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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03132023 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13,2023 Volume 42,Page 251 CALL TO ORDER The March 13,2023 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 Kris Peck,Deputy City Clerk Brooks Chandler, City Attorney Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Phil Kaluza, inside city limits, said he compared rates between Chugach Electric Association(CEA)and Homer Electric Association(HEA).To do the comparison,Kaluza did some basic math using kilowatts per hour(kWh)and cost per kilowatt(kW).When Kaluza averaged them and compared them,the CEA rate was $0.07 cents less than Homer.Next,Kaluza took the $0.07 cent kWh difference and multiplied it by 60 million kWh that Seward purchased in 2022. That annual cost difference equated to$4.2 million dollars. If one extended the net present value of that $4.2 million dollars over a 30-year span it would equate to$82 million dollars.Kaluza felt that$82 million leaving our local economy was a big deal. Tim McDonald, inside city limits, said he grew up fishing here in Seward and the salmon were the canary in the coalmine,so to speak.The sewage outfall line from Lowell point was putting a chemical cloud in Resurrection Bay at certain times of the year and the decline in salmon was the warning sign. At a minimum,McDonald wanted to have water quality testing done.The news was not good for sewage because toilet paper was now found to contain chemicals that never go away. McDonald felt the salmon run was poisoned last year and he would like to see serious action taken. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 252 Darryl Schaefermeyer,inside city limits,provided a laydown with his comments about the Planning and Zoning Commission ordinance that was going to be introduced tonight.He felt that his laydown contained language that would be more clear than the proposed revisions to section 2.30.210 (A). APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (DeMoss/Wells) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the February 27,2023 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Approval of the February 27,2023 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Ordinance 2023-006,Amending Seward City Code Title 2,Article 2 —Seward Planning and Zoning Commission. This ordinance was introduced tonight and will come for public hearing and enactment on March 28, 2023. Resolution 2023-030,Allowing OBI Seafoods To Occupy Their Employee Campground From March 24,2023 Through October 31,2023. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards Celebrating the Seward Nordic Ski Club Proclamation City Manager Report City Manager Janette Bower said she traveled to Juneau last week and worked with the Alaska Railroad to move forward with the Seward Passenger Dock Project.Bower noted the railroad would be solely responsible for paying back the bonds for the dock. Bower also learned that AVTEC(Alaska Vocational Technical Center)would unveil a new program this summer for 60 high school students to take 4-week courses in their chosen fields. On another topic,Bower received an update on the community jail funding.It was the intent of the legislature to pass an amendment that would distribute funds that best met the needs of the community.This amendment would be put into the budget bill and would be applicable for the next budget cycle. Calhoon appreciated the inclusion of the board and commissions attendance tracking sheet. He asked if the Planning & Zoning Commission work sessions could be included. Bowered City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 253 responded that would be something they would include in the future. City Clerk Report City Clerk Brenda Ballou said there was a report in the packet by Deputy City Clerk Kris Peck that outlined the first ever Sister City food challenge with Obihiro, Japan. On another topic, there were two brand new chairs in council chambers and the clerk was looking for feedback on them. Lastly, the clerk's office currently had four mobile vendors signed up for this summer. City Attorney Report City Attorney Brooks Chandler said he had a busy month.Most of his time was spent with the proposed sale to Homer Electric Association. The City of Seward staff had been a huge help in getting all the details assembled. Regular work continued with public record requests and a personnel matter with an employee arbitration. The attorneys had reviewed significant revisions to the floodplain ordinances, and it would soon to be brought forward to the city. Other Reports and Announcements—None Presentations City of Seward Cemetery: The Story Behind The Maps presentation by Selena Soto, Community Development GIS Technician. PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Enactment 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 (R1)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 on February 27, 2023 and is coming tonight for a public hearing and enactment. Motion (DeMoss/Osenga) Enact Ordinance 2023-004 Community Development Planner Courtney Bringhurst said the rezones in the proposed Gateway Subdivision would provide smooth transition areas between the zones and more housing options. The rezone would offer more variety for different types of homes and dwellings for people at different levels. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Joe Tougas, inside city limits, said he was one of the developers of the project. Tougas provided a summary of the rezone which would leave 51 lots in the original zoning of R1, 23 lots City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 254 would go to R2 and 14 lots that would go to R3 zoning. The transition from R3 was specifically designed for townhome development which in itself would require a Conditional Use Permit(CUP). He was aiming for a variety of different zones for a mixture of housing options. Tim McDonald,inside city limits, said he applauded the housing effort as everyone knows Seward was short on housing.McDonald was in favor of the ordinance,but he wanted to remind the city council there could not be any favoritism. If another developer came forward, they should receive the same amount of assistance from the city. McDonald wanted council to be aware that a precedent was being set here tonight. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Wells held up the map of the subdivision and asked Tougas why the bottom row of houses were not all zoned as R3.Tougas responded the square footage on the lots only allowed for a duplex. There was no benefit to going R3 because they wanted to put ample transitions between zones to avoid a large building right next to a tiny house. Tougas noted how Seward didn't have a Homeowners Association or covenants in place,so he was relying on the city zoning restrictions to shape the neighborhood. The goal was to make housing for residents and not for nightly lodging. If someone wanted to buy multiple lots, they could vacate the lot lines and put in a larger building. Overall, Tougas and the developers had tried to make the subdivision a good mixture of zones. Barnwell wondered how the developers knew they had enough investors for each of the R3, R2 and R1 zones. Tougas said it was a combination of speculation and awareness of local demand. Next,Barnwell asked about parking and how Tougas would ensure the neighborhood had a good traffic flow. Tougas responded that every lot would have its own specific requirements for setbacks,green area,and parking.It would be similar to other developments when individuals build their homes. As for the roadways, there was a Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) standard for the roadbed, drainage and other details like that. Lastly, Barnwell asked about a walkway to the Seward schools. Tougas responded that a pedestrian walkway would connect from the neighborhood to the high school tennis court. Calhoon asked community development for an update on the subdivision agreement. Community Development Director Jason Bickling said he had given the agreement to the developers and were waiting to get it back. Finch asked if this was the third developer to use the Developer Reimbursement Program (DRP). Bickling confirmed that was correct. Motion Passed Unanimous Ordinance 2023-005, Amending Seward City Code Title 5 — Revenue And Finance. This ordinance was introduced on February 27, 2023 and is coming tonight for a public hearing and enactment. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 255 Motion (DeMoss/Osenga) Enact Ordinance 2023-005 Ballou said this ordinance would complete the re-codification for Seward City Code Title 5 with the exception of the Chapter 5.20 Improvement Districts,which would be a stand-alone item. The majority of the ordinance changes were minor,but the main update was related to the sales tax language. This portion of city code needed to be brought up to date with interne sales and Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) regulations. Chandler added the current sales tax ordinance pre-dated the KPB collection of the sales tax and was in desperate need of an update. 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 Approve the updated job description for the City Clerk. This item was postponed on February 27, 2023. Motion (Caihoon/Wells) Approve the updated job description for the City Clerk. Osenga said he had initially postponed this item so he could really look into it and read the revisions. Osenga felt the updated job description affected other city department heads and he thought it would be important to have a Committee of the Whole meeting with those department heads. Motion to Postpone (Osenga/DeMoss) Postpone the approval the updated job description for the City Clerk to a date yet to be determined. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2023-031, Authorizing The City Manager To Execute R&M Engineering Task Order No.2734.31,Completing A Public Safety Needs Assessment,And Appropriating Funds. Motion (DeMoss/Wells) Approve Resolution 2023-031 Bower said that in 2019 the city missed out on available funding because they didn't have the needs assessment for standalone public safety buildings. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 256 R&M Planner Taryn Oleson-Yelle said there were very specific standards for public safety buildings, such as accommodating the turn radius of a fire truck. She wanted to know what was working well for staff now in the current configuration and where the biggest need for improvements would be. She wanted to make sure the buildings were located in a spot for optimum response for fire and emergency services.R&M would also consider how much square footage each department needed and which departments could be paired together. In the location scouting process, R&M would include existing vacant land that was owned by the city. The end result would be a shovel worthy project.The existing scope of work would not include final blueprints for a building,but the shovel worthy status would make the city eligible for many grants and the city would be ready when a funding opportunity presented itself. Wells asked if the shovel ready status would lead to extensive grant or funding opportunities. Oleson-Yelle said there were a lot of opportunities,but she couldn't make any promises.Wells asked administration if there were any grants and funding available right now.Bower confirmed there was available funding, and the city simply wanted this assessment information for future land use planning. Calhoon asked if a lot of this work could be done in-house with community development, police,and fire departments.These experienced city staff members would know all the ins and out of what their actual needs were.Calhoon wasn't opposed to the project or new facilities,but rather the lack of using our own city staff Barnwell said the$200,000 was only a tiny percentage of the overall costs of this project and the city employees of were already overworked. DeMoss agreed with Barnwell and said the money would be well spent and didn't want to overburden the city employees. She felt it would be cleaner to have R&M tackle this project than have various department heads trying to piece it all together. Finch said the police chief and fire chief would know more than anyone else about what type of building they needed. He wanted to see a collaborative effort where the department heads would provide R&M a detailed idea of what they needed and R&M would take it from there. Wells asked about using city staff for a project such as this.Bower responded that city staff lacked the expertise to put together an entire building project. Motion Passed Unanimous Action Memoranda 23-00 Appoint a citizen to serve as the city's representative on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council with a term to expire May,2025. Ballou provided one letter of interest from the current PWSRCAC representative, Patrick Domitrovich. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 257 Wells asked Ballou what the attendance record was for Patrick Domitrovich. Ballou said 4 out of 11 meetings were attended. McClure considered attendance very important and wanted to postpone and re-advertise the appointment for two weeks to see if any more applications would apply. Motion to Postpone (Wells/Finch) Postpone and re-advertise for two additional weeks the appointment of a citizen to serve as the city's representative on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council with a term to expire May, 2025. Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Boards and Commissions Minutes—None OTHER ITEMS City of Seward Financials for 4th Quarter 2022. Providence Financials for December 2022 & January 2023. CITIZEN COMMENTS Darryl Schaefermeyer,inside city limits, felt that virtually every city council meeting had added to the R&M Consultants package of work.He questioned when the last time the city solicited proposals for engineering services instead of sole sourcing all the money to R&M.He was surprised that no one in that community of professional engineers had challenged the city for their lack of variety. On another topic,Schaefermeyer wanted to talk about the sale of the electric utility to HEA. The vibe on the street was not a warm and fuzzy feeling from the citizens.The information provided on the economics of the sale was very thin and he didn't have a whole lot of confidence in the numbers. Schaefermeyer said a rate study should have been done before hand.The city council had selected the one utility who had the highest rates in Alaska. Tim McDonald, inside city limits, said he did not like the new table and chair setup for citizen comments. However, the topic he actually wanted to talk about was the sewage going into Resurrection Bay. There were certain times of the summer when the RV parks and dump stations were running at full capacity. The sewage system was 100-years old and there were a lot of chemicals added during the settling process.New technology was evolving at exponential rates and the city should look at possible solutions like a centrifuge between the pond and the outfall. Large cities like Seattle were facing issues as well with the dolphins ingesting caffeine from the water.The health of Resurrection Bay was an important subject and should not be ignored. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 258 Mayor McClure suspended the rules to allow Schaefermeyer to speak again. There was no objection from council. Darryl Schaefermeyer,inside city limits,wanted to mention the city went through a similar process in the 1980's for the design of public safety building.He thought the city still had substantial archives of blueprints for public safety buildings that included all the same types of features they were currently looking for. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower said the State of Alaska DCCED (Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development) Commissioner's Office was impressed with Seward's Developer Reimbursement Program and was considering a pilot program of their own.Bower thanked council for the conversation regarding public needs safety assessment.She appreciated the citizen comments who requested more information to be brought forward about the HEA sale. Finch was impressed by the Seward Nordic Ski Club's proclamation and achievements. Finch understood the proposed sale to HEA was going to be controversial. Barnwell congratulated the Seward Nordic Ski Club. He appreciated the citizen comments on the HEA sale.It was a difficult complex topic and he encouraged citizens to call council members for more information. Calhoon thanked Selena Soto for her presentation on the cemetery. He noted the American Legion should update and edit their section of the cemetery. Calhoon wanted citizens to know that confidential details about the HEA sale would be released at the March 28, 2023 council meeting. He agreed with the citizen comment that a rate study should have already been done. Lastly, Calhoon thanked Taryn Oleson-Yelle from R&M for her presentation. Wells said there were a lot of answers about the HEA sale that would be released on March 28,2023. He felt good about the council decision to select HEA as the prospective buyer. In regard to the new setup for citizen comments, Wells said the table put everyone on the same level visual field.To his knowledge,the table setup was widespread and standard practice.Wells appreciated the citizen concerns about the sewer output into Resurrection Bay and he would take time to look into it. Wells thanked Selena Soto for all her hard work on the city cemetery website and GIS updates. Lastly, Wells congratulated the Sward Nordic Ski Club on their accomplishments. DeMoss thanked Selena Soto for her presentation on the cemetery. She wanted to mention there had been two other contractors that had used the Developer Reimbursement Program(DRP) prior to the current developer. The city council meeting on March 28, 2023 would delve into the HEA details and explain why the sale would be okay financially down the road. DeMoss congratulated the Seward Nordic Ski Club for their accomplishments. Lastly, DeMoss addressed Tim McDonald in the audience and asked him to follow the decorum and be respectful at council meetings. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2023 Volume 42, Page 259 Osenga thanked Selena Soto for her cemetery presentation and said the HEA details would be coming out at the next council meeting. McClure addressed the new citizen comment setup and said the intention was for the citizen speak directly to council rather than to the television audience at home. The arrangement was standard and Seward wanted to follow what all other councils and boroughs were doing. McClure thanked Selena Soto for the cemetery presentation. She lamented how it had always been a sadness when buried people's records were lost over time.The confidential financials of the HEA sale would become available on the March 28,2023 council meeting.She wished everyone a safe and Happy St. Patrick's Day. 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 Attorney Evaluation, per Seward City Code 2.10.033(E)(2). Motion (DeMoss/Osenga) 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 Attorney Evaluation,per Seward City Code 2.10.033(E)(2). The city attorney was invited to stay. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed at 8:56 p.m. Council resumed at 9:01 p.m. Council went into executive session at 9:02 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 9:40 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:41 p.m. Sxt-f•Zin cr_ . Kris Peck 0,,,,11./,�� Sue McClure Deputy City Clerk •.•`� QF sew.„ Mayor VS G011P _"y:;9':Q (City Seal) • SEAL 1 • 6„ Nev '.,� OF A\ P••s