) John Osenga Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda comprising a quorum of the Council; and Norm Regis,Acting City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Brooks Chandler, City Attorney Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Patrick Messmer (telephonically) urged council to adopt the wage study resolution as presented. The process between the city administration and union had been professional and respectful. It saved the city money in the long run to retain employees rather than replace them; it cost the city approximately$50,000 to train and certify a new police officer. One consideration to remember for the employees was that the new insurance that went into effect this year saved the city over $100,000, but was costing the employees more out of pocket. Employees were the most valuable asset for any organization. Carol Griswold was concerned with Resolution 2021-005 because it was poorly written,and she opposed spending additional funds on the contract for the interim electric utility manager; she thought there should be better accountability for expenses. Regarding Resolution 2021-006, Griswold thought the scope of work was vague, and that expenses were not clarified. Iris Darling had recently learned of a local business owner who had been overcharged for utilities, even after requesting for the city to look at the bills to make a correction. She was also concerned that the business owner's city business license was being withheld due to the erroneous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41, Page 342 utility bill, and she wanted the issue to be addressed and corrected. Darling considered the utility billing error to be retaliation toward the business owner. She strongly encouraged council to vote in favor of having a forensic audit conducted. Karen Corrigan(telephonically)supported Resolution 2021-004.She encouraged council to not balk at the dollar amount of this resolution; it indicated how far behind the city's wages were. For employees not in management, a small increase in wages for cost of living was actually overturned by a subsequent increase in medical insurance,and the net effect was often not positive. She wanted no further delay;she challenged council to prove that they cared about the employees by approving this resolution. Lynda Paquette (telephonically) encouraged the city to do what it could to reach the governor and have the highway better maintained; perhaps Seward's borough assembly representative could help. She was a business owner, but was concerned about inviting tourists to travel to Seward if the highway conditions were so bad. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Casagranda removed Resolutions 2021-002, 2021-004, 2021-005, and 2021-006 from the consent agenda. Terry removed Resolution 2021-003 from the agenda. itoiJ Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Ordinance 2021-001, Amending Portions Of Seward City Code Chapters 5.01 And Chapter 5.05—Budget To Create A More Timely,Robust,And Publicly-Involved Budget Process. This ordinance was introduced and will come for public hearing and enactment on January 25, 2021. Resolution 2021-001, Adopting An Alternative Allocation Method For The FY2021 Shared Fisheries Business Tax Program, And Certifying That This Allocation Method Fairly Represents The Distribution Of Significant Effects Of Fisheries Business Activity In The Cook Inlet Fisheries Management Area. Approval of the December 14, 2020 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Non-objection to the liquor license renewal for American Legion Post#5, License#53, Club. Continue the Port& Commerce Advisory Board (PACAB) through January, 2022. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS ,,,.� City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 343 Proclamations & Awards 2021 Polar Bear Jump Recognizing the Retirement of Correctional Officer John Anderson Borough Assembly Report.Kenn Carpenter reported the assembly had held a meeting in person; they passed a resolution to replace Old Exit Glacier Road bridge. They were working on a grant for the Lost Creek bridge, as well. The assembly had new chambers that was two-tiered. Regarding the highway, the Department of Transportation (DOT) was struggling with faulty equipment; two trucks were currently down. City Manager Report.Acting City Manager Norm Regis reported the following purchase orders between$5,000 and$30,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $5,060 for 69 Amp power fuse unit for Electric; $5,995 for back-up software license renewal for MIS; and, $6,280 for glycol removal services for the Seward Marine Industrial Center (SMIC). Regis called council's attention to the federal lobbyist's report in the packet, and said the state lobbyist's report was emailed to council earlier today. Casagranda wondered what the current arrangement was for incoming finance director Jenn Pae.Regis said Pae was working as a contractor.Casagranda was concerned with getting the finance department pulled together,and thought there needed to be a dedicated acting finance director until Pae started working full-time. Regis said there was an acting finance director, as well as a second contracted finance person. Terry wished to see a complete overview of the finance department,including all employees with their duties and responsibilities. She suggested having a work session to review the arrangements. Baclaan was excited that there was a finance director coming; he encouraged administration to continue thinking about creative ways to address issues.Casagranda liked the idea of having a work session to review the contracted services of the two finance consultants. Terry wanted to make sure nothing was slipping through the cracks in the finance department,and wished to see a work plan that explained who was responsible for grants,personnel,budgeting,contracts, etc. Council scheduled a work session on January 19, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. to discuss current finance employee contracts and work plans. Seese asked for an update in lodging audit for nightly rentals;she was interested in knowing the status of non-compliant lodging businesses. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 344 In response to Baclaan, Regis said AML/JIA recommended the city stop clearing Second Lake due to liability concerns.Instead,the Parks&Recreation Department had setup a skating rink at the Forest Acres basketball court. Terry wished to continue keeping communications and requests going to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to keep the highway and airport clear and properly maintained. Osenga thought it would be better to send an inquiry rather than a strong letter. Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell said he and others had been contacting all levels of DOT and the state legislature requesting assistance; he did not believe, however, that there would be any change in the state's responsiveness to the city's requests. Interim Electric Utility Manager Cory Borgeson said the city's utility rates were the lowest in the Railbelt due to the winter rates;even when the summer rates took effect at an additional $.10,Seward was still the lowest.Regarding the negotiation of the power sales agreement,Borgeson thought it might be time to open up the contract from Chugach to a competitive bid process. City Attorney Report.Brooks Chandler reported that his firm had pivoted to more day-to- day activities since his last report.He had worked on CARES Act funding issues,as well as the mask mandate. Chandler said he had recently been made aware of the potential for the state to start charging back home rule cities for misdemeanor charges. In response to Casagranda,Chandler said the union wage study he worked on was for the Seward Public Employees Association(SPEA). Other Reports and Announcements Mayor's Report. Terry attended the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District (KED) Industry Outlook Forum via Zoom. Also, Governor Dunleavy held a Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayors' Forum at which Terry had the opportunity to highlight some of Seward's priorities. Presentations Northeast Launch Ramp Project presentation by PND Council recessed at 8:28 p.m. Council resumed at 8:36 p.m. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment Ordinance 2020-015,Amending The Land Use Plan And Rezoning Lots 15A And 15B Of Jesse Lee Heights Subdivision Addition No 4, With The Physical Address Of 101 & 105 Benson Drive, From Multi-Family Residential(R3)To Park(P). Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Enact Ordinance 2020-015 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 345 Community Development Director Jackie Wilde said the city had been awarded grant funds which required the abatement and demolition of the Jesse Lee Home,and the remaining funds could then be used to construct a memorial.Under Seward city code,memorials must be located in a park. The Planning & Zoning Commission had held a work session at which the commission reviewed public survey results, and had considered six different options for land use. Wilde stated the city was not bound by the grant documents to use the property for commercial purposes,something that had been erroneously suggested in recent weeks.The ordinance before council tonight would rezone the property to park. As a park,there could be opportunity to have a community center, a multi-use facility, and a memorial. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. All comments were submitted in writing, unless otherwise noted. Christine Audette Bagula did not wish to see the property turned into housing,but was in favor of having more greenspace. She lived close by, and thought it would be lovely to hear childrens' voices coming from the property as they played. Carol Griswold supported Ordinance 2020-015. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Seese thought a park would be great. McClure wondered if a memorial or park could be `.n placed there if the property was not rezoned.In response,Wilde said technically a memorial must be placed in a park. In response to Casagranda,Wilde said she did not have final numbers yet on the cost of the demolition and abatement. Wilde added that due to delays, the cost of the project had risen from approximately$400,000 to approximately$700,000. In response to Terry, Wilde said the concrete foundation was still being broken up,and the boiler areas were still intact and needed to be demolished. Baclaan clarified that there would be approximately$200,000 left from the grant funds after the demolition and abatement was completed that could be put towards a memorial.If a community center or any other facility were to be created on the property, it would have to come from future grant funds or some other source of financial support.Baclaan suggested perhaps a special election should be held to determine the future of what happens on the property. Osenga wished to rezone the property as a park now, and if necessary, revisit the zoning again in the future. Osenga was all for holding more work sessions to obtain additional public comments,but he didn't see the harm in rezoning to park tonight. McClure reminded everyone that both the Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning&Zoning Commission had both passed resolutions in support of the rezone. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 1I, 2021 Volume 41, Page 346 Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda Reschedule city tours with department heads. This item was postponed from November 23, 2020. Regis said council members would be broken into two groups to visit city infrastructure. Council re-scheduled the tour to February 2, 2021. Baclaan would be out of town,and would schedule a time to have the tour later in February. Casagranda would also be out of town, and would plan to join Baclaan when he went on the tour. NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2021-002, Retroactively Authorizing The City Manager To Approve Emergency Repairs For The Lowell Point Wastewater Treatment Facility To Drain Masters, Inc. In An Amount Not To Exceed $70,660, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-002 'NJ In response to Casagranda, Regis said there were emergency repairs made to the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon, for which he had reported expenditures at the last council meeting. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2021-004, Accepting The Proposed Classification & Compensation Study And Implementation Plan Completed By GovHR USA, LLC, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-004 Sowell said if this resolution was approved tonight, there would be an ordinance coming forward for council to approve annual leave updates as well; one new leave tier would be for staff having over ten years of service,and a second new tier for staff having more than 15 years of service. Casagranda asked for clarification on how many hours of leave would be accrued for ten year and 15-year employees. Sowell didn't recall the numbers,but said he would provide that as a follow up to the meeting. Motion to Amend (Casagranda/Terry) Amend Resolution 2021-004 in the 6th City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 347 Whereas by adding, "...and this score is referred to as the "JFA" score." to the end of the sentence. Casagranda wanted to make sure that people understood what the term "JFA" meant. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Casagranda/Baclaan) Amend Resolution 2021-004 in the 8`h Whereas by striking the words, "and PTO allotments." Casagranda didn't wish to delay the wage study approval,but also wasn't sure she supported the changes to the leave accrual either;she wanted to separate them as two different considerations. Osenga pointed out that the 8th Whereas was simply a statement of history, and was not a council action. Motion to Amend Failed Yes: Casagranda,DeMoss, Seese No: Osenga,McClure, Baclaan,Terry In response to Terry,Chandler said this resolution would appropriate the funds,but if council did not enact the future ordinance to change city code and allow for the new leave accrual tiers,the money appropriated tonight would simply go back into the budget. Casagranda wished to clarify what "PTO" meant in the resolution, and requested it to be adjusted to say,"paid time off(PTO)"in the 8th Whereas.Council allowed this to be a housekeeping change. Motion to Amend (Casagranda/Terry) Amend Resolution 2021-004 in Section 1 by adding the words,"to approve funding for all positions with a JFA score of 580 or lower." to the end of the sentence. Casagranda said her constituents told her the city's staff was top-heavy; she thought the greatest positive impact of this wage study was for the lower staff levels. Osenga didn't understand why council would want to cut out so many employees. Council had an idea of what dollar amount to expect for this wage study. Casagranda suggested the wage study documents presented tonight were those of administration and not the vendor;she thought what was before council this evening was more of a recommendation from administration than the vendor that was hired to do the study. DeMoss, too,thought the city might be a little too top-heavy. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 348 McClure recalled that council had previously given direction to administration to bring forward exactly what was before them tonight, so she was neither surprised nor concerned by the numbers. In response to Terry,Casagranda said she didn't want to cherry pick positions, but she also didn't want to spend more money than was necessary. Baclaan was concerned with typographical errors that were in the tables, specifically the Deputy Fire Chiefs new salary should be $80,894, and the JFA score for the Human Resources Officer should be 595. Seese pointed out the Campground Coordinator's new salary should be $45,000. Casagranda said by limiting the wage increases to JFA scores of 580 or lower,coupled with not approving the new leave accrual tiers,the cost for implementing the wage study would be cut in half. She believed the lower paid employees needed a raise,but the city was also top-heavy. Motion to Amend Failed Yes: DeMoss,Casagranda,Seese No: Baclaan,McClure, Osenga,Terry Casagranda stated that the council still had the IBEW contract to approve, the new city manager position to fill, the electric operations supervisor to fill, and the new building inspector assistant that was recently hired; she was concerned about the money being spent. She was very concerned that there was no finance director in place to provide solid advice and input on the direction this was taking. She would not support this resolution without having good advice from a finance director. Terry wondered if administration had contemplated the potential of having to do layoffs,or having to cut back hours,and if there had been any discussions amongst the staff to prepare for that possibility. In response, Regis said he had had meetings with all department heads on doing mid- cycle budget amendments for 2021.Chandler said the collective bargaining agreement would have to be followed in order to cut back hours or lay off employees. Main Motion Passed Yes: Baclaan, McClure, DeMoss, Osenga, Terry No: Seese, Casagranda Resolution 2021-005, Authorizing The City Manager To Extend The Professional Services Contract Of Cory Borgeson For An Amount Not To Exceed$7,000. Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-005 Borgeson said his current contract required him to be in Seward in person,for which he was paid$2,500 with no benefits,plus he received up to$2,000 per month in living expenses and travel for which he had to submit receipts.Despite the previous contract extension,in order to get through the end of January, there was a need for an additional $7,000. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 349 Motion to Postpone (Casagranda/) Postpone Resolution 2021-005 to January 25, 2021. Motion to Postpone died for lack of second. Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2021-006, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Consulting Services Contract With Cory Borgeson For Electric Management Services In An Amount Not To Exceed $75,000,And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Casagranda/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2021-006 Regis said negotiations would be coming up for the power sales agreement, and Borgeson was an attorney who could help. Borgeson said he would assist in finishing up some projects; he would be working remotely for the most part,at the direction of the new electric utility manager Rob Montgomery. Borgeson said there was approximately$300,000 included in the electric utility budget for consulting services, and very little of those funds were used in 2020. Primary Motion to Amend (Casagranda/Terry) Amend Resolution 2021-006 by striking "$75,000" and replacing it with $37,500" and by striking"300 hours"and replacing it with"150 hours". Borgeson noted there was the potential for reimbursable incidental expenses to be incurred. Secondary Motion to Amend (Casagranda/Baclaan) Amend Resolution 2021-006 by adding, "...plus travel and incidentals" following "...150 hours." Secondary Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Primary Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Casagranda, DeMoss,Seese, Baclaan, Terry No: Osenga, McClure Motion to Postpone (Terry/Baclaan) Postpone Resolution 2021-006 to January 25, 2021. Terry wanted this contract tightened up to be very specific, and requested the city attorney review the contract.She was concerned that there were many inconsistencies between the resolution, agenda statement,and contract. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41, Page 350 Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Vote and appoint one citizen to the Planning & Zoning Commission with a term to expire February, 2023. Applicants are: Brad Snowden, Vanessa Verhey, and Suzi Towsley. City Clerk Brenda Ballou passed out ballot #1 to council, collected them, and read the first vote count: Snowden 0 Verhey 4 Towsley 3 Motion (Terry/McClure) Appoint Vanessa Verhey to the Planning& Zoning Commission with a term to expire February, 2023. Motion Passed Yes: Seese, Baclaan, DeMoss, McClure, Osenga, Terry No: Casagranda Discuss directing the city manager to create an inventory of all electric and water meters by physical location and description of meter type. J Casagranda said the meter exchange was previously reported to have been completed in 2018, but she discovered that the exchange had not actually been completed; she knew for certain there were commercial buildings that did not have meters. Also, Casagranda recently discovered more than one customer being billed for the wrong size water lines. DeMoss said it was obvious to her that there was a problem in utility billing, and that there was more than one type of error occurring; she had many examples. She believed conducting an inventory like this would be a cost-effective way to reconcile the utility billing with the actual inventory. Osenga recalled that not every business was required to have a demand meter; he thought they had a meter only if they exceeded a certain volume of usage. Casagranda said any home business that was owner-occupied was allowed by city code to pay a residential rate. However, if a home was not owner-occupied,then that property should be charged a commercial rate. Casagranda stated that she had been told that any commercial space was required to have a demand meter; however,she said a policy written by former electric utility manager John Foutz stated that a demand meter was only required if usage exceeded a certain volume, as Osenga had stated earlier. Borgeson said the tariff stated that a commercial service under 25 kW did not require a demand meter. He said there was approximately $40,000 worth of demand meters in the electric City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41, Page 351 warehouse which he documented. Borgeson said the city should have on file a picture of every meter, along with its physical location,GPS,and meter number. He said there were 800 commercial meters and 2,800 residential meters in the community. Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said he had an inventory of water meters for four- plexes and above; he added that three-plexes and below did not need meters. Motion (Casagranda/DeMoss) Direct the city manager to hire an experienced contracted meter reader to complete a location audit of all electric meters and also direct the city manager to complete an in-house audit of all water meters. Motion Passed Unanimous Casagranda said in February, 2019 something went awry and utility bills started being erroneous. She said the utility bills were generic enough that it was very difficult to determine what size water lines a customer was being billed for.To illustrate her point,Casagranda said one account she examined had been charged the minimum rate for a 2 ''A inch water line in one month because the usage was below the minimum,but in another month the water usage was higher and the customer was billed for the meter read. Terry wanted to make sure that any new businesses that started since February,2019 would be reviewed as well,to make sure they were correctly being charged. Terry clarified that the meter information gathered would have to be compared to the bills in order to determine if each customer was being billed appropriately.Casagranda said this examination needed to be done for commercial customers, as well as residential customers. Motion (Casagranda/DeMoss) Direct the city manager to complete a financial in-house audit based on site visit data collected,and all Seward public utility bills for February, 2019 and December, 2020. Motion Passed Unanimous Motion (Terry/Baclaan) Extend the council meeting to midnight. Motion Passed Unanimous City Clerk's memo on city manager recruitment update and next steps. Council members Casagranda and DeMoss were authorized by council to select 15-17 interview questions from the list provided by GovHR, and send them to the city clerk. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41, Page 352 Council chose to use SparkHire for the initial round of candidate interviews. Mayor appoint two Council Members to the Tabulation Team for the city clerk evaluation(to be held on February 8, 2021). Council postponed this item to January 25, 2021. Council scheduled a work session on January 25, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. to review and discuss the evaluation forms used for the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney. Discuss directing the city manager to issue a Request for Proposals to conduct a forensic audit on the electric, water, and sewer utilities. Motion (DeMoss/Casagranda) Direct the city manager to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a 3-tier forensic audit of the City of Seward's finance department and electric enterprise to include, but not limited to, water, sewer and electric utility billing. Terry wondered how this motion differed from the recommendation included in the agenda statement. DeMoss said this would be comprehensive to include the finance department; although specific to utility billing, DeMoss wanted to leave room for discovery and the flexibility to address other concerns. tudi Baclaan asked if it was just the billing that would be audited, or the entire finance department. In response, DeMoss said it would be the department. The motion was withdrawn with no objection from council. Motion (Casagranda/DeMoss) Direct the city manager to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a 3-tier forensic audit of the city's water, sewer, and electric utility billing to include, but not limited to tariffs,transmission line loss,policy for the placement of demand meters and the allocation of ERUs, to ensure all rate payers with a demand meter are being billed properly,and that all rate payers are being billed fairly and equitably for the years of 2018-2020,3 years total. Osenga wondered how the city would pay for this,if the decision was made to move forward with it once the proposals were received,especially since there had just been so much consternation about passing the wage study due to finances. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41, Page 353 DeMoss said she knew first hand that there had been problems, and she wanted them addressed before the city's new finance director and city manager started. In response to Osenga, DeMoss said she had just received a refund from the city for$6,800 due to being overcharged on her commercial account,and Casagranda said she had recovered$2,900 for one of her clients.Terry said she was interested in having correct data behind the results of the rate studies,so that if rates had to be raised, the city would know they were justified. Motion Passed Yes: DeMoss, Baclaan, McClure, Casagranda, Seese,Terry No: Osenga Motion (Casagranda/Baclaan) Direct the city clerk's office to delay the scheduled destruction of all public records until directed by city council to resume. Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss providing input to GCI regarding the viability of continuing the Channel 9 local broadcasting program. Mayor Terry passed the gavel to Vice Mayor Baclaan and stated she had a potential conflict of interest because her husband worked for GCI,but neither she nor her husband would benefit or be harmed by whatever decision council or GCI made in this case. Vice Mayor Baclaan ruled that a conflict did not exist and returned the gavel.There was no objection from council. Seese said there were a lot of citizens who relied on watching the meetings broadcast on the local station. McClure recalled that when the audio went out on GCI recently,she had received many phone calls from her constituents complaining that there was no sound. Council directed the city clerk to send a letter to GCI requesting that the local broadcasting be maintained. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS City Clerk's Annual Report on 2020 Public Records Requests CITIZEN COMMENTS Karen Corrigan thanked council for passing Resolution 2021-004; she was concerned, however, about the comments made regarding potential layoffs. If the general fund needed more revenue, she requested that the mill rate be raised and not sales tax. Lynda Paquette thanked council for their work tonight. Regarding the December 14,2020 packet, she was upset that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had shared her email with city administration because she felt the email was subsequently used to publicly shame City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11, 2021 Volume 41,Page 354 her.Paquette asked where she could find the updated operations and maintenance plan for the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon after it had been upgraded with the biodomes in 2015; she wondered if the plan had been updated at all. She was very concerned about the conflicting information she had received from the city versus the DEC; specifically, she pointed to the information included in the December packet versus the email she had provided council today. Paquette was tired of being ignored,shamed,and ridiculed by city staff and city consultants;she believed they were lying to her and council. Tanguy Libbrecht thanked council for their work,and for approving resolution 2021-005. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Regis would be gone January 21 —25,2021, and Sowell would be acting city manager. Sowell thanked everyone for their work.The city needed to make sure the citizens were being billed correctly because that was the ethical, legal, and right thing to do. Casagranda thanked administration for their support. She appreciated all the citizens for their comments. She wanted to make sure that owner-occupied residences received residential rates if they ran a business. She appreciated the attorney for making the drive to Seward. DeMoss thanked everyone for their work. Seese encouraged everyone to support the Polar Bear Jump. She congratulated John Anderson, and appreciated Karen Corrigan's comments about mill rate versus sales tax. Osenga wished John Anderson a happy retirement. Please donate to, or participate in, the Polar Bear Jump. He hoped Silvertip would be fully-funded and manned soon. He thanked Casagranda and DeMoss for their research on the utility billing issues. McClure thanked everyone for their work on uncovering utility billing issues. She was pleased that COVID-19 vaccines were going so smoothly in Seward. Baclaan said be kind to one another, and take time to keep yourself healthy and happy. Terry celebrated students going back to school. She asked administration to look into the disparity of information regarding the sewage lagoon and report back to council at the next meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION Go into executive session for the purpose of having a discussion of strategy for the negotiation/renewal of power sales agreement with Chugach Electric Association, per SCC 2.10.030 (b) (4). ..r City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 11,2021 Volume 41, Page 355 L Motion (TerryBaclaan) Go into executive session for the purpose of having a discussion of strategy for the negotiation/renewal of power sales agreement with Chugach Electric Association, per SCC 2.10.030 (b) (4). Acting City Manager Regis, Assistant City Manager Sowell, Interim Electric Utility Manager Borgeson,and City Attorney Chandler were invited to remain. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed at 11:30 p.m. Council resumed at 11:35 p.m. Council went into executive session at 11:35 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 11:55 p.m. ADJOURNMENT I The meeting was adjourned at 1 1:55 p.m. / rends Ballow, C sty Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Sea4� OF SEW'••. • i SEAL • : --.- : ; F 'OF.,