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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03102025 City Council MinutesMarch 10, 2024 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes Volume 42, Page 27 CALL TO ORDER The March 10, 2025, regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Vice Mayor John Osenga. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: John Osenga, presiding, and Randy Wells Kevin Finch Robert Barnwell Julie Crites Casie Warner comprising a quorum of the Council; and Kat Sorensen, City Manager Kris Peck, City Clerk Jodi Kurtz, Deputy City Clerk Kody George, City Attorney Excused — McClure Absent — None PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS — None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Rhonda Hubbard, inside city limits, hoped that Resolution 2025-025 could be postponed in order to consider a more conservative fiscal approach. She wanted council to take more time to review the information. With bonding there would be additional loan fees and reserve costs. Having a bond would interfere with a potential utility sale or co-op in the future. Phil Kaluza, inside city limits, expressed concerns about Resolution 2025-025. He would like to see more economics on bonding compared to using internal costs. When the city finances itself, it would be city money going from one pocket to another. Lastly, he questioned the need for smart meters being such a high priority. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2024 Volume 42, Page 28 Ristine Casagranda, inside city limits, echoed the previous two comments on Resolution 2025- 025 and hoped council would postpone the resolution. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Wells/Finch) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Wells requested Resolution 2025-027 be removed from consent. Motion as Amended Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the February 24, 2025 City Council Meeting Minutes Introduction of Ordinance 2025-004: Amending Seward City Code Title 7, Campgrounds, Parks and Open Spaces and Title 11, Paid Parking, to Clarify Day Use Areas, Campgrounds, and Other Reservable Areas are Subject to Parking Enforcement Resolution 2025-026: Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Service Agreement with Premier Construction LLC for Portable Toilet Services in the Amount of $54,564.73 with a 10% Contingency and Appropriating Funds Re -appoint Mike Brittain to the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council for a 2-year term IN -PERSON REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen provided an update on a successful lobbying trip in Juneau with Mayor McClure and Council Member Wells. They met with legislators and discussed issues that were facing the community of Seward. Sorensen also gave a big shout out to the Seward teams who competed in the National Ocean Sciences Tsunami Bowl. City Clerk Report Deputy City Clerk Jodi Kurtz provided an update on the 2025 student exchange program with Obihiro, Japan. City Attorney Report City Attorney Kody George provided an update on the Railbelt Transmission Organization (RTO). He was working on filing a certificate of Public Need and Necessity by July 1, 2025. George also updated council on negotiations with Chugach Electric for a wholesale contract power agreement. Lastly, George said the city had been awarded enhanced attorney fees in the McDonald 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2024 Volume 42, Page 29 case. The enhanced fees meant the city was awarded more than the regular fees. Barnwell asked about any updates on the abandoned vessel on city property which was being removed. George said the next steps would be to make a decision to either airbag the vessel farther onto the property or float it out. Other Reports and Announcements — None Presentations The Seward Company Update on Cruise Ship Dock by Mickey Richardson and Christy Terry PUBLIC HEARINGS — None UNFINISHED BUSINESS — None NEW BUSINESS [Clerk's Note — Resolution 2025-025 has been moved to the top because Resolution 2025-024 is dependent on it passing] Resolutions Resolution 2025-025: Declaring Its Official Intent to Reimburse City Funds Used for the Acquisition, Construction and Equipping of Certain Electric Transmission System Capital Improvements from Proceeds of One or More Tax -Exempt Borrowings Motion (Wells/Barnwell) Approve Resolution 2025-025 Sorensen explained the bond borrowing process and how Resolution 2025-024 was tied to it. She explained the thought process behind a bond versus doing an internal loan. Looking at the overall picture, cashing out from investments was not something to make a habit out of. Sorensen noted this resolution does not bring forth a loan application, but rather gives the city permission to seek reimbursement for purchased materials. This would include the Nash Road construction materials listed in Resolution 2025-024. Finch felt that people wanted to see their money used for something tangible and not worry about paying off a bond. He wanted to see tax dollars be spent on something visible. Sorensen explained how city administration recommended this bond over the internal loan. Building new city facilities would be general fund infrastructure investments, whereas this one was an enterprise fund infrastructure investment. Barnwell felt the overall approach made sense. He questioned if AMI smart metering should be such a high priority. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2024 Volume 42, Page 30 Electric Operations Supervisor Taylor Crocker explained the AMI smart metering was a boost for everyone in the community. He explained the history of Seward obtaining the surplus meters from Kodiak and they were at the end of their useful life. The price for upgrading to AMI smart meters is roughly $1 million, but some expenses were already being paid currently. Kodiak had since upgraded to the AMI smart meters. Motion Passed 5-1 Yes: Warner, Barnwell, Crites, Wells, Osenga No: Finch Resolution 2025-024: Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase Construction Material for the Electric Department for the Nash Road Phase II Project Motion (Wells/Barnwell) Approve Resolution 2025-024 Crocker said the Electric Department was looking to buy poles, conductors, and insulators. He wanted to purchase these items for the final two miles of Nash Road. These materials were difficult items to obtain and the logistics of getting them to Alaska was complex. Crocker had reached out to Anixter and General Pacific, and General Pacific came back with the lower price quote. Council discussed the materials and logistics of getting them to Nash Road. Crocker clarified the order would be 50 utility poles of treated Douglas Fir and the lifespan would be around 50 years. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2025-027: Approving the Planning and Zoning Commission Priorities for January 2025 to January 2026 Motion (Wells/Warner) Approve Resolution 2025-027 Community Development Director Daniel Meuninck summarized the commission's list of priorities for the upcoming year. These priorities included: The Comprehensive Plan, P&Z Rules of Procedure, parking ratio for lodging, legislative and quasi-judicial roles, conditional use permits (CUP), variances, ex-parte communication, code enforcement, sign code, and training sessions for commissioners. Wells said he had concerns regarding CUPs and the sign code. He hoped the process could be made easier rather than creating more red tape. He also didn't want to see the CUP process geared against certain business types. However, he was in favor of simplifying code and make things more user friendly. Motion Passed Unanimous 1 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2024 Volume 42, Page 31 INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Other Items Providence Financial Report Upcoming City Council Meetings: Work Session: Monday, March 24, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. to discuss: Forest Acres Afognak Subdivision Regular Meeting: Monday, March 24, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ristine Casagranda, inside city limits, said the previous meter exchange was a hot mess. She encouraged this administration to do a better job with programming the software. Look into what went wrong and don't repeat the same mistakes. She gave kudos to P&Z for their dedication to the community. Land was being opened up, developers were being reimbursed, and industry was expanding. She encouraged the public to participate in the Comprehensive Plan surveys, and Community Development was great to work with. She also noted that P&Z was running smoothly and accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Warner thanked everyone for the public comments and thanked Vice Mayor Osenga for running a smooth meeting tonight. She noted it was Spring Break so keep an eye out for kids during the daytime and to enjoy the extra daylight. Crites thanked The Seward Company for the dock presentation. She was excited to visit the site of the new cruise ship terminal. She announced that the new Chugachmiut Regional Health Center would be having their grand opening events in April. She encouraged everyone to come by and see this awesome building. Finch thanked everyone for coming out and speaking. He thanked the presenters for the update on the cruise ship terminal. He had recently visited the site and the new terminal's footprint in the dirt was indeed massive. Barnwell thanked The Seward Company and Christy Terry for the presentation. They had been great about sharing the dock updates with the community. It was phenomenal how much progress was being made already on the site. On other topics, he encouraged high school students to apply for the student exchange with Obihiro, Japan. He congratulated the Seward High School Tsunami Bowl teams and basketball teams for their achievements. Lastly, he noted the Comprehensive Plan town hall meetings coming up in April. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes March 10, 2024 Volume 42, Page 32 Wells echoed previous comments. He gave a huge shout out to the City Manager for a great lobbying trip to Juneau last week. It was incredible to be the shining star of the state of Alaska. It was amazing to hear all the great communication between the legislators and our City Manager. He was very proud of how top-notch Seward came across to all the representatives in Juneau. Sorensen gave a shout out to the clerk's office for replacing the big bulletin board in the hallway. The old bulletin board was installed in 1978, and she was excited to see a new one in place. She also mentioned upcoming Seward Chess Tournament and Tony's Invitational Volleyball Tournament. Osenga hoped that upgrading to the new smart meters would be a smooth transition. He thanked the presenters for the informative update on the cruise ship dock. He encouraged high school students to look into participating in the student exchange with Obihiro. He wished the basketball teams good luck in the state tournament. Lastly, he noted Mayor McClure would return at the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m. Kris Peck Jnga City Clerk Vice Mayor (City Seal) %t't "I u,,,,,. of F .11 rt SEL. ; „t9/:-,„ O tss tilt � �A - 1 1 1