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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06282021 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes June 28,2021 CALL TO ORDER Volume 41,Page 462 The June 28, 2021 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Vice Mayor Tony Baclaan. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Tony Baclaan presiding Sue McClure Sharyl Seese John Osenga Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—Terry Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Mary Tougas reminded everyone about the heat pump project. The city had a grant for $750,000, and it would be a shame to let that grant go without using it. The city had already spent money on the project in many ways. There had also been a short-term extension approved on the grant. The original project proposed to move four city buildings on a heat loop, and that had been scaled back to two buildings. This project could help save the city money, and one day could encompass many more buildings downtown. Casie Warner concurred that the heat loop project should be looked at again. Regarding Happy Youth Programs&Educational Resources(HYPER),she appreciated council and the public listening to their plans and providing support. Iris Darling was a former commissioner on the Historic Preservation Commission,and she wanted to praise the current commission for all the work they were doing.History was an attraction for visitors, and it was important to preserve. Becky Dunn(telephonically)said there was a daycare shortage in Seward,and she heard that the state's process made it difficult for people to open a licensed daycare business. Many working City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes June 28, 2021 Volume 41, Page 463 parents needed access to daycare centers that were open as early as 6:00 a.m., and often those that were open until later into the evening, due to the variety of jobs that local citizens had, including charter boats, service workers, and retailers. Lynda Paquette wondered if the ALMR radios that were discussed at tonight's work session were eligible for any state funding. She also wondered if it was time to have a work session to discuss the potential of replacing city hall. She was pleased to hear about the FLAP grant and aeration systems being considered,as discussed at the work session,and asked if there was a way to create a new public works building on a smaller scale, and expand it over time. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Casagranda moved Resolution 2021-072 onto the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2021-068,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With FLO Analytics To Conduct A Geographic Information System (GIS) Needs Assessment For The City Of Seward,Create A Strategic GIS Plan,And Assist The City With The Implementation Of That Plan, For A Total Estimated Cost Of$35,120. Resolution 2021-069,Repealing Resolution 2021-057 And Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement For Up To 16 Months With AK Tree Service, LLC For Extensive Transmission Right-Of-Way Clearing Work For An Amount Not To Exceed $500,000 Over The Designated Period, And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2021-070,Accepting Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds as Part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Resolution 2021-071, Accepting $1,000,000 From Norwegian Cruise Lines And Allocating $500,000 Toward The City's Developer Reimbursement Program And Donating$500,000 To The Seward Prevention Coalition For Use By Happy Youth Programs & Educational Resources (HYPER) To Help Fill The Need For Childcare In Seward, And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2021-072,Approving Management And Operating Agreement Between The City Of Seward And Providence Health&Services—Washington DBA Providence Health&Services Alaska,Amendment No.5,Granting The Requested Name Change From Providence Seward Medical & Care Center To Providence Seward Medical Center And Specifying The Responsibilities For Maintaining And Renewing The Corresponding Business Licenses. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes June 28, 2021 Volume 41,Page 464 Approval of the June 14, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None City Manager Report. City Manager Janette Bower reported the following purchase orders between$5,000 and $30,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $26,250 for 15 kV wire for Electric; $6,195 for the disposal of AFFF firefighting foam as hazardous material for Fire;$7,500 for three fire hydrants for Public Works;and,$14,262.50 for new inventory management software called Fishbowl for Electric. Seese asked if there could be a small dumpster and a pet waste station installed at the entrance to the Jeep Trail. DeMoss was sympathetic to the Parks&Recreation Department being understaffed,but she had received concerns from lots of community members about the garden beds around the city,and asked that they be given some care and attention.Baclaan wondered if the city could allow citizens to "adopt"a garden bed to get help from the community. McClure wondered when Fourth Avenue would be closed off for the Fourth of July Festival. Other Reports and Announcements Chamber of Commerce Report by Jason Bickling.Bickling wished to make his monthly report as succinct as possible, so he was reordering his report to make it more pertinent to council and the public. He welcomed any feedback about the reporting structure he provided. The chamber had conducted two surveys on behalf of the city: one on the city's mobile and roving vendor program, and another on local labor shortages. In both cases, Bickling thought the response rates were low due to people being so busy with summer,but the information gleaned was valuable.The chamber would be putting out one more survey this summer relating to the impact of summer tourism on residents. Regarding the Fourth of July Festival and the Mount Marathon Race,Bickling said the map of street closures would be published in this week's Seward Journal,and he also brought some flyers with maps to share.The vendors would be located on Washington Street and Adams Street,as usual. Fourth Avenue will be closed over this weekend for the festival, as well as on July 7,2021 for the racers. In response to McClure, Bickling clarified that the Fourth Avenue street closures would be Friday all day through Monday morning, and again all day on Wednesday for the race. Presentations City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes June 28, 2021 Volume 41,Page 465 Historic Signs&Walking Tour presentation by the Historic Preservation Commission PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment Ordinance 2021-005, Amending Seward City Code 2.10.100 — Compensation Of Councilmembers To Adjust Monthly Stipend Amounts To Reflect The 50th Percentile For Compensation In The Kenai Peninsula Borough, And Enacting Seward City Code Section 2.30.230 To Establish A Stipend For Planning& Zoning Commissioners. Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Enact Ordinance 2021-005 City Clerk Brenda Ballou stated that the stipends for council had not been changed for nearly 40 years,and that doubling them would bring them to the 50th percentile for the borough,but would still be modest. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Lynda Paquette favored this ordinance because she believed it was important to make performing service on council as accessible to as many people as possible. The modest increase in the stipend might make enough of a difference that someone could run. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. DeMoss thanked the city clerk for bringing this ordinance. She supported this ordinance because it would potentially enable more people to serve on council. McClure said her original opinion about this ordinance had been changed when the ordinance was introduced at the last meeting because she had been convinced by her colleagues that this stipend increase might make a difference for some citizens to run for council. Baclaan supported this ordinance and thought that raising the stipend might allow more people to consider serving. Everyone's time equaled money, and there were time commitments to serving that might be a barrier to some;perhaps this stipend would help offset that. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS All new business was approved on consent. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes June 28,2021 Volume 41,Page 466 May, 2021 City and Providence Financials Deputy City Clerk's memo on plans for the 2021 Obihiro-Seward Student VIRTUAL Exchange Program Letter from Mayor Norihisa Yonezawa accompanying receipt ofMount Marathon Race Awards CITIZEN COMMENTS Tanguy Libbrecht favored raising the stipend for council because he knew how much time they put in. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower reminded everyone that there would be a work session on July 26, 2021 to discuss options for relocating the public works facility. DeMoss thanked everyone for contacting her with their comments and concerns, and she thanked everyone who attended tonight's work session and meeting. She appreciated administration's work on preparing options. She thanked the historic preservation commission for their hard work on the walking tour. Casagranda was so excited for Lydia Jacoby and her accomplishment that she was competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.She was very proud.She thanked the Historic Preservation Commission for all their work;she thought the walking tour would be great for visitors.She thanked administration for their work and diligence. Seese thanked Valarie Kingsland for her service. She commended the Historic Preservation Commission for their work on the walking tour.Tomorrow would be the last day to order t-shirts to support Lydia Jacoby and the Swim Club. Osenga thanked administration and all the department heads for their work on the Capital Improvement Plan work session.He thought the walking tour that HP created was great.He wished Lydia Jacoby good luck. McClure expressed condolences to the family of Mike Gravelle who passed on Saturday at the age of 91. There was a successful Solstice Cemetery Tour on June 21, 2021; about 30 people attended. She was very proud of the Historic Preservation Commission for all the hard work they accomplished to create the walking tour. She wished everyone a safe and happy holiday. Baclaan thanked the Historic Preservation Commission for their hard work;he recalled when the commission had started the project and how much work they had put into it.He was certain that everyone would enjoy the walking tour. He reminded everyone to be kind. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes June 28, 2021 Volume 41, Page 467 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. (71)7- 141 , _ Brenda J. a ou, MC Tony Baclaan City Clerk Vice Mayor (City Seal) '.......,•as, ' OF SE •'? .••».....•.'9 '•• G •• •• : • a SEAL 0 It I • t s'� —= r 9F OF A`�PS�'�• Ilia