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Home My WebLink About03032021 PACAB Minutes City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 3, 2021 CALL TO ORDER Volume 4,Page 10 The March 3,2021 regular meeting of the Port and Commerce Advisory Board was called to order at 12:00 p.m.by Chair Schneider. OPENING CEREMONY Board Member Lynda Paquette led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Laura Schneider,presiding (via Zoom)and Bruce Jaffa (via Zoom) Carl Hughes (via Zoom) Colby Lawrence (via Zoom) Lynda Paquette Erin Lemas (via Zoom) Benjamin Smith comprising a quorum of the Board; and Norm Regis,Harbormaster/Acting City Manager (via Zoom) Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING—None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Paquette/Smith) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approve the January 6, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes. Approve the February 3, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations& Awards—None Alaska Railroad Report. The written report was included in the packet. City ofSeward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 3, 2021 Volume 4,Page 11 Chamber of Commerce Report.Jason Bickling stated that the chamber had received lots of positive feedback about the Shop Seward event,and was pleased that the first round of CARES Act funding checks had already been disbursed to local businesses. In response to Smith,Bickling said the Mount Marathon Race director had been instrumental in making the decision to move the race day to July 7, 2021, away from the Festival activities, in order to mitigate concerns over crowding. Harbormaster Report. The written report was included in the packet. Hughes complimented the harbor on receiving a positive citizen commendation. Regis thanked Hughes and said it was nice to get positive feedback. Other Reports and Announcements—None Presentations—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Items Discuss and approve draft resolution to city council recommending membership in ICLEI, USA. Hughes said he didn't understand this membership, and wished to have more information about what it meant to join, and what PACAB would get out of it. Schneider said she wanted to update the draft resolution to include information about the organization's by-laws, and the five tenets upon which they worked: lowering emissions, improving resiliency, letting people have a voice, protecting ecosystems, and moving economic activity into a circular path of reuse instead of a one-way flow of material. Hughes said one of his concerns was that the website for ICLEI indicated they worked with large urban areas, and he wasn't sure Seward would be a good fit. He would not support moving forward until he had more information. Jaffa noted that there had been previous discussions amongst PACAB about joining this organization and what that would mean; he believed the intent for joining was to gain resources and tools,and not to become a promoter for the organization.Jaffa added that the resolution should probably be reworked before it was finalized. Paquette concurred with Jaffa; her understanding was that the goal of membership would be to gain tools and resources. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 3, 2021 Volume 4,Page 12 Smith wondered if there could be another way to obtain tools and resources besides through membership, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which offered as carbon inventory tool for free. He,too,noted that ICLEI appeared to be geared towards large urban cities. Smith suggested reaching out to other communities within Alaska who had experience working with ICLEI to get their thoughts and feedback. Schneider clarified that PACAB had previously approved a motion to present membership into ICLEI to council. She said her understanding was that ICLEI would expect a pledge from the city that they were committed to addressing climate change, but she didn't believe ICLEI would be monitoring or trying to control the city's activities. Schneider reminded everyone that this activity aligned with PACAB's priorities, and that there were 25 people who were working hard on the Climate Action Committee. Motion (Paquette/Hughes) Include the following as one of the topics for the March 17, 2021 work session: Review and discuss the draft resolution for ICLEI membership. Motion Passed Yes: Paquette, Hughes, Lemas, Smith, Lawrence,Schneider No:Jaffa Review and discuss Harbor Tariff, specifically pricing at SMIC and annual increases. Regis said the rates for boat storage at the Seward Marine Industrial Center (SMIC) had not been updated in nearly three decades;he suggested raising the rates from$.10 per foot per day for the first 12 months to $.25 per foot per day, and from $.20 per foot per day after 12 months to $.50 per foot per day. Hughes asked Regis if he was comfortable with that increase. Regis said he thought it was in keeping with other communities, and that the rates needed to increase to deter derelict vessels. Deputy Harbormaster Matt Chase said some boat owners took advantage of the ten foot "envelope" on each side of their vessels and stored vehicles and other equipment in that space; keeping those areas clear was extra work for the harbor crews, so perhaps charging by the square foot would be a solution. Schneider wondered if a 250% increase would be too much of a shock for boat owners. Regis said he was open to suggestions for a more incremental increase. Hughes said he would be more comfortable doubling the existing rates to see what happened. Jaffa admonished the board to set the rates based on actual costs rather than by comparison to other communities. City ofSeward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 3, 2021 Volume 4, Page 13 Lawrence wished to find a balance between increasing rates and not chasing people away. He thought doubling the rates would be sufficient. Harbor Administrative Supervisor Nancy Hulbert said there were amenities at SMIC that were not offered at boat yards in other communities. Lemas left the meeting at 12:58 p.m. In response to Schneider's inquiry about paying for electricity at boat stalls, Hulbert said boat owners who requested electric pedestal spaces paid for that privilege, regardless of how often they actually used electricity; and, electric charges were also paid by the boat owners based on usage. Motion (Paquette/Hughes) Increase the rates for boat storage atSMIC from$.10 per foot per day to $.20 per foot per day for the first 12 months, from$.20 per foot per day after 12 monthsto$.30 per foot per day for the second year, and adding the additional rates of $.40 per foot per day for the third year, $.50 per foot per day for the fourth year, and capping at$.60 per foot per day for the fifth year onward. Motion Passed Unanimous ""r Regis said he would draft a resolution for PACAB's consideration which reflected that motion,and would bring it forward on April 7,2021. Regis would set the effective date for January 1, 2022 in order to give boat owners ample notice. Discuss PACAB report to council for March, 2021. Schneider offered to draft the report, and would focus on the items that PACAB had addressed year-to-date. There was no objection from the board. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS —None CITIZEN COMMENTS —None BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Smith appreciated all the discussion. He thought it would be great to work with the Planning&Zoning Commission on the SMIC Overlay. He thought this was a good meeting. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes March 3, 2021 Volume 4,Page 14 Paquette thanked everyone, and thought the rate increase would be great for the harbor. She appreciated having a full board at today's meeting. Hughes thanked all the board members for their varying opinions and input on everything discussed;hearing differing viewpoints helped him be better informed. Jaffa concurred and liked the free discussion and hearing from people with different expertise. He attended the Alaska SeaLife Center Gala and thought they did a wonderful job hosting the event in a virtual environment. Schneider announced the Solarize Seward program that was being done through www.solarizethe kenai.org to bring solar panels to Seward; sign up was going on through March 8,2021. She noted the borough assembly had discussed the Alaska Long Trail at their meeting last night, and was excited that Seward would be the terminus for the trail when it was finished. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 1:43 p.m. Brenda J. Ballou, MMC our Schnee City Clerk A` 9 c -E y C) e r !I (City Seal) •.• OF SElq;* • • ' SEAL i • Y OF _,t' �