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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08092021 City Council MinutesCity of Seward, Alaska August 9, 2021 CALL TO ORDER City Council Meeting Minutes Volume 41, Page 489 The August 9, 2021 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Police Sergeant Patrick Messmer led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Tony Baclaan Sharyl Seese Liz DeMoss comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Brooks Chandler, City Attorney Excused — None Absent — None Sue McClure John Osenga Ristine Casagranda CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tim McDonald was born and raised in Seward, and he had seen a lot of changes over the years; he considered Resurrection Bay to be part of the city. He said there had been a lot of mistakes made over the years, like in 1970 when the Fish & Game Department poisoned the salmon runs. McDonald said fish runs and water quality were both very important to Seward; he had been doing research about the potential impact the sewage lagoon could be having on the bay, and was particularly concerned about fertilizer and other chemicals in the effluent. Patrick Messmer was the president of the Seward Public Employees Association (SPEA), and encouraged council to approve the resolution for the new contract tonight. Messmer said working with the city manager and assistant city manager had been a positive experience this time. The new contract requested a small increase to recognize longevity in order to stay competitive with other businesses. He would appreciate council's support. Kurt Froening was a representative from Alaska Waste. He encouraged council to vote in favor of the resolution for a new franchise agreement. Alaska Waste was the safest company in the industry and had the newest technology. The trucks were regularly inspected and maintained, and the City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2021 Volume 41, Page 490 drivers were required to pass stringent drug tests, background checks, and extensive training. Froening said Alaska Waste provided excellent customer service, and would be offering commercial cardboard recycling. Michelle Oliver thanked everyone involved in the union negotiation; the new contract would make headway towards bringing employees up where they belonged. She believed this was a step in the right direction. Suzi Towsley thanked council for their hard work. The Domestic Violence Sexual Assault (DV SA) program was now housed under Seward Prevention Coalition. The office number was (907) 422-7668 and was staffed from 8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m., Monday -Friday, and the office was located in the SeaView Plaza. The Crisis Line was (907) 362-1843 and was manned 24 hours a day. DVSA had a robust program for the community. As a former member of council, Towsley thought it was wonderful that the union contract was on tonight's agenda, and she commented that the tenor and tone of city hall seemed healthy and had shifted towards valuing employees. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Seese added Resolution 2021-086 to the consent agenda. Terry added Resolution 2021-085 to the consent agenda. Terry removed the approval of the July 26, 2021 meeting minutes from the consent agenda, Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2021-083, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With Harmon Construction In An Amount Not -To -Exceed $282,500 For Sidewalk Repair Project — E For Fifth Avenue Sidewalk Repairs, And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2021-085, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A New Wholesale Power Supply Contract With Chugach Electric Association (CEA) For An Initial Term Of Three Years With Two Three -Year Renewals. Resolution 2021-086, Approving The Agreement Covering Terms And Conditions Of Employment Between The City Of Seward, Alaska And The Seward Public Employees Association (SPEA) Effective January 1, 2022 And Ending December 31, 2022. Non -objection to the transfer of the liquor license and approval of the Restaurant Designation Permit for Thorn's Showcase Lounge, Beverage Dispensary, License #1130. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 9, .2021 Volume 41, Page 491 Proclamations & Awards — None Borough Assembly Report. Kenn Carpenter was not present. City Manager Report. City Manager Janette Bower thanked her staff for their work on the parade for Lydia Jacoby, and was sorry to have missed it. She also appreciated the assistant city manager's work on the SPEA contract. Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said the city discharged effluent from the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon into Resurrection Bay, in compliance with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permit, approximately 300 feet out into the bay and approximately 300 feet down below the water surface. Regarding the possibility of prescription or illicit drugs in the effluent, Schoessler said he didn't know how to test for that. In response to Seese, Schoessler said port -a --potties were allowed to be dumped into the city's sewer, and he confirmed that there were fees required for dumping port -a -potties. In response to Terry, Schoessler said R&M Engineers would be providing a report on the sewage lagoon capacity, treatment recommendations, and discharge monitoring of the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon in October. McClure complimented the city manager on how well the tsunami warning had been handled. McClure would be pleased if the city would get the radio call numbers on the audio tsunami warning. City Attorney Report. City Attorney Brooks Chandler said he had helped settle a dispute with AVTEC on an electric billing issue, and was now working on water/sewer billing issue for AVTEC. He had assisted with some revisions for the Developer Reimbursement Incentive program. Chandler had worked on getting an inspection completed for a local business, and dealt with an expired Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Chandler said he had fallen behind on the recodification project, but would endeavor to catch up. He had finalized the agreement for the city's contribution from the Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) gift to the HYPER childcare group. Reviewed Chugachmiut real estate contract; should be completed within sixty days. The community would be transferring the fcc license from the city to a private group. Working on lease arrangements between university of Alaska and Alutiiq shellfish hatchery; reconfigure area being leased physical property. His firm has now been serving the city for one year; he has enjoyed working with council and administration. He was looking forward to the next year. Casagranda wondered if there a contingency in the contract for the land sale to Chugachmiut to require the property to be developed within a certain timeframe and for an intended purpose. Chandler said the intended purpose or use of the property had been contemplated in the contract, and a timeline for execution was not, but could be. Casagranda asked if the appraisal on the Chugachmiut land for sale was public information and available. Chandler said the appraisal would be a public document, but he hadn't received it yet; the timing of releasing the appraisal would have to be considered. Casagranda asked if the city paid for the appraisal, and Chandler said one appraisal had City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2021 Volume 41, Page 492 been commissioned by and paid for by the city, and a second had been commissioned by and paid for by the buyer. Baclaan asked Chandler if he would continue to serve as the city's primary attorney now that the first year had passed. In response, Chandler said he Auld continue handling 80% of the city's business, but was also grooming Sam Severin to take on more of the city's business. Other Reports and Announcements Alaska Municipal League (AML) Summer Conference Report by Council Member DeMoss. DeMoss said she had fun and it was a good opportunity; it was a new experience for her and she learned a lot. She had sat in on a Department of Transportation (DOT) session with the Conference of Mayors where they discussed creating regional transportation groups. DeMoss heard about the portion of the $3.5 billion Infrastructure Bill that would be going to the state for improvements on roads, bridges, broadband, and construction, among other key areas. Retirement, recruitment and retention of employees was a discussion, as well as PERS; discussions related to recruiting police officers was also an issue discussed. She heard a lot of positive remarks about city council and Seward in general; she was proud to represent Seward. Bower said it was a pleasure to attend with DeMoss. Bower added that she had been frustrated by the PERS discussions, which revolved around adding a Tier 5 for police and fire; she liked the idea, but thought creating this as they proposed would result in another unfunded mandate. Sowell had been involved in many discussions about childcare issues and economic recovery issues with people from other coastal cities, and had discovered there were lots of similarities. Presentations — None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment Ordinance 2021-006, Amending Portions Of Seward City Code 15.10.140 Definitions; 15.10.226 Land Uses Allowed, To Change, Update, And Accommodate The Wishes Of The Public To Promote Life Safety And Maintain A City Code That Reflects The Community's Needs. Motion (BaclaanlMcClure) Enact Ordinance 2021-006 Bower was looking forward to the work session that was scheduled on August 17, 2021 to review this ordinance. She would appreciate receiving any questions that council had. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and thepublic hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2021 Volume 41, Page 493 Terry noted that there were a number of definitions being changed, and wanted to ensure that all the definitions were compatible in code, and also wondered what the impact of this ordinance on the recodification process would be. Casagranda wondered if it would be possible for the city manager to bring definitions of residential groups R, Rl, R2, and R3 to the work session; she was concerned because those were being removed from the life safety code. Terry noted that Building and Fire Code from other sources were being referenced and embedded in this ordinance; this would potentially create extra work in order to maintain the city code. Motion to Postpone (Terry/McClure) Postpone Ordinance 2021-006 to August 23, 2021. Terry said the work session that was scheduled on August 17, 2021 to review and discuss this ordinance would be a good opportunity to answer some questions. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda Resolution 2021-079, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With OpenGov, Inc. For An Online Business License Portal In The Amount Of $17,000, And Appropriating Funds. This resolution was postponed from July 23, 2021. Terry stated this resolution had been postponed due to concerns about the city being able to terminate the contract, if the need arose. City Clerk Brenda Ballou said the vendor had worked with the city to provide an additional agreement that provided a termination clause; this had been reviewed by the city attorney. Casagranda said ultimately what she would hope to see would be a single portal for customers to use that would allow multiple departments to access and process the workflow; she would Iike to see this include bed tax, fire inspections, business licensing, etc. and allow customers to upload documentation that may be required. Ballou said this vendor had the ability to provide all of those features, but the price tag for a system like that would be considerable. Instead, this contract focused on just a business license portal to get the process started; the system could be scaled to grow in the future. Motion Passed Yes: McClure, Osenga, Seese, Baclaan, DeMoss, Terry No: Casagranda City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes Aygust 9, 2021 Volume 41, .Page 494 NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2021-084, Approving A Franchise For The Collection And Disposal Of Garbage And Refuse With Alaska Waste -Kenai Peninsula, LLC, Subject To Approval By The Voters Of Seward At The October 5, 2021 Regular City Election. Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-084 Bower stated the city code required that citizens were provided with trash service. The city opted to contract by a franchise agreement, and the current franchise agreement would expire December 31, 2022. Bower was bringing this forward now to be presented to the voters at the election in October. When reviewing the franchise agreement, Bower said she first examined why the city should have a franchise agreement at all. She discovered it was not a charter requirement, but was written into city code. Next, she wondered what could happen if the city didn't have a franchise agreement. Her concern was that without an agreement in place, there would be nothing to bind a trash company to stay in Seward and provide services. After performing research and considering the options, Bower determined that having a franchise agreement in place made the most sense. Bower pointed out that curbside recycling services were not included in the franchise agreement. Recycling services were not mandated in city code, but there were private local businesses that offered recycling services in Seward for citizens to use if they wished. Baclaan confirmed that recycling services were available, and stated this new franchise agreement would not interfere with local recycling service providers. Bower concurred. Council suspended the rules to speak with Alaska Waste Representative Kurt Froening. In response to Seese, Kurt Froening said recycling was currently available, and would continue with the new agreement. Recycling could be dropped off at the transfer site, and in the future there would be additional recycling options available to provide greater convenience for citizens. Council went back on the rules. Casagranda asked for an explanation of the 140% CPI increase. Bower said there was language in the current contract which allowed for this automatic increase. Seese wondered who did the scoring on the proposals. Sowell said himself, Harbormaster Norm Regis, and a person from finance. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2021 Volume 41, Page 495 Casagranda stated that throughout the city, it was common for the CPI to be used, but unusual to see "140% of the CPI." She wondered why this was the equation being used just for this specific application. Motion to Amend (Casagranda/DeMoss) Amend Resolution 2021-084 by striking the words, "...140% of...". Terry wondered if making this amendment would nullify the proposal that was released by the city. In response, Chandler said, technically, it would mean the city was rejecting the proposal. Motion to amend withdrawn with no objection from council. Terry thought it would be great to have voter education on this topic. In response to Baclaan, Chandler said a neutral, explanatory statement was possible, and in compliance with the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC). However, if council wished to influence the outcome of the election on this topic, Chandler said funds would have to be appropriated and a fling made with APOC. Chandler said there was an inherent distinction between the role of the city and of the citizens: the voters approved the franchise agreement, and council approved the tariff. Motion Passed Other New Business Items Unanimous Approval of the July 26, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Motion (BaclaanlMcClure) Motion to Amend (TerrylBaclaan) Motion to Amend Passed Main Motion Passed Approve the July 26, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Amend the July 26, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting minutes under the Introduction of Ordinance 2021-006 by striking the word "Enact" and replacing it with the word "Introduce". Unanimous Unanimous INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS — None CITIZEN COMMENTS Tim McDonald assumed there were a lot of chemicals in the sewage water, including personal care products, dumps from RVs, etc. He thought the city needed a closed -loop sewer system, similar to the heat loop system, to capture the heat that would be produced. There were huge City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 9, 2021 Volume 41, Page 496 amounts of energy generated in the sewage system, and instead of dumping it into the bay and polluting the waters, he thought it should be captured and used. Kurt Froening said 140% of CPI was designed to maintain the costs of doing business in Seward. Patrick Messmer thanked council. Tim McDonald said there was a big double standard for government versus private business; government spent so much more. He was frustrated by the cost of contracts for government. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS DeMoss congratulated Stephan Nilsson on his retirement from the city. Casagranda thanked the citizens for speaking up, and she appreciated the report on the AML Conference. She wished to improve the process for short term lodging businesses, but also didn't want to exclude other businesses, Seese was happy for Nilsson and wished him well. She thanked DeMoss for her report, and Chandler for his work. She also appreciated the CPI explanation. Osenga wished Nilsson the best. Be safe. McClure was happy the sidewalks would be worked on. There was a pop-up children's museum in the Temple Studios building; it was amazing, and the hands-on activities were terrific. The museum was open Thursday through Saturday through August. She wanted the borough assembly representative to come to council and report; she was disappointed he hadn't been coming. Baelaan thanked Tim McDonald for his comments. Innovation and technology were something that should always be considered; the new administration had been taking that approach, but he appreciated when citizens came forward and brought things to council's attention. He thanked everyone for helping with the parade and meeting event for Lydia Jacoby — this was one thing that the entire community was 100% joyous about. Vaccines were available at the clinic. Baclaan thanked administration on handling the tsunami warning and evacuation well, and said the shelter at the high school gym was effective. He thanked everyone for their reports on the AML Conference. He thanked Casagranda for her input during the work session, and her concerns about fees. He congratulated the employees on the new union contract. And he thanked businesses and citizens for a successful Pride weekend. Terry thanked the Tsunami Swim Club for leading the charge on the Lydia Jacoby parade and event. She thanked Governor Mike Dunleavy, State Senator Peter Micciche, State Representative Ben Carpenter, and KPB Assembly Representative Kenn Carpenter for attending the parade and speaking to the crowds. Terry thanked the city attorney for his first year working with the City of'Solva rd, Alaska City Council Meeting Iffinites August 9, 2021 Volume 41, Page 497 city; it was nice to work with professionals. Terry supported the vaccine, and encouraged everyone to get vaccinated, The meeting was, adjourned at 8:46 p.m, Brenda J. BallouMC City Clerk (City Seal) CO IN do