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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05092022 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9,2022 Volume 42,Page 26 CALL TO ORDER The May 9,2022 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 Kris Peck, Deputy City Clerk Sam Severin,City Attorney Excused—Wells Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tim McDonald, outside city limits, said there was only one solution to the Lowell Point Road landslides and that would be a tunnel along the road that would shed the landslides over the top. McDonald felt that residents outside of city limits were true citizens of Seward and should be allowed to vote in city elections. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda DeMoss removed the liquor license renewal from the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2022-061, Authorizing And Appropriating $7,200 In Private Donations For The City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9, 2022 Volume 42, Page 27 Purpose Of Purchasing Additional Walking Tour Maps. Resolution 2022-062,Authorizing The City Manager To Appropriate Funds To Rent&Leases For Sports And Recreation In The Amount Of$18,150 For The Use Of AVTEC From April 2022 Through June 2022. Resolution 2022-063,Accepting And Appropriating FY22 Coronavirus State Local Recovery Federal Grant Funds In The Amount Of$577,195. Resolution 2022-064, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Special Services Agreement With Coldfoot Environmental Services,Inc For Final Clean-Up Of The Jesse Lee Home Property In An Amount Not To Exceed $95,603.11, And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2022-065,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With Sturgeon Electric Company In A Not-To-Exceed Amount Of$319,006.72, Fully Reimbursable By The Alaska Department Of Transportation, To Complete Power Line Relocation Work Between Milepost 17-22.5 Of The Seward Highway To Accommodate AKDOT's Road Improvement Work. Resolution 2022-066, Authorizing the City Manager to Enter the Negotiated Collective Bargaining Agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Effective July 1, 2022 and Ending June 30, 2025. Approval of the April 25, 2022 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the April 25, 2022 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards Recognizing Sharyl Seese for her service on City Council from June 2018 through October 2021. Recognizing Gary Seese for his service on the Planning& Zoning Commission from August 2014 through February 2022. Gary Seese was not present. Recognizing Tom Swann for his service on the Planning & Zoning Commission from September 2014 through February 2022. Recognizing Craig Ambrosiani for his service on the Planning & Zoning Commission from June 2016 through February 2022. Harbor Opening Weekend, Blessing of the Fleet& Mermaid Festival Proclamation. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9,2022 Volume 42,Page 28 City Manager Report. City Manager Janette Bower had several updates on the Lowell Point Road landslide. Metco's excavators were making their way towards the top of the slide and planned to work from the top down. There was concern the adjacent section with trees would also slide as the crews were working on the current slide zone. Barricades were placed across the road and manned 24-hours a day by the Seward Police Department. A blasting company was tentatively scheduled to scale the slide area and set off explosives.In the meantime,Miller's Landing water taxi was providing service between Seward and Lowell Point. Parking in the harbor had been made available for those who were taking the water taxi.The Seward High School had been opened as an emergency shelter in case anyone missed the last water taxi. It was difficult to estimate what the timeframe would be for clearing the slide.Bower emphasized that every component of this operation was subject to change. Despite the disaster, the city public works crews were still able to make it over to the Lowell Point sewage lagoon to complete their daily work with no issues. The Coast Guard had been notified of the marine debris hazard of the trees falling in the bay. If at all possible the trees were being removed by Metco before they fell in the water.A special council meeting was scheduled for May 12,2022 to declare a state of emergency. Terry wanted to discuss where the FY22 Coronavirus grant funds would be utilized.Bower responded the city received $1.8 million for lost revenue, and part of that would go to water and sewer infrastructure. There were also line items for the Seward Community Library server and security cameras.True lost revenue would go into the general fund.Terry clarified the resolution on the consent agenda tonight would go into the water and sewer funds. Terry reported she had received comments requesting the city website list all city business licenses to create a local directory similar to Yellow Pages. Casagranda voiced her support of the idea. City Attorney Report.City Attorney Sam Severin reported that personnel matters came up quickly and required a lot of time to resolve. Borough Assembly Report.Borough Assembly Representative Cindy Ecklund said the opioid settlement funds were part of a national settlement and the borough would receive approximately$45,960 a year for the next 18 years.Next,the school district had requested up to their budget cap of around $52 million. Unfortunately, that didn't help recruit or retain staff. The non- competitive wages wouldn't lure people from the rest of the nation to want to teach or work for the school district here. Other Reports and Announcements—None Presentations Chamber of Commerce quarterly report and housing survey presentation by Executive Director Kat Sorensen. PUBLIC HEARINGS City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9, 2022 Volume 42, Page 29 Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing Resolution 2022-039, Determining It Is In The Public's Interest,And Necessary,To Proceed With The Special Improvement District For And Benefitting,Lots 33,34,35,36,And 37 Block 2,And Lots 4,5,And 6 Block 3 Of The Gateway Subdivision,Adopting The Initial Assessment Roll,Accepting The City Manager's Recommendation To Approve The Application Received For The Gateway Subdivision,And Authorizing An Expenditure In The Amount Of$311,873 For Water, Sewer, And Electrical Improvements And Appropriating Funds. Motion (McClure/DeMoss) Approve Resolution 2022-039 Bower wanted to clarify this was initially submitted under the old language of the code. She combined old code with the new code to craft this resolution.This resolution was for the expansion of the Gateway Subdivision development plans and would benefit eight properties. The city would reimburse 50% of the cost for water and utilities. 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. Casagranda asked Bower to clarify the old code versus the new code in a nutshell. Bower responded the old code contained the premise that up to 50%could be reimbursed,but the new code was more defined. The new language outlined a better process to bring before council. The old one had a premise, but no process to follow. Osenga was concerned this was a potentially confusing mix of old and new language. He wanted to make sure the developers would not have issues with this process. Terry confirmed all applications from this point onwards would be on the new system. Casagranda explained that the city would fund all extension of utilities and then create an assessment and reimburse 50%.There would be about$16,000 reimbursement to each of the lots and this included water and sewer only. Once the city gave the developers money to extend the utilities, she questioned if there was anything in the resolution that stated the lots had to be sold within a certain amount of time. Bower clarified the city's contribution and participation was strictly the utilities. There was not a set time frame for building on the property. Casagranda asked how much funding was in this account at the current time. Bower responded the account currently contained $1.3 million. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS 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 City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9, 2022 Volume 42,Page 30 Software In An Amount Not To Exceed$31,297 And Appropriating Funds.This resolution was postponed on April 11 &April 25, 2022. The original motion was made by McClure and seconded by Osenga. Bower requested that council fail this resolution now as it would give administration more time to research this software over the winter and present it again to council at a later date. Terry wanted to clarify that, if this resolution failed,it didn't mean there was no interest in parking enforcement. There simply was more time needed to research this software. Bower added that fire lane and disabled parking violations were strictly police matters and outside the scope of this software.Unfortunately,the city currently didn't have a tow service that was readily available. Terry mentioned how bigger cities like Anchorage were utilizing pay-by-phone technology. Motion Failed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2022-067, Directing The City Manager To Develop A Timeline And Process For Examining The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Selling The Electric Utility And Bring Recommendations Back To City Council For Adoption. Motion to Approve(Terri-/Calhoon) Approve Resolution 2022-067 Terry clarified this resolution did not propose to sell the electric utility, but rather to get ample public involvement on the pros and cons.There would be a discussion on several items such as:quality of electric service,reasonable rates,safety and accessibility,timely response to inquiries, and keeping the back-up generators in place. Calhoon said this idea had been discussed many times over the past 20 years.He felt it was a good idea to look at the options, and wanted everyone to understand this resolution was meant to gather information. Ultimately,the people in Seward would make the decision. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items Non-Objection to the renewal of liquor license #5903 Restaurant/Eating Place — Public Convenience for the Lone Chicharron Taqueria. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9, 2022 Volume 42, Page 31 DeMoss declared a potential conflict of interest because she was the owner of the building and leased space to the restaurant. Mayor Terry ruled that a conflict of interest existed, with no objection from council. DeMoss removed herself from the dais. Motion (Terry/McClure) Non-Objection to the renewal of liquor license#5903 for the Lone Chicharron Taqueria. Motion Passed Yes: McClure, Casagranda, Osenga, Calhoon, Terry No: None Abstain: DeMoss DeMoss returned to the dais. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS National Small Business Week Proclamation. City Financials for the period ending December 31, 2021. CITIZEN COMMENTS —None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower reported there was an excess revenue of$2.4 million in the general fund.There would be an upcoming resolution to designate where those excess funds should go. Casagranda thanked Tom Swann,Craig Ambrosiani and Cheryl Seese for all their service and dedication to the city. She also wanted to give a shout out to the team from the Small Business Development Center who stopped by recently to visit her business. Calhoon announced that May 21,2022 would be Armed Forces Day and would be part of the Harbor Opening weekend. Tomorrow there was a burn ban taking effect on the Kenai Peninsula. Calhoon thanked both Cindy Ecklund and Kat Sorensen for their excellent reports and thanked Planning and Zoning Commission for their hard work.As for the proposed Hemlock Subdivision in the Forest Acres Campground, he wanted to emphasize the importance of transparency and community involvement. Osenga thanked Cheryl Seese, Tom Swann and Craig Ambrosiani for their service to the city. He thanked administration for their response to the landslide and to Miller's Landing for transporting people on the water taxi. Osenga hoped Metco operators would be safe as they worked in the hazardous landslide area. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes May 9,2022 Volume 42,Page 32 DeMoss thanked administration for their communication and response to the landslide. McClure said the Bike Rodeo on Saturday was a big success. During the Super Saturday Cleanup event,she was proud to have collected three bags of trash.McClure wanted to echo the burn ban announcement and emphasize how it was really dry and windy right now. She was excited that development was underway at the new animal shelter site. Terry said there would be an email survey going around soon from Victus Advisors looking for input on the proposed Seward Recreation Center. The recent school board resolution that was passed would update the funding formula to better retain teachers and staff.The Seward High School running track was in dismal condition and the only one on the Kenai Peninsula that had not been recently replaced. She was glad to see criminal charges were brought in the Homer case of Anesha "Duffy"Murnane disappearance and murder.Terry also thanked the Seward Police Department for their careful amount of evidence and work in the Preston Atwood homicide case.She wanted to send a clear message that criminal activity was not tolerated here in Seward. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m. Kris Peck sty Terry Deputy City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) OF S llt d,.•` SE �'•. : • • 5� r .� •••••.'NE1.,�% ask-��. '',.4 rE OF P\ ''''orisitt•t"