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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05112020 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 159 CALL TO ORDER The May 11, 2020 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Lieutenant Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Sue McClure Sharyl Seese John Osenga Tony Baclaan Dale Butts Julie Crites comprising a quorum of the Council; and Scott Meszaros, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Jennifer Alexander, City Attorney 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. Unless otherwise noted, the following Citizen Comments were submitted in advance and read into the record by the City Clerk: Vernon Willet was concerned about the recent turnover for both the Finance Director and the Electric Field Engineer positions. He was suspicious about why the city would let the Finance Director go during the middle of the city audit,and he thought the work environment at the Electric Utility Department was toxic. Rebekah Ivy also thought the Electric Utility Department was being run ineffectively and was costing the taxpayers extra money. Lynda Paquette spoke(telephonically)about her concerns that the current city manager was not the best fit for the city. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 160 Elliott Jackson thought the city made it very difficult for people to start new businesses,or to make improvements on existing businesses due to red tape. Brad Entwisle supported the freight dock expansion,but wished to have Resolution 20-034 reconsidered in order to protect local jobs. Melody Jordan thought the partnership between the city and the Alaska Railroad could be a good thing for the city, but wanted to slow down and make sure everyone understood the commitments. She was also disappointed that the Finance Director was let go. Jesse Groom requested that council reconsider Resolution 20-034 to allow the public to have more input on the freight dock expansion project and also to make sure that local jobs and businesses would not be detrimentally affected. Chuck Wendt was very concerned that the freight dock expansion would result in a third party operator managing the cruise ship dock with no regard for supporting or protecting local jobs. Mr. Wendt's comments had been submitted for the April 27, 2020, but had been lost in the city's email spam filter, so were being read aloud tonight at his request. Jeremy Walker wished that Resolution 20-034 would be reconsidered so that the public could have an open discussion with council and the Alaska Railroad. Rissie Casagranda was very disappointed in the performance of the city manager,and in the recent and sudden turnover of the Finance Director and Field Engineer positions. Dennis Young would not support the freight dock expansion grant until the Alaska Railroad committed to meet the Alaska Area Standards for Longshore work and prove they would be a good neighbor. Jim Kubitz spoke (telephonically) in favor of the freight dock expansion project. Andrew Donovan was in favor of the freight dock expansion and thought the dock should be open for all commerce that was permitted by local, state, and federal law. Valarie Kingsland expressed her support for the city manager's job performance and trusted him to keep Seward's best interest when making decisions. Carol Griswold thought that a lot of things had changed since the Alaska Railroad had first released its Master Plan and suggested the plan be reviewed and updated before the city proceeded any further. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Seese) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 161 111 Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend the order of business to take up the city manager's evaluation as the first executive session. Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Crites,McClure,Butts,Osenga,Seese, Terry No: Baclaan Main Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2020-035,Extending The City's Current State Of Emergency In Response To The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak,And Requesting State And Federal Relief Assistance. Approval of the April 27, 2020 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards Older Americans Month Borough Assembly Report. Kenn Carpenter furnished a report in advance of tonight's meeting that was provided as a laydown. 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: $5,276.52 to Motorola Industries for a radio and equipment setup for new patrol vehicle. Meszaros had developed a draft of a recovery plan for the city,and wished to hold a meeting in the near future to review the plan and get feedback from council on moving forward with it. Meszaros said he had been city manager for one year as of May 1.Prior to coming to Seward, he had been the city manager in Meeker, Colorado; he was a Certified Municipal Clerk and a Certified Manager;he had 17 years of experience.Until he arrived in Seward,he had never been told he was unprofessional or lacked integrity. Meszaros said he had been Valedictorian at his graduate school, had been an elected council member for a large city, was an adjunct professor, a grants administrator, and a budget analyst; he thought his eclectic background was a benefit to the small town of Seward. Meszaros said his experience over the past year involved dealing with a small faction of reformers,mostly disgruntled former employees who had resigned. He was tired of being smeared and was not happy that the clerk forwarded their emails to council. He thought it was an City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 162 inappropriate use of the clerk's time to read negative citizen comments at tonight's meeting, and thought it ironic that there had been 10-15 positive citizen emails passed along to council throughout the day today,but only one positive comment read aloud at the meeting tonight. At tonight's executive session,Meszaros said he would be requesting that council give him control of the agenda;the clerk added items to the agenda, and his staff was blindsided as a result. He was also going to request that the Council Rules of Procedures be changed to disallow people to send smear emails to the clerk or go to the clerk's office to complain;he didn't think this was a good use of resources and wanted to create more efficiencies. Meszaros said his team was very honest and capable,and they gave a lot,as did he.However, he didn't believe that what the citizens had to say tonight was positive for Seward;he believed that 80%of his and his staff s time was being spent addressing these kinds of concerns,which only left 20%for the work.Meszaros said he understood he was a contract employee,and if council thought they could find someone to do a better job,he would not provide them with an ultimatum.He didn't believe the city's problems were related to professionalism,but instead that the community did not treat each other properly;he wanted to move the city away from continuing down this path,and he was open to ideas on how to do that. Terry stated it was her understanding that when emails were sent to the city clerk which were intended for council,the city clerk was obligated to distribute those emails to council.City Attorney Jennifer Alexander agreed and said that was her understanding as well; correspondence that was intended to go to council was required to be delivered to council. Terry asked that council members who wished to provide feedback to the city manager for the draft recovery plan simply email their comments directly to him. In response to Terry,Meszaros said the correctional officer position was being advertised on the state website. Lieutenant Alan Nickell said he would check on that. McClure wondered what was happening with Branson Pavilion reservations; she knew the pavilion was being used,and wondered if it was being cleaned.In response,Meszaros said he would check on what the sanitation procedures were.He said the city was looking at purchasing a misting machine that could be used to sanitize large surfaces. Baclaan thought the process for setting the agenda was outlined in city code.Meszaros said the city clerk was not responsible for setting the agenda,only dispersing it.Meszaros said he felt like the agenda was always a moving target. Terry said in the Council Rules of Procedures, it outlined that council members could add items to the agenda. Terry asked the city attorney if the city clerk would be able to stop a council member from adding an item to the agenda.Alexander said she was unfamiliar with Seward's rules for adding agenda items,but typically the rules outlined who has authority to add items and what the timelines were.Terry read Rule 9(b):Council members who wished to add items to the agenda must present the item in writing to the City Clerk no later than 12:00 p.m. on the Tuesday preceding the City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 163 Monday meeting. In response to Meszaros,Baclaan said council received the agenda packet at the same time as the city manager and his staff;council had the same time to review,research,and prepare as anyone else. Osenga said the deadlines were outlined in the rules. Terry redirected the dais, saying the item of business before council now was the city manager report,and later in the meeting would be the city manager's evaluation.She thought it was bizarre that what she was hearing was a lot of criticism of the city clerk when they were supposed to be discussing the city manager report, and suggested that further discussion be held for the evaluation. Baclaan wondered what COVID-19 related expenses the city was tracking,other than what was required for the CARES Act, and also if the city should send a letter to the state legislature requesting assistance. Meszaros said the city was working with the Kenai Peninsula Borough's Office of Emergency Management(KPBOEM),and city staff was tracking staff time,supplies,etc. in order to report out on COVID-19 expenditures. Parks&Recreation Director Tyler Florence said Branson Pavilion was being cleared of trash,but was not being sanitized;same with the playgrounds.Florence said he was trying to strike a balance between having facilities open and having enough staff and resources to maintain them. In response to Seese,Florence said the restrooms were contracted out and being cleaned approximately hourly. Butts asked the city manager if he had ever received a report of an employee, besides the police, wearing a firearm while on duty. Meszaros said the city's policy allowed for Electric Department employees to have a firearm when they were working in bear areas outside of Seward. Meszaros said he had received an anonymous complaint about an employee having a firearm,and he had responded immediately; the complaint was unfounded. Following that incident, Meszaros informed his department heads that firearms were not allowed inside city facilities,except for police officers.Baclaan wondered who owned the firearms.Meszaros said,other than law enforcement,the city did not provide firearms to employees.In response to Baclaan,Electric Utility Manager John Foutz said his employees were allowed to carry firearms when they were going out into wooded areas. Butts asked for an update on the Jesse Lee Home. Meszaros said R&M Consultants performed a site study,which included a walk-through and sample testing. He had received a draft report from R&M,and that report was being finalized;he would bring that to council as an agenda item. The estimate at this time was $800,000 to stabilize the building in order to perform hazard mitigation;demolishing the building was not included in that estimate.The state grant funds received by the city were$1.1 million, so the balance of$300,000 would remain. Butts asked for a status update on the animal shelter. Meszaros said the project was at 90% engineering design. SOS Pets and local volunteers had committed to raise at least half of the funds. He would bring this item back to council soon. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41, Page 164 Meszaros added that the third project he wished to bring back to council for consideration and direction was the heat loop project. In response to Crites,Florence said the Boys&Girls Club was aiming to restart its summer programs on June 1, 2020. Other Reports and Announcements—None Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS Ordinances for Public Hearing and Enactment Ordinance 2020-005, Adopting Seward City Council Temporary Emergency COVID-19 Regulation No. 1 Entitled "Pick-Up Parking Spots" And Authorizing Business Owners To Designate Up To Two Curbside "Pick-Up" Parking Spots For Their Customers During The State of Emergency Arising From COVID-19. Motion (McClure/Baclaan) Enact Ordinance 20-005 Terry said she brought this ordinance forward to enable local restaurants to have designated pick up parking spots to more efficiently provide them with an easy take-away site for meals,thereby allowing citizens an alternate to supporting businesses during this health crisis. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. Seese thought it was a great idea,and would help downtown businesses. Baclaan concurred. Osenga wondered who would pick out the spots. In response,Terry said the businesses themselves could pick the parking spots and provide their own signs. The city's resources would not be responsible for maintaining the spots, and the police department would not be enforcing. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items for Reconsideration On April 27, 2020, Mayor Terry was ruled to have a conflict of interest on this item of business; that conflict remains in effect. Mayor Terry handed the gavel to Vice Mayor McClure and removed herself from the dais. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11,2020 Volume 41,Page 165 Resolution 20-034,Authorizing Submission Of A Joint Application With The Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC) To The U.S. Department Of Transportation Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) Grant Program For Expansion Of The Alaska Railroad Terminal Reserve Freight Dock And Extension Of Port Avenue. Motion To Reconsider(Baclaan/Seese) Reconsider Resolution 20-034 Baclaan wished to reconsider this resolution because some citizen comments had been lost and he wished to have more information. Motion Failed Yes: Seese, Baclaan No: Osenga, Butts, Crites, McClure Mayor Terry returned to the dais. NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Discuss sending a letter of support for the Alaska Climate Change Planning Cohort. Terry said the Port&Commerce Advisory Board(PACAB)had been tasked by council to work on a climate change plan; many other communities had taken up the same charge, and as a result, an Alaska Climate Change Planning Cohort was being developed. Terry was requesting council's consideration to send a letter of support for a research team to be assembled to address climate change;no funding or commitment from the city was required at this point.On May 6,2020, PACAB voted in support of the city sending a letter of support. Baclaan said this program would be largely funded by grants, and if Seward joined the cohort,they would be able to apply for bigger and better grant funding.Baclaan said Seward would benefit from joining the cohort because then the city wouldn't be alone in its efforts. Motion (Terry/McClure) Send a letter of support for the Climate Change Cohort. Meszaros said he thought this was a very worthwhile project. Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss The City's Rates for RV Camping. Baclaan had attended a Chamber of Commerce session for lodging and had learned of some concerns from the community. Prior to the city having online reservation capabilities, when customers came to use the campgrounds and learned the campsites were full,they would be referred to other campgrounds in the surrounding area;local businesses benefitted from taking the overages. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 166 But now that there was an online reservation system in place, campers would learn that the city campsites were full before ever coming to town; as a result, private businesses were nervous that potential customers would simply choose to go to another community rather than coming to Seward, thinking that there wouldn't be availability in any other areas. The other issue that Baclaan wished to discuss was the city's campground rates.He suggested the rates could be raised without losing customers, and thought the city was having to spend more money right now to have the campgrounds open due to increased cleaning protocols and reduced campsite revenues due to social distancing requirements. Baclaan suggested the campgrounds and parking would be more appropriately set up as an Enterprise Fund rather than a General Fund account.Seese concurred with the suggestion to split those off to the Enterprise Fund.Meszaros said he could provide some analytics that showed the cost versus revenue for this season. Terry wondered if the city website could include a link to the Chamber of Commerce website. Crites thought linking to the chamber could be beneficial. Butts thought Seward charged approximately$10-15 under the prices of Homer,Kenai and Soldotna. Seward offered free Wi-Fi, water, etc., which was valuable; he thought the city could potentially increase the prices at the Waterfront Campground without the risk of losing customers. In response to Baclaan, Meszaros said campsites were not charged bed tax. Florence said sales tax was already included in the rates. Terry stated that sales tax code required that rates be posted separate from the sales tax fee. Meszaros offered to work with Baclaan and the Chamber of Commerce on a review before bringing forward a resolution for council's consideration. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS On-Going City Project and Goal List City Clerk's Report on Public Records Requests from March 2, 2020 through May 4, 2020 CITIZEN COMMENTS Terry wished to clarify the procedure for Citizen Comments,because there had been a lot of comments forwarded through email. She said it was posted for citizens that only those comments that were specifically requested to be read aloud at the meeting were verbally delivered to council and the others were emailed. Lynda Paquette(telephonically)reminded council of the rocky start she had had with the city manager last June. She wondered how a qualified professional, such as the finance director, could be let go; she didn't understand why the director had been fired in such a short time simply because the employees were unhappy with change.She thought she was seeing a repeat of the former administration,and said city government could not be managed through friendship.Paquette thought City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11,2020 Volume 41,Page 167 the city had started making great strides towards building trust in the community with the addition of a new city manager,new Parks&Recreation Director,and new Finance Director,but now worried that the wheels were falling off; she thought Seward deserved the best. Rissie Casagranda(telephonically)appreciated everyone,and she knew the courage it took to show up and to speak up. She was grateful to all council and thanked everyone for their service to Seward. She recalled being concerned in 2016 about the campground rates, and thought the rates should definitely be addressed now. For the sake of Seward's reputation and healing of the community, she wanted the city manager terminated and replaced. Jackie Wilde(telephonically)wanted the city to heal from its past. She wished that people would stop bullying and being hateful. She wondered how much money the city had spent on attorney fees in the past three years to address personnel issues. Wilde reminded council that the intent of performing an evaluation was to provide support and identify areas of improvement, and read Rule 16 of the Council Rules of Procedures aloud. Suzi Towsley asked for the city manager, the Deputy Finance Director, and the Electric Utilities Manger to be let go,and to have the finance director brought back.She asked for a two-tier forensic audit on the General Fund and Electric Department. She was confused as to why she received varying results for the same public records requests about salaries, submitted at three different times over the past 15 months. She urged council to contact GovHR and have an interim city manager hired while searching for a replacement. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Osenga thanked everyone who was volunteering with food and grocery deliveries around town. He was saddened by the comments he heard tonight; he had thought everything was going well. Butts thanked everyone for coming tonight,and for furnishing comments and emails.He said Alaska Logistics hired a crew of 5-7 locals to load and unload the barges; he thought they were a great company.Butts thanked everyone for being part of the solution.He welcomed visitors to town, and asked everyone to follow the state mandates. Wash your hands. Seese thanked everyone for being safe and staying healthy. She thanked the city attorney for coming to the meeting. She expressed her thoughts for Police Chief Tom Clemons while he underwent treatments. Baclaan expressed his condolences to the Kinney family for the loss of Kathy Verschueren, as well as the community of Nome for the loss of their mayor. He reminded everyone about taking the Census;he was working with the chamber to set up a community sign up session.The Chamber of Commerce was forming a Fourth of July committee if anyone was interested. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41,Page 168 McClure expressed condolences to the Kinney family.She felt really good about the council members at the dais,and reminded everyone that they were all doing their best and trying hard. She appreciated the city manager putting together a COVID-19 recovery plan. Terry expressed condolences to the Kinney family, and to the City of Nome. She had sent emails to Senator Micciche,Representative Carpenter and Mayor Pierce regarding a local individual who had been charged with murder being let you on$5,000 bail;Senator Micciche was looking into it. Terry commended the Seward Police Department for the work they done on the murder investigation. Terry read a letter the city had received from the APEA Union stating they sympathized with the city during these strained times, and would wait to negotiate their contract when things resumed a more normal flow; she appreciated their support. Terry recalled at the last meeting there was a discussion about Providence Seward and the Seward Community Health Center pursuing grants, and she had received an email that she would provide for distribution. Meszaros said both finance directors from Providence Seward and the Seward Community Health Center wished to report out to council. The city's budget book was going out to print this weekend. The audit was nearly finished; the finance director did not perform the audit, but was outsourced. Council recessed at 9:32 p.m. Council resumed at 9:40 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION Go into executive session to evaluate the City Manager. This item was originally scheduled for March 23, 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Motion(Terry/McClure) Go into executive session to evaluate the City Manager to include the City Manager and City Council. Baclaan wondered if there was a potential conflict of interest for Council Member Crites since her husband worked directly for the city manager.Alexander said there was no action taken in executive session, so there should not be any conflict of interest. Motion Passed Unanimous Council went into executive session at 9:44 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 10:55 p.m. Motion (Terry/McClure) Extend the meeting to midnight. Motion Passed Unanimous Council went into executive session at 10:56 p.m. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes May 11, 2020 Volume 41, Page 169 Council came out of executive session at 11:36 p.m. Motion (Terry/McClure) Set the following goals for the city manager: 1) have a mid-cycle budget process that includes a budget committee from council, 2) have an interim, contract finance director as the city searched for a permanent finance director, 3) pursue options on having an efficiency study for the Electric Enterprise Fund, 4) return with status,options,and information on the Animal Shelter, Heat Loop Project, and Jesse Lee Home, and 5) pursue hiring an Assistant City Manager. Motion Passed Unanimous Go into executive session to discuss Electric Utility Department communications and leadership concerns. Motion (Terry/) Go into executive session to discuss Electric Utility Department communications and all leadership concerns. Motion died for lack of second. Go into executive session to update council regarding the City Manager's termination of an executive-level employee. Motion (Terry/) Go into executive session to update council regarding the City Manager's termination of an executive-level employee. Motion died for lack of second. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 p.m. / • ren a J. Bal ou M ••;� O SEh/ ••• C sty Terry City Clerk V��.•ottPo . �G�;� Mayor • (City Seal) ; • 3 SEAL • E • s F �ti.,T� OF A\''' .**