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Home My WebLink About11252019 City Council Laydown - Terry - Travel Report AML 191125 LAYDOWN (Terry—Travel Report on AML) 11/25/2019 To: Council Thank you to Council for sending me to the Conference of Mayors and also the 69th Annual Local Government Conference. Please excuse my absence tonight- my daughter has a tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy surgery Monday November 25th and I will be taking care of her in Anchorage. I am submitting this written report to share what I learned at the conference. I want to start by saying that during the conference both Council Members Seese and Baclaan were fully engaged and active with learning and networking. Additionally, you should be proud of your City Clerk Ballou and City Manager Meszaros- both are well respected and conducted themselves with the utmost professional manner. Seward was very well represented. Thank you again for your support with my attendance. Tuesday November 19th—Conference of Mayors This is a fantastic opportunity for all the Mayors to get together to talk about success and challenges. Very valuable and took full advantage of meeting and making connections with other Mayors. Here are some valuable takeaways- 1) Wasilla was pretty proud of 'taking' Sonic away from Anchorage. While Anchorage told the Sonic developers that the project could take 9-10 MONTHS, Wasilla was ableto promise the developers 30-60 days. Not that Seward necessarily wants a Sonic, but a good lesson that if we are not customer service oriented with stream lined processes,then developers will go somewhere else. 2) Drug issues, crime and violence against women permeate all parts of the State. Nome has major problems and is working on ideas how to address. Local police departments are losing officers to trooper positions that pay more. I'll share some of Nome's ideas with the Chief. 3) Other communities would like to see the Ocean Ranger program reinstated at the State level. The funding remains in place, but Governor cut the program. This is a concern that has also been discussed in Seward. 4) Communities discussed forward funding large projects. For example- implementing a tax before the project, paying for the project, then 'sun setting' the tax. This ensures that the public is fully engaged and supportive prior to start of a large project such as a community center, safety center, sports center, etc. 5) Many of the port communities had new dock projects and discussed Cruise Ships and tourism. 6) Juneau dealt with their single family housing shortage by developing their own subdivision and the City installing roads and utilities into smaller lots. They will recoup their investment as the lots sell. 7) Kenai discussed rewriting their land use policies to encourage development and be user friendly. 8) Fairbanks shared what they have done with statewide coordination and the Alaska Defense Program Annual Conference. We might consider attending in the future with the increase of military vessels and activity in Seward. 9) All Mayors were helpful and willing to share knowledge. I was able to talk to many of them during the next couple days and get contact information for future support. We realize Alaska communities must support each other as we deal with budget cuts at the State level. 10) The Communities discussed school issues and funding to the cap. Thinking outside of the box on how to cover items not restricted within the funding structure. Such as providing additional funds for afterschool programs,transportation, etc. ' \ 4 191125 LAYDOWN (Terry—Travel Report on AML) Wednesday November 20`h-AML Local Government Conference First part of the day was join session of: Opening remarks, community reports, State of the State, Energy Outlook, and AML Executive Director Nils Andreassen Strength in Diversity—Making a Difference remarks. I attended the Comparison of Arctic City Infrastructure Indicators. Good community input on importance of Cold Weather Technology in public buildings. Many of the comments following the presentation were regarding dock and port development-they plan to address better next year. Next both Council Member Seese and I attended the Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA) presentation on the Open Meetings Act by Lynn Kenealy. I had our City Council Rules of Procedure and shared our list of items permissible for executive session. All matched State Law. I've also attached the report written by Gordon Tans which is basically the Open Meetings Act 'bible' that everyone in Alaska references. Here also is a link to the document: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/4/pub/Alaska's%20Open%20Meetings%20Law.pdf. Final items of the day included the opportunity to attend the RDC Annual Conference VIP Reception (I did not attend) and also Host City Reception and Alaska Community Block Party (I did attend). Networking opportunities for connecting with Administration and Elected Officials from other communities. Thursday November 21"—AML Local Government Conference Breakfast and AMUIA Business Meeting. One key item learned during this time was the AML/JIA offers 30 minutes FREE consultation services per issue/item. I attended the DCRA Municipal Refresher-Title 29 Jeopardy with City Manager Meszaros. Great information on training opportunities for Council and staff. Can help with process analysis, meetings and roles. Great on-line government resource desk. I attended the Strengthening the Manager-Elected Official Relationship panel with both Council Members. Panel was made up of 2 City Managers and 2 Elected Officials. I took a ton of notes but some highlights are: communication- there should be no surprises on either side at the dais, don't try to 'out' or have a 'gotcha' moment with your city manager during a meeting- this isn't helpful in the long run, try not to bring trivial items to the City Manager- save as much as possible for the important issues, communication with the agenda, communication is a relationship that everyone has to take ownership and work at-it is everyone's responsibility, everything in municipal government takes so much longer-ideas need time to develop and be vetted, folks have to have the courage and meet hard conversations with humility, and finally, you be the culture you want to see in others around you. One side item was how to encourage more participation with elections- all mail ballots was a possible suggestion. AML and Partner Program Services was a joint presentation with everyone. Our very own Sewardite Brennan Hickok presented for AML/JIA. One note is that Seward improved in our Loss Control Awards from Silver to Gold. We have an opportunity to save 5% on our insurance if we work within their Control Incentive Program. This would include items like holding a monthly join safety meeting with AML, continuing with our internal • 191125 LAYDOWN (Terry—Travel Report on AML) safety meetings, and some other items Brennan can discuss with Administration. They have Human Resources/HR Law hotline and service. We should be utilizing them for items that we are currently using our City Attorneys. As previously noted,we are allowed 30 Minutes of free consultation time per issue. Online Sales Tax Implementation was a presentation to all attendees. Seward was recognized as one of the 15 communities leading the charge with the online sales tax collection being returned to the local communities. Call to action for all communities. The last item of the day was the AML President's Dinner. Another great opportunity to network and see our colleagues. I departed following this evening event. I have more notes and materials from the conference and would be willing to share with anyone. It was a great event with many occasions to learn and connect with other communities around the State. Christy Terry Mayor