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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08102026 City Council MinutesCity of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August /0, 2026 Volume 43, Page 255 CALL TO ORDER The August 10,2026 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 Kris Peck, City Clerk Sam Severin, City Attorney Kody George, City Attorney Excused — None Absent — None PROCLAMATIONS AND AWARDS — None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Bob Candopoulos, outside city limits, spoke about a notice of violation he had received from Community Development about his array of political signs. He addressed the First Amendment rights and how the Supreme Court ruled that residential political signs are free speech. The local government cannot limit this kind of expression due to visual clutter. Candopoulos also hoped for Seward to be a place where everyone belonged and no one was excluded. Jerry Fogg, inside city limits, believed that political signs are free speech, similar to painting a city crosswalk in rainbow colors was free speech. He also spoke in opposition to the rainbow crosswalk and didn't enjoy explaining it to his grandchildren. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 10. 2026 _ Volume 43, Page 256 Lynda Paquette, outside city limits, spoke to a lack of structured community events for kids such as talent shows. She hoped the community could do more for kids to feel proud of their accomplishments. Kenneth Moore, outside city limits, said the City was trying way too hard to restrict everyone's free speech on their own private property. John Wisel, outside city limits, didn't want to see more rules and regulations. It would be refreshing if the City would pull back rules across the board and promote some growth. 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 27, 2026 City Council Meeting Minutes No grounds for protest for the AMCO liquor license renewal for the Alaska Seafood Grill IN -PERSON REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS City Manager Report City Manager Kat Sorensen said that Senator Sullivan and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant had a wonderful tour of Seward today. Seward has been selected as the future port of a USCG ice breaker. The tour with the visiting dignitaries culminated with a fun community event at the Branson Pavilion. Sorensen also noted the USCG had awarded a contract to Orion Construction for housing and cutter support buildings in the Hilltop Subdivision area. City Clerk Report City Clerk Kris Peck reported on the filing period to run for City Council, the State of Alaska Primary Election early voting options, and shared some stories of the Japanese exchange students visit in Seward thus far. The Seward group was currently in Japan and there would be more updates and photos to follow. City Attorney Report City Attorney Sam Severin noted his fellow attorney Kody George was here tonight and had been working primarily on electric utility issues. Severin summarized from his report in the packet and highlighted an uptick in public records requests and drafting the lease for the Middle School. Overall, things were going well with no major issues to report. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 10, 2026 Volume 43, Page 257 Barnwell asked about the swimming pool contract with the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Sorensen responded with key points about the contract that protected the City in various scenarios. She noted the agreement had not yet been approved by the school district or the borough. Presentations — None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Enactment Ordinance 2026-007: Amending Seward City Code 15.10.140 Definitions and 15.10.226 Land Uses Allowed for Marijuana Establishments Motion (Osenga/Barnwell) Enact Ordinance 2026-007 Community Development Director Daniel Meuninck said this ordinance was sponsored by Planning & Zoning Commission. It was intended to complement the marijuana regulations that City Council recently ordained in Title 8. Meuninck summarized key highlights from the ordinance. Lastly, he recommended an amendment from the City Attorney that was provided as a laydown. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Lynda Paquette, outside city limits, asked council to vote no on this ordinance. She made a note on terminology that the word "marijuana" should be replaced by the word "cannabis." Aside from terminology, Paquette said there was no evidence that this ordinance was backed up by anything. She felt this ordinance was written to specifically target the Tufted Puffin business. Every P&Z Commissioner member is entitled to their religious beliefs, but that was not a basis for municipal law. Cannabis is legal and regulated in Alaska and it was not fair to try and prohibit a legal businesses from operating. This ordinance would not solve any problems and should be rejected. Suzi Towsley, outside city limits, hoped Council would vote no on the ordinance. She echoed previous comments from Paquette. This ordinance was not evidence based, but rather based on perceived values. Randy Wells, inside city limits, spoke on behalf of the Tufted Puffin. He has been targeted for three years despite no evidence of wrongdoing. The way this ordinance was written would make it impossible for any new cannabis store to open in Seward if the Tufted Puffin ever went out of business. Wells provided statistics on alcohol -related DUIs, alcohol deaths and other drinking related problems in Seward. Drinking had become so normalized that people simply look the other way at the alcohol statistics. In contrast, Wells said there were zero cannabis related DUIs. The Tufted Puffin onsite cannabis cafe had operated for three years with no violations. Wells concluded by saying the ordinance should also include every alcohol establishment to be fair. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 10, 2026 Volume 43, Page 258 Jennifer Wells, inside city limits, spoke on behalf of the Tufted Puffin. Their number one question from the community has been asking for a legal place to consume cannabis. The Tufted Puffin has provided a safe and legal space for consumption. Despite this, the Tufted Puffin and the cannabis industry were being targeted with these types of ordinances. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Calhoon motioned to amend the ordinance as described in the laydown: 15.10.226 (H)(2) striking "in an application submitted after March 1, 2026," from the first line and adding a final sentence that says, "The buffer prohibitions codified by Ordinance 2026-007 do not apply to the marijuana establishments lawfully operating on or before March 1, 2026." Severin explained how the section was consistent with the corresponding section in Title 8. Ordinance 2026-007 was amended in accordance with Calhoon's motion. Barnwell asked about legal jeopardy by spot zoning or targeting that particular industry. Severin responded that the City does have a lot of power to regulate marijuana land use and zoning. This ordinance was within the bounds of legislative action. Barnwell agreed with the public comments regarding alcohol which has been accepted and normalized by society. Council continued to discuss the impact this ordinance may have on various scenarios of future businesses opening in Seward. Warner motioned to amend the ordinance by striking the proposed new section in H(2): park zone, playground, athletic field, community' center, licensed childcare facility, housing facility owned by a public housing authority, homeless and transient shelter, habilitative care facility, Ordinance 2026-007 was amended in accordance with Warner's motion. Council continued to discuss scenarios with the current businesses and potential new businesses in regards to their location. Council discussed the merits of sending the ordinance back to P&Z in hopes of a revised version and a visual aid to go along with the ordinance. Meunink said it would be very difficult to create a visual aid to show locations around the city. He agreed that the restrictions would make it virtually impossible to open a new shop downtown. Council discussed postponing the ordinance and if there was any particular rush for this ordinance to be enacted. Meuninck clarified this was not urgent since the city was already at capacity for marijuana stores per Title 8. Main Motion as Amended Failed 2-5 Yes: Warner, Calhoon No: Osenga, Draper, Barnwell, Crites, McClure City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August /0, 2026 Volume 43, Page 259 Council recessed the meeting at 8:23 p.m. Council resumed the meeting at 8:28 p.m. Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing Resolution 2026-064: Approving an Amendment to the 2025 Electric Utility Tariff Establishing a Heat Pump Rate [Postponed on July 27, 2026. A second public hearing will be held due to requests from the public.] Motion (already on the floor) Approve Resolution 2026-064 Utility Accounting and Rates Specialist Russ Hissom worked on the draft rate study. He spoke about how the heat pump rate was modeled. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Phil Kaluza, inside city limits, said the math for this rate only works in favor of the high -end homes. He said the community needed a better incentive rate or none at all. The proposed monthly fee and the subtract meter canceled out the benefits of the heat pump rate. There was a lot of potential for an incentive rate, but this was not the one. He urged council to vote no. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Calhoon inquired if other privately owned electric utilities had heat pump rates. He was currently not in favor of this resolution. Barnwell asked about the Railbelt being in serious need of natural gas and potential shortages this winter. He questioned why the City would be incentivizing the use of more natural gas with the higher electricity usage. Utility Director Brian Hickey spoke about availability shortfalls of natural gas. He had heard a lot of feedback from the community about implementing a heat pump rate which led to this resolution tonight. Draper said she owned a heat pump and her son was a heat pump installer. She acknowledged all the work that went into this heat pump rate. After listening to the public comments, she wasn't convinced this rate would save people money. Motion Failed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Resolution 2026-064 was preceded by Public Hearing #2 [see above] City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August 10, 2026 Volume 43, Page 260 NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Discuss Electric Department updates with Brian Hickey and Russ Hissom Hickey and Hissom presented to Council with a slideshow. The slideshow is available as a laydown item. Discuss political sign rules and regulations [Sponsored by Calhoon] Calhoon noted this discussion item stemmed from one individual who got a notice of violation for his array of political signs. Calhoon believed there was a First Amendment issue with this type of enforcement. Calhoon also noted that a limit of one temporary sign was too strict since elections tend to feature multiple issues on the ballot. Osenga didn't believe it was ever City Council's intention to infringe on First Amendment rights or limit to one political sign on the property. He predicted this would be taken care of. Sorensen noted political signs were removed from Seward City Code last year and they were now considered "temporary signs." She now has seen how this has impacted the community. City Administration would bring an ordinance forward to address the sign code. In the meantime, the City would relax enforcement rules to get thru the cycle of elections. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS Upcoming City Council Meetings Regular City Council Meeting on Monday, August 24, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. Other Items Updated roster for Council, P&Z, PACAB, and Historic Preservation 2026 Election Schedule Primary Election Absentee Voting Poster for City Hall CITIZEN COMMENTS Tim Ozerkov, outside city limits, spoke about how a group of public commenters can influence a decision. A packed room doesn't necessarily reflect what the whole community believes. The only way to truly know how the community feels would be to vote during an election. Lynda Paquette, outside city limits, thanked Council for doing the right thing tonight on voting down Ordinance 2026-007. That ordinance was a personal vendetta using devious methods to shut down the cannabis industry in Seward. She was proud of Council for the thought and consideration City of Sevt•ard, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August /0, 2026 Volume 43, Page 261 that went into the discussion. On the topic of political signs, she had some suggestions for revised regulations that would accommodate residents and still prevent the town from looking trashy. Kelly Moore, outside of city limits, spoke against imposing restrictions on signs. It was a slippery slope to try to restrict the size, shape, color of signs. Becky Dunn, inside the city, would like Council to clarify the rules on allowing banners on the lagoon boardwalk. This was another aspect of the sign code that should be considered. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Draper was sad to vote down the heat pump rate. She appreciated the citizen comment about the vote of the people. Calhoon spoke about the citizen initiative process always being an option to put something on the ballot. He recalled a successful initiative petition regarding an unfair sales tax a number of years ago. On another topic, Calhoon said he was a First Amendment absolutist and didn't think Council's intention was ever to limit freedom of speech. He looked forward to a revised sign ordinance in the near future. Warner thanked everyone for making public comments tonight. She echoed comments about the citizen initiative process. Lastly, Warner noted school would be starting soon and keep an eye out for kids and school buses. Barnwell noted the tough decisions this evening. He appreciated the public attending and participating. He thanked Brian Hickey and his team for their work on hydroelectric projects. Osenga was excited about the hydroelectric projects and possibilities. He noted that groundwork has begun on Jessee Lee Home property. McClure noted the progression of the new water tank in Lowell Canyon. Earlier today, McClure attended the community celebration for Seward being chosen as a homeport for a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter. McClure noted some tough issues were dividing the town and it was difficult to find a middle ground. Osenga thanked the American Legion for helping out with the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant and all the other dignitaries visiting Seward. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes August /0, 2026 Volume 43, Page 262 EXECUTIVE SESSION City Manager Annual Evaluation Motion (McClure/Calhoon) Go into Executive Session for the Annual Evaluation of the City Manager The City Manager and City Council were included in the executive session. Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed the meeting at 9:40 p.m. Council resumed the meeting at 9:45 p.m. Council went into executive session at 9:45 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 10:28 p.m. McClure noted an executive session had been held and was ready to adjourn the meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:28 p.m. Kris Peck Peck Sue McClure City Clerk Mayor