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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02272023 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 231 CALL TO ORDER The February 27, 2023 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor McClure. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Sue McClure presiding and John Osenga Liz DeMoss Mike Calhoon Randy Wells Kevin Finch Robert Barnwell comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Carol Griswold,inside the city,opposed changing the Charter's long-standing requirement for the city manager to live inside city limits. Living inside the city limits allowed the city manager to better understand the city and its infrastructure, and to understand the impact of codes, regulations,and taxes on citizens. In addition,in times of emergency,the city manager was in charge and would likely be more available in person during an emergency. Currently, there were many department heads who lived outside city limits. Griswold said there were many housing developments underway, and changing the Charter was premature. She suggested that council consider build housing for the city manager on city-owned property, among other ideas. She believed requiring the city manager to live inside city limits was in the best interest of the city and its residents. Darryl Schaefermeyer, inside the city, recalled when he was city manager; he thought it was very important for the city manager to live inside the city limits. As a tax payer,he thought the chief executive officer should live within the limits of the corporation. Seward was a high-hazard area, and it was critical that the city manager be close and available to respond. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42, Page 232 Bruce Jaffa,outside the city,understood that housing in Seward right now was tight,but he believed that the city manager should reside inside the city.He didn't think it was appropriate for the city's chief officer to live outside the city. He believed that leaders should be with their troops. David Squires,inside the city,was against this resolution. He thought it was important for the city manager to maintain a residence inside city limits, especially during an emergency event. The city manager was the leader for the city. He believed that any policy made by the city manager should be abided by the city manager.He didn't appose this going to an election,but thought it was the wrong direction to be heading. He wondered if a housing solution could be found where the city owned or leased property to provide housing. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Osenga/DeMoss) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: There were no consent agenda items. CITIZEN COMMENTS NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2023-028, Submitting the Question of Amending Seward City Charter Chapter 5.4(a)City Manager to Eliminate the Residency Requirement to the Qualified City of Seward Voters at a Special Election in and for the City of Seward on May 2, 2023. Motion. (DeMoss/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2023-028 McClure said council had a discussion about housing and city managers, and they came up with this potential idea. She said there would be a special election on May 2°d,which was why this was being rushed through; she didn't want to pay for a second special election. McClure said if the voters passed this,council could pass an ordinance afterwards to place limitations on how far outside city limits the city manager could reside. She said a lot of Home Rule cities had adapted their charters to allow a certain distance from town. McClure added that there was a substitute resolution provided, as well,that would remove the pronouns in order to gender-neutralize the language; this language had been provided by a citizen. Motion (DeMosslOsenga) Adopt the substitute Resolution 2023-028 and agenda statement. Bower said the substitute resolution was provided by the city attorney, not a citizen. She City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February27,2023 Volume 42,Page 233 confirmed that council would have the authority to enact an ordinance relating to residency limitations. Wells appreciated the citizens who spoke tonight and thought the comments were viable.He didn't believe, however, that allowing the city manager to live up to mile 7 would be cause for concern.He didn't think it would be a problem for the city manager to respond during an emergency. He would support this resolution if there were boundaries put in place defining how far away the city manager could live;he didn't think the city manager should live in Lowell Point due to the history of trouble with the road. Calhoon thought there were pros and cons on both sides of this issue. He thought if the city manager was required to live inside city limits, then perhaps the assistant city manager and department heads should also be required to live inside the city as well. On the other hand, if there was a city manager candidate that was the cat's meow,but the candidate owned horses and livestock, then the city was limiting itself by not being able to hire that candidate. Calhoon wouldn't want the city manager to live in Moose Pass or Crown Point. He thought the Seward residents should decide what they wanted. Finch supported this resolution,but didn't agree with the city manager living in Lowell Point. He thought up to mile 4 on Nash Road and no further than mile 10 Seward Highway would be acceptable. During an emergency,the city manager needed to have the fire chief,police chief, and public works director accessible;he wondered if the same residency requirement would be asked of those positions. He thought the city needed to give a little and grow a little. t McClure said if the voters approved this proposition,then council would have a discussion and come up with acceptable boundaries. Wells concurred that the residency restriction was limiting the potential employment pool for a city manager. We wondered if the resolution could be amended to include boundaries so that the voters understood the extent of the proposed residency requirement. He was concerned that if boundaries were not defined within the proposition, the voters may not understand council's intention was to place limits on acceptable residency requirements outside the city. Bower said the charter could include a statement that the city council would enact an ordinance to define the boundaries; there were examples of this type of language in the charter already. Wells believed strongly that if boundaries were included within this proposition,it would be more clear to the voters.McClure said including boundaries within the proposition would lock it into the charter; passing an ordinance would allow council to change the boundaries. Barnwell leaned towards having the city manager live within city limits; the experience of living within city limits was different than living outside city limits. He thought the city manager needed to experience that. He liked the idea of the city exploring housing solutions for the city manager, as well as any other employee housing needs like police officers. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 234 In response to McClure, Bower said the language pattern in the charter stated the council shall provide in the code for language, and then go from there; she suggested including something like defining the geographical area. Motion to Amend (CalhoonlWells) Amend Resolution 2023-028 by adding a sentence to the end of the paragraph that reads,"The city manager will live within an eight-mile radius of Seward on the road system, excluding Lowell Point Road." Finch said the community was growing and suggested using mile marker 10 of the highway and mile marker 4 of Nash Road. Calhoon withdrew his motion with no objection from council. DeMoss wanted to have some time to think about the boundaries. Motion to Postpone (Wells/DeMoss) Postpone Resolution 2023-028 to March 1, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous CITIZEN COMMENTS David Squires, inside the city, understood that this was a hard decision. He thought it was wise to recess this meeting to consider what language to include in the proposition. He believed the citizens should have the right to vote on this matter. Bruce Jaffa, outside the city, thought this resolution came fast and had not been well- developed. He didn't think it was fair to cut out the community of Lowell Point because they were an important part of this town. The sewer located at Lowell Point affected everyone in that community, yet council was proposing to cut them off from this opportunity. He liked the idea of knowing the city manager lived in the town that they were managing; there was a certain pride for citizens to know that their manager lived with them.More and more,private businesses were taking steps towards providing housing for their employees;having the city provide temporary housing for the city manager until they found something to buy could be a reasonable thing to do. He believed the city manager should live within the city limits. Carol Griswold, inside the city, wished to speak on some other topics for the regular meeting tonight. Regarding the resolution for leasing space to the He Will Provide food pantry, she said the food pantry was heavily subsidized by the residents whose faiths included many different beliefs. In her opinion, a religious organization that was named for an exclusionary religion should be located in a church, not in a secular city government building. She was concerned that some people may feel alienated by or discriminated against due to the name, and suggested the name be changed to something more neutral like Seward food bank. Regarding the Chamber of Commerce contract, she suggested the contract include an emphasis on developing the year-round economy in City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 235 order to balance the heavy tourism efforts in the summer. Griswold requested to see some reporting from the Small Business Development Center to which the city contributed funds. Regarding the resolution for congressionally designated spending,Griswold wondered how a$4 million emergency operations shelter got put on the list; it was not an approved legislative priority for the city and she had not heard it mentioned before. She applauded council for postponing the resolution for the ballot proposition so that a better understanding of the boundaries could be determined. She thought Lowell Point was a dangerous place to live and she wanted the city manager should live inside city limits. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSES TO CITIZEN COMMENTS—None Council recessed the meeting at 6:48 p.m. Council resumed the meeting on March 1, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. ROLL CALL There were present: Sue McClure presiding and John Osenga Liz DeMoss Mike Calhoon Randy Wells Kevin Finch Robert Barnwell comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—None Absent—Wells Calhoon handed out a map of the city limits which he downloaded from the city website.He heard the citizens who commented that the city manager should live inside the city and should live by the rules of the city. Calhoon didn't believe the city manager should be held to that requirement if no other employees had to live inside city limits. In times of disaster,there were many reasons why the city manager may not be accessible through no fault of their own; business travel was a good example. Finch said emergency response procedures would be implemented regardless of whether the city manager was present; the incident commander did not have to be present to direct action. Motion to Amend (FinchlDeMoss) Amend Resolution 2023-028 by adding a sentence to the end of the paragraph that reads, "The city manager will live no further than Seward Highway to mile marker ten,and Exit Glacier Road, and no City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 236 further than Nash Road mile marker five, or between the two road mile markers,and not out on Lowell Point anywhere." Finch said this amendment would allow the voters to see the boundary for where the city manager could reside. In response to Calhoon,Finch said mile marker five on Nash Road was at the turnoff for Bette Cato Drive to the prison.Finch said mile marker ten on the Seward Highway would take into account the Old Mill subdivision and Camelot subdivision,both of which were expanding. Motion to Amend Failed Unanimous Motion to Amend (McClure/DeMoss) Amend Resolution 2023-028 by adding a sentence to the end of the paragraph that reads, "The council shall provide in the code for language enacting geographical boundaries within ten miles from mile marker zero of the Seward Highway for the manager's residence." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Barnwell thought council had not clearly described the intent for why this proposition was coming forward, and requested to have the discussion on the record. In response,McClure said she sponsored this resolution, and brought it forward quickly because there was a special election already scheduled. She said during the retreat,there were council member discussions about current housing issues in Seward; this would provide for more housing options for future city managers. McClure had spoken to a reporter yesterday and had conveyed that there had been two instances recently where it was very difficult for city managers to find a place to live.Also,she said in looking into it,other cities had changed their charters to adapt to the changing times;when Seward's charter was farmed,hardly anyone lived outside the city limits. Barnwell asked if the city manager would speak to this from her perspective. In response, Bower said she was not advocating either way for this proposition. She said housing was an issue for everyone. Under the current charter, if there was a house available outside the city limits, the city manager automatically could not live there. She heard that there was only one house for sale in Seward right now inside city limits. She thought home ownership was important and the investment in the community was important. Regarding emergency situations, Bower said the ability to communicate was more readily available now than it had been in the past. An emergency could happen at any time; it wasn't just about where a person resided, it was about the ability to communicate through an emergency. Because Seward was geographically compact, everyone felt like they were a part of Seward. Main Motion Passed Unanimous CITIZEN COMMENTS City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 237 Mica Van Buskirk, inside the city, listened to the meeting on Monday and she supported this resolution. She thought the city should do anything it could to keep the current city manager.As the city grew,the charter needed to be updated along with it.There were artificial city limits,but the community of Seward went out to mile ten; the decisions that were made in the city affected everyone in the community.She agreed that emergency communications were more readily available now, and if the three bridges were a concern, perhaps the city should address building an alternate point of access. She didn't believe that building housing for the city manager was a viable option, but it could be good for incoming employees transitioning to the community. As a fellow horse owner, she understood that the limitations for having a horse in town; she thought this was a big issue. She appreciated council not excluding Lowell Point from the geographic areas available to the city manager; there was a federal DOT grant doing some engineering to improve the road. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSES TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower stated that she received a text message from Council Member Wells that he had an emergency and apologized that he could not attend the meeting. Barnwell said it had been a thoughtful discussion and he was happy with the outcome. He looked forward to seeing what the people said. Finch looked forward to seeing the charter get updated; he thought this would open up options for the city manager and that was a good thing. i DeMoss appreciated the citizen comments, and she looked forward to seeing what the voters decided. McClure thanked council for the thoughtful consideration;she wanted the citizens to decide the issue. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:43 p.m. - � Arenda Ballou, MC Sue McClure City Clerk offi+�,tio �S +army. Mayor . y �Q . (City Seal) • ' SEAL : • � $ f NVO I • a • � d � PPB °j+a.fs•+aa��C, �� Js�as��RAi�X1��t