HomeMy WebLinkAbout09112023 City Council Laydown - Jaffa Mayor, Manager, Council, September 11, 2023
At the last council meeting a local lineman was put in a difficult position that he
handled very well but was unfairly surprised by the nature of questions asked of
him. The contracted Director was asked to update a status of a project and asked
his General Foreman to answer. Questions regarding the sale of the SES should
have been off limits. During the comment period the Council member continued to
advocate for a position that is on the ballot and used city offices and assets to that
goal. This skirts a separation issue and should not have been allowed by the
Mayor.
To respond to council comments regarding Cooper Landing extended outages,
neither linemen associated to CEA in Cooper Landing nor 2 long time "plugged in"
C/L citizens remember any extended electric outage. All outages were dealt with
within the time to dispatch a crew even in the worst winter storms.
The ballot that contains language to sell the utility is problematic. The voters must
vote to sell the utility based on current law. Changing the law on the same ballot
will likely be found confusing and misleading by the voter and later the Courts.
The Council may have succeeded in exposing Seward to legal costs and division
amongst Seward voters unnecessarily. While others may address the need to sell
or the cost to maintain the Electric Utility, I am concerned with openness, and
integrity of the voting procedure. As the data from several sources including the
Ad Hoc Committee can be fairly interpreted by the public. This data does not
excuse the poor decision by Council to move forward with this fast Track, poorly
thought-out ballot issue. My hope is the issues are both defeated, and a thoughtful
plan can be developed. It is a fact that Seward can and does operate an Electric
Utility
Bruce Jaffa
L-4 y4