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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08222022 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 95 CALL TO ORDER The August 22,2022 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 Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—Wells Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Bailey Sayler,outside the city,stated the National Science Foundation exhibit In Search Of Our Secrets had arrived and had been set up at the library;the public was welcome to come starting at tomorrow morning, and on Friday there would be an open house. Carol Griswold, inside the city, hoped that everyone had read the SMIC Bench Housing Development Feasibility Study Report; she believed it would be unfeasible for the city to develop that property for housing. She cited hardships of increased weather winter weather conditions, difficulties drilling wells for drinking water,installing sewer systems,and increased traffic as some of her concerns. Brad Snowden,inside the city,thanked McClure for putting her name in the hat for mayor, and he thanked Terry for her service as mayor. He commended McClure for being studious and diligent in her preparations. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 96 Terry removed Resolution 2022-092 from the consent agenda. Calhoon removed Resolution 2022-089 from the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Ordinance 2022-012, Amending Seward City Code Chapter 5.01 General Provisions And Enacting Chapter 5.02 Fund Balance And Net Position.This ordinance was introduced and will come for public hearing and enactment on September 12, 2022. Ordinance 2022-013, Amending Seward City Code Chapter 5.15 Investment And Collateralization Of Public Funds. This ordinance was introduced and will come for public hearing and enactment on September 12, 2022. Resolution 2022-090,Approving The Ongoing Support Of The Bradley Project Management Committee's Use Of Excess Payments To Finance A Series Of Required Projects To Upgrade The Transmission System Serving The Bradley Lake Project Area For Improved Operational Efficiency. Resolution 2022-091,Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase From Southern States,LLC, A Horizontal Circuit Switch In A Not-To-Exceed Amount Of$247,300 For Installation In The Spring Creek Electric Substation, Allowing Seward Crews To Connect/Disconnect Transmission Lines Or Other Components To-And-From The System For Planned Or Unplanned Events And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2022-093,Accepting And Appropriating The Gulf Of Alaska Pacific Cod Disaster Grant Funds In The Amount Of $43,676 From The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC). Approval of the August 8,2022 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the August 8,2022 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Cancel the October 22,2022 work session to review the recodification materials. Proclamations and Awards Remembering Hugh Darling In Memoriam Congratulating Tom Tougas for receiving the William A.Egan Outstanding Alaskan of the Year Award City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 97 City Manager Report. City Manager Janette Bower said she had attended the Alaska Municipal Management Association(AMMA)Summer Conference in Sitka,Alaska;the entire day had been focused on the workforce and what was being observed nationwide,as well as in Alaska. The Alaska Municipal League(AML)portion of the conference continued in the following days;it was a good conference overall. Bower announced that the September 24, 2022 joint work session for council and the Planning&Zoning Commission regarding the potential of converting the Forest Acres Campground into the Hemlock Subdivision would be cancelled. She stated she wished to take a step back from that project and evaluate things. Bower said there would be a special meeting on September 26,2022 to review the findings of the SMIC Bench feasibility study.There would be a public meeting with Victus Advisors about the Community Recreation Center on September 28, 2022 at noon, followed by a special council meeting that evening. Electric Utility Manager Rob Montgomery wished to provide an update on the infrastructure project. Of the $10.5 million from the revenue bond, there was approximately$7.9 million committed through resolutions passed so far in 2022. Over the next 12 months,there would be another$6.2 million that would be committed.Approximately$400,000 of that$6.2 million was for engineering design work and$5.8 million was for substation refurbishment at the Fort Raymond and Lawing substations. Montgomery said, by the end of 2023, there would be a $3.6 million shortfall;to address this,he would be looking for the department to fund that through the enterprise fund or else he would seek other funding opportunities.In addition,Montgomery said the last project approved by council would be in 2024 and that would be the refurbishment of the Spring Creek substation; that would be a$3.2 million project. Casagranda stated that between 2023 and 2024,there would be a total shortfall of almost$7 million for the electric infrastructure project.Montgomery confirmed,and reminded council that he had initially requested a$20 million revenue bond to cover Phases 1,2, and 3 of the infrastructure project, and council had approved the revenue bond for half that amount. Casagranda stated there was $8.6 million in the electric unrestricted fund account at year end 2021. Following up, Montgomery said he anticipated having a discussion in late 2023 about conducting a rate study for a 2024 implementation.Montgomery said the city was making interest-only payments on the revenue bond in 2022 and 2023,but starting in 2024 would be required to start making full payments which equated to approximately$1.1 million per year for interest and principal. Bower said, going forward, the city manager report would include a monthly update on the status of the electric infrastructure project. Terry asked the city manager to re-share the original presentation that was provided which outlined the whole infrastructure project to refresh everyone. Terry wished to revisit the meetings being scheduled on September 28, 2022 for the Community Recreation Center; she was interested in seeing an interactive community open house rather than a special council meeting to ensure that community members were providing input. She wasn't sure if council members thought they were ready to make decisions; she wanted to have the City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 98 opportunity to review the findings and hear the public's feedback.She asked what the vendor's plans were. In response, Bower said the noon meeting was designed to be publicly interactive.Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell said he had met with the vendor,Victus Advisors,four times so far. Victus was currently working on potential site selections and an estimate for construction and operating expenses. He expected to receive a draft report in a couple of weeks. Sowell stated there had been over 650 responses from the public on the survey;respondents comprised 48%outside city limits and 52% inside city limits. Terry suggested maybe using the high school auditorium for a public session.DeMoss agreed that a special meeting was not necessary at this time,and wondered if Victus would be discussing any potential funding opportunities during the session.Sowell confirmed they would be discussing funding opportunities,and they would also be compiling a list of potential stakeholders. Other Reports and Announcements Washington Report from the city's federal lobbyist firm Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, PC. Chamber of Commerce Report.Executive Director Kat Sorenson said the 67th Annual Silver Salmon Derby ended yesterday and had been very successful. Despite the rainy weather, Sorenson announced there had been 1,480 registered anglers, 1,241 fish weighed, and 7,788.54 pounds of Silver Salmon turned in.The number of fish turned in was down from the average 2,500; this would impact the funding for the fish restoration program. Sorenson reported the visitation numbers from the Fourth of July weekend: over 24,000 visitors had come to Seward over the weekend.There had been over 2,000 visitors at the Chamber's Visitor Center in the first two weeks of August which was very high. Meet the Candidates night would be September 19,2022.There would be volunteer and member appreciation event at the end of September. AML Summer Conference Travel Report by Council Member DeMoss said the AML Summer Conference was fun; she arrived the day after the city manager. She learned that Seward was facing similar issues as other communities, including employee recruitment and retention, remote work,childcare,housing.There had been some discussion about the possibility of hosting the 2024 conference in Seward. Presentations Presentation of the City's Draft 2021 Financial Audit Report by Altman,Rogers&Co. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment Ordinance 2022-010,Amending Seward City Code Title 1—General Provisions.This ordinance was introduced on August 8, 2022 and is coming tonight for public hearing and enactment. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 99 Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Enact Ordinance 2022-010 City Clerk Brenda Ballou said this ordinance was a compilation of all the comments and input received for this title through the recodification process, including input from the Municode attorney,the city attorney, the city manager, and departmenfheads. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Carol Griswold,inside city limits,requested a number of changes to this ordinance:clarify the definition of day by including the word"calendar"or"business";update the definition of owner to eliminate the word"tenant";update the definition of personal property by removing"gold dust" and by reducing the number of examples;remove the word"personalty"from the definitions; and, change the words "duly promulgated" to "publicly noticed". Griswold believed many of the fines outlined should be adjusted to be more reasonable,or else redesigned to be on an escalating scale for repeat offenders; she didn't believe the fines would be enforceable as written. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Casagranda asked Motion to Amend (DeMoss/Casagranda) Amend Ordinance 2022-010 in the fine schedule for 9.05.150 Cruelty to animals by striking "$250" and replacing it with "$1,000". Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Casagranda asked which department was responsible for enforcing the animal code, specifically determining if an animal had been vaccinated. In response,Police Chief Alan Nickell said the animal control officer would be the main person who would identify and investigate potential infractions.McClure said,if she were to be bitten by a dog,she would want to know if the dog had been vaccinated against rabies. Terry said she was glad that the city code was starting to get cleaned up,having gone through Municode attorney review, city attorney review, and administration review. Main Motion Passed Unanimous Ordinance 2022-011,Amending Seward City Code Chapter 2.10 City Council To Integrate The Rules From The City Council Rules Of Procedures And To Provide For Clarifying Amendments. This ordinance was introduced on August 8, 2022 and is coming tonight for public hearing and enactment. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 100 Motion (McClure/Osenga) Enact Ordinance 2022-011 Bower said this ordinance brought in the rules from the City Council Rules of Procedure (CCROP)to be codified. In addition,this ordinance also included recodification updates that were identified. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Carol Griswold was concerned about the use of special meetings;special meetings should be used only rarely according to the Alaska Open Meetings Act (OMA), and only to address time- sensitive issues. She believed having a special council meeting with a Committee of the Whole was a misuse of the OMA. Griswold was also concerned that code required the agenda packets to be delivered to council by 7:00 p.m. on the Saturday before the council meeting, and to the public on 9:00 a.m. on the day of the council meeting; she thought this was a good way to exclude the public from the process, and didn't provide enough time for council to read their packets. Thought the deadline for agenda packets to council and the public should be 5:00 p.m.on the Thursday before the meeting.Griswold wished to codify that packets be sent to the city clerk's email distribution list,and posted on the city clerk's Facebook page and city website. She also wished to codify that the agenda be sent and uploaded to same sources at the same time it was sent to the newspaper for publication. She thought that laydowns should be provided no later than noon on meeting day,or else the agenda item should be postponed to the next meeting.Griswold also thought the city code should reflect the public having speaking opportunities at work sessions,in addition to regular and special meetings. She wondered if there was a penalty for a council member being absent from a meeting, and suggested perhaps there should be if not already;otherwise,what was the purpose of documenting an absence or an excused absence? Griswold thought that minutes should be required to be posted online under legislative history,that motions should be submitted in writing to the city clerk before being presented on the floor, and that the procedure for action memoranda should be defined. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Casagranda wondered why work sessions were not included in reference to the public having the opportunity to speak at regular and special meetings. In response,Bower said this language was in keeping with state statute. Motion Passed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2022-089, Appropriating $746,000 From The City's General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance To The Capital Acquisition Projects Fund And Appropriating$350,000 From The Capital Acquisition Projects Fund For The Purpose Of Conducting Sidewalk And ADA Ramp Repairs. City of-Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 101 Motion (McClure/Calhoon) Approve Resolution 2022-089 Calhoon said he wanted to make sure the public understood where these funds would be going; the city was currently in a position to address sidewalk repairs and there were excess funds available. Terry wondered how much work could potentially be accomplished with this amount of funding. Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said the most recent project,the 600-foot long sidewalk on Fifth Avenue,had cost the city$350,000 to repair. Bower added that sidewalk repair projects would continue to be discussed during the upcoming budget process. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2022-092, Appropriating $40,000 From The General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance And Authorizing The City Manager To Provide Up To,But Not Exceed,$40,000 For Repairs And Maintenance To The Seward Fire Vessel John Foster. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2022-092 Motion to Amend (Terry/Casagranda) Amend Resolution 2022-092 by adopting the substitute resolution. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Fire Chief Clinton Crites stated the fire vessel John Foster had significant damage that needed repair.The vessel was currently out of the water and was currently being repaired;quotes had been solicited one year ago, and the chosen vendor had subsequently backed out. More recently, local vendor JAG stepped up to take over the repairs. In response to McClure,Crites said the repairs and maintenance would be aggressive in order to get the apparatus in good working order. Casagranda wondered why the general fund had been chosen for funding.Bower said the city would not be receiving Commercial Passenger Vessel(CPV)funds for the next couple of years due to cruise ships being cancelled from COVID. Bower did not believe the motor pool included this vessel. Casagranda suggested updating the motor pool fund during the upcoming budget process to include this vessel. Terry was pleased that the boat was being repaired, and requested that a final report be provided to council. Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2022-094,Directing The City Manager To Proceed With The Public Works Facility Project At The Fort Raymond Property (2101 And 2109 Dimond Blvd), Approving R&M Engineering Task Order 2734.25 For Geotechnical Services And Appropriating Funds. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 102 Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2022-094 Bower said the development plan was underway,and the geotechnical work was the next step in the process. She wished to have clear support for this project on the record from council in the event she found potential funding opportunities. Casagranda asked for a description of geotechnical services. Sowell said boring holes would be drilled and the materials extracted would be analyzed. In addition, Sowell said there would be recommendations provided whether vibro compaction would be necessary or not. Casagranda wondered what underground utilities would be discovered. Schoessler said he knew where the main water and sewer lines were,as well as the old wells,and those areas would be clearly marked. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items All Other New Business Items were approved on consent. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS—None CITIZEN COMMENTS—None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower said the utility billing system had been 52 upgrades behind,and council had approved the system to be upgraded.The upgrade process would start soon and would take several months to complete. She said one member of the Carmen Jackson team had been on site in Seward for a week and had spent time working at the utility counter to review the processes.The Carmen Jackson firm was also doing a redundant month end back up in addition to the finance department's back up. A second utility counter employee had been hired. Bower said she was working to establish better practices and processes in finance. Osenga thought this had been a great meeting. DeMoss thanked the chamber and the harbor for a successful Silver Salmon Derby. She was pleased that the finance vendor Carmen Jackson was overseeing the utility billing project. She thanked McClure and Calhoon for bringing forward the resolution for sidewalk repairs; she fully supported the repairs getting done. McClure announced that on Sunday at the museum there would be a large celebration for Founders Day;Beverly Dunham would be conducting a presentation during the event.McClure was City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 22, 2022 Volume 42,Page 103 honored to be running for mayor, and said she was running 49 years after her aunt was mayor of Seward. Terry noted that individual ordinances would be coming through council to update the city code. She encouraged everyone to see the new science exhibit at the library; it was a phenomenal exhibit and she appreciated everyone working to get it in Seward. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:48 p.m. Brenda Ballow, C 'sty Terry City Clerk Mayor (Ci J11,88, SEA•.,, t -•a_ Off► I SEAL • E --s- l • .,��qOF A � LPS�`��