Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10252021 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 530 CALL TO ORDER The October 25,2021 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. SWEAR IN NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS City Clerk Brenda Ballou swore in the following newly elected officials: Council Members John Osenga and Michael Calhoon. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Sue McClure John Osenga Liz DeMoss Ristine Casagranda Mike Calhoon comprising a quorum of the Council; and Janette Bower,City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None Vacant—One Clerk's Note: Vice Mayor Tony Baclaan submitted his written notice of resignation to the city clerk on October 12, 2021. Sharon Ganser expressed her support for the He Will Provide food bank lease; the food bank served 50-60 households each week, which included dozens of children. Approving the resolution tonight would guarantee the food bank would maintain their current location while they sought a new location. Cindy Ecklund wished to provide her first borough assembly report tonight.Tomorrow,the assembly would consider enacting three solid waste ordinances, including brush clearing around solid waste facilities,and two separate appropriations for the Homer solid waste facility.In addition, there were three ordinances coming for introduction, including a USDA grant for a composting program in the central peninsula, editing the forms for alcohol and marijuana licensing so that the information is consistent throughout the application process,and also that all applications contained City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41, Page 531 comprehensive information about owners and affiliates. The last item she wanted to bring to council's attention was an ordinance that would return the KPB Planning Commission back up to 13 members, with Seward having a permanent seat. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2021-120, Approving Amendment No. 2 To The Lease Agreement Between The City Of Seward And He Will Provide, Inc. Resolution 2021-121, Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A 5-Year Contract Agreement With Axon Enterprise, Inc For The Purchase Of The Axon Virtual Reality Training Program,And The Necessary Hardware Not To Exceed The Amount Of$9,562.50, And Appropriating Funds. Approval of the September 27, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Approval of the October 11, 2021 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. Accept the resignation of Vice Mayor Tony Baclaan,and direct the city clerk to solicit interest from residents to fill the vacancy. Appoint Art LeMaster to the Historic Preservation Commission with a term to expire May, 2023. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None City Manager Report.City Manager Janette Bower said one item that would be coming at the next council meeting was a resolution of support for the KPB ordinance to return to the previous KPB Planning Commission procedures, as reported on by KPB Assembly Representative Cindy Ecklund. Regarding infrastructure for housing,the city was engaging R&M Engineering to explore viable locations for potential new housing. Terry noted that addressing the city's housing needs was in keeping with council's wishes. She requested that the city manager be aggressive in filling the vacant finance director position;she wondered if there were any additional or different resources that could be used. In response, Bower said GovHR would be willing to screen and vet applicants if the city wished to engage them for that City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 532 additional work. Terry indicated she would like to use GovHR for that service, and there was unanimous consent from council. Police Chief Alan Nickell wished to have input from council regarding a new development on the construction of the new animal shelter, stating that members of the public had suggested he consider installing radiant floor heating in the sidewalks. Nickell had done some research to determine the potential cost,and it would cost approximately$70,000.Nickell said having radiant heat would mitigate paying for sidewalk snow removal services and would diminish erosion of the concrete from salt use.He requested that council consider supporting this upgrade.In response,Terry stated that perhaps the contingency could be used towards this.Nickell said it was unknown if there would be any other items that the contingency funds would be needed for.McClure wondered what the life of radiant floor heating was;Nickell said the life of the system should be very long.Osenga stated the main concern about using radiant heating was if the concrete pad split at any time in the future,the cement would have to be dug up. Casagranda wondered what the cost of heating would be. DeMoss would be interested if it would save the city money in the future. Calhoon wondered how much snow the heated sidewalks would actually melt.Nickell said there were heated sidewalks at the school and they appeared to work very well and to be holding up well.Terry would want to see a change order come forward for council's consideration when more accurate numbers could be determined. Terry wondered when the forensic audit report would be ready. Bower said the vendor was still on track according to their original timeframe. Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell stated that the organizers for USS Alaska project reported they were pursuing alternate potential locations that were not owned by the city. Other Reports and Announcements Chamber of Commerce Report by Jason Bickling.A written report was furnished as a laydown because Jason Bickling could not be present for the meeting. Presentations Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon (Waste Water Treatment Facility) Review by Morgan Welch from CRW Engineering (through R&M Consultants). PUBLIC HEARINGS—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2021-117,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into The Contract With LTAS Technologies Inc.For Short Term Rental Registration And Compliance Services Through City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 533 December 31, 2024, For A Total Of $6,500 Annually, And Funds. This Resolution was postponed from October 11, 2021. Bower said this platform would allow the business owner to submit all their lodging permit information online through a portal. Acting Community Development Director Courtney Bringhurst stated the contract would provide a three-part component: monitoring, online registration,and compliance outreach.Monitoring provided the city with the number of locations in Seward that were being advertised online;duplicate listings from multiple websites would be weeded out. Online registration would allow the city to customize the application for business owners to apply for a short term rental permit; once an application came in, both the fire department and finance department would be notified. Returning applicants would be presented with their renewal application pre-populated to make the reapplication process more efficient.At year end,applicants would receive a renewal reminder via email.The vendor provided 24-hour customer service for any business owners who needed assistance. Terry said in the past,some business owners brought to the city's attention that they received multiple violation notices from the city for the same property or the same issue;she wondered how this contract would help mitigate that duplication.In response,Bringhurst said the software was set up to confirm the details of the owner's information, as well as the property information, so that business owners should not receive multiple communications for the same violation. Casagranda said,based on her past experience with this vendor as a business owner,she had received 12 separate letters for three properties she owned,and some of the information contained in the letters had been inaccurate. She was concerned with the veracity of the information being provided by the vendor. Bringhurst said she understood that the vendor had only provided monitoring service in the past, so any letters that Casagranda received would have come directly from the community development department staff. DeMoss wondered how compliance was or would be handled without using this vendor. Bringhurst said the department would have to rely on the public to inform them, the process was manual,and they would not catch some of the newer rental units that were being advertised online. In response to DeMoss, Bringhurst added that staff spent a considerable amount of time on this review process, from January through July. Osenga thought this sounded like a good,efficient process that would minimize mistakes. Casagranda said she received an email announcing the city was launching a new online business license application portal, and she wondered if the business license software could incorporate permitting. In response,City Clerk Brenda Ballou said the scope of the initial online business license portal next month would encompass business license applications only, but customers could upload the short term lodging permit application if they wished;the program could be enhanced next year to allow for permits and other things to be included online. DeMoss said she was all for efficient systems,and she had gone back and forth on this topic. She thought most people were compliant, or else the community would let the city know when City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 534 someone was not compliant. She was concerned that this initiative was putting effort into something that perhaps could be better used elsewhere. She said she would not support this resolution at this time because she wanted to wait for the new director for the department to arrive,and also because a citizen who had had direct experience working with this program had reached out to council to share some of its shortcomings. Terry stated she had examined the contract and read that either party could terminate the contract with 30 days' notice; she hoped that the city would be testing out these various software programs well in order to determine which would be the best to move forward, including who offered the best customer service and the most appropriate software program. McClure liked the idea of having a smooth and efficient online process for customers, and thought it was a step in the right direction for bringing the city up to date. Motion to Postpone (Casagranda/DeMoss) Postpone Resolution 2021-117 to December 13, 2021. Casagranda wished to wait until the new community development director had the opportunity to weigh in.Terry would also like to have input from the new community development director,but having the 30 day termination clause in place made her more comfortable with moving ahead with this contract. Motion to Postpone Failed Yes: DeMoss, Casagranda No: Calhoon, McClure, Osenga, Terry Main Motion Passed Yes: Osenga, Calhoon, McClure, Casagranda, Terry No: DeMoss NEW BUSINESS Other New Business Items Organization of Council Nominate,elect, and swear-in a council member as Vice Mayor. Demoss nominated Casagranda for Vice Mayor.Osenga nominated McClure for Vice Mayor. No other nominations were made and the nominations were closed. The city clerk passed out Ballot#1 and instructed council to vote for no more than one name. The results of the first vote were: Casagranda 2 votes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25,2021 Volume 41,Page 535 McClure 4 votes Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Appoint Sue McClure as Vice Mayor. 111 Motion Passed Unanimous The city clerk swore in Vice Mayor McClure. Casagranda stated she was grateful for the nomination, and was grateful for the last year under former Vice Mayor Baclaan.Moving forward,she hoped that information would continue to come out in the same transparent fashion. DeMoss stated she thought any member of council would be great as vice mayor. Appoint a liaison to the Seward Community Health Center. Casagranda nominated Osenga to be the liaison. There were no other nominations. Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Appoint John Osenga as the liaison to the Seward Community Health Center. Motion Passed Unanimous Appoint Planning& Zoning Commission liaison,council representative to the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District, or direct the boards and commissions to provide periodic reports to council. McClure nominated DeMoss to be the liaison to the Planning&Zoning Commission. Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Appoint Liz DeMoss as the liaison to the Planning & Zoning Commission and the council representative to the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District. Motion Passed Unanimous Terry asked if any council members would be interested in being the council liaison to the Port&Commerce Advisory Board. Casagranda nominated Calhoon. Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Appoint Mike Calhoon as the liaison to the Port& Commerce Advisory Board. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 536 Terry stated she wanted the boards and commissions to provide regular reports to council,as well. Casagranda wondered if council would be interested in appointing a council liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission(HP).Terry said council could if they wished.Casagranda stated she wouldn't be able to be a liaison,but wanted to make sure that HP knew they were appreciated. DeMoss thought a liaison might be a good idea in the future.In response,Terry suggested increasing the reporting from HP from annual to quarterly so it was in keeping with the other boards. In response to Ballou,Terry stated that the various council liaisons would continue to provide their own reports on an ad hoc basis. In response to Ballou,council directed the city representatives for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council(PWSRCAC),the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association(CIAA), and the Alaska Railbelt Cooperative Transmission & Electric Company (ARCTEC) to provide annual reports during the first quarter of the year. Review the status of council committees and take action to extend or allow to sunset. Terry said this budget period had worked well for council to meet as a body rather than by committee, and wondered if the Budget Committee should sunset. Terry stated that the Evaluation Committee hadn't met yet,but there was interest in reviewing and updating the evaluation forms and process for council's direct reports. By unanimous consent,council sunset the Budget Committee on December 31,2021,and extended the Evaluation Committee to December 31, 2022. Schedule the following onboarding training for newly elected officials: City infrastructure tours with department heads. Bower said the department heads loved to provide tours,but she wished to wait until the last council vacancy was filled. Osenga, McClure, and Terry stated they would like to participate. Newly-elected officials(NEO)training through AML on November 9-10,2021 (virtual); can be held in council chambers if there is interest. Terry stated she might be interested in seeing a recording of the NEO sessions. Schedule a Council Retreat to be facilitated by the Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA). Terry stated she had initiated a council retreat two years ago, right before the COVID-19 pandemic struck,and was interested in holding another retreat.The first retreat had been facilitated City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25,2021 Volume 41, Page 537 by DCRA and had gone very well.Terry would like to have council,the city manager,assistant city manager if he wished,and the city clerk in attendance.Terry stated this was an open session and the public could attend to observe. Casagranda stated she would be away for the month of January. Council directed the city clerk to schedule a retreat. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS August, 2021 City and Providence Financials. Terry stated that the Providence financials had been distributed to council separately, but were available to the public if anyone wished to see them. CITIZEN COMMENTS Lynda Paquette said there had been no discussion about the safety that was provided when there were warm, dry sidewalks throughout the winter months; the SeaLife Center had heated sidewalks, for example, and having clear, dry sidewalks at the animal shelter made a lot of sense. She seldom heard the city speak about having a Risk Manager; if the city did have a risk manager, she believed they would recommend installing heated sidewalks. Switching gears, Paquette felt vindicated with the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon report that council received tonight; it was clear that the lagoon could not keep up with processing the influx of visitors throughout the summer;she thought the consultant that reported tonight was being conservative in their estimations. She encouraged council to address the situation and find the funding to improve the equipment so that the neighbors of the lagoon didn't have to suffer again. She noted that the consultant had not delievered any report about pharmaceuticals in the effluent. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Bower reminded council of the November 1, 2021 budget work session. Casagranda thanked Lynda Paquette for herpersistence in watchingthe Lowell Point g Yn q Sewage Lagoon; for the residents in Lowell Point, Casagranda thought they were viewed as Sewardites by virtue of their proximity to Seward. She congratulated Calhoon and McClure.Happy Halloween, get your glow sticks. DeMoss echoed the sentiments about Lynda Paquette's speaking up for Lowell Point residents. She congratulated McClure and welcomed Calhoon.DeMoss thanked administration for following up on getting the discussion of manufacturing onto the Planning&Zoning Commission work session. She thanked the electric department and parks&recreation department for digging out the holiday lights, and she looked forward to seeing them on display. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Meeting Minutes October 25, 2021 Volume 41,Page 538 Calhoon thanked everyone for welcoming him to council;it had been 20 years since he had last served on council.He looked forward to working with everyone,congratulated Osenga on his re- election and congratulated McClure. Osenga welcomed Calhoon and congratulated McClure. Happy Halloween. Be safe. McClure welcomed Calhoon and congratulated Osenga.She appreciated being voted as Vice Mayor;it was an honor.It was refreshing to have Borough Assembly Representative Cindy Ecklund at tonight's meeting. She appreciated the city having YouTube live streaming for all the boards and commissions. She stated the last cemetery tour at Woodlawn Cemetery would be this Saturday;she thanked the city again for getting the Mary Lowell headstone installed. Since Halloween would go for two days this weekend, she encouraged everyone to be very cautious of all the pedestrians. Terry thanked everyone. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:52 p.m. rends Bal ou, MC sty Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Sea p.:-^a�rat=r ,,'i,z Or - . ` y ° CAM Y a ( • SEAL i ® E. r i a .. - I a �f e c4'� '�L 1 e?. 4. ♦tiq�. OF t\''''is •-•rlart.o 1t�°i