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Home My WebLink About02262024 City Council Minutes1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 26, 2024 Volume 42, Page 462 CALL TO ORDER The February 26, 2024, 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 Randy Wells Robert Barnwell comprising a quorum of the Council; and Kat Sorensen, City Manager Jason Bickling, Deputy City Manager Kris Peck, City Clerk Jodi Kurtz, Deputy City Clerk Excused — None Absent — None Mike Calhoon Kevin Finch Julie Crites CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Russ White, outside city limits, spoke as a Seward Parks & Recreation employee. White reported the Grizzly Glide was a fun ski event over the weekend. He provided a summary of upcoming events with the Parks & Recreation department. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Osenga/Calhoon) Motion Passed Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the February 12, 2024, City Council Meeting Minutes City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 26, 2024 Volume 42, Page 463 Resolution 2024-013: Accepting A Scholarship Award From The Public Library Association In The Amount Of $750.00 For A Travel Stipend To Attend The Public Library Association 2024 Conference and Appropriating Funds Resolution 2024-014: Accepting The Program Stipend In The Amount Of $3000.00 From The American Library Association (ALA) And The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) To Host The Americans And Holocaust Traveling Exhibition And Appropriating Funds Re -appoint Nathaniel Charbonneau to the Planning & Zoning Commission with a term set to expire February 2027 SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS, AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards - None City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen addressed several different topics: She noted there were now only four commissioners at the Planning & Zoning and encouraged Seward residents to apply. Sorensen said representatives from the Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) would be attending the next council meeting in person. Sorensen announced the second edition of the City Manager Newsletter was posted today on Facebook. She cautioned everyone to be careful of avalanches along Lowell Point Road. Sorensen discussed the Central Treasury Report (CTR) which was provided as a laydown from the Finance Department. She clarified that the 2-month delay of the CTR was designed to allow for the most accurate and final information. Lastly, Sorensen spoke to the Grizzly Glide ski race that took place over the weekend. City Council and the City Manager discussed power outage alerts and text notifications. Crites asked about hospital enterprise fund jumping from $8,400 to $2.2 million dollars. Finance Director Sully Jusino said she would look into those figures and report back. City Clerk Report City Clerk Kris Peck provided an update on 2024 mobile vending application which was included in the packet. New applications would be accepted starting on March 1, 2024. Other Reports and Announcements Presentations Seward Children's Museum by Rhonda Bohart (This presentation was rescheduled from February 12, 2024) PUBLIC HEARINGS - None City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 26, 2024 Volume 42, Page 464 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2024-010: Approving The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With Tyler Technologies To Provide Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) And Report Management Software (RMS) To The City Of Seward For An Initial Cost Of $101,360 And An Annual Recurring Cost Of $73,856 And Appropriating Funds (This resolution was postponed on February 12, 2024) Motion (already on the floor) Approve Resolution 2024-010 Sorensen requested council postpone this resolution until April 8, 2024 to allow more time to gather information. Motion to Postpone (McClure/Osenga) Motion Passed NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Postpone Resolution 2024-010 to April 8, 2024 Unanimous Resolution 2024-015: Directing the City Manager to Permanently Close the City Jail Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approve Resolution 2024-015 Sorensen said this resolution was based on the jail closure discussion from the prior council meeting. Calhoon asked if a position at the jail could be shifted to a different city department. Sorensen responded more than 50% of the job description was changed, and therefore, the position would not be allowed to shift. Council discussed the possibility of including plans for a new jail in a future public safety building. Motion Passed Unanimous Other items 1) Providence Financials Calhoon asked for a definition of "System Pooled Cash". Sorensen responded that she would find an answer. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 26, 2024 Volume 42, Page 465 Calhoon suggested a future council work session on the topic of Providence Financials. Sorensen said she would work with Providence to determine a date for a work session. 2) Comprehensive Plan Discussion Sorensen said she attended a recent Planning & Zoning work session on the Comprehensive Plan and it was a very interesting discussion. Bickling said the Comprehensive Plan needed to be updated, as well as establishing a better mechanism for making revisions. He noted that annual updates would be much easier than doing massive updates every 10 years. Barnwell said the Comprehensive Plan was not as active or updated as much as it could be. He recognized the hard work that had been put into the core parts of this plan. Barnwell envisioned a more regular review and more public participation. He wanted to start by finding what was obsolete and also what was missing from the plan. Barnwell also floated the idea of hiring a mediator for city-wide discussion. Council gave direction to administration to move forward with creating a timeline and steps for updating the Comprehensive Plan. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS CITIZEN COMMENTS -None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Barnwell said he was excited about updating the Comprehensive Plan. He encouraged people to get involved in Planning & Zoning Commission. Wells said he was excited for the children's museum and felt it would be a great benefit to Seward. He recalled a very cool children's museum during his visit to Japan. Finch echoed Wells' comments. He also cautioned everyone of impending cold streak this week and recommended to leave the faucets running. Calhoon suggested a work session on the electric infrastructure project. He welcomed James Schaefermeyer as the Deputy Finance Director. He echoed previous comments about joining the Planning & Zoning Commission and encouraged residents to apply. Osenga thanked Rhonda Bohart for the presentation. He thanked administration for the information tonight and thanked the boards & commissions for their commitment. 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 26, 2024 Volume 42, Page 466 McClure echoed previous comments and said she hoped to return to Planning & Zoning one day. She encouraged citizens to check out P&Z and apply for the commission. McClure said she loved children's museums and hoped it would succeed here in Seward. Lastly, Mclure commented that the Public Works Department had been doing a great job handling a variety of winter weather conditions. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m. Kris Peck City Clerk (City Seal) OSSIt1111r18"I .•'`� OF SEw��''•. PO SEOF AL fool111110 Sue McClure Mayor