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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09132021 City Council Special Meeting Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes September 13, 2021 Volume 41,Page 504 CALL TO ORDER The September 13,2021 special meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Assistant City Manager Stephen led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Tony Baclaan Sue McClure Sharyl Seese John Osenga(arrived 5:06 p.m) Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda(arrived 5:10 p.m) comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Brooks Chandler, City Attorney Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Skip Reierson wished to speak about the city's infrastructure report;he did not support the resolutions on the regular meeting tonight and would prefer a more phased-in approach. He didn't understand how the city was planning to pay for the infrastructure,or the need for 115 kV. He did, however, support selling the city's electric as an entire package. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion(Baclaan/McClure) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda There were no consent agenda items. SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Electric Utility Infrastructure Project Presentation by Electric Utility Director Rob Montgomery. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes September 13, 2021 Volume 41,Page 505 CITIZEN COMMENTS Skip Reierson was concerned that, for the last 40 years,the infrastructure hadn't been kept up, and now there was major sticker shock. He wondered what kind of grant funding might be available,and thought this had been discussed in years past.He would appreciate a more phased-in approach, and just didn't understand how the ball got dropped in the past. Ben Smith thanked the Electric Department for their work.He understood that the lead time on ordering the transformers was very long. He supported planning for future development and thought it was worth upgrading.Smith said electric vehicles were something to plan for because the demand for charging stations would only increase. Chris Davis from Electric Power Systems said there were several things to consider.There was great urgency for repairing Nash Road; it had been talked about as a concern since 1984. Regarding the transformers, it was more cost-effective to replace them all at once; replacing them one by one would increase the cost. Lynda Paquette recalled her first visit to the Electric Department when she was first getting power to her property on Lowell Point,and what a horrible experience it had been at the time.Things had come a long way since then,and she was really impressed with the work of the current staff.She wondered what the city had been doing to save money to address infrastructure needs. She observed that nobody walked around with electronic devices 20 years ago,and now it was commonplace for one person to have more than one device at any given time. She fully supported these proposed improvements. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Seese wondered if there would be a charge to consumers who wished to use the electric vehicle charging stations. In response, Montgomery said there would be a charge. Baclaan appreciated Skip Reierson's suggestion estion to seek grant funding;he wished the city would consider having grant writer services budgeted in and grant writers on stand-by to free up department heads from searching for grants. Baclaan was also supportive of having a substation in the harbor because there would be an expected return on that investment. EXECUTIVE SESSION Go into executive session to discuss Electric Utility Infrastructure, per SCC 2.10.030(b)(1) matters, the immediate knowledge of which would clearly have an adverse effect upon the finances of the city. Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Go into executive session to discuss Electric City of Seward,Alaska City Council Special Meeting Minutes September 13,2021 Volume 41,Page 506 Utility Infrastructure, per SCC 2.10.030(b)(1) matters, the immediate knowledge of which would clearly have an adverse effect upon the finances of the city. Motion Passed Unanimous The city manager, city attorney, electric utility director, and assistant city manager were invited to remain. Council went into executive session at 6:00 p.m. Council came out of executive session at 6:29 p.m. ADJOURNMENT firr The meeting was adjourned at 6:29 p.m. PPIP- ri 4 , 16iir r Brenda Ballou, M Christy T: 7 City Clerk Mayor (City Seal)••..••...s...ss. •y OF S�l�y�'% 41101° • • G t, o SEAL •