HomeMy WebLinkAbout07122021 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41,Page 468
CALL TO ORDER
The July 12, 2021 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00
p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry.
OPENING CEREMONY
Police Chief Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Christy Terry presiding and
Tony Baclaan Sue McClure
Sharyl Seese Jeri-Osenga
Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Janette Bower, City Manager
Brenda Ballou, City Clerk
Excused—Osenga
Absent—None
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
Bruce Jaffa appreciated the updates to the formatting in the city manager report; the
information was presented clearly and was easy to read. When he drove into town today, after not
having been here for a while,he noticed there were many visitors and also some parking issues.He
was excited about the work the Electric Department had been doing, but was disappointed that it
appeared the heat loop project would not be moving forward. Regarding the airport, Jaffa was
concerned that the State Department of Transportation(DOT)was moving ahead with their plans;he
believed if the city didn't act,the state would assume the city was condoning the DOT's airport plan.
Jaffa said the Planning&Zoning Commission(P&Z)had suggested the Port&Commerce Advisory
Board(PACAB) look into the issue.
Christiana Smith supported the contract for the animal shelter on tonight's agenda. She
recalled the years that had passed discussing this item; locations had been discussed, as well as
funding sources.The location for the new animal shelter was great because it would enable students
to walk to the facility,and was not in a residential area.The proposed contractor had worked with the
city previously,and the facility design was good.She trusted that city administration and the finance
department had done their due diligence on the funding recommendations.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41,Page 469
Mark Lutrell was the president of SOS Pets. Regarding the contract for the new animal
shelter,he agreed with what Christiana Smith said. The location near the schools would make it a
great resource for the students. For many years,there had been community interest and support for
having a new animal shelter. SOS Pets had raised$26,418 that they dedicated to furnishings at the
new shelter,and they would be willing to fundraise again in the future if they were given a goal.
Jane Belovarac supported the new animal shelter contract.The price tag might look big,but
it wouldn't cost any less in the future.
Lynda Paquette encouraged council to either bring back the airport committee,or request
that PACAB meet to discuss, as Bruce Jaffa had suggested.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Casagranda/McClure) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Casagranda removed Resolutions 2021-074, 2021-076, and 2021-078 from the consent agenda.
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
Resolution 2021-075, Authorizing The City Manager To Engage The City's On-Call
Engineering Firm,R&M Consultants,To Conduct An Environmental Site Assessment(ESA)
And Limited Site Investigation(LSI)Of The City-Owned Public Works Facility Located At
434 Sixth Avenue In An Amount Not To Exceed $32,587.
Resolution 2021-077,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Memorandum Of
Agreement(MOA)With The Kenai Peninsula Borough For The Co-Administration
Of Municipal Elections, And Authorizing The Mayor To Sign Kenai Peninsula
Borough Joint Resolution 2021-001.
Approval of the June 28,2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.
SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards —None
Borough Assembly Report.Kenn Carpenter was not present.
City Manager Report. City Manager Janette Bower stated, regarding the renewable
energy fund grant,the city had received an extension of 90 days from the Alaska Energy Authority to
allow more time to make an informed decision about the project; the cost of the project had
increased, so Bower requested for additional time beyond the extension to explore whether the city
would be receiving stimulus money that could be used towards the project. She had not received a
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12,2021 Volume 41,Page 470
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reply,and would inform council when she did.In addition,Bower reported that the harbor needed to
shut down the 50 Ton Shiplift from July 13-19, 2021 for repairs.
Terry called council's attention to the proposed schedule for upcoming budget work sessions
in tonight's packet, and asked council to note the dates.
Terry appreciated that Public Works was continuing to meet with the engineer about
conducting a study on the city's sewage lagoons,and wondered if there was a timeline available for
when the study would be conducted. In response, Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said
there would be an overview study of the lagoon,and there should be a report available by the end of
August.Schoessler added that,ideally,the city would have a master study plan conducted that would
provide guidance for long-term goals.
Terry requested that the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) reach out to the Port &
Commerce Advisory Board(PACAB)regarding the airport.In response,Community Development
Director Jackie Wilde clarified that the airport topic that came before P&Z last week related to a
right-of-way issue,and not the airport project overall. Terry said she understood,but was concerned
that if a response or public comments were expected to be provided,she wanted PACAB to weigh in.
Wilde said she would reach out to PACAB.
In response to Casagranda,Bower said the forensic audit team would be on-site in about two
weeks,but the work had already begun. Interviews would be conducted when the firm was on-site.
In response to Casagranda,Bower said when the city had released a Request for Proposals for
obtaining a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to work in the Finance Department, only one
proposal was received, and that proposal had been unresponsive.
City Attorney Report. Brooks Chandler said he had spent one and one-half days in
negotiations with the Seward Public Employees Association (SPEA); the proceedings went
smoothly. The new agreement with SPEA would be effective January 1, 2022 and would come to
council for consideration soon.
Chandler stated that the city's current ordinance that outlined the Developer Reimbursement
Program needed to be revised and updated, and that also would come to council for consideration
soon.
In response to Seese, Chandler explained that the city's current franchise agreement with
Alaska Waste would expire on December 31, 2022; the city was required to release a Request for
proposals (RFP), and because it was a franchise agreement, the voters would have to approve the
new contract during the election.
Terry noted that because Providence had initiated a rebranding effort,perhaps Providence
should shoulder the legal fees and other expenses that the city would incur as a result of the
rebranding endeavor. Bower said she would follow up on that.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41,Page 471
Other Reports and Announcements— None
Presentations —None
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Resolutions Requiring Public Hearing
Resolution 2021-073, Amending The Electric Rates And Charges Tariff By Updating The
Language For Alternative Power Rebate, Creating A Section For Alternative Power Excess
Credit,And Clarifying The Calculation Used When An Alternative Power Source Generates
More Power Than Supplied By The City Of Seward.
Motion (Baclaan/McClure) Approve Resolution 2021-073
Electric Director Rob Montgomery said this tariff update would help citizens understand
more clearly when and how rebates and credits would be determined and applied.
Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public
hearing was opened.
Lynda Paquette was excited about this.
Bruce Jaffa thought this was good news. He was pleased with the work that Montgomery
had done to help customers understand the charges.
No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed.
Council recessed at 7:41 p.m.
Council resumed at 7:45 p.m.
Motion to Amend (Terry/Baclaan) Amend Resolution 2021-073 in Section 2 so
that it reads, "This resolution shall be
implemented on July 15, 2021 and
subsequently incorporated into Resolution
2021-064."
Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous
Main Motion Passed Unanimous
UNFINISHED BUSINESS — None
NEW BUSINESS
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41, Page 472
Resolution 2021-074, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Automatic Aid
Agreement Between The City Of Seward Fire Department (SFD) And The Lowell Point
ions Volunteer Fire Department (LPVFD) For The Purpose Of Firefighting And Emergency
Operations.
Motion (Baclaan/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2021-074
Fire Chief Clinton Crites said this was housekeeping to bring the city's records up to date.
This agreement would allow Lowell Point to respond to a city fire and vice versa.
Motion to Amend (Casagranda/DeMoss) Amend Resolution 2021-074 by striking
Section 2.
Casagranda said her concern with Section 2 was that it indicated any changes to the
agreement would not have to come back to council for consideration.Crites replied that if there was
a change needed on the agreement,that would have to come back to council for approval; Section 2
referred to the Operations Plan, which was different from the agreement. Chandler concurred with
Crites that Section 2 related to the Operations Plan, which was a separate document from the
agreement;he did not believe council would wish to get involved in the nitty gritty of the Operations
Plan.
Casagranda wondered what the impact would be on the number of call-outs for the city fire
department. Crites said the impact should be minimal, and estimated maybe 12 call-outs per year.
Crites added that the benefit to both fire departments of having an automatic aid agreement in place
was that both departments would receive manpower credit for their Insurance Services Office(ISO)
ratings.
The motion to amend was withdrawn with no objection from council.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Resolution 2021-076,Authorizing The City Manager To Repair The City's 2001 G740 Volvo
Road Grader,Vehicle#113,With Construction Machinery Industrial(CMI) In The Amount
Of$62,190.41,Plus A 15°A) Contingency,For A Total Amount Not To Exceed$71,518.98,And
Appropriating Funds.
Motion (Baclaan/Seese) Approve Resolution 2021-076
Schoessler said the grader was 20 years old,but he was hoping to keep it running for another
five to seven years. The vehicle was simply too large for the public works shop to handle doing the
repairs.There was also the potential that the city would recoup$10,000 if the transmission core was
reusable.
Terry wondered why a 15% contingency was included. Schoessler said the finance
department included that.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41,Page 473
Motion to Amend (Terry/Baclaan) Amend Resolution 2021-076 by striking
"15%"for the contingency and replacing it
with "10%" and adjusting the not-to-
exceed amount to$68,409.45.
Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous
Casagranda wondered how long the Motor Pool Maintenance& Repair Fund had existed.
Bower said she would have to research that.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Resolution 2021-078,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With Dawson
Construction For The Design-Build Of The Seward Animal Shelter Project In The Amount Of
$1,755,000, Plus A 10% Contingency, For A Total Amount Not To Exceed $1,930,500, And
Appropriating Funds.
Motion(Baclaan/Seese) Approve Resolution 2021-078
Bower clarified that the funds raised by SOS Pets remained with SOS Pets;the city had not
been provided with those funds; it was her understanding that those funds would help with the
furnishings,but were not intended to go towards construction of the facility.Bower added that there
was currently$7.1 million in the general fund unassigned balance,which was equivalent to just over
six months' worth of reserves.
Wilde said the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the new animal shelter asked for a simple
design that would serve the community for years to come; the price tag came down to a more
reasonable amount compared to previous estimates.The vendor would be engaging local contractors
for some of the work, and the city had been working cooperatively with SOS Pets. The proposed
design included a pet wash station,and there was the possibility of that the wash station equipment
would be donated.
Casagranda wondered how the animal shelter would generate approximately $5,500 per
month to repay the interfund loan,on top of paying for utilities.Terry said a municipal land sale was
intended to repay the loan,or else the money would be included in the budget for the general fund to
repay the motor pool fund.
DeMoss wondered why the city would charge itself interest.Bower said that was to make up
for the investment loss for the motor pool fund,but she would be willing to look at that. In response
to DeMoss,Bower said the first lots coming for sale would be a portion of Ft. Raymond as well as
the"tot lot"playground on Dora Way; any proposed land sale would come to come for approval.
Casagranda said the old Spenard Builders Supply(SBS)building out the road recently came
back on the market, and she wondered if that location could be considered as a possible alternative
location for the new animal shelter.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41,Page 474
McClure said this had been the number one priority for a long time. All of council had
previously approved the location on Sea Lion Drive.The cost for construction would not get any less
expensive. She felt strongly that this resolution needed to be approved tonight.
DeMoss supported having a new animal shelter, and thought it wouldn't hurt if this
resolution was delayed for two more weeks so council could consider new information, including
what might be discussed during the upcoming work session to discuss potential locations for the
public works facility.
Baclaan was concerned with removing funds from reserves; instead,he thought it might be
better to budget for a project like this.He supported the animal shelter,but wanted to make sure that
citizens knew that$1 million would be coming out of the city's savings account.He would be more
comfortable if he heard from more citizens that they understood that savings would be used.
Motion to Postpone (Baclaan/Casagranda) Postpone Resolution 2021-078 to July 26,
2021
Casagranda requested to see a plan for how and where the $65,000 per year interfund loan
money would come from.
Terry said she had received a lot of feedback and complaints from citizens that both the
animals and the employees of the current animal shelter were suffering from the inadequacy of the
facility.She wanted to see this project approved,but would vote tonight for the postponement in the
hopes that community members would come forward and vocalize their understanding of the funding
and their support for moving forward with the project.
Motion to Postpone Passed Unanimous
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS
Public Notice for work session on July 26, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. to discuss the renegotiation of the
wholesale power contract with Chugach Electric Association.
Public Notice for work session on July 26, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. to review and discuss the relocation
options for the Public Works facility.
Public Notice for work session on August 9, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.for a presentation of the City's draft
2020 Financial Report by Altman, Rogers & Co.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Christiana Smith had looked at some information related to the SBS building in light of
considering it for a new public works facility, and she thought it would be a very tight fit. If that
building was to be used for the new animal shelter,being outside of city limits,she wondered how
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41,Page 475
the city would handle accepting animals outside city limits. She believed the SBS building was
located in a residential area, and thought that went against the intention of relocating it.
Lynda Paquette thought it was a milestone for the city to get an agreement in place with the
Lowell Point Volunteer Fire Department; she was very happy about that. She was pleased with the
progress the city was making in so many areas. She thought Seward was in good hands right now.
Mark Lutrell thought there were two issues at hand:how to pay for the animal shelter,and
where to locate it.Moving the animal shelter to SBS was not a good idea.He thought many people in
town did not understand the machinations of council and the city,but he would contact all the people
he could to come out and speak in support of the funding plan in the resolution that was postponed
tonight.
Bruce Jaffa said the city's current animal shelter was embarrassing.He thought using money
from reserves,when the city was on the high end of reserves,was a simple decision.He thought the
SBS building would be better off in private hands, not city hands. Regarding the airport, Jaffa
thought getting PACAB together for a meeting would be difficult,but they would do it;he thought
the city might be stuck with the state's plans for a one-runway airport,but the city should provide
feedback.
Becky Dunn echoed Jaffa's comments about the airport,and she thought the city needed two
runways for safety due to the winds and weather. She thought the whole community was united in
their support of the new animal shelter,as well as their opposition of the state's plan for the airport.
She was concerned that additional delays for the animal shelter would end up costing more money.
Jane Belovarac thought the cost of the animal shelter was clearly outlined in the resolution,
and it wasn't a surprise for citizens.She thought it was clear that the citizens supported spending the
money.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN
COMMENTS
Bower said she would research the answers to all the questions asked during tonight's
meeting.
DeMoss hoped McClure's broken arm healed quickly. She thanked SOS Pets for all their
work towards getting a new animal shelter. She appreciated the diversity on council and having
healthy discussions on the dais.
Casagranda thought there was merit in considering the SBS location. She was concerned
that the library was not open more.
Seese wished McClure a speedy recovery.She supported the animal shelter and didn't think a
two week delay would hurt anything.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes
July 12, 2021 Volume 41, Page 476
McClure was excited about the agreement with the Lowell Point Volunteer Fire Department.
She requested the city clerk contact the borough assembly representative with the request that he
attend and report out what was happening at the borough.McClure had fallen on a bad city sidewalk
which had resulted in several injuries, serious enough to require surgery. She also appreciated the
outpouring of support for the new animal shelter.
Baclaan wished McClure a quick recovery. He supported the new animal shelter, but also
wished to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. He thanked Bower for her responsiveness.He reminded
everyone that the election would be coming soon, and encouraged people to consider running.
Terry thanked Baclaan for presiding at the last council meeting.Congratulated the Chamber
of Commerce for a successful Fourth of July Festival and Mount Marathon Race. She was pleased
that Bower had requested an extension on the heat loop project. Terry thanked all the local
businesses and workers, and asked everyone to please be patient and overtip their servers.
Congratulations to Lydia Jacoby—everyone was so proud that she was going to the Olympics.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
Brenda J. B ou, MMC hristy Terry
City Clerk Mayor
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