HomeMy WebLinkAbout04132020 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2020 Volume 41,Page 139
CALL TO ORDER
The April 13,2020 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00
p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry.
OPENING CEREMONY
Mayor Christy Terry led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Christy Terry presiding and
Sue McClure Sharyl Seese(telephonically)
John Osenga(telephonically) Tony Baclaan(telephonically)
Dale Butts (telephonically) Julie Crites (telephonically)
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Scott Meszaros, City Manager
Brenda Ballou, City Clerk
Excused—None
Absent—None
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
The City of Seward is currently experiencing a declared public health emergency due to Coronavirus
Disease 2019(COVID-19),so alternate methods for providing Citizen Comments were created. The
following written Citizen Comments were submitted in advance and read into the record by the City
Clerk:
Patricia Perry,CJ Rea, Lori Landstrom,Tamara Filipovic,Brenan Hornseth,Jenny
Nakao,Joevahnta Weddington,and Nicole Lawrence all supported the Earth Day proclamation
and the resolution to support establishing the Kenai Peninsula Borough Resilience and Security
Commission.
Lynda Paquette thanked council for their diligent response to the COVID-19 crisis and for
trying to keep the community safe. She wished that council would conduct the city attorney
interviews by the end of April.
Rosa Salazar said a lot of people were suffering because of this crisis,and she felt that more
communications and information should be shared.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2020 Volume 41, Page 140
Callie Bacon was concerned that people from other communities were coming to Seward to
check on their second homes or to take seasonal jobs, and were not following the state mandate to
quarantine upon arrival.
Sherry Furlong wondered if the dumpsters could be produced in state,if an electric charging
station could be installed at the Chamber of Commerce building, and if a section of the downtown
streets could be turned into pedestrian-only.
Carol Griswold thought the interviews for city attorney should be done using a virtual
meeting tool. She also did not believe that using Commercial Passenger Vessel(CPV)funds for the
Alaska SeaLife Center would be an appropriate use of the money.
Laura Schneider supported having electric vehicle charging stations in Seward,establishing
the Kenai Peninsula Borough Resilience and Security Commission, and requested that the city
officially join the climate action planning cohort being developed for communities across the state.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Baclaan postponed the discussion for re-scheduling the city attorney interviews using a virtual
meeting tool to April 27, 2020.
Crites removed Resolution 20-028 from the consent agenda.
Terry removed Resolution 20-032 from the agenda at the request of the city clerk.
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
Resolution 2020-027,Extending The City's Current State Of Emergency In Response To The
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak, And Requesting State and Federal Relief Assistance.
Resolution 2020-029, Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase Dumpsters For The City
Campgrounds And The Seward Boat Harbor From Capital Industries In The Amount of
$89,070, And Appropriate Funds.
Resolution 2020-030, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Agreement With
Harmon Construction,Inc.For Constructing An ADA-Compliant Ramp And Parking At City
Hall In The Amount Of$80,663, And Appropriating Funds.
Resolution 2020-031,Supporting The Establishment Of A Kenai Peninsula Borough Resilience
And Security Commission. .rri
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2020 Volume 41,Page 141
Approval of the March 23, 2020 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.
1.0
Approval of the new liquor license and Restaurant Designation Permit#5872 for Firebrand
BBQ.
Non-objection to the renewal of liquor license #324 Beverage Dispensary for The Seward
Alehouse.
SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards
Earth Day
National Library Week& Amnesty Month
Borough Assembly Report. Kenn Carpenter was not present,but Terry read from the
report in the packet, stating that the Assembly's next meeting would be April 21, 2020.
City Manager Report. Scott Meszaros reported the following purchase orders between
$5,000 and$30,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting:$58,671
to Craig Taylor for a Bobcat Toolcat for the Parking Department;and,$170,000 to the Boys&Girls
Club for comprehensive youth program services at the Teen Youth Center(TYC).
Meszaros called attention to the city's website where there was a dedicated section for
COVID-19 which included important information about the state mandates,for local businesses,and
regular reports, press releases, and updates.
Meszaros reported the city was under a temporary hiring freeze, due to the pandemic.
Terry thanked the city manager for establishing a dedicated section on the city's website for
COVID-19; the website was mobile-friendly. Terry added that the city clerk distributed a
Community Situation Report three times a week that contained valuable information, and
encouraged citizens to sign up to receive the emails.
In response to Terry, Meszaros explained that the city had stood up a virtual Emergency
Operations Center(EOC)when the city declared a public health emergency.The city's EOC was in
steady contact with the borough's EOC. He added that all department heads were accessible by
phone or email. In response to Baclaan, Meszaros confirmed that all departments were active, and
the harbor has moved to summer hours and were open seven days a week now.
Other Reports and Announcements —None
Presentations
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2020 Volume 41, Page 142
Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District(KPEDD)Presentation by Tim Dillon
earl
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment—None
Ordinances 20-002 and 20-003 are due to come for public hearing and enactment tonight, but will
be postponed to a future meeting when it is safe for the public to appear and provide testimony, in
keeping with CDC guidelines on COVID-19.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS —None
NEW BUSINESS
Resolutions
Resolution 2020-028, Ratifying Additional Temporary Emergency Operation Rules And
Procedures Implemented By The City Manager In Response To The Public Health Emergency
Caused By COVID-19.
Motion (McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2020-028
Meszaros said the city was continuing to implement the State Mandates set by the governor,
and this resolution would update the rules based on additional mandates that had been released or
updated. Meszaros pointed out that the updates to the rules were underlined for easy identification,
had been implemented last week,and were coming to council for ratification;council could edit the
rules tonight as they saw fit.
Meszaros pointed out that the new language included COVID-19 protection measures and
protocols for businesses, mutual aid agreements, and social distancing.
Motion to Amend (Crites/Seese) Amend Resolution 20-028 in Rule 12.Social
Distancing, by adding a new second
sentence that reads, "In addition, the City
of Seward mandates that all persons wear a
cloth face covering,if not inside their place
of residence or place of lodging."
Baclaan agreed that people should be wearing face coverings in public, but also expressed
several concerns: some people were unable to wear masks for a variety of reasons; some citizens
were taking it upon themselves to enforce the state's mandates, and were not always kind about it;
and, not everyone had access to masks or proper face coverings.
Butts didn't understand how the city would enforce this rule. In response,Meszaros said the
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2020 Volume 41, Page 143
City of Cordova had recently instituted a fine schedule,but enforcement was the area where a lot of
tensions arose. McClure concurred that enforcement would be a challenge,but believed masks were
becoming more easily available. Seese wished to have the language say request rather than mandate.
Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Crites, McClure, Osenga, Baclaan,
Butts, Terry
No: Seese
Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Osenga) Amend Resolution 20-028 by adding to the
end of the new second sentence,
"...effective on April 14,2020 at 9:00 p.m."
Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous
Meszaros clarified that once the declaration of emergency was rescinded, so would these
rules.
Motion to Amend (Crites/Baclaan) Amend Resolution 20-028 by adding a new
third sentence that reads, "Per CDC
guidelines, children under two years old
are not required to wear face coverings."
Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous
Main Motion Passed Unanimous
Other New Business—None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS
On-Going City Project and Goal List
CITIZEN COMMENTS —None
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN
COMMENTS
Baclaan thanked everyone for their cooperation and for providing citizen comments. He
believed everyone was working very hard every day to do the best they could, and hoped everyone
stayed safe and healthy.
Butts thanked the city manager and city clerk for pulling the virtual meeting together. He
encouraged citizens to sign up for the email distribution list so they would receive updates and
information. Butts thanked the citizens for providing comments, and reminded everyone that the
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
April 13, 2020 Volume 41, Page 144
bears were waking up. He encouraged everyone to keep doing what they were doing because it was
working to keep everyone safe from the virus.
Crites thanked council for passing the amendment to Resolution 20-028 and thought Seward
would be a good example for other communities.
Seese thanked everyone for their citizen comments, and thanked the city manager and city
clerk for the meeting. She hoped everyone would stay healthy.
Osenga thanked the city clerk and city manager for the virtual meeting,and the citizens for
their comments;he thought it had been a productive meeting. Osenga encouraged everyone to take
the Census because it was really important.
McClure also asked citizens to take the Census, and added that it did not involve private
information. She encouraged everyone to call their friends and loved ones to stay in touch during this
difficult time. McClure was encouraged to see the trees and dandelions starting to bloom.
Terry admonished everyone to remain vigilant, and have clear and focused resolve for the
next few weeks so that Seward did not suffer a surge.
Meszaros said he needed to have the remote sales tax ordinance enacted because the deadline
was coming up quickly. He might call for a special meeting on Thursday.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:33 p.m.
renda J. Ballo , MMC Christy Terry
City Clerk Mayor
(City Seal)
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