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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02272023 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 238 CALL TO ORDER The February 27, 2023 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Sue 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 Christy Terry,outside the city,represented the Alaska Railroad Corporation. She asked for support of Resolution 2023-022 for additional bonding of $90 million for the new cruise ship terminal. The Royal Caribbean Group was committed to backing the revenue bonds. The total project would cost $150 million. Bruce Jaffa,outside the city,asked if the Congressionally Designated Spending list could be updated to include sidewalk repairs and the heat loop project. He said the library was poorly designed, but could be corrected with the heat loop project. Kerri Ann Baker, outside the city, was with Homer Electric Association(HEA). She said HEA had begun community listening events last week and she provided a new schedule for the coming weeks. Beginning in March, HEA would be addressing specific topics, including cyber security,regulatory issues, and what post-closing could look like. "Wayne Ogle,outside the city,was a member of the HEA board.He supported HEA merging with Seward and thought it would be beneficial for everyone. He believed HEA was a well-run co- op that served its members well. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 239 Dan Furlong, outside the city, was president of the HEA board. He and his wife owned commercial buildings and had been working with HEA for many years; he thought the quality of their service and employees were excellent. Brad Janorsche, outside the city, was the executive director for HEA. He enjoyed the community events last week in Seward; good questions were being asked. Kat Sorensen, inside the city, was director of the Chamber of Commerce. The chamber worked as an economic development firm,visitor's bureau,marketing,and brand ambassador for the city. Last Friday, the chamber presented the annual community awards to Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute for Business Site Improvement Award, Kristi Larson for Business Person of the Year, Millers Landing and the Miller Family for Community Service Award, and Linda Lasota for the Board of Directors Award. Darryl Schaefermeyer, inside the city, dreamed of the heat loop project being funded and completed; he wanted Seward to become an early adopter of this form of energy. He was disappointed to see the heat loop project omitted from the resolution for Congressionally Designated Spending;he thought if the project was included it might have more potential to move forward. He asked council to add this as a project on the resolution. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (DeMoss/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Osenga removed the approval of the city clerk job description from the consent agenda. McClure removed Resolution 2023-023 from the consent agenda. Calhoon removed Resolution 2023-027 from the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the February 6, 2023 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the February 13 2023 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Introduction of Ordinance 2023-004, Amending The Land Use Plan To Rezone Proposed Gateway Subdivision, Hilltop Addition Lots 32-48, Block 6 & Lots 31-35, Block 4, From A Single-Family Residential (Rl) Zoning District To Two-Family Residential (R2) Zoning District;And To Rezone Proposed.Lots 17-30,Block 4 From A Single-Family Residential(R1) Zoning District To Multi-Family Residential (R3) Zoning District. This ordinance was introduced tonight and will come for public hearing and enactment on March 13, 2023, Introduction of Ordinance 2023-005, Amending Seward City Code Title 5 — Revenue And City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 240 Finance. This ordinance was introduced tonight and will come for public hearing and enactment on March 13, 2023. Resolution 2023-022,Supporting State Legislative Approval For Alaska Railroad Additional Bonding Authority For The Seward Cruise Ship Dock Project. Resolution 2023-024, Approving The Planning And Zoning Commission Priorities For January 2023 To January 2024. Resolution 2023-025,Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase From Titan Energy Assets One 1,200 Amp Gas Circuit Breaker For Installation In The Spring Creek Substation In A Not-To-Exceed Amount Of$118,152, And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2023-026, Authorizing The City Manager To Pay Rental Fees To NC Power Systems In A Not-To-Exceed Amount Of$227,130.04 For Two Large Generators To Maintain Electric Service For Nash Road Customers During Transmission Infrastructure Construction. Action Memorandum 2023-002, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With The Seward Chamber Of Commerce For The Provision Of Marketing And Visitor Services. Direct the city clerk to solicit citizen interest in serving as the city's representative on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council with a term to expire March,2025. Non-objection to the renewal of liquor license#5040—Restaurant/Eating Place—Seasonal for Chattermark. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards—None City Manager Report City Manager Janette Bower said she was continuing to update the agenda statements over time to make improvements and clarify content. In response to McClure, Police Chief Alan Nickell said the new cat kennels were due to arrive in March. He was looking into various options to offset shipping costs, which were astronomical. There would be an exam table ordered soon using ASPCA grant funds that were previously approved by council. In response to Calhoon, Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell said he attended the Alaska Municipal League (AML) winter conference; he was disappointed the Department of Corrections commissioner was not in attendance because there were a number of communities who wished to discuss this topic. He learned that housing was a concern across the state. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 2 7, 2023 Volume 42,Page 241 City Clerk Report City Clerk Brenda Ballou said Peter Micciche had been elected as borough mayor. City Attorney Report None Other Reports and Announcements—None Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Enactment Ordinance 2023-003, Amending Seward City Code Chapter 3.50 — Holidays. This ordinance was introduced on February 13, 2023 and is coming tonight for public hearing and enactment. Motion (Osenga/DeMoss) Enact Ordinance 2023-003 Bower said this ordinance would codify the current process which allowed employees the ability to move their holiday within the pay period. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Bruce Jaffa, outside the city, said there was an effort by the city manager to update and streamline the code to 2023; he believed language like "at the discretion of worked fine when people were getting along,but he wanted assurance that this provision would not be withheld from an employee. He suggested including some language saying the provision would not be unreasonably withheld. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Calhoon thought the suggestion made sense. Motion to Amend (Calhoon/DeMoss) Amend Ordinance 2023-003 in the second Whereas and in SCC 3.50.017(B)(I)to add the words, "...which will not be unreasonably withheld..."following"at the department head's discretion." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Osenga asked for clarification;his understanding was if a holiday fell on an employee's day off,the employee would be given an additional day off. In response,Bower said if a holiday fell on City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 242 an employee's day off,rather than the employee receiving holiday pay on that day,the observance of the holiday for that employee could be moved to a different day. Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing Resolution 2023-0211 Amending The 2023 Utility Tariff for Sewer Rate Service, Effective March 15,2023. Motion (Osenga/DeMoss) Approve Resolution 2023-021 Bower said this resolution was coming forward to correct some errors that had been discovered in the tariff that council previously approved. This resolution would correct the errors, and she said the errors were on the city's side. There would be no back-billing to customers. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2023-023, Approving The Calendar Year 2023 Projects For Requested Congressionally Designated Spending. Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approve Resolution 2023-023 Bower said following the adoption of the city's 2023 legislative priorities,the city's federal lobbyist requested that council approve a resolution identifying projects for Congressionally designated spending for US Senator Lisa Murkowski. Bower used the legislative priorities as reference and then added an item to construct an emergency operations shelter.Sowell added that the emergency operations shelter was included on the list in order to create a secondary location for emergency operations outside the tsunami inundation zone. Wells wondered why the heat loop project had not been included.Sowell said all the items on the list were included in the legislative priorities list, with the exception of the emergency shelter. Sowell said there was a good possibility that the heat loop project would be funded by a Department of Energy (DOE) grant; the city had submitted the grant application in October, 2022 and should learn this spring whether the application was approved. Wells asked if that would prohibit the city from including it on the list in this resolution, and Sowell said it did not. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27,2023 Volume 42,Page 243 In response to B arnwell, Sowell said this Congressionally Designated Spending list would be provided to the city's federal delegation for inclusion in an omnibus at the federal level. Bower added that the grant application for the heat loop project was through the state; it was not a federal grant. In response to Barnwell, Sowell said the city currently had S725,000 from an Alaska Energy Authority(AEA)grant,but the heat loop project was expected to cost$3.6 million,so the DOE grant application submitted in October was to fund the remaining balance. Motion to Amend (McClure/DeMoss) Amend Resolution 2023-023 in Section 1 by striking, "Funding for the construction of an Emergency Operations Shelter" from the list. Sowell said the emergency operations shelter was added to the list in response to a suggestion from Murkowski, because grant funding for that kind of project was not available. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Wells/Barnwell) Amend Resolution 2023-023 in Section 1 by adding, "Funding for the Heat Loop Project in the amount of$3.6 million." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2023-027, Approving Amendment No. 3 To The Lease Agreement Between The City Of Seward And He Will Provide, Inc. Calhoon declared a potential conflict of interest because he was on the board for He Will Provide.Mayor McClure ruled that no conflict existed.There were no objections from council. Motion (Osenga/DeMoss) Approve Resolution 2023-027 Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed the meeting at 8:07 p.m. Council resumed the meeting at 8:16 p.m. Discuss council's reasons for moving forward with the Electric Utility sale. Bower read a letter and passed out hard copies. Bower said the decision to sell the electric utility had not been made in a vacuum. She announced there would be a special meeting on March 13, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. for council to have an executive session to review the proposed sales agreement with the city attorney.Then on March 28, 2023, all of the documentation relating to the sale would become public. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 244 Electric Utility Manager Rob Montgomery said this was not a complicated issue. Resources were limited;he had only ten employees and often wondered if his department would ever be in a position to add new programs and services. Today's electric rates were competitive, but maintenance,infrastructure,and right-of-way clearing would all impact the rates.He anticipated rate increases of 10%or higher in the future,resulting in Seward's rates growing to be the highest on the Railbelt. Regardless of how the vote turned out,the city would have to conduct a rate study and there would be a double-digit rate increase by year end. Long-term stability would come through economies of scale, spreading the costs and ringing in additional revenue. HEA made a number of strategic investments that have positioned them very well for the coming years. Montgomery applauded the employees in his electric department; all the employees were dedicated to keeping the lights on. He said safety and reliability should never be compromised, and those were his two priorities;having limited resources made those priorities challenging at times.in the next two years, Montgomery expected to put between $15 and $20 million dollars into the infrastructure,and that was a lot of money to push through onto 2,900 customers.He encouraged the citizens to educate themselves so they could make an informed decision at the special election. Wells appreciated the presentation, and the HEA representatives that came to tonight's meeting.He wondered what guarantee the citizens had that HEA would deliver all the improvements that Montgomery discussed. In response, Montgomery said HEA had a number of checkpoints in place to ensure that things were done in the right way. Calhoon said citizens were wondering what the impact would be to the rates; he said the citizens wanted more specific information. In response,Bower said the revenue bonds would be paid off by the sale. Montgomery said the loss of revenue for the city after the sale would equate to approximately $2.1 million per year. Barnwell asked what the cruise ship power incentive was.Montgomery said the cruise ships used shore power, and that could potentially generate revenue for the city. In response to Barnwell,Montgomery said HEA considered the generator plant to be a huge asset and one they would preserve. DeMoss wondered if HEA would be confirming that utility billing was properly classified. Janorsche said HEA would be reviewing all the billing, and the accounts would be classified according to the tariff. Janorsche had made maintenance a top priority, from infrastructure to computer system upgrades. Non-objection to the renewal of liquor license#53—Club for the American Legion Post#5. Council Member Calhoon declared a potential conflict of interest due to his employment at the American Legion Post tf5.Mayor McClure ruled that a conflict existed with no objection from council. Calhoon left the dais. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 245 Motion (DeMoss/Wells) Non-objection to the renewal of liquor license#53—Club for the American Legion Post#5. Motion Passed Unanimous Calhoon returned to the dais. Consider lifting the moratorium on records destruction. Motion (Osenga/Wells) Lift the moratorium on records destruction. Motion Passed Unanimous Vote and appoint two individuals to the Planning& Zoning Commission with terms to expire February,2026. Applicants are: Victoria Monaco and Vanessa Verhey. Calhoon said it was very important for the Planning&Zoning Commission(P&Z)to have a quorum for their meetings and work sessions because delaying P&Z business resulted in delaying council business. He did not support these appointments. DeMoss had similar concerns, and said she appreciated both commissioners' service and interest in serving. Council often needed output from P&Z in order to conduct their own business. Osenga suggested considering what the impact would be if these applicants were not appointed; it would drop the current commission to five members because there would be two vacancies. Wells understood that one of the applicants was helping her family, and that commissioner was a great asset when she was here. He appreciated everyone's concerns. McClure suggested tightening up the attendance policy to address the situation. Wells wondered when that would happen. In response, Community Development Director Jason Bickling said there would be something coming forward to council on March 28, 2023. Motion (Calhoon/Osenga) Appoint Victoria Monaco and Vanessa Verhey to the Planning & Zoning Commission with terms to expire February, 2026. Calhoon said, in his observation, both applicants made good contributions when they attended the P&Z meetings and work sessions. Motion Passed Yes: Calhoon, Wells, Finch, Osenga, McClure No: Barnwell, DeMoss City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42,Page 246 Approve the updated job description for the City Clerk. Motion to Postpone (OsengalWells) Postpone approving the updated job Description for the City Clerk to March 13, 2023. Osenga said there were some things in the job description that might affect administration and things that he didn't fully understand. He wanted to dive into it a little deeper and spend some time looking at it. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Boards and Commissions Minutes Planning& Zoning Commission—None Port & Commerce Advisory Board—December 7, 2022 Historic Preservation Commission—November 10, 2022 CITIZEN COMMENTS Jason Bickling, outside the city, appreciated council's support of the Planning & Zoning Commission. Sharon Stevens-Ganser, outside the city, appreciated the lease for He Will Provide. The food pantry supported a lot of residents; there had been over 185 individuals utilize their services since January. The food pantry was not affiliated with any religious organization;it started in 1997 and was started by the Ministerial Association. The food pantry ran on grants and donations. On a separate note, she wondered if the special election would be open to all utility users or just city residents. She hoped that all electric users would have a say. Kat Sorensen,inside the city,thanked council for approving the contract for the Chamber of Commerce. She was enthusiastic in providing marketing and visitor services. The Mount Marathon Race registration would be open March 1-31, 2023. As well, the logo design contest for the event would be open March 1-31, 2023, Sorensen commended the parks & recreation department for sponsoring so many activities. Bruce Jaffa,outside the city,thought tonight was an interesting meeting;he was pleased to have more information provided about the HEA sale. He thought it was essential that the facts and information be provided to the citizens. The city owed it to the citizens to provide a clear understanding of the financial impact the sale would have. He thanked and appreciated all the businesses that have been open this winter.The Port&Commerce Advisory Board would have HEA at the March 22,2023 work session for a presentation about the heat loop project.He congratulated Lydia Jacoby for her continued swimming accomplishments. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42, Page 247 Darryl Schaefermeyer, inside the city,had been a resident of Seward for 70 years, and he wanted to express the value of Enterprise Funds in the community. He was concerned about the shareholders, the citizens of Seward, as well as the residents outside city limits. For many years, electric revenues helped keep costs down for the citizens; if the utility was sold, there would be a revenue shortage the city would have to make up in the General Fund. Schaefermeyer pointed out that the cliff appeared to be at the ten-year mark after the sale. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower said the city attorney had advised that only city of Seward residents would be voting at the special election. Finch thanked HEA for being more informative. Wells thanked HEA for bringing information forward. He thanked the Chamber of Commerce for working hard. He looked forward to moving forward with the heat loop project. Calhoon thanked everyone for their comments tonight. He thought the city was moving in the right direction. DeMoss thanked HEA and Montgomery for the information; more information needed to come out,especially the financial impact more than ten years out. She congratulated the winners of the chamber awards. She congratulated Melanie Hauze on becoming Deputy Director in Parks & Recreation. Osenga thanked HEA and Montgomery;all the information coming forward was very good. As citizens, being informed was critical. He was ready for spring. McClure appreciated so many representatives at the meeting from HEA. She congratulated Peter Micciche for being elected borough mayor.The northern lights were predicted to be out again tonight. EXECUTIVE SESSION Go into executive session to discuss subjects that tend to prejudice the reputation and character of any person,provided the person may request a public discussion—City Manager Evaluation, per Seward City Code 2.10.033(E)(2). Motion (McClure/DeMoss) Go into executive session to discuss subjects that tend to prejudice the reputation and character of any person, provided the person may request a public discussion — City Manager Evaluation,per Seward City Code 2.10.033(E)(2). City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 27, 2023 Volume 42, Page 248 The city manager was invited to stay. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed at 9:42 p.m. Council resumed at 9:47 p.m. Council went into executive session at 9:47 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 10:09 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:09 p.m. Brenda Ballou, C Sue McClure City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) ► ,, 0AEU�. A,bo d' i