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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07252022 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 25, 2022 Volume 42,Page 76 CALL TO ORDER The July 25, 2022 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:30 p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Sue McClure John Osenga Liz DeMoss da Mike Calhoon Randy Wells comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—Casagranda Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING—None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: There were no consent agenda items. NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Items Committee of the Whole:Timeline and Process Concerning the Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling the Electric Utility. W.. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 25,2022 Volume 42,Page 77 Motion(McClure/Wells) Move into Committee of the Whole to discuss the Timeline and Process Concerning the Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling the Electric Utility. Terry asked administration to provide a presentation. Motion Passed Unanimous Council moved into Committee of the Whole at 5:34 p.m. Council came out of Committee of the Whole at 6:35 p.m. Motion (Terry/McClure) Direct the city manager to bring forward a resolution to conduct a Special Election on May 2,2023 and a resolution appropriating funds to influence the outcome of an election. Motion Passed Unanimous Bower said she wished to collaborate with the city attorney and city clerk on how best to approach soliciting the opinions of utility customers living outside of city limits;those citizens could not vote in a city election,but Bower wanted to include their input in the decision making process. CITIZEN COMMENTS Suzi Towsley,inside the city,appreciated the time and energy that council was putting into this issue. In the past, she said there was reason for some people to believe that there had been corrupt utility management and used utility billing as a weapon against certain customers. She thought the forensic audit results demonstrated there had been gaps in the billing process where rates and billing were not always handled appropriately and fairly. Towsley suggested that if Seward's utility became part of a larger organization, those kinds of issues may not come up again. She appreciated the sentiment of moving on,but wanted there to be accountability measures in place to protect working class people. She was very happy to see new faces on council that weren't there when those utility issues were occurring. She thought it was a great idea to put out a survey to capture the voices of rate payers outside city limits; she also wished to have renters' voices be captured as oftentimes their names were not directly on the utility account. Skip Reierson,inside the city,appreciated tonight's presentation.He reiterated that tonight's purpose was to consider the pros and cons of selling this valuable asset,not to make a final decision. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes July 25, 2022 Volume 42, Page 78 Sowell said neither himself, Bower, or Montgomery were here when the voters were presented with this question; he said the last time the citizens voted, they didn't know the price, terms, or conditions of the sale. This time, Sowell said he wanted to provide citizens with all that important information so they could make a good decision.He anticipated that citizens would also be receiving information and education from the potential buyer,and that would provide citizens with the opportunity to ask questions. Calhoon said at the last election,they did know what the price would be,and there had been some planning about how the proceeds from the sale would be used. There had been a big community meeting attended by the potential buyer who shared their plans, and citizens had the opportunity to ask questions. Calhoon hoped the city would do a little more outreach this time. Osenga thanked everyone for coming tonight. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:49 p.m. /ILAAJA / ALA Ate renda Ballou,0' MC testy Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) �� NOF4-oisse i's. ` S. SEAL (Piss • ,�OF ALP" ••• r