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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10282024 City Council Minutesf City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2024 Volume 42, Page 552 CALL TO ORDER The October 28, 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. Newly appointed council members John Osenga and Casie Warner were sworn in by the City Clerk. ROLL CALL There were present: Sue McClure, presiding, and John Osenga Kevin Finch Randy Wells Robert Bar well Julie Crites Casie Warner 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 — Barnwell Absent — None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Bruce Jaffa, outside city limits, thanked Council Member Wells for his compliment regarding a recent Town Hall Meeting. On another topic, Jaffa explained the Heat Loop Project had missed a critical deadline for submission to the Department of Energy. As Chair of the Heat Loop Committee, Jaffa spoke about the anger, frustration and disappointment they had recently encountered. He spoke to the future of the Heat Loop Project and what the next steps might be. The benefits and opportunities to Seward should not be buried with this particular failure of the lost grant opportunity. Lastly, Jaffa referred to his written laydown that he provided to council. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2024 Volume 42, Page 553 Rhonda Hubbard, inside city limits, spoke about the work session on the Electric Department Enterprise Fund. She looked forward to finding out what the true cost should be for the rate payers. The cost of living in Seward was already high and she hoped for a rate decrease in the future. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Warner requested Resolution 2024-058 be removed from the Consent Agenda. Motion as Amended Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the October 14, 2024, City Council Meeting Minutes Resolution 2024-057: Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase a Chevrolet Silverado 2500 for $51,897.50 with 10% Contingency and Appropriating Funds Appoint Alec Branson as the City Representative to the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association with a term set to expire May 2027 No grounds for protest to the renewal of the liquor license for the Firebrand BBQ SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS, AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards First Responders Day Proclamation read by John Osenga and accepted by Dana Paperman. Veterans Day Proclamation read by Sue McClure and accepted by Clare Sullivan. City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen reminded everyone that the Halloween Carnival would be downtown this year, rather than the cruise ship terminal. Sorensen announced that Seward was on the verge of receiving commercial air service. In March of this year, there was a Request for Proposals (RFP) to bring essential air services back to Seward. Different companies interested in responding to that RFP would submit their proposals to the Department of Transportation. Sorensen encouraged the public to reach out with comments regarding the commercial air service. City Clerk Report City Clerk Kris Peck provided an update on the Absentee In -Person Voting for the General Election. r 1 i City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2024 Volume 42, Page 554 Other Reports and Announcements - None Presentations Senior Center Presentation by Dana Paperman NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2024-058: Adopting the City of Seward 2025 Legislative Priorities and Congressionally Designated Spending List Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approve Resolution 2024-058 Sorensen explained the annual workflow for these priorities and spending list. Sorensen hoped for a discussion on the list and direction for any changes that needed to be made. Sorensen also said that 3 to 4 of the priorities should be noted for the Congressionally Designated Spending List and she recommended: • Continued Full Funding for the Construction and Maintenance of the United States Army Corp of Engineers Lowell Tunnel Outfall Diversion Structure • Funding for the Construction of a New Public Works Facility • Expansion of Water/Sewer and Access Infrastructure Which Will Increase Construction of New Residential Development throughout City Limits • Funding for the Construction of a New Fire Station Council discussed the list and selected the recommended items as the key priorities for the Congressionally Designated Spending List. Motion as Amended Passed Unanimous Other New Business Nominate, elect, and swear in a council member as Vice Mayor with a term set to expire October 2025 Crites nominated John Osenga as Vice Mayor. Motion (Crites/Finch) Nominate John Osenga as Vice Mayor The was no objections from council. The clerk advised no roll call vote was necessary. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2024 Volume 42, Page 555 Discuss changing the December 9, 2024, Council Meeting date to December 16, 2024 Sorensen explained the schedule conflict with the AML conference and suggested rescheduling the December 9, 2024 meeting to December 16, 2024. On a related note, Sorensen also advised this would be an opportune time to cancel the second meeting in December. Motion (McClure/Wells) Change the Date of the December 9, 2024 Council Meeting to December 16, 2024 and cancel the December 23, 2024 meeting Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss attendance at the Alaska Municipal League conference in December McClure wanted to attend the Conference of Mayors, but not the remainder of the local government conference. Warner expressed interest in attending the newly elected officials training and the local government conference. Sorensen and Bickling also planned to attend the conference. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Other Items Quarterly Report from the Alaska Small Business Development Center Upcoming City Council Meetings: Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. (Monday is Veterans Day Holiday) CITIZEN COMMENTS Jacob Caldwell, outside city limits, spoke as a representative of Kenai Aviation. His company was interested in the RFP for the commercial air service in Seward. He explained the flight schedule and tax funding. He noted that Seward had not had commercial air service since 2002. One of the big challenges for flying to and from Seward was the inclement weather. He was looking at Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for flights, but was interested to hear feedback from the community. Peak season would be Memorial Day to Labor Day with increased flights. Caldwell was really excited for the chance to serve this community. Bruce Jaffa, outside city limits, appreciated the information that was just presented on the commercial air service. Jaffa shared that he had recently traveled around the state and nothing compared to Seward. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2024 Volume 42, Page 556 i i Kevin Dunham, outside the city limits, explained the power factor in Seward and the electric customers who were causing the highest losses. Dunham made an analogy to explain the power factor losses as the "foam on top of the beer" and the keg was putting out foam to everyone. The SeaLife Center historically had a bad power factor but had since fixed the problem. Dunham referenced a list of seven customers who were wasting the most power and really needed to be addressed. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Sorensen wished everyone a Happy Halloween and thanked Council for rescheduling the December meeting date. Crites said it was a great meeting and enjoyed the Seward Senior Center presentation. Warner thanked everyone for their support and was honored to be on council and sitting at the dais. She thanked Dana Paperman for her Senior Center presentation. Warner encouraged everyone to participate in the Kenai Peninsula Borough survey that was currently open. Lastly, Warner was looking forward to Halloween. Finch thanked everyone for coming out to the meeting. He thanked Kenai Aviation for their interest in commercial air service to Seward. Finch wished everyone a safe Halloween, and reminded everyone to drive carefully, set the clocks back on November 3rd, and to get out and vote. Wells echoed previous comments and encouraged everyone to vote. Osenga thanked all first responders for their service. He thanked the Senior Center and their volunteers, and noted the Meals on Wheels was a fantastic program. Osenga thanked council for selecting him as the Vice Mayor and he would do his very best. Lastly, Osenga wished everyone a Happy Halloween. McClure said she was excited about commercial air service returning to Seward. She recalled an issue with the Department of Transportation regarding the runway. McClure congratulated the newly elected council members Warner and Osenga. She noted there were several Halloween activities this week and she had dressed up as Axolotl for the Trunk or Treat event. Lastly, McClure urged everyone to be careful out there and watch out for trick or treaters on Halloween. EXECUTIVE SESSION Per Seward City Code 2.10.033 E (3): Matters which by law, municipal Charter, or ordinances are required to be confidential Discussion with city attorney for potential litigation regarding Heat Loop Project contractor Motion (Osenga/Wells) Go into Executive Session City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 28, 2024 Volume 42, Page 557 City Attorney Sam Severin and City Attorney Robert Palmer would be participating telephonically. The City Manager, Deputy City Manager, and City Clerk were invited to stay. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed the meeting at 8:09 p.m. Council resumed the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Council went into executive session at 8:20 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 9:05 p.m. McClure stated that an executive session was held, and council was ready to adjourn the meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Kris Peck Sue McClure City Clerk Mayor • 2 P� t •s SEAL •= (City Seal)