HomeMy WebLinkAbout04302021 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 30, 2021 Volume 41,Page 430
CALL TO ORDER
The April 30, 2021 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:30
p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry.
OPENING CEREMONY
Acting City Manager Norm Regis led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Christy Terry presiding and
aclaan Sue-WC-lure
Sharyl Seese Jehii-Osenga
Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Norm Regis, Acting City Manager
Jessica Stallard,Acting City Clerk
Excused-Baclaan, McClure, Osenga
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:
Darryl Schaefermeyer said this meeting violated Seward City Code 3.7 "Restrictions of
power of council".
Anthony Baclaan apologized that he could not attend tonight's meeting.He felt strongly that
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the city should hire an experienced full-time CPA.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Casagranda/Seese) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 30, 2021 Volume 41, Page 431
Motion to Amend (Casagranda/DeMoss) Amend the title of the discussion to read,
"Discuss the recent vacancy of the City of
Seward Finance Director position and give
administration direction to hire a
contracted CPA".
Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous
Main Motion Passed Unanimous
There were no consent agenda items.
Other New Business
. Discuss the recent vacancy of the City of
Seward Finance Director position and give administration direction to hire a contracted CPA.
Motion (Casagranda/DeMoss) Direct the city manager to go out to
Request for Proposals (RFP) no later than
May 7, 2021 to hire a contracted Certified
Public Accountant(CPA)to work full time
and on site for 6 months with an hourly too
rate not to exceed $70/hr. and to begin
working no later than June 11, 2021. RFP
to close on May 28, 2021.
Casagranda said the City of Seward had been operating without a full time,qualified finance
director for 18 months. She wanted the city to hire a contracted CPA for 6 months to support the
Interim Finance Director.
Terry was concerned that having a deadline for hiring a CPA would hinder the city's options.
Regis said he had hired Melody Moline as the Interim Finance Director and he was working
with GovHR to hire a permanent Finance Director. There were five open Finance positions in the
State of Alaska that were not being filled. He did not agree with going out to RFP to hire personnel.
Terry clarified that directing the city manager to hire a CPA did not violate Section 3.7 of the
City Charter because council was not telling the city manager who to hire or fire. They were asking
the city manager to hire a CPA full time on site for six months,but the city manager would decide
who was hired. Terry said the city attorney had been made aware of this meeting.
Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell said there were not very many qualified CPAs
available. He suggested that the rate of pay and the timeline be evaluated:
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 30, 2021 Volume 41, Page 432
Motion to Amend (Casagranda/DeMoss) Replace the June 11, 2021 start date with
July 1,2021.
Main to Amend Passed Unanimous
In response to Regis,Casagranda said the CPA would be contracted for six months to work
alongside the Finance Director. She reiterated that council was not hiring a Finance Director.They
were directing the city manager to hire a qualified CPA to assist city staff.
In response to Casagranda,Regis said the scoring criteria for this RFP would be read at the
May 10, 2021 council meeting.
Main Motion Passed Unanimous
Citizen Comments—None
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN
COMMENTS
Terry was excited to have Melody Moline as the Interim Finance Director.She said council
wanted to make sure everyone had the tools and support that they needed to ensure that everything
was taken care of at the city.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Jessica Stallard, CMC st Terry
Acting City Clerk i4 c t 9 c ,'t y c i e pz Mayor
(City Seal)
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