HomeMy WebLinkAbout05092016 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 54
CALL TO ORDER
The May 9,2016 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m.
by Mayor Jean Bardarson.
OPENING CEREMONY
Police Chief Tom Clemons led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Jean Bardarson presiding and
Marianna Keil Ristine Casagranda
Dave Squires Dale Butts
Sue McClure Deborah Altermatt
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Jim Hunt, City Manager
Johanna Kinney, City Clerk
Brenda Ballou, Deputy City Clerk
Will Earnhart, City Attorney
Absent—None
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING—None
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Squires added a report for Community Health Center (CHC) Building Committee under Other
Reports, Announcements and Presentations.
Butts added a discussion on city employee step and merit increases under Other New Business Items.
Bardarson added proclamations for National Correctional Officers Week and Special Olympics Law
Enforcement Torch Run Day under Proclamations& Awards.
McClure moved Resolution 2016-035 to the consent agenda.
Motion Passed Unanimous
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 55
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
Resolution 2016-035,Authorizing Funding In The Amount Of$50,000 To Serve As Matching
For A State Of Alaska Department Of Transportation Re-appropriation Of Funds To The
Seward Area Paving Improvements Project,And Appropriating Funds.
Approval of the March 29,2016,April 11, 2016 and the April 25,2016 Regular City Council
Meeting Minutes.
SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards
National Historic Preservation Month.
Building Safety Month.
Harbor Opening Weekend & Blessing of the Fleet Proclamation.
National Correctional Officers Week.
Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run Day.
City Manager's Report.Jim Hunt reported the following purchase orders between$10,000
and $50,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $37,060 to
Potelcom for JCN Power Cable, $21,379.60 to Potelcom for 2"and 4"PVC, $11,775 to Potelcom
for JCN Cable, $22,022.42 to Anixter for Operating Supplies, $10,000 to Stellar Designs for T-
Shirts, and $16,617.18 to Procomm for Parks& Recreation Department Radios.
Hunt added that the 2016 Water Quality Report had been released from Public Works and
Seward had outstanding water. In response to Keil, Hunt said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
could not complete their annual inspection of the Lowell Canyon Tunnel,and would not attempt the
inspection again until the Spring of 2017,but the completion of that inspection was not necessary for
the tunnel repair work to continue.In response to Butts,Hunt confirmed that the Bobcat/Toolcat that
Public Works would need to replace was the "old one" and had suffered irreparable damage to its
frame. In response to Casagranda, Hunt said Nancy Perea was currently the Acting Public Works
Director,there was currently an offer out to someone for the Project Manager position,the Finance
Department only had one vacancy for a Utilities/Billing position, and the Library/Museum was
actively in the hiring process for all positions.In response to McClure,Hunt said the lease for the Air
Force Rec Camp property was still valid, the U.S. Air Force was continuing to make their lease
payments,and it would probably be next spring before they were in a position to raze the buildings
and remove the utilities infrastructure. In response to Bardarson, Hunt said the street sweeper had
been repaired and was being used today.
In response to McClure,Assistant City Manager Ron Long said the new public Wi-Fi at
the Waterfront Campground and the Harbor would cost the city less than $10,000 to get up and
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 56
running. Administration planned to provide basic Wi-Fi for free, and then charge users to upgrade
the service if they wanted a faster connection.
City Attorney's Report. Will Earnhart said he continued to work with administration
on various matters.
Other Reports,Announcements and Presentations
Community Health Center(CHC) Building Committee. (Squires)
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ordinance 2016-001, Amending The Land Use Plan And The Zoning Designation Of City
Owned Lot lla-2, Fort Raymond Subdivision, Replat No. 4, (Replat Pending), Located At
Approximately 2200 Dimond Boulevard, From Park(P)To Multi-Family(R-3).
Motion (Casagranda/Squires) Enact Ordinance 2016-001
Long said this was necessary to move the project forward.
Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public
hearing was opened. No one appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed.
In response to Squires, Long confirmed that the easements would be noted on the plat.
Butts asked for clarification on the funding that Kenai Peninsula Housing Initiatives, Inc.
(KBHI)sought for this project.Long said KBHI had received all the funding necessary to complete
the project.
Motion Passed Unanimous
UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None
NEW BUSINESS
Resolution 2016-036,Authorizing Sole Source Contracts For Professional Services Required
To Permit Erosion Mitigation Work For The Snow River Transmission Line Crossing,
Including Permitting By Solstice Alaska Consulting In An Amount Not To Exceed $19,803,
Engineering By AWR Engineering In An Amount Not To Exceed $58,758, Surveying By
SurvBase Surveying And Mapping In An Amount Not To Exceed $35,709 And Geotechnical
Study By Shannon And Wilson Geotechnical And Environmental Consulting In An Amount
Not To Exceed $36,630, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed $150,900, And Appropriating
Funds.
Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2016-036
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 57
Long requested council amend the title and provided a lay down with suggested language.
Long said this was a fast-moving emergency project;a temporary repair was critical to stabilize the
situation. Down the road, a long-term solution would be addressed.
Motion To Amend (Squires/Casagranda) Amend the title of Resolution 2016-036 by
striking the word"Service"to read"...Sole
Source Contracts...", striking the word
"Conduct" and replacing it with the word
"Permit" to read "...Required To Permit
Erosion...", and adding the word "Work"
after the word "Mitigation" to read
"...Mitigation Work For The Snow
River...".
Motion To Amend Passed Unanimous
In response to Squires, Hunt said he was unsure if insurance would cover any part of these
repairs.Following up,Squires asked if the Alaska Department of Transportation(ADOT)would be
contributing. Long said administration was addressing that with ADOT, and administration was
hopeful it would result in collaboration.
To Electric Utility Manager John Foutz, Squires asked if he had been able to fly over the
area of Snow River to view the situation. Foutz said he had not had the opportunity yet, and it had
been recommended to him that he wait a couple more months until the snow thawed on upper
elevations.
Bardarson noted the T-198 structure was not referenced in the Fee Proposal included in the
packet. Foutz said the T-198 structure was located further back away from the river than T-197 and
T-199 structures,and so was in less jeopardy.Foutz said the repair for the T-198 structure would be
addressed in the long-term project.
Main Motion Passed Unanimous
Other New Business Items
Discuss employee step and merit increases. (Butts)
Butts said given the better-than-expected fourth quarter sales tax results,he wished to have
administration bring forward options for providing step and/or merit increases.
Keil disagreed and said she would prefer having a work session to hold this discussion.Keil
thought it would be prudent to delay this until after council had a chance to review the audit results.
Hunt said the state was running behind on reporting. In response to Bardarson, Hunt
confirmed the state would be required to finalize reports by July 1, 2016.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 58
Long suggested that council wait until the legislature adjourn before holding a work session.
McClure supported the idea of having a work session and also agreed that council should
wait until after the legislature adjourned.
Squires suggested that council look at what the budget was just before the cuts happened,as a
starting place for the discussion, but thought the work session should be held soon.
Casagranda added that the cost of insurance should also be considered.
Council scheduled a work session to review options for employee step and/or merit increases
on June 27,2016 at 6:00 p.m.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS
Letter to Jade Gamble of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the update
to the Alaska Federal/State Preparedness Plan for Response to Oil & Hazardous Substance
Discharges/Releases (Unified Plan).
COUNCIL COMMENTS
McClure said several things had happened since the last council meeting. She had attended
the school board meeting and saw Seward High School Principal Trevan Walker do a presentation
about hybrid schooling. She was so impressed that,following that presentation,she requested Walker
do the same presentation for council at the May 23, 2016 meeting. The Kenai Peninsula Historical
Society met in Seward last weekend; one of the presentations was by Lee Poleske and involved
research about Seward's historical gardens. During his research, Poleske discovered that
Chamberlain Road,which was actually named after former City Council Member Chamberlin,had
been misspelled on the street signs.
Casagranda congratulated the harbor staff on a smooth construction project for the A,B,C
and S Floats, which was done in a timely manner and was under budget. Casagranda had recently
completed a construction project herself, and found the Building Department to be easy to work
with. She provided an update on the Seward Flag Project: the committee had received and judged
385 entries;the entries were narrowed down to two,and those had been sent to a graphic designer for
interpretation; the original seven judges were now trying to get together for final judging.
Butts thanked everyone who participated in and volunteered for last weekend's Pink Cheeks
Triathalon. Butts asked how parking violations were handled; Police Chief Tom Clemons said
parking warnings were given by his officers in the downtown area,but the Parking Department was
responsible for the parking lots at the harbor.
Altermatt said the entire community was invited to an Open House at Orca Island on
Sunday, May 15, 2016 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Altermatt was happy to see how the Harbor
Opening Day had grown into a community-wide event.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
May 9, 2016 Volume 40, Page 59
Bardarson said the second graders would be visiting City Hall on Friday,May 13,2016.She
also thanked the Building Department.
Long wanted to return to the discussion about the Air Force Rec Camp lease; as a general
statement, he thought it was critical to have performance measurements in place for leases. At the
May 23,2016 council meeting there would be a presentation about the borough's proposed sales and
property tax changes.
City Clerk Johanna Kinney reminded council about the work session on May 19,2016 at
6:00 p.m. at the Seward Community Library Museum regarding the Railport Development Plan.
McClure said Saturday,May 14,2016 was the community clean-up day,and litter bags were
available to everyone at the landfill.
CITIZEN COMMENTS—None
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS—None
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:19 p.m.
anna Kinne M 41x-9 can Bardarson
City Clerk Mayor
'fir' a .. .....^
(COIS/661V1407''p I10
•
aa; r•
ve
or r • f