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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08112025 City Council Minutes1 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 91 CALL TO ORDER The August 11, 2025 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Sue McClure. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Louis Tiner led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Sue McClure, presiding, and John Osenga Kevin Finch Randy Wells Robert Barnwell Julie Crites Casie Warner comprising a quorum of the Council; and Kat Sorensen, City Manager Jason Bickling, Deputy City Manager Kris Peck, City Clerk Excused — Crites Absent — None PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS In Memoriam of Margaret Anderson was read by Mayor McClure and accepted by Rhonda and Jim Hubbard. CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Tori Stallings, inside city limits, shared her personal struggles with addiction and how fatal overdoes had affected her family. She spoke in support of Narcan as a way to counteract opioid overdoes. Christiana Smith, outside city limits, spoke in support of the paid parental leave policy. She described the benefits to employees and the workplace. She would love to see 6-8 weeks of paid leave in policy due to Seward's proximity from the nearest hospitals. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 92 Shane Hand, inside city limits, spoke as the president of the Seward Public Employees Association [SPEA]. He spoke in support of Ordinance 2025-012 and Ordinance 2025-013. He thanked city administration for the good negotiation sessions with SPEA. Kevin Dunham, outside city limits, noted the city's contract with Matanuska Electric Association [MEA] expires at the end of the year. Dunham was concerned about losing the expertise of current manager Brian Hickey. Dunham also said the new power service agreement with Chugach Electric looked really good. Melody Story, outside city limits, spoke in support of Narcan kits. She said the opioid crisis was worsening in this community. Narcan was a safe and highly effective nasal spray that can be used to combat overdoses. She demonstrated the steps for how to use a Narcan kit. Council suspended the rules to allow 2 more minutes of time for Melody to finish her demonstration. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda McClure added to the consent agenda: Re -appoint Dwayne Atwood to the Port and Commerce Advisory Board [PACAB] with a term set to expire July 2028 Warner added a new discussion item on the topic of Narcan rescue kits. Finch removed from the consent agenda: Introduction of Ordinance 2025-012: Amending Seward City Code, Title 3 Personnel, Chapter 3.45 Annual Leave, to Include a Paid Parental Leave Policy Motion as Amended Passed The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the July 28, 2025, City Council Meeting Minutes Unanimous Introduction of Ordinance 2025-011: Amending Seward City Code, Title 5 Revenue and Finance, Chapter 5.22 Developer Incentive and Reimbursement Program, 5.22.075 Application Required, 5.22.085 Application Content, and 5.22.095 Approval Process Introduction of Ordinance 2025-013: Amending Seward City Code, Title 3 Personnel, Chapter 3.65 Collective Bargaining, 3.65.010 Freedom of Choice to Clarify Employees' Rights within the Bargaining Unit Resolution 2025-076: Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase a 50-Ton Marine Travelift for the Harbor Department in the Amount of $619,500 Plus a 10% Contingency 1 1 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 93 Resolution 2025-077: Awarding the Nash Road Phase 2 115kV Transmission Line Rebuild Project to Sturgeon Electric Company, Inc in the Amount of $1,955,412 Plus a 10% Contingency Resolution 2025-078: Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase Replacement Parts for a Transrupter Switch from Southern States, LLC in the Amount of $39,265 Re -appoint Dwayne Atwood to the Port and Commerce Advisory Board [PACAB] with a term set to expire July 2028 IN -PERSON REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen said the Mt. Marathon hydro project was being re -started. This was a meaningful step for power generation. She gave a shout out for the library's summer reading program for being a big success. Lastly, she explained how the city's current 50-ton Marine Travelift would be refurbished and sold. City Clerk Report City Clerk Kris Peck reminded everyone that the council filing period was closing this Friday. He also provided an update on the student exchange with Obihiro, Japan. The visiting group of students enjoyed an action -packed week, and now the Seward group was enroute to Obihiro. City Attorney Report — None Presentations Seward Education Advocates by Mica Van Buskirk and Andrew Scrivo PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Enactment - None Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing Resolution 2025-074: Approving a Master Agreement to Terminate the Leases and Easement Near 301 Lowell Point Road and Describe Concepts for a New Lease Near 3201 Sorrel Road Between the City of Seward and Pacific Seafood Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approve Resolution 2025-074 Sorensen said this master agreement was one piece to the puzzle. Public Works Director Doug Schoessler explained this master agreement involved moving the seafood processing plant on Lowell Point Road across the bay. The idea stemmed from the Army City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 94 Corps of Engineers tunnel project having a big impact on the processing plant in 2026. This step of approving the master agreement was to get all the involved parties on the same page. Schoessler referenced an email from a concerned citizen about cleanup of the vacated seafood processing sites. There was a situation across the bay where Raibow walked away from their leased site and left a mess for the city to clean up. There were also a few minor spelling issues in the resolutions that could be corrected. On page 143 of the packet, there was also an erroneous section about Martin Subdivision that needed to be deleted. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Carol Griswold, inside city limits, appreciated that Schoessler reached out to her regarding her concerns. She noted the various housekeeping typos could be corrected. However, she was primarily concerned about lack of an appraisal or building inspection before reverting back to city ownership. She was concerned that Polar Seafoods would be allowed to walk away from decades worth of accumulated junk. This mess would reflect poorly on the city due to its location adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard property across the bay. She wanted the agreement to be more carefully looked at and urged it to be postponed. Rhonda Hubbard, inside city limits, was concerned that Pacific Seafood didn't realize this item was on the agenda. She questioned the square footage being equivalent in the trade and noted there were a lot of moving parts to this agreement. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Schoessler said there had a been a lot of back -and -forth dialog and this contract was written in conjunction with the seafood processors. The final lease agreement would be coming next. The final result would be a win -win situation. Finch was concerned about chemicals, oil, contaminated soil, and asbestos that would require cleanup. He was concerned the city was facing another Jesse Lee Home contamination fiasco. Sorensen clarified that environmental cleanup was in the lease. In this scenario, the city would uphold the terms of the lease to not incur any fiscal note for the city. Schoessler also clarified that the wharf and pilings would remain intact. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None 1 1 1 PP 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 95 NEW BUSINESS Ordinances for Introduction Introduction of Ordinance 2025-012: Amending Seward City Code, Title 3 Personnel, Chapter 3.45 Annual Leave, to Include a Paid Parental Leave Policy Motion (Wells/Osenga) Introduce Ordinance 2025-012 Warner brought this ordinance forward to council. She said paid family leave was a proven tool for helping families and children. She was mainly curious why the introduction was pulled from consent. Finch spoke of his experience in working with five different unions. He noted that a family leave policy was already in place in city code. The current city code was fair to everyone across the board. Extra paid leave for someone with children would be a reward that other employees would not receive. Finch was also concerned about loop holes in the policy that would allow employees to work the system. Osenga said introducing the ordinance would lead us down the path of addressing concerns. He hoped it would be introduced and have the public hearing at the next meeting. Motion Passed Resolutions Unanimous Resolution 2025-075: Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into an Independent Contractor Agreement with Selena Soto for GIS Technical Services and Appropriating Funds Motion (Osenga/Wells) Approve Resolution 2025-075 Sorensen described the contractor agreement and explained the city's needs for GIS technical services. Selena Soto was currently contracted by the city and has been a huge success as a GIS contractor. This agreement would be continuing with the GIS services at the current rate of $80 an hour. City administration had determined other GIS services to be more costly and inferior to the work that Soto provided. Sorensen noted some of Soto's contributions including online cemetery plots and interactive zoning maps. Barnwell suggested more detailed reports about how the 40 hours a week were being spent. He asked to see more credentials for Soto as a GIS technician. Bickling responded that Soto has obtained a master's degree in GIS from Penn State. Council further discussed the amount of money, working remotely, and the importance of a GIS technician being familiar with the Seward area. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 96 Other New Business Discussion on Narcan rescue kits [Added to the agenda by Warner] Warner wanted to have this discussion due to a recent fatal overdose. She was discouraged because there are so many resources in this community. Seward Providence Hospital has Narcan kits available 24-7. Everyone deserves a chance of recovery. Warner hopes there could be more public boxes with rescue kits. Council directed administration to come up with a plan to make an access point for Narcan. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Upcoming City Council Meetings City Council Work Session Monday, August 25, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. to present 2024 audit findings from Altman Rogers City Council Meeting Monday, August 25, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS Shane Hand, inside city limits, spoke as the president of SPEA. He spoke in support of Ordinance 2025-012. He clarified that the existing Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guaranteed leave, however it was not paid leave. He addressed the comments about giving a certain demographic paid leave. Hand explained the accrual process for annual leave and noted how quickly annual leave can be depleted. Christiana Smith, outside city limits, described the difference between FMLA and paid family leave. She described emergency fosters programs that were only for 2-3 days. On another topic, she had been attending Planning & Zoning Meetings and Work Sessions. There was an interesting P&Z Work Session coming up on parking in commercial zoning districts. She encouraged people to attend and provide comments to the P&Z Commission. Taylor Crocker, inside city limits, announced an Electric Department survey was just released to the community. The city planned to use the survey feedback to help shape some town hall workshops at the Rae Building. So far there were around 200 responses, and Crocker encouraged more people to take the survey. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Sorensen was heading up to Anchorage tomorrow to discuss the MEA contract which was expiring at the end of this year. She would also be attending U.S. Coast Guard dinner along with Harbormaster Tony Sieminski. They planned to discuss all the exciting opportunities in Seward for the Coast Guard. 1 1 1 1 1 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2025 Volume 43, Page 97 Warner said the Soldotna Animal Clinic would be coming to town later this week for check-ups and vaccines. She also provided various announcements and events regarding the local schools and the Parent Teacher Association. Lastly, Warner congratulated Tracy Squires on currently leading the Seward Silver Salmon Derby. Barnwell said it was a great meeting. He thanked the Seward Education Advocates for the presentation. Finch thanked the Seward Education Advocates for their efforts. He spoke to his experience with Narcan and supported making Narcan kits more available. Finch encouraged Shane Hand to reach out to him with union questions. Lastly, he encouraged everyone to be safe during the Silver Salmon Derby. Osenga thanked Seward Education Advocates for their informative presentation. He believed that education was a foundation of a good community. Good luck to all the participants in the Silver Salmon Derby and he hoped Tracy Squire's lead would hold out for the win. Lastly, the hydro project on Mt. Marathon was very interesting. McClure echoed previous comments. She wanted to mention school was starting and that meant a change in the patterns of kids on the streets. Thank you to the Seward Education Advocates for their work. McClure recalled wanting to be a science teacher at the Seward High School but life took her in a different direction. McClure noted a recent string of funerals, graveside services, and celebrations of life, and how these events bring the community together. It would be nice to organize a non -funeral get-together with the intent of sharing stories and socializing. With that in mind, Founder's Day was coming up and there would be a tribute to those who had passed away. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Kris Peck City Clerk (City Seal) Sue McClure Mayor