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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07272026 City Council MinutesCity of Seward. Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 247 CALL TO ORDER The July 27, 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 J*iJie-C—rues 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 — Crites Absent — None PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS — None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Lynda Paquette, outside city limits, introduced herself as the applicant for PACAB. Amanda Sweeting, outside city limits, spoke on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. She updated City Council on upcoming community events and programs. Lori Landstrom, outside city limits, thanked City Council for drafting their letter of support for reducing the Nash Road speed limit to 45 mph. She hoped the letter could include support for a crosswalk at the intersection of Nash Road and the Seward Highway. On another topic, she spoke in support of the City utilizing the Middle School as a recreation center. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 248 APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Osenga/Calhoon) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the July 13, 2026, City Council Meeting Minutes Introduction of Ordinance 2026-007: Amending Seward City Code 15.10.140 Definitions and 15.10.226 Land Uses Allowed for Marijuana Establishments No grounds for protest for the AMCO liquor license renewal for Gateway Liquor & Food Mart IN -PERSON REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen addressed the letter of support for reducing the Nash Road speed limit and confirmed there were no objections from Council to adding a note about supporting the crosswalk. Sorensen also addressed rules and regulations regarding political signs inside city limits for both residential and commercial properties. City Clerk Report City Clerk Kris Peck noted the report was in three separate parts. These items included the filing period to run for election as a City Council member, the schedule for 2026 elections, and lastly the student profiles for the incoming exchange students from Obihiro, Japan. Peck also announced that the State of Alaska had chosen the Seward Community Library as the polling location for 2026. The Absentee In Person voting would still take place at City Hall. Presentations - None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Enactment Ordinance 2026-006: Amending the Seward City Code Title 3 Personnel Chapter 3.01.035 Definitions and Chapter 3.05.015 Responsibility and Authority Motion (Osenga/Barnwell) Enact Ordinance 2026-006 City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes Judy 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 249 Human Resources Manager Ashleigh Lipsey explained the current City Code language regarding the HR Manager was incorrect. The HR Manager was actually not a director and Human Resources was not a city department. Rather, the position has always been within City Administration. The second component to the ordinance was replacing the granular job duties with broader language. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing Resolution 2026-064: Approving an Amendment to the 2025 Electric Utility Tariff Establishing a Heat Pump Rate Motion (Osenga/Draper) Approve Resolution 2026-064 Electric Department Supervisor Taylor Crocker said he had worked with PACAB over the past year looking into a good heat pump rate for the community. He summarized the idea behind the new heat pump rate and how it required a subtract meter. Seward could be the first community on the Railbelt to have a heat pump rate. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Lori Landstrom, outside city limits, currently has two heat pumps and noted her electric bill had gone up with the heat pumps. She was in favor of incentive rates and programs to allow lower income folks get heat pumps installed. Regarding this specific resolution, she liked the idea of a heat pump rate, however she was not in favor of the subtract meters or the $10 monthly fee. This would reduce the monthly savings to the home owners. She hoped the City's new smart meters would provide enough data without having to install the expensive subtract meters. Phil Kaluza, inside city limits, handed out a written testimony to the Clerk. Kaluza spoke about fairness, smart meters, monthly fees, power usage, and other factors regarding this heat pump rate. He explained some math regarding heat pumps in a typical house in Seward. The small user ends up losing $26 a year and were better off not participating in this rate. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Calhoon asked Crocker to please explain why the City was pushing heat pumps. Crocker responded that PACAB had been pushing heat pumps as a way to stop using fossil fuels. The Electric Department loved to sell electricity, but were also looking for ways to save some folks some money. Crocker also noted the privacy features of the smart meters. City of Seward, Alaska Citr Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 250 Calhoon felt that owning a heat pump should be the reward in and of itself, without any further incentives. He compared it to driving a more efficient automobile. Calhoon also noted the fiscal impact might be unknown rather than being listed as no impact. Sorensen explained the heat pump incentive program in Cordova and economy of scale. The idea was not necessarily to reward those who already have heat pumps, but rather to lower the reliance on diesel fuel. McClure noted that even with heat pumps, the electricity was still generated from burning fossil fuels such as natural gas. Draper spoke about the benefits to the environment and agreed about not having the $10 metering payback fees. Crocker added that a rate study expert Russ Hissom would be visiting Seward on August 10, 2026 and could speak at the regular City Council meeting that night. McClure motioned to postpone this resolution until August 10, 2026. Motion to Postpone UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Unanimous Resolution 2026-065: Authorizing the City Manager to Sign an Agreement with the Kenai Peninsula Borough to Lease the Former Seward Middle School Facility in the Amount of $233,000 and Appropriating Funds Motion (Osenga/Warner) Approve Resolution 2026-065 Sorensen explained the lease and the maintenance responsibilities that the City would incur. She confirmed the electric meters in the middle school were accurate. Sorensen was excited about the potential for this building as a recreation center. McClure asked about current sports and recreation memberships being transferred over from the AVTEC gym to the Middle School. Sports & Recreation Manager Russ White said the memberships would apply to both facilities. AVTEC would still remain open but not as frequently. Calhoon asked about the interest level of other organizations renting out some of the spaces in the Middle School. Sorensen replied there was a lot of interest and the focus would be on non-profit organizations. McClure noted the rentals would recoup some of the operating costs. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 251 Draper supported the idea, and noted the community was also in favor of this idea. However, she wondered if the overall price tag could be reduced from $233,000. Council discussed with city staff about the funding needed as a start up amount. Resolution 2026-065 was amended to lower the total appropriation cost from $233,000 to $150,000 Council continued to discuss personnel costs, Parks & Rec programming, revenue, expenditures, and the utility costs of the building. Deputy City Manager Jason Bickling provided information on the City's exit strategy and summarized past discussion on the controversial gate between the Middle School and the High School. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Council resumed the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Resolution 2026-066: Authorizing the City Manager to Fund LONG Building Technologies for a Building Automation Controls Upgrade and Steam Humidifier Replacement for the Seward Community Library & Museum in the Amount of $175,366.85 and Appropriating Funds Motion (Osenga/Barnwell) Approve Resolution 2026-066 Sorensen summarized the history of the difficult climate controls in the library and the museum. McClure noted this heating system had been problematic since the very beginning. The valuable museum artifacts needed protection with dialed in humidity controls. Draper shared her experience of the extreme temperatures in the library fluctuated from either too hot or too cold. Barnwell addressed the warranty information in the fine print. Sorensen noted the initial company unfortunately went out of business shortly after the library was built, which compounded the maintenance issues. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2026-067: Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Amendment B to the Professional Services Agreement with Northern Compass Group, LLC, for Consulting Services for the Electric Department in an Amount Not to Exceed $50,000 and Appropriating Funds Motion (Osenga/Warner) Approve Resolution 2026-067 City of Seward, Alaska Cin • Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 252 Sorensen explained this agreement started in 2025 at $5,000 a month. She summarized the public engagement that the Northen Compass Group had contributed such as focus groups, community surveys, and organizing the town hall meetings. Initially, Sorensen thought the monthly agreement would be a shorter timeframe. She wanted to bring this resolution forward to proceed with Northern Compass Group for community engagement for the future of the electric utility. Council and the Sorensen discussed detailed financial reports and the original contract with the Northern Compass Group. Sorensen provided the original contract as laydown item. Draper had noted on the contract the phase 1 flat fee of $5,000 was actually $5,000 per month. Sorensen explained the city's purchasing code about not to exceed $30,000 without council approval. The discussion continued about amending the current contract or bringing forward a totally new contract. Barnwell had some issues with this contract, namely he didn't recall Council agreeing to having a PR group for the Electric Department. Sorensen responded it was a budgetary decision to spend money on communications and consulting work. She added that $31,000 had been spent in 2025 and $25,000 had been spent so far in 2026. Barnwell also noted the City was already paying quite a bit of money for contracting Brian Hickey and Taylor Crocker to work on the utility. Sorensen clarified that those two specialists were busy managing the electric utility, while Northen Compass Group was focused on communications and consulting. Sorensen wanted to be open and transparent about the future of the utility and not repeat past mistakes which had caused divisiveness in the community. Barnwell still felt the contract was a little spendy. It seemed to him like the city staff was doing most of the heavy lifting. Sorensen clarified that Northern Compass Group does a lot of time- consuming work behind -the -scenes like aggregating information and creating reports. Calhoon clarified it was month -to -month contract, not to exceed 10 months for $50,000. Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2026-068: Authorizing the City Manager to Accept a Proposal from Mercury Associates for a Comprehensive Fleet Assessment in the Amount of $44,140 and Appropriating Funds Motion (Osenga/Calhoon) Approve Resolution 2026-068 Sorensen explained this fleet assessment was about the motor pool and why it was beneficial to have a third -party company perform this type of assessment. This comprehensive fleet assessment would help plan the future of the motor pool. Calhoon thought this fleet assessment would help the City spend the motor pool funds properly. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 253 Other New Business Lynda Paquette was appointed to PACAB for a term set to expire January 2029. [Clerk's note: This was the first PACAB appointment made with the term expiration date being shifted to January.] INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Other Items Letter of Support for Nash Road speed limit being reduced to 45 mph Upcoming City Council Meetings Regular Meeting on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. CITIZEN COMMENTS Rhonda Hubbard, inside city limits, commented on the motor pool fund. She felt some of the City's vehicle purchases were too fancy and spoke in favor of getting only the basic editions. On another topic, she appreciated the discussion on Parks & Rec and the Middle School being utilized as a community center. Lastly, she spoke in opposition to the bed tax being used to support the Chamber of Commerce. Seward did not need any more marketing at this point. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Sorensen responded to the citizen comment by saying the fleet assessment would look into more standardized purchasing. This also including buying all one type of vehicle to make maintenance and finding parts easier. Sorensen thanked everyone for a great meeting and noted she was looking forward to the Middle School being utilized in the winter months. Bickling thanked City Council for their work tonight. Draper was excited about the possibilities of the Middle School as a community center. She appreciated all the ideas presented in the joint work session about short-term rentals. Draper also spoke about a great bluegrass music camp in town this week. Lastly, she hoped for a way for the public speakers to leave contact information. Calhoon appreciated all the information on housing and heat pumps. He complimented Parks & Rec and the Electric Department for their good work. He was looking forward to the new budget cycle. Calhoon was excited for the Middle School to become a community center, but would also be happy to see it return to being the Middle School someday. He thanked the Planning & Zoning Commission for their time this evening. Calhoon also shared that the American Legion had a great City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes July 27, 2026 Volume 43, Page 254 time hosting the crew of the USCGC Alex Haley. He encouraged residents to welcome the crew and make them feel at home. Warner thanked the public for coming to the joint work session on short-term rentals. Warner was also excited about the Middle School building being a great asset for the community. She liked the consolidated location for teen and youth activities. Warner looked forward to what would become of the vacated space underneath the Senior Center. Barnwell thanked P&Z and the public for coming in for the joint work session. He noted the Middle School needed a new name. He echoed Calhoon's feelings about losing a school, and hoped it would someday be filled with students again. Barnwell spoke about the application process to run for City Council. He encouraged people to apply for council and said it was a great experience to be a council member. Osenga thanked Public Works and Metco for their work on the waterfall in the heavy rain. He wished the anglers good luck on the upcoming Silver Salmon Derby. McClure thanked P&Z and the public for their input during the joint work session. She echoed Draper's comments about the great music camp. She appreciated all the maintenance work that went into the waterfall tunnel area during the rain storm. She noted the tunnel repairs that were scheduled for this winter. She wished everyone a happy beginning to the upcoming Silver Salmon Derby. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Kris Peck Sue McClure City Clerk Mayor