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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02232026 City Council MinutesCity of Seward, Alaska Citv Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 176 CALL TO ORDER The Monday, February 23, 2026, regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Sue McClure. OPENING CEREMONY Chief of Police Louis Tiner led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL There were present: Sue McClure, presiding, and John Osenga Robert Barnwell Julie Crites Casie Warner Lori Draper Mike Calhoon 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 PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS — None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Clare Sullivan, inside city limits, introduced herself as an applicant for the Planning & Zoning Commission. Russ White, inside city limits, provided updates on Parks & Recreation winter events. Maya Moriarty, outside city limits, thanked Parks & Recreation for their fun events. She thanked Council Member Calhoon for his proposed draft ordinance on marijuana regulations. Moriarty brought up marijuana related issues such as THC levels, open container laws, and marijuana regulations regarding AMCO and local control. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 177 Rhonda Hubbard, inside city limits, spoke about Resolution 2026-022 regarding the mid -cycle budget. She wanted this item to be postponed due to lack of public process. This budget was too big of an ask without more inquiry and review. Randy McFarland, outside city limits, spoke about the increases in the fee schedule regarding the harbor parking rates. He understood why the daily parking and seasonal permits would increase over the years. However, it was odd that the commercial parking permit would go from $500 in 1996 down to $350 in 2026. He hoped the parking policy overall could be taken under review. Robert Coleman, inside city limits, introduced himself as an applicant for the Planning & Zoning Commission. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Osenga/Calhoon) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Calhoon requested the AMCO items regarding the Seward Distilling Company be removed from the consent agenda. McClure requested the appointment of Deborah Altermatt to PACAB be added to the consent agenda. Motion as Amended Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the February 9, 2026, City Council Meeting Minutes Introduction of Ordinance 2026-003: Amending Seward City Code § 15.10.140 Definitions and § 15.10.226 Land Uses Allowed to Incorporate Regulations for a Mobile Health Unit Appoint Deborah Altermatt to PACAB with a term set to expire July 2026 IN -PERSON REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen announced the upcoming Parks & Recreation open house at the Rae Building. Last week, Sorensen had a great meeting with the US Army Corps of Engineers about the Lowell Creek Tunnel. An upcoming presentation about the tunnel project was in the works. Sorensen also updated council on the Rural Health Transformation Grant and how it pertained to Providence Medical Center. She noted that Harbormaster Tony Sieminski was recently in Juneau for the commissioning of Coast Guard Fast Response Cutter Frederick Mann. Lastly, Sorensen gave a shout out to all the adorable cats at the local animal shelter. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page /78 Deputy City Manager Jason Bicking provided an update on the online public survey with Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District (KPEDD). He encouraged people to take the survey and represent Seward. Warner asked for an update on the grant for providing NARCAN opioid overdose response kits around town. Sorensen noted the city had collaborated with the Qutekcak Native Tribe to receive the grant for NARCAN vending machines downtown. It was still a work in progress, but in the meantime, there is a NARCAN box available in City Hall in the West entrance that is accessible 24-7. This space was recently renovated and cleared out by moving the large blue donation box for the animal shelter to the actual animal shelter. Sorensen also updated council on a recent tour of the new cruise ship terminal and opportunities for the facility being a winter recreation spot. Lastly, she gave a big shout out to the Electric Department linemen for dealing with the overnight power outages during a big windstorm last week. Calhoon cautioned the City Manager about mentioning the abundance of cute cats at the animal shelter while his wife was in attendance. City Clerk Report City Clerk Kris Peck noted some technical difficulties with the lack of audio on the YouTube live stream and thanked IT Department for coming in to fix the issues. Peck also noted the current vacancy for the Seward seat on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission. Deputy City Clerk Jodi Kurtz referenced the report in the packet and explained the application process for the exchange program with Obihiro, Japan. Other Reports and Announcements - None Presentations — None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Enactment Ordinance 2026-002: Amending Seward City Code § 15.10.215 Parking and Associated Parking References within Title 15 Motion (Osenga/Calhoon) Enact Ordinance 2026-002 Sorensen noted there was a substitute version of this ordinance presented as a laydown. She explained that she was the sponsor of the substitute ordinance. The substitute version was slightly different from the one that P&Z approved. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 179 Community Development Director Daniel Meuninck thanked P&Z and Vice Chair Hornseth for doing the majority of the research and work that went into this ordinance. This ordinance had been carefully tailored to this specific city. P&Z had evaluated Seward's current parking minimums, and the intent was to remove rigid minimums. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Brenan Hornseth, inside city limits, noted he was a member of P&Z. He spoke in support of the ordinance. He encouraged the city to perform annual or semi-annual parking studies to stay current. Tamara Filipovic, inside city limits, spoke in support of the parking ordinance. Required parking minimums consume valuable land area and hinder development. Builders may choose to add parking, instead of the decision being forced on them in a one -size -fits -all approach. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Council amended Ordinance 2026-002 by replacing it with the substitute version. Sorensen explained the changes with the substitute version which included sponsorship by the City Manager, section L being re -instated, and a few housekeeping changes. A memo from Community Development explaining these changes was also included in the laydown. Calhoon noted the excellent work of P&Z. It was time to move forward with the parking updates. Motion as Amended Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Discuss draft ordinance for marijuana regulations in Title 8 [Sponsored by Calhoon] [Postponed on February 9, 2026. This item includes 2-page letter from AMCO] McClure noted this discussion item was postponed so Calhoon could be at the dais since he was the sponsor. Calhoon explained his thoughts on the number of marijuana licenses allowed being a static number or being based on fluctuating population. He wanted to see all marijuana licenses be capped at a total of two for the whole industry in Seward. Council discussed the draft ordinance and the particulars of limiting the marijuana licenses. Council voted unanimously for the ordinance to be prepared for presentation. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 180 Council recessed the meeting at 8:04 p.m. Council resumed the meeting at 8:10 p.m. NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2026-020: Approving an Update to the City of Seward Fee Schedule Motion (Osenga/Draper) Approve Resolution 2026-020 Sorensen explained how the fee schedule was a list of services offered by the City of Seward. She noted the main changes were in the library and harbor parking fees and referenced her laydown. Barnwell asked about adjusting the parking fees depending on popularity of each parking lot. Deputy Parking & Recreation Director Benny Flores noted each lot was almost full every day in the summer. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2026-021: Updating the Mobile Vendor Application Period for Permitting Mobile Vendors on City -Owned Property [Sponsored by City Clerk] Motion (Osenga/Barnwell) Approve Resolution 2026-021 Peck recalled the recent discussion item with council regarding the mobile vending program. He noted the current open-ended application period meant that the city was obligated to barricade off the vending spots in the event that someone applied. This included two prime parking spots in the harbor. This resolution would limit the application period to run March 1 — March 31 each year. If no vendors applied, then the spots would revert to open parking stalls. McClure felt it was a brilliant solution to the problem. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2026-022: Amending the FY 2025-2026 Budget to Reflect Mid -Cycle Budget Adjustments and Appropriating Funds Motion (Osenga/Calhoon) Approve Resolution 2026-022 Sorensen explained the estimates and budget adjustments. She proposed a substitute resolution that removed the reference to FY 25 and only looks forward to FY 26. She further explained the budget includes the Police Department overtime, the Library for increasing their hours to be open 6 days a week, and reinstating the funding for a Teen Rec Room position. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 181 McClure motioned the substitute resolution and council voted unanimously to move forward with the substitute resolution. Calhoon motioned to postpone the substitute resolution to hold a Special Meeting on Monday, March 2, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. Council discussed and voted unanimously to postpone accordingly. Other New Business Appoint two P&Z Commissioners for 3-year terms set to expire February 2029 Applicants: Vanessa Verhey, Robert Coleman, and Clare Sullivan Calhoon declared a conflict of interest due to Sullivan being his spouse. McClure agreed that a conflict did exist. Due to having more applicants than vacancies, the Clerk distributed paper ballots to council. The completed ballots were then passed back to the Clerk. Vote Count: Verhey: 4 [Osenga, Draper, Warner, McClure] Coleman: 1 [Crites] Sullivan: 5 [Crites, Osenga, Draper, Warner, McClure] Barnwell overvoted his ballot which resulted in a spoiled ballot. Vanessa Verhey and Clare Sullivan were appointed to the commission. Discuss Developer Reimbursement Program and American Rescue Plan Act Bickling explained the DRP funds and the math involved. The available balance was $1.3 million. He had recently learned that building a house with a fire suppression system is difficult and expensive. He referred to his laydown for more information. This discussion was just intended to prepare council for the upcoming work session. There was no action required from council tonight. No grounds for protest to a new AMCO Distillery Retail License for the Seward Distilling Company at 226 Fifth Avenue No grounds for protest to a new AMCO Manufacturer Sampling Endorsement for the Seward Distilling Company at 226 Fifth Avenue Calhoon pulled this pair of AMCO items from consent to explain his concerns about the zoning. This liquor license was for a proposed distillery, but the lot was currently vacant. At a future date, the distillery would have to obtain a conditional use permit among other things. The council having no grounds for protest would allow the distilling company to move forward with the next steps. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 182 Barnwell asked about AMCO liquor licenses being very limited. Calhoon explained there were different types of licenses, such as private club license and a package store license. A distillery was yet another type of license. Council had no grounds for protest to the AMCO licenses for the Seward Distilling Company. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Other Items Quarterly Providence Financial Reports Quarterly City of Seward Financial Reports Upcoming City Council Meetings City Council Meeting on Monday, March 9, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS Rhonda Hubbard, inside city limits, thanked council for postponing the mid -cycle budget resolution. Randy McFarland, outside city limits, clarified that he wasn't complaining about the parking prices, but rather the unclear policy. In particular, he noted the seasonal pass for the Center Parking Lot and lack of information about who was eligible to purchase one. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Sorensen would look further into the parking policy and the seasonal parking permits. She reminded everyone of the Parks & Recreation open house event and the cats at the animal shelter. Draper thanked all the citizens who reached out with comments. She gave a shout out to the linemen working during the windstorm. She thanked P&Z and Community Development for drafting the parking ordinance and thanked Jusino for the financial statements. Draper announced that the Seward Rotary Club was considering a city-wide bike rack project to make Seward a more bikeable town. Crites suggested the city add funding to the budget to offer financial assistance to the exchange students traveling to Obihiro, Japan. She didn't want to exclude potential applicants who couldn't afford the airfare. Calhoon thanked everyone for all the public input. The city council trying to be as open as possible. He gave kudos to the Electric Department for their work in the windy weather. He appreciated Parks & Recreation for all their great events. He thanked Community Development City of Seward, Alaska Cite Council Meeting Minutes February 23, 2026 Volume 43, Page 183 and P&Z for all their work on the parking ordinance. He was looking forward to the work session on the Developer Reimbursement Program. Warner thanked everyone who reached out with public comments. She noted a diverse agenda tonight. Barnwell thanked Randy McFarland for his parking comments and encouraged him not to give up. He thanked P&Z and Community Development for all their work on the parking ordinance and pushing the envelopes on the way people think about parking. Osenga echoed previous comments. He thanked the applicants for the P&Z vacancies. He encouraged students to apply for the exchange program with Obihiro. He encouraged people to participate in the KPEDD survey. He gave a thank you to the linemen for their work in the ferocious windstorm. Osenga noted there is more wind on the way so be careful out there. McClure echoed previous comments. She was pleased to note that PACAB and P&Z were both full and thanked the new applicants. It was great people were stepping up to these boards and commissions. She had been following along to the numerous P&Z parking discussions and it was interesting to see it unfold. McClure explained how the high school government students attend council meetings and get extra credit for taking a selfie with the Mayor. Tonight one of the students mentioned the council dealt with interesting topics. Lastly, she noted the mid -cycle budget would be resumed at the upcoming Special Meeting. Calhoon also wanted to thank P&Z Vice Chair Brenan Hornseth for the tremendous amount of work and research he put into the parking ordinance, and he deserved a lot of the credit for the final product. McClure noted the audio issues on tonight's meeting for the YouTube live stream. Peck noted the sound issue was fixed during the City Manager Report. As a backup, the audio is also recorded separately on an mp3 recorder. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:06 p.m. Kris Peck City Clerk Sue McClure Mayor