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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04112022 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April II, 2022 Volume 42, Page 4 CALL TO ORDER `ur The April 11, 2022 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 Sue McClure John Osenga Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda Mike Calhoon Randy Wells comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager (telephonic) Stephen Sowell, Assistant 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 Lynda Paquette,outside the city,announced that Representative Ben Carpenter would have a Town Hall meeting at the library on Friday at 6:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Terry moved Resolution 2022-054 from Resolutions to Other New Business as a discussion item. Wells removed Resolution 2022-052 from the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous Lmo The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 Volume 42,Page 5 Resolution 2022-051, Accepting And Appropriating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Federal Grant Funds SOA-DCCED(NEU)In The Amount Of$676,748.30 For The Purpose Of Investment In Water And Sewer Infrastructure. Resolution 2022-053,Accepting And Appropriating The 2022 Volunteer Fire Assistance(VFA) Grant In The Amount Of$4,765.80 And Authorizing The Matching Funds Of$530.20. Approval of the March 29, 2022 City Council Special Meeting(#1) Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards —None City Manager Report. City Manager Janette Bower attended the Lisa Murkowski Infrastructure Grant Symposium today,and there were over 1,000 attendees.Tomorrow would be a follow-up event organized by the Alaska Municipal League which would focus on municipalities. Terry thanked the Electric Department for ensuring that 11 customers were appropriately reclassified from being incorrectly classified.She also appreciated all the activities happening at the library;there were great family-oriented events. DeMoss thanked for the thorough reports from department heads, and appreciated the Electric Department for taking the initiative to fix accounts. City Attorney Report.City Attorney Brooks Chandler reported the last month had been relatively standard.Tomorrow he would be furnishing an opinion letter on behalf of the city for the electric revenue bond, and he continued ongoing discussions about parking enforcement this summer. Borough Assembly Report.Borough Assembly Representative Cindy Ecklund reported the borough adopted the wildfire prevention plan; if anyone received concerning communications from their insurance company as a result,please let her know because there should not be a negative impact on homeowners insurance.The Sterling road expansion project was continuing.An ordinance was introduced relating to a re-apportionment plan. The fund redirection for Japanese Creek study would have a public hearing April 19, 2022. There was a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) approved for sharing geographic data and imagery with cities inside the borough.The assembly was supporting House Bill 367 which related to first and second class boroughs and their apportionment for planning commissions. Other Reports and Announcements flelmdahL Chair Holmdahl did not attend the meeting. Presentations City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April 11,2022 Volume 42,Page 6 Greene Forensic Accounting presentation on the City's forensic audit. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment Ordinance 2022-007,Amending Seward City Code Chapter 8.15.145 Allowing More Flexible Use Within the Construction Site Camping Provision.This ordinance was introduced on March 29, 2022 and is coming tonight for public hearing and enactment. Motion (McClure/Wells) Enact Ordinance 2022-007 Community Development Director Jason Bickling said housing was an issue in Seward and with the onset of construction season,there were concerns about where the construction workers would be housed.This ordinance would open up city code in order to allow for workers to be housed on any construction site, wherever there was room, and not require them to camp on the exact construction site they were working on. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. Osenga asked if this would allow construction crews to stay on private property.In response, Bickling said they would have to camp on construction sites. Casagranda said the construction company was required to file a request with the city manager for approval, and wondered if there was a time limit for how long the crews could camp. Bickling said, as long as the crews were actively engaged in work,they could camp. Osenga asked who would be watching this to make sure the crews were actively working. Bickling said both the Community Development Department and the building inspectors were aware of activities in town;between the two departments,they should be able to monitor activity. In response to Casagranda, Bickling said the crews were required to camp on construction sites,whether the sites were actively underway with construction or pending start up.Crews were not allowed to just camp on empty lots that were not part of the construction activities. Wells supported the concept of this ordinance and thought it would be very beneficial.Terry supported this ordinance and thought it would go a long way to enable the community to solve some of the housing issues. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April II,2022 Volume 42,Page 7 Resolution 2022-046,Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a New 20 Year Lease with 2 Five-Year Options to Extend with Pacific Resurrection Bay Seafoods for Parcel 14823009 and Parcel 14823010 in the Seward Recording District, Third Judicial District, State of Alaska, Consisting of Approximately Parcel A 19,756 Square Feet and Parcel B 33,572 Square Feet, More or Less. Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2022-046 Bower said there had been questions received about this resolution,and the harbormaster had been able to provide her with some answers:the main plant was privately owned,so that was why it was not included in this lease;the employees used on street parking;the current lease had expired,so it automatically reverted to a month to month term; and, the new Lowell Creek Diversion Tunnel would not impact this fishery. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. Terry asked if the city attorney reviewed this lease. Chandler said he did not,but someone else from his firm may have.Chandler said it appeared to be a restated lease in which the terms were fairly standard and similar to the previous lease. McClure appreciated the clarification from the city manager because it answered a lot of questions. Calhoon said the parcel that the main building sat upon was not included in this lease because it was privately owned. Terry wondered what the borough website said,just to be clear. Council recessed at 7:50 p.m. Council resumed at 7:56 p.m. Bower stated the property for the main building was privately owned,and the city leased the property to the north and south of the main building. Sowell wished to clarify that a different attorney from the firm,Sam Severin,reviewed this lease. Wells said fishery employees parked on public property,but he knew citizens who parked in the same public parking area who had been told by fishery workers that they were parked in employee parking. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April I1, 2022 Volume 42, Page 8 Resolution 2022-014, Approving The Historic Preservation Commission Priorities From February 2022 To February 2023. This resolution was postponed on February 14, 2022. Terry said council had had a good discussion with all the boards and commissions recently, and she had a few amendments to suggest as a result of that meeting. Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2022-014 under Seward Historic Structures& Sites by changing the first bullet to read,"Provide research about local projects regarding the effect on properties identified in the local historic preservation inventory." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2022-014 under Seward Historic Structures & Sites in the fifth bullet by striking the word"engender"and replacing it with the words "provide research regarding" so that it reads, "Provide research regarding the seem preservation and use of the Jesse Lee Home properties for Park use." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/DeMoss) Amend Resolution 2022-014 under Seward Historic Structures & Sites under the sixth bullet which reads,"Track and monitor the progress of the Fort Raymond Subdivision." by striking it in its entirety. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2022-014 under Seward Historic Preservation Plan in the first bullet by striking the words "promulgate economic incentives" and replacing them with "provide" so that it reads, "Provide historical preservation and education." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 Volume 42,Page 9 Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2022-014 under Seward Historic Preservation Plan in the third bullet which reads, "Advance the Historic Business District." by striking it in its entirety. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2022-052, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A 3 Year Sole Source Agreement With T2 Systems To Provide Parking Enforcement & Permit Management Software In An Amount Not To Exceed $31,297 And Appropriating Funds. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2022-052 Parks&Recreation Department Director Tyler Florence said the department was tasked with managing parking in and around the harbor area; he was trying to address some of the issues associated with managing parking violations, including enforcement and towing services. This resolution would provide digital permitting and permit enforcement.He thought this program would be effective because it would be fully integrated into the city's current parking system, allowing employees to lookup vehicles and know instantly whether the vehicle was permitted or not; an additional component would include vehicle lookup which would enable the department to connect a citation to the vehicle's owner. Wells was trying to make the connection between recovering the city's lost revenues with how this tracking system would work.He wished to see the cost-benefit of using this system outlined on paper, including the expectation about how many violations would be collected through this system, and the subsequent lost revenue that would be recovered. McClure recalled previous discussions with Florence about gating the parking lots that included revenue figures, and wondered if he could provide additional information to that effect. Florence said the city lost approximately $30,000 each year to uncollected parking violations. Florence added that, in addition to lost revenue due to uncollected parking violations, there were quality of life considerations as well,including visitor experiences. Wells wanted to see the documentation related to the city's lost revenue.DeMoss concurred and asked to see a breakdown of labor costs and a cost-benefit analysis. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 Volume 42,Page 10 Osenga asked for clarification about what services this contract would provide, and what would be gained by contracting for this service. Motion to Postpone (Calhoon/McClure) Postpone Resolution 2022-052 to April 25, 2022. Terry supported trying to find solutions to parking issues, and hoped to see some budget numbers and a cost-benefit analysis. McClure asked to see the impact of using this system on employee hiring. DeMoss asked to see labor costs and a profit and loss statement,or something similar. Casagranda asked if there would be any administrative fees incurred to administer this program which would fall outside of Florence's department. Wells wished to see what additional features were available and the costs associated with those, if any. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Discuss Resolution 2022-054,Utilizing Similar Boundaries Of The Downtown Historic District To Establish A New Historic Business District(HBD) Zone. Bower stated that,because the Historic Preservation Commission(HP)was a function of city council, she wanted council to weigh in on whether HP's request to create a new zone should be forwarded to the Planning&Zoning Commission for action. DeMoss said she had concerns about this because she did not wish to encumber business owners or residents with additional layers of city requirements. She could not recall council providing direction to HP to create a new zone. Casagranda understood the intent of this was to preserve historic aspects of the downtown area,but she did not wish to add another layer of permitting or requirements. Wells said he researched historic districts and grew concerned when he learned the regulations that Skagway had in place. He wondered how available building supplies would be for someone wishing to preserve a historic building. He also would prefer to see in writing what the actual intent of this resolution was by HP. McClure didn't understand the need to create a business area on top of the downtown historic district that already existed. She believed that property owners in the downtown area were careful with their buildings. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 Volume 42, Page 11 Terry said her current concern was to address the city's housing shortage and she thought it wise to keep everyone's focus on addressing that issue rather than dividing attention to work on this item. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS — None CITIZEN COMMENTS Cheryl Seese,inside the city,said HP was using the same boundaries for the historic zone as were established for the historic district;the commission's intention was to not have another building like Petro Marine or the library. She said there were no protections in place for this historic area. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Sowell expressed condolences to Harbormaster Norm Regis on the loss of two family members. Wells appreciated the department heads who were available to answer questions. DeMoss congratulated P&Z Commissioner Sullivan for taking chair of P&Z. She thanked Ecklund for the great borough report. She expressed a Happy Retirement to Deputy Harbormaster Matt Chase. She thanked Greene Accounting for their report on the forensic audit tonight;she looked forward to moving ahead and knew there was still work to be done. And, she thanked council for their input and engagement tonight. Osenga said be safe. McClure congratulated Sullivan on taking chair for P&Z. She was proud of her cat for being on the packet cover tonight. Spring was here; watch for kids playing and biking. Happy Spring and Happy Easter. Terry thanked the high school for the Easter Egg Hunt last weekend. She said there were big snow piles everywhere, so watch for kids. Happy Spring. EXECUTIVE SESSION Go into executive session to discuss the status of negotiations for the purchase of parcels 2405 and 2413 Seward Highway, per SCC 2.10.030 (b)(4). Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Go into executive session to discuss the status of negotiations for the purchase of parcels 2405 and 2413 Seward Highway, per SCC 1 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes April I1, 2022 Volume 42,Page 12 1111 2.10.030 (b)(4) following a five minute recess. tow The city attorney, city manager(telephonic), and assistant city manager were invited to stay. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed at 8:44 p.m. Council resumed at 8:49 p.m. Council went into executive session 8:49 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 9:10 p.m. Terry asked the city attorney and city manager if they felt council needed to take action at this time. Chandler recommended council make a motion to either accept or decline the offer. Motion (Terry/McClure) Withdraw from the negotiation process concerning the purchase of parcels 2405 and 2413 Seward Highway. Motion Passed Unanimous I II ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Brenda Ballow, MC 'sty Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) •111�6oagysQ� .••y OF • ••�G 4 • .•ter' �p: • t SEAL ti•. FOF AVP ••• ,