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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01252021 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 356 CALL TO ORDER The January 25,2021 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 (telephonically) Sue McClure Sharyl Seese(telephonically) John Osenga Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda(telephonically; arrived 7:15 p.m.) comprising a quorum of the Council; and Stephen Sowell,Acting City Manager Brenda Ballou,City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Carol Griswold had served on the Seward City Council Ad Hoc Airport Committee, and recalled providing council with recommendations; she asked council to amend the State legislative priorities to include a request of the Alaska Department of Transportation to repair and restore the existing Runway 1331 in order to accommodate larger aircraft and provide disaster response. Griswold also requested the Federal legislative priorities be amended to include an appropriation from the US Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct a flood damage control project to protect the airport. Becky Dunn was concerned about the condition of the Seward Highway, as well as the airport. Bruce Jaffa had sent a letter to the city about his concerns with the Seward airport. He had spoken with Representative Ben Carpenter about his concerns, as well. He suggested the city continue to reach out to legislators to ask for help. He didn't believe the state was living up to their responsibilities. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25,2021 Volume 41,Page 357 Walter Corrigan was a pilot who had been using the Seward Airport since 1993. He had never seen the airport so badly maintained as it had been this winter. He thought the state was shirking their responsibility, and encouraged council to exert whatever pressure they could on the state to improve the maintenance. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Terry removed the CARES Act Funding&Disbursement Report from the agenda. Baclaan removed Resolutions 2021-008, 2021-009, 2021-010, 2021-013, and 2021-016 from the consent agenda. DeMoss removed Resolution 2021-015 from the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Ordinance 2021-002, Amending Portions Of Seward City Code Chapter 3 - Personnel To Adjust The Pay Scale Cap And Annual Leave Accrual Rate As A Result Of The Classification And Compensation Study Conducted By GovHR USA,LLC.This ordinance was introduced and will come for public hearing and enactment on February 8, 2021. Resolution 2021-011,Requesting That Governor Dunleavy Direct The Alaska Department Of Transportation To Maintain The State-Owned Airport Located In Seward, Alaska In A Timely Manner To Ensure Safe Winter Operating Conditions. Resolution 2021-012,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Additional Five-Year Lease Agreement With Chugach Regional Resources Commission For The Operation Of The Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery. Resolution 2021-014,Supporting The Continued Development Of The Alaska Long Trail From Seward To Fairbanks. Approval of the December 14, 2020 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the January 11,2021 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the January 11, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Non-objection to the renewal of liquor license #3230 — Restaurant/Eating Place for Apollo Restaurant. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 358 SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None City Manager Report. Acting City Manager Stephen Sowell reported the following purchase orders between$5,000 and$30,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $11,135 to Dude Solutions for the online business license and permitting portal; $8,950 to Municode for the recodification project; $5,365 for a display board replacement for the Fire Department; $8,975 for office furniture for the Police Department; $5,500 to Municode for online city code services;$14,196 to Seward Journal for the annual purchase order for city calendar; and, $5,840 for the Mary Lowell headstone replacement for the Parks&Recreation Department. Sowell said he and McClure were preparing for a rededication ceremony in June for the installation of the Mary Lowell monument headstone.Sowell apologized on behalf of the city for the original headstone going missing. Regarding the lack of support from the Alaska Department of Transportation(DOT)for the Seward Airport, Sowell said he and Acting City Manager Norm Regis would be having a meeting with the DOT next week. Interim Utility Manager Cory Borgeson was present tonight for his last council meeting; he was proud to have been part of the city's electric utility department. Borgeson reported that Seward had the lowest utility costs on the Railbelt. Borgeson encouraged council to invest in the staff and infrastructure going forward. Electric Utility Manager Rob Montgomery said the threshold for the demand meter program was recently lowered to 2,000 kilowatt hours;most of the meters had been changed out two years ago—there were 78 left to be done. The switch out would be completed within the next two weeks. In response to Baclaan regarding the inventory on hand of the demand meters,Montgomery said there were 128 meters on hand,and there might possibly be a few that would need to be ordered in,but Montgomery expected to have enough inventory on hand to complete the work. Baclaan thanked Borgeson for his hard work,and said the change in management had been noticeable since Borgeson came to Seward.Seese also thanked Borgeson for all the improvements he made in the department. Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said the water meter inventory project was continuing,but there were some businesses that were closed for the winter which would slow down the completion of the project.He had a meeting with the USACE today regarding the Lowell Canyon Tunnel project; it went well and the project was now moving to the next step. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 359 In response to Terry regarding the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon, Schoessler said he had to wait until spring to have the rest of the repairs made because the drained portion of the lagoon needed to thaw out before the pipes could be repaired. Baclaan said there had been a lot of talk on social media about clearing Second Lake for ice skating,and he wondered what costs or controls would be necessary to make Second Lake accessible to the public. Parks & Recreation Director Tyler Florence said he would need one full-time employee, a parks maintenance worker. The lake would require ice thickness testing several times each week, as well as snow clearing, and Florence was most concerned with preventing winter drowning, as well as with providing consistent quality of service. In response to McClure, Florence gave an update on the ice rink at Forest Acres,saying the sheet liner and frame for the ice rink were on order and expected in two weeks.Florence said it was experimental and he wanted to test different configurations of the rink this winter. Terry thought Second Lake was only about 18 inches deep.DeMoss concurred,and said she had received a lot of letters requesting Second Lake be reopened for ice skating;she recalled the city attorney saying at the last council meeting that the lake had been closed due to liability issues,and tonight was hearing it was because of staffing issues,so she wanted to know what the actual issues were. Baclaan wondered,if the issue came down to staffing,what would be the difference between clearing an ice rink versus clearing Second Lake. In response, Florence said the ice rink would require less maintenance, would cost less than $1,000, and would eliminate the risk of drowning. Florence said seasonal staff workers turned over, and that was part of the challenge. Regarding the liability concerns, Florence said liability wasn't the main concern; his main concern was that the standard of care for Second Lake could not be maintained. Baclaan suggested perhaps having volunteers help maintain the ice. Casagranda expected to see a Request for Proposals(RFP)in the packet for a forensic audit; she thought council had provided very clear direction at the last council meeting.Sowell requested to have a work session with council to define the scope of the project;this was in response to the advice Sowell had received from the city's audit firm, which he had consulted. Sowell wanted to have a quality RFP that would address the concerns and issues, in order to have the best result possible. DeMoss also had the expectation that an RFP would have been released by now. She still would prefer to have the RFP go out and see what kind of responses they received. Sowell did not wish to delay the process,but wanted the RFP to be effective. By unanimous consent,council allowed administration to schedule a work session to review the RFP before releasing. Council scheduled two work session on February 8,2021:first,to review and discuss the water sewer rate study starting at 5:00 p.m.; and,2)review and discuss the RFP for a forensic audit immediately following. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 360 111 Other Reports and Announcements Chamber of Commerce Report.Jason Bickling thanked the sponsors for the New Year's Eve fireworks show; he hoped this would become an annual event. Bickling thanked council for approving the second round of CARES Act funding. The 2021 destination guide was complete; distribution would be starting soon. McClure mentioned that there were many businesses who would have liked to contribute to the fireworks show. Demoss concurred. Bickling would note that for next year's event. Providence Seward Medical Center Year End Report. Robert Rang had been with Providence for two years;he still was amazed how many people didn't realize the hospital and long- term care facility were both city-owned. The majority of people who had come down with COVID had been treated locally;only a few had been sent to Anchorage.Providence had raised over$49,000 for the He Will Provide food bank. Providence would be hiring a security team for the hospital to protect the facility and staff.Of the 35 residents at Mountain Haven,none had gotten COVID;some staffers had,but not through the facility. Rang was excited about partnering with Anchorage Home Health because it meant they may start offering home health services in Seward.Two years in a row, Providence Seward had been profitable. Seward Community Health Center Year End Report. Craig Ambrosiani had been executive director for 3.5 years. He has developed a very supportive and collaborative relationship with Providence. The SCHC ended the year over $250,000 in the black. Vaccinations were underway,and were costly to the operation. Revenues continued to grow year over year;the SCHC would not receive any city funding from the city this year.Every three years there was an operational site visit from HRSA; the SCHC just had it and had performed well. They were currently in the process of improving internal processes to better prepare for incoming patients, including having paperwork completed,education prepared to deliver,and lab results in hand when the patient walked in for their appointment. Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment 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. Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Enact Ordinance 2021-001 Terry sponsored this ordinance;she pointed out that the fiscal year was being updated to the current January 1, and the budget timeline would be more clearly defined. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 361 Acting Finance Director Sam Hickok was pleased that this language would clear up the process, especially the capital improvements planning. 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. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. Baclaan thanked Terry for bringing this forward. Seese was glad that this was getting cleaned up. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda 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 $37,500, And Appropriating Funds. This item was postponed from January 11, 2021. Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2021-006 by adopting the substitute resolution and contract. Borgeson said the resolution and contract had been cleaned up and clarified considerably. Casagranda stated that the whole amount of the contract did not have to be spent,only what was necessary. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Consent Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Terry) Amend Resolution 2021-006 in the contract under Item#3 so it reads, "...at an hourly rate of two hundred forty-five dollars ($245) per hour plus reimbursement of all actual expenses incurred, for a total of $750, a sum not to exceed: Thirty-Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($37,500) inclusive of all meeting/travel costs and miscellaneous expenses..." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Terry) Amend Resolution 2021-006 in the contract City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41, Page 362 under Item #1 (C) so it reads, "Complete work on Chugach National Forest transmission line permit renewal." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Mayor appoint two Council Members to the Tabulation Team for the city clerk evaluation. This item was postponed from January 11, 2021. The Mayor appointed Terry and Baclaan to the Tabulation Team with no objection from council. NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2021-008,Establishing The City Of Seward's Calendar Year 2021 City Legislative Priorities. Motion (Terry/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2021-008 Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Terry) Motion to Amend Passed Amend Resolution 2021-008 under Public Facilities & Infrastructure by adding the amount of$50,000 to "evaluate/assess site location for a new additional wastewater treatment facility." Yes: Seese,McClure,Casagranda,DeMoss, Baclaan, Terry No: Osenga Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Terry) Amend Resolution 2021-008 under Public Facilities& Infrastructure by changing the last bullet point to read, "$50,000 to evaluate/assess site location for a new or expanded wastewater treatment facility." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2021-009,Establishing The City Of Seward's Calendar Year 2021 State Legislative Priorities. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41, Page 363 Motion (Terry/DeMoss) Approve Resolution 2021-009 Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2021-010, Establishing The City Of Seward's Calendar Year 2021 Federal Legislative Priorities. Motion (Terry/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-010 Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2021-013,Authorizing The City Manager To Amend The Participation Agreement With The State Of Alaska Public Employees Retirement System(PERS)To Include The Chief Of Police Position In Participation. Motion (Osenga/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-013 Hickok said in 2006, the police chief position had been removed from PERS because the police chief was already a PERS retiree,but the new police chief wanted to be in PERS.There was a cost associated with keeping this position out of PERS,or otherwise finding an alternative retirement benefit for the new police chief. Baclaan didn't see a cost breakdown was for keeping this position out of PERS versus returning it to PERS. He also was curious if there was any alternative to PERS,like a 401K account. Motion to Postpone (Baclaan/Seese) Postpone Resolution 2021-013 to February 8, 2021. Baclaan thought there were concerns with the PERS structure and stability, and thought a cost-benefit analysis would be helpful. Perhaps there was an alternative retirement opportunity that was less expensive or less of a liability to the city than PERS. Hickok apologized for not including the dollars in the fiscal note, and said the PERS contribution was approximately $25,000 per year and was already included in the 2021 budget because the retirement of the previous police chief was foreseen.There was no cost associated with returning the position to PERS,but the cost to keep it out of PERS was approximately$19,000 per year. Motion to Postpone Passed Yes: Casagranda,DeMoss,Baclaan, Seese, Terry No: McClure, Osenga Resolution 2021-015, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With Electric Power Systems,Inc.To Repair And Upgrade The Control System For Generator#3 In City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 364 I II The Amount Of$258,778, Plus Ten Percent Contingency Of$25,878, For A Total Not-To- Exceed $284,656, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-015 Montgomery said this was the oldest unit at the plant,built in 1973.The control system was completely shot, which was vital to allowing the unit to run automatically. Should this unit fail, it could interfere with the city's control over providing generation power during a significant outage. DeMoss appreciated Montgomery's explanation and was curious if this item went for RFP. Montgomery said, in this case, the company that had a hand in building the plant, was also the company who had the knowledge base to do this work. Montgomery said he could look at other vendors,but wouldn't recommend it. DeMoss wondered if that was normal protocol. Sowell said sole sourcing was allowed by city code,and in this case,EPS had designed,built, and had previously performed this same upgrade on Generator#6. Casagranda said the person who owned this company was also the person who sat on the Railbelt Reliability Council as Seward's representative, and wondered if that was a conflict of interest. Montgomery said he did not know the answer to that,but would find out. Motion to Postpone (Casagranda/DeMoss) Postpone Resolution 2021-015 to February 8, 2021. Motion to Postpone Passed Yes: DeMoss,Baclaan,Casagranda,Seese No: McClure,Osenga,Terry Resolution 2021-016, Confirming The Special Assessment Roll Of The Gateway Subdivision Improvement District And Providing For The Levy,Payment Terms, And Penalties Of The Special Assessment District, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2021-016 Community Development Director Jackie Wilde said this was the final phase of the first portion of this development project; there would be two more phases to come in the future. The original assessment was for ten lots;due to unforeseen circumstances,the developer had to alter his plans and add three additional lots to the project. The developer had met with former city manager Meszaros and received approval to add the three additional properties. As each property sold,the assessment would be paid directly to the city through the title company. Baclaan thought the decision to add three properties should have come to council,particularly because the cost was over$90,000. Baclaan wondered what the liability was if the developer could not sell the lots and repay the city. If the developer were to default,Wilde said the developer would have to pay for the interest on unsold lots, and the city would subsequently foreclose and take the properties. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 365 Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items 3 Schedule a work session to discuss a Code of Ethics for city officials. Council scheduled a work session on February 22,2021 at 6:00 p.m.to review and discuss a Code of Ethics for city officials. Schedule a work session on February 8, 2021 to discuss the water/sewer rate study. Council scheduled a work session on February 8,2021 at 5:00 p.m.to discuss the water/sewer rate study. Discuss the letter received from Chugachmiut requesting to purchase a portion of the Ft. Raymond property. Wilde said Chugachmiut proposed to build a$43 million facility on 3.31 acres of land they wished to purchase from the city.Wilde had been speaking with Chugachmiut for over a year about this item,had shown Chugachmiut six possible locations, and the Ft. Raymond property was their preferred location. Specifically, Chugachmiut was interested in the southern portion of the Ft. Raymond property, including the land that the Parks & Recreation warehouse sat on should the warehouse be demolished. Wilde said the property would have to be appraised to learn the value of the parcel they were interested in purchasing. Chugachmiut would be required to survey the property. In response to Terry, Wilde said Chugachmiut would be responsible for removing any existing infrastructure. In response to McClure,Wilde said Chugachmiut was aware of the diesel generator warehouse nearby, and would be pleased to be near the cemetery. Casagranda knew the city had been sitting on this land for years,but was not ready to parse out one piece of property that was prime real estate. She would prefer to have a broader discussion on the disposition of all the property. Seese said the city had been holding onto the property for so long; she thought it should be offered to anyone who might be interested in buying it. Baclaan concurred with Casagranda and Seese.He thought it was a prime piece of property. In response to Baclaan,Wilde said Chugachmiut wanted this particular parcel,of all the six they had been presented;also,she had not discussed Chugachmiut being responsible for the demolition of the Parks&Recreation warehouse should they get the property. Osenga thought this would be a boon to the city;the facility would be a hub clinic for native healthcare for several surrounding communities, including Port Graham,Nanwalek, and Tatitlek. 111 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25,2021 Volume 41,Page 366 DeMoss wondered if opening up all the land for all offers would be a better approach,rather than just responding to one offer. McClure was willing to explore the offer from Chugachmiut;this could be a big deal for the city. In response to Seese, Wilde said a new Public Works Building could also go on the Ft. Raymond property, and butt up against the electric warehouse. Casagranda suggested having a work session to review all the property, and not just one parcel. Terry concurred and said it would be good to review the square footage of the property, zoning,road access points,how much Chugachmiut was requesting,and how much the city needed to reserve for itself. Osenga disclosed that he used to be on the board of Chugachmiut, and knew they had been interested in this land for a while. Council scheduled a work session on February 1,2021 at 6:00 p.m.to discuss the disposition of the Ft. Raymond property, and the offer to purchase a portion of the property by Chugachmiut. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS December, 2020 City and Providence Financials CITIZEN COMMENTS Carol Griswold was disappointed that airport improvements were not included on this year's priorities list. She was pleased that Resolution 2021-006 was fixed. Griswold wanted to make sure that the proposition of selling Ft. Raymond property included public input;the city needed to make sure it had land for its own improvements. Becky Dunn had witnessed a medivac airplane that could not land because of poor runway maintenance; she thought the airport could be used for commercial flight service if it was repaired and maintained. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Sowell said he had a letter from Acting City Manager Norm Regis which put Sowell in acting status due to Regis traveling out of state. Casagranda apologized for being absent at the work session earlier. DeMoss thanked Sowell for helping through the forensic audit, and thanked Wilde for the information on the land proposal. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes January 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 367 Osenga thanked Borgeson for his service,and Robert Rang and Craig Ambrosiani for their reports tonight. Stay safe. McClure thanked Terry for bringing forward the airport resolution. She thought the Long Trail initiative was exciting. McClure thanked Borgeson for his service. She appreciated the city replacing the Mary Lowell headstone, and looked forward to the rededication. She said Zoom was not perfect, and neither was using the telephone for council meetings; having so many people attending remotely impaired the continuity of the meetings,and she looked forward to the day when the declaration of emergency was recalled. Baclaan thanked the healthcare facilitators for their reports tonight;he was thankful for the vaccines being distributed to Seward elders.He thanked the Seward Community Foundation for the grant awards they released tonight. Baclaan said the more documentation that could be included in the agenda packets,the better. Be kind to each other. Terry thanked Borgeson for his work, and welcomed Montgomery. She thanked Parks & Recreation for drive-in movie night. She encouraged everyone to take part in the chamber's Seward Spends event to support local businesses. Terry thanked Rang and Ambrosiani for their reports. Regarding the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon, she thought perhaps a second opinion on the system could be obtained. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. / /61.4„ 4firi,. / Brenda Ballou, C isty Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Sealy ofSE1yq,, • r e 2 • • : : . SEAL —C— •, • `like i ,�" OF 0 •6- 4�f•�r�+7tis ayz