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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08082022 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 Volume 42,Page 87 CALL TO ORDER The August 8,2022 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 Brooks Chandler, City Attorney Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Kris Lillemo,outside the city,asked council to allow every electric rate payer the chance to vote on the potential sale of the utility. He thanked council for all their hard work. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda McClure moved Resolution 2022-086 onto the consent agenda with no objection from council. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: II Ordinance 2022-010,Amending Seward City Code Title 1—General Provisions.This ordinance was introduced and will come for public hearing and enactment on August 22, 2022. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 Volume 42,Page 88 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 and will come for public hearing and enactment on August 22, 2022. Resolution 2022-085,Accepting And Appropriating Funds From The Rasmussen Foundation Grant, In The Amount Of$7,000 For The Microfilm Scanner For The Seward Community Library & Museum. Resolution 2022-086,Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase A 2022 Chevrolet Silverado, 2500 Regular Cab From Anchorage Chevrolet To Replace An Electric Operations Supervisor's Truck Using The State Of Alaska Procurement Process For Competitive Bidding In The Amount Not To Exceed $48,479,And Appropriating Funds. Approval of the July 25,2022 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the July 25,2022 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Action Memorandum 2022-006, Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase 140 Fire Rings And 70 Picnic Tables for The Municipal Campgrounds in the Amount of$85,965. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards Remembering John Gage In Memoriam Recognizing Gary Seese for his service on the Planning& Zoning Commission Recognizing Cheryl Seese for her service on the Historic Preservation Commission City Manager Report.City Manager Janette Bower reported the police chief had another meeting with municipalities who ran the jails on behalf of the state, and there had been budget and contract discussions amongst the group.The state had increased the budget by$3 million,which was great,but the allocation of funds seemed somewhat disparate:some municipalities were fully funded, some were over funded,and some were underfunded. Seward was currently underfunded, and was not the only one. Bower was initiating a working group with the city managers from those municipalities to discuss jail contracts and expectations. Bower said today she met with representatives from the city's federal lobbyist's office.They had discussed federal budget appropriations, as well as some Coast Guard issues. Bower had met with the Coast Guard housing team about potential future housing options and would be following up to send them information. Bower announced there were several funding opportunities she was aware of, including a City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 Volume 42,Page 89 rural ferry program that may help with getting a state ferry back in Seward, DOT grants for improving resiliency to natural hazards like rising sea levels, DOT grants for airport terminals, bridge investment programs, safe streets for all program, and a clean energy program for port emissions. Last, Bower stated there would be a Broadband Summit in Anchorage tomorrow at which AML would be involved. DeMoss asked about the status of memorial benches.Parks&Recreation Director Maggie Wilkins said the benches were a priority and she would report back as soon as she had an update. Casagranda asked about campground revenues and wondered why the month of April was so high. Bower said the April figures reflected reservations. DeMoss requested to have a report on occupancy this year compared to last year. City Attorney Report.City Attorney Brooks Chandler said July had been a fairly routine month.His firm had worked on personnel matters,zoning questions,and code enforcement issues.In preparation for the potential sale of the city's electric utility,Chandler said he would anticipate quite a bit of work between now and year end.The Planning&Zoning Commission was looking at short term rentals, and he was working through some legal issues in anticipation of where they were heading.He was working through some communications leases for the city,and was pleased that the recodification project was starting to move forward. DeMoss asked about the city's policy for drug testing city employees, and wondered if marijuana usage could potentially be removed from the policy.In response,Chandler said there were two groupings of employees: those with safety sensitive positions or who were required to have a commercial driver's license,and those that were not safety sensitive.The safety sensitive positions fell under federal guidelines and regulations. Drug testing for marijuana specifically was not mandated by the federal government; that was a policy decision made by the employer. Casagranda asked Chandler how many hours he had spent on the Short Term Rental topic.He said less than two hours so far;he had furnished Community Development with some considerations and things to look out for. Chandler said his main concern from a legal standpoint was that Seward residents were not treated any differently than non-residents. Casagranda wondered if Chandler could anticipate how much attorney time he would be spending on the electric utility sale topic. Chandler said it was a big deal, and it would potentially cost the city between$25,000-50,000 in legal fees. Borough Assembly Report.Borough Assembly Representative Cindy Ecklund reported there had not been a borough assembly meeting since her last report. She had been working with Moose Pass residents and the DOT to resolve concerns about the highway construction plans. Tomorrow would be an assembly meeting and the agenda would include:maintaining river gauging stations,an important function for flood control;support for the LNG project;and,consideration for reapportioning the borough from a nine member district to an 11 member district. In addition, City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 Volume 42,Page 90 Ecklund said there would be a position summary for education dollars that would include repairing Seward's track and potentially replace the natural turf with artificial turf. Other Reports and Announcements—None Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS—None NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2022-087,Submitting The Question Of Selling The City Of Seward Electric Utility To The Qualified City Of Seward Voters At A Special Election In And For The City Of Seward On May 2,2023. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2022-087 Bower said this resolution would schedule a Special Election on May 2,2023 and would put the question to the voters as to whether they wished to sell the electric utility or not. She said the question, as it was presented in the resolution,had been approved by the city attorney. Terry wondered if there was a way to do an advisory vote for residents outside the city limits. In response, Bower said she was working on a plan for obtaining input from residents. Electric Utility Manager Rob Montgomery said he was working on the valuation of the asset as well. Bower said the valuation of the asset would cost less than$20,000. Wells asked if rate payers outside the city could be included in voting on the question. Chandler said those citizens could not be included in the calculation to determine whether or not the required number of voters approved the sale of this city asset. In response to Casagranda, Bower said if council approved this resolution, the next step would be that a limited Request for Proposals(RFP)would be issued next week to solicit interest for electric companies who were interested in purchasing; proposals would be due by September 7, 2022.By end of year,the potential purchaser would be identified,and voter education efforts would begin in January. Casagranda requested that negotiations for a potential contract consider any positions in PERS that would be impacted, as well as any motor pool debt. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2022-088,Amending The 2022 City Of Seward Budget To Appropriate Funds In The Amount Of $25,000 To Influence The Outcome Of Election Concerning The Ballot Proposition Submitting The Question Of Selling The City Of Seward Electric Utility To The City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 Volume 42, Page 91 Qualified City Of Seward Voters At A Special Election In And For The City Of Seward On May 2,2023. Motion (McClure/Wells) Approve Resolution 2022-088 Bower said in order to provide education to voters, the city was required to approve a resolution to influence the outcome of an election. She chose the dollar amount as a starting point, but did not anticipate spending this much. Chandler said because the city intended to release information relating to the election and ballot question, this resolution would appropriate funds and make a record of the city's intention. Chandler said the potential buyer would be doing voter education, as well. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items All Other New Business Items were approved on consent. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS—None CITIZEN COMMENTS Cindy Ecklund, inside the city, said there were 12 borough bridges, and 7 were in the Seward area. She said another item on the assembly agenda was an ordinance which proposed to remove the delinquent property tax report from being published in the newspaper, in lieu of being posted on the city website, but she didn't believe that would pass because not every citizen had access to the internet. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Calhoon thanked public works for fixing the water line so quickly.He appreciated everyone working so hard.He reminded everyone that the Silver Salmon Derby would start next weekend.He announced two celebrations of life would be held at the American Legion on Sunday:one for Hugh Darling, and another for Virginia Hanson. Casagranda thanked the fire department for their back to school flyer in the city manager report. She remined everyone that school would be starting soon,and Sea Lion Drive traffic would be ramping up; watch for kids riding bikes. McClure gave a shout out to public works,as well,for their responsiveness to the water line break. There was a large dig going on along Fourth Avenue related to the sewer system; please be careful what you flushed. There would be a Founders Day celebration on August 28, 2022. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 8, 2022 Volume 42, Page 92 Terry stated the award on the dais was from Kushiro City in South Korea for the Silver Salmon Derby. She reminded everyone that absentee in person voting was happening in the city clerk's office and election day would be August 16, 2022. Candidate packets were available for the Seward city council and mayor seats. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m. renda Ballow, Ch Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) .•`***,OF.SF 4ll I 7 N,.;,014 0 fi4 "PN .- —r • — • SEAL . • F: --�— 404,4, '•., OFiA�2,,ts