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Home My WebLink About10142019 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Volume 41, Page 10 CALL TO ORDER The October 14,2019 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:32 p.m. by Mayor David Squires. OPENING CEREMONY Citizen Lynda Paquette led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Squires presiding and Sue McClure Suzanne Towsley Sharyl Seese John Osenga Kelley Lane comprising a quorum of the Council; and Scott Meszaros, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Holly Wells, City Attorney Excused—None Absent—Horn CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING—None APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous There were no consent agenda items. COUNCIL COMMENTS Towsley wondered if the city attorney had decided whether or not an executive session would be conducted, or if the attorney wished to remain in public. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Volume 41,Page 11 City Attorney Holly Wells said she was actually not allowed to have an executive session for an evaluation, unless the comments were going to prejudice the reputation and character of individuals. Lane referenced an email she received from Carol Griswold regarding the City of Homer's move to a new law firm. CITIZEN COMMENTS Lynda Paquette asked council to speak louder so the audience could hear. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Towsley thanked Paquette. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion (Lane/Seese) Go into executive session to perform an informal verbal review of the city's legal firm in its entirety. In response to Squires,Wells said it was in the city's best interest to conduct the evaluation in public;if the comments appeared to be directed towards the reputation or character of an individual at the firm, then she would request the move into executive session. Motion Failed Yes: Lane No: Osenga, Seese, McClure, Towsley, Squires McClure was fairly satisfied with the firm in its entirety.She had just received the laydown of a proposed flat fee service,and thought this approach might keep the budget in check.McClure said she thought there had been demonstrable improvements since the last evaluation. Seese has been mostly satisfied with the firm.Her disappointment came from the ordinance for developer incentives having to be redone three times;she wondered how much that cost the city, and if it was a result of miscommunication. Regarding the budget notebook that was furnished to council last Friday by the firm, she didn't understand why it was delivered so close to the budget process starting. Osenga had been satisfied with the firm. In response to Lane,McClure said she believed the increase in attorney expenses in the last two years had been well explained. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Volume 41,Page 12 In response to Lane,Wells said she believed the firm provided the city with incredibly high quality, extremely cost-effective legal services. Wells thought the budget notebook was a good example of how the firm provided service to the city;the notebook was created for,and paid for by, another community,and her firm provided copies to Seward as a gift because they thought it would be helpful as training materials.Wells said her firm was very responsive,accepted criticism well,and was very professional. Towsley said she had been on council for two years, and had often been frustrated with the firm.She was concerned with making sure the city was getting value for its dollars,especially when costs had recently doubled. In the past,Towsley said she didn't have equal access to the firm. Squires said in February,2019 council set goals for the firm and that was what he wished to review tonight. Goal 1 was to give more detailed reports;he thought the firm was doing a good job with that. Goal 2 was to help develop better communication procedures between council, administration, and the firm; he thought that had recently been acted on by the firm with the ordinance allowing council to give direction by motion. Goal 3 was to review all ordinances and resolutions regarding the disposal of real property interests;Squires was unaware that there had been any real property transactions this year. Goal 4 was to practice transparent cost management; he would have appreciated being alerted by the firm more proactively if and when they anticipated cost increases for particular reasons. Goal 5 was to clearly identify Seward's legal team and the expectations of their roles; he thought that had been accomplished. Goal 6 was to maintain professional demeanor,speech,and written word;he thought the demeanor at council meetings had been very good, and he appreciated all the correspondence. Goal 7 was to present legal advice and information,refraining from offering personal opinions; Squires thought that more work needed to be done in this area. Goal 8 was to provide a progress report on the goals in six months;he had not seen a report. Overall,Squires thought the firm was doing a good job. Regarding the budget binder from the firm, Squires thought he had received it too late to be helpful for this budget cycle,but he thought it might help future council. McClure said the monthly reports on billing had been greatly clarified,and she appreciated the depth of expertise available in the firm. In response to McClure,Wells said she had become more involved with Seward starting in 2018. The expenses in 2018 related to the APEA union and PERA, as well as some contentious relationships between former administration and some council members.Wells said the breakdown in trust in 2018 was formidable and required legal involvement. In 2019,Wells believed there was more substance, and thereby a more predictable use of legal services. McClure concurred that a warning of sorts would be good to get if the firm anticipated high legal costs. Towsley said, overall, she was disappointed with the value received by the firm, but she hoped that the new council coming in would have a better experience. Osenga wondered if 2018 was an anomaly,and if it was he hoped it would not be repeated. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019 Volume 41, Page 13 Lane wondered what hand the firm had in the events of 2018. In response, Wells said there had been a breakdown between former administration and council, and that led to significant upheaval and concerns that required legal engagement. Motion (Towsley/Osenga) Go into executive session to discuss specific attorney advice that led to an exacerbated breakdown of trust between council, the city attorney, and former administration. Motion Passed Yes: Osenga, McClure, Towsley, Seese, Squires No: Lane City Attorney Holly Wells was invited to remain. Council went into executive session at 6:40 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 6:58 p.m. Squires said the city attorney would look into the issues raised by council. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m. &)2-1 renda J. 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