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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01232023 Committee of the Whole NotesCOMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTES CITY COUNCIL Purpose: Roles and Responsibilities of Boards & Commissions Date: 1/23/2023 Time In: Time Out: 5:38 p.m. 6:42 p.m. Order for tonight: Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) Port and Commerce Advisory Board (PACAB) Planning & Zoning Admin: Jason Bickling Commissioners in the audience: Clare Sullivan, Nathaniel Charbonneau Community Development Director Jason Bickling said P&Z oversees the MUNI land plan and does public hearings on the comprehensive plan. The Community Development city webpage has been significantly updated this year with more maps. Working with P&Z, Comm Dev had created brochures for sign use and various zones in Seward. They also did a heavy lift on the community land plan to make a much more useful document for the public to use. DeMoss felt P&Z had a heavy workload already without needing more work handed to them from council. Her main concern was the lack of quorum with meetings and work sessions being cancelled. She felt code was complicated and appreciated the new maps and brochures. Barnwell asked about a comprehensive plan that would be more of a fluid document and not static. Bickling said the comprehensive plan was their heart and soul and should be revisited every year and the strategic plan was their means to get where they needed to go. The strategic plan hasn't been updated since the 1990's. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTES CITY COUNCIL Sowell added the strategic plan was the operational document for how to check the boxes to achieve the vision of the comprehensive plan. P&Z Chair Clare Sullivan emphasized that 4 of their 7 commissioners were brand new and there was a steep learning curve. Having the comprehensive plan and the direction was key and keeps everything going in the right direction. McClure echoed the concern about attendance and lack of quorums. Sullivan responded that some commissioners would be gone 4-5 months out of the year and that was disruptive to the flow of the commission. Bickling noted the attendance rules unfortunately don't mention work sessions. He also wanted to clear up the difference between excused absences vs unexcused absences. It was frustrating to put in the effort to have a work session and realize at the last minute there will not be a quorum. P&Z Commissioner Charbonneau wanted to tighten up the attendance rules and agreed that changes needed to be made. Bickling thanked the commissioners and noted how they were not afraid to dig into complicated subjects and ask tough questions. He felt they all work well together even with many different viewpoints. Historic Preservation Admin: Bailey Sayler Commissioners in the audience: Sue Ward Library Museum Director Bailey Sayler said in 2023 the HPC will meet four times a year unless there is a special meeting called for. She read through HPC establishment and powers and duties from Seward City Code. She said the HPC Facebook page had done a phenomenal job reaching a wider COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTES CITY COUNCIL audience. McClure noted there was always some confusion in the community to differentiate between the Resurrection Bay Historical Society and the HPC. McClure floated the description that HPC was more concerned with buildings and properties while RBHS was more focused on museum artifacts. HPC Vice Chair Sue Ward responded that was an accurate description. Ward said her dream was to come up with a grant library and steer money to folks who own historic buildings. Historic buildings have access to money, they just need to connect the dots. The building that comes to mind was St Peters Episcopal Church. However, even with the grant money, one issue in Seward was finding a contractor who would do the work. Wells thanked Ward and HPC for the historic walking tour signs. Every time he has friends and family in town they do the tour and think it's great. Ward said there was many more great stories out there and she loves doing the research. There was a lot more to know about Seward. Bower agreed the walking tour was great. She was considering using the format of the walking tour signs for future projects. Ward said there was a new window decal with QR codes to pull up the map on smart phones to reduce the need for printed maps of the walking tour. Sayler said that some enthusiastic home owners had gone so far as to paint their houses in historic colors to match the walking tour signs. Admin: Norm Regis Board Members in the audience: Carl Hughes, Ben Smith, Bruce Jaffa, Lynda Paquette, Fred Woelkers Regis summarized what PACAB's recent projects such as the harbor tariffs, COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE NOTES CITY COUNCIL washdown pad and Northeast Boat Launch ramp. He said PACAB meetd the first Wednesday of every month with a work session every third Wednesday. They go on hiatus during the summer months of June, July, and August. Jaffa said PACAB covered a wide range of topics. PACAB was instrumental in solar energy in Seward. Another project they helped with was advocate for a 5-ton crane in the harbor. However, PACAB can do more than look over the shoulder of the Harbor Department. Jaffa felt the current downward trend in mission was discouraging. His one -hour commute into town was not worth a brief 30-minute meeting and he requested more projects for PACAB to work on. For one example, Jaffa enjoyed when administration asked PACAB to delve into the housing crisis. Hughes said it was an honor and privilege to serve as an advisory board to council. He was looking for challenges and needed direction. He encouraged council to use PACAB. Paquette wanted to mention her interest in the waste water treatment lagoon. She volunteered PACAB to tackle the project and do the research. DeMoss said she loved how PACAB's biggest complaint was not enough work to do. She thanked them for all their hard work. She said the airport issue had rebloomed in a major way and perhaps it was time to reform an airport committee.