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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01052022 PACAB Minutes City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 5,2022 Volume 4,Page 36 CALL TO ORDER The January 5,2022 regular meeting of the Port and Commerce Advisory Board was called to order at 12:00 p.m.by Chair Bruce Jaffa. OPENING CEREMONY Vice Chair Lynda Paquette led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Bruce Jaffa,presiding; and Lynda Paquette Colby Lawrence Carl Hughes Benjamin Smith Brandii Holmdahl comprising a quorum of the Board; and Norm Regis, Harbormaster Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Excused—None Absent—None Vacant—One CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Phil Kaluza wished to speak in support of heat pumps;using heat pumps resulted in cutting down on oil consumption. He was pleased that there were 50 heat pumps in Seward, and hoped for many more in the future. Casie Warner hoped that the city's heat loop project would stay at the forefront of everyone's minds. She encouraged the city to pursue grant funding to support sustainable energy projects. Cindy Ecklund said, following a conversation she had with Jaffa yesterday, she was able to obtain a map of borough properties that may have potential for residential housing development; she brought the map to the meeting today. She added that, in the last year,the Planning&Zoning Commission had reviewed and updated the city's Municipal Land Inventory Plan, in which the commission identified 40 acres down Nash Road that had potential for being developed into residential housing. She said there was another ten acres there that had been designated for sewage lagoon sludge,which was required to sit for ten years, and that ten years had gone by;this acreage would be good for commercial development. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 5,2022 Volume 4,Page 37 Lori Landstrom was a founding member of Sustainable Seward, but was speaking for herself today. She fully supported having a heat pump rebate program; council had passed a resolution in May, 2019 to support the effort, but she didn't know what happened since then. She encouraged the city to move forward with the geothermal heat loop project, especially since the heat loop project related to the heat pump effort. Landstrom said the state passed legislation in 2017 for C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) which would allow businesses to obtain low-interest loans to make clean/efficient energy improvements. There was an engineer from Anchorage who had received grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)to turn plastic ocean waste and#2 and#5 residential waste into lumber.The engineer would be conducting a pilot project in Seward this summer. Landstrom asked if there could be some conversation had about special rates for residential electric vehicle charging. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Hughes/Paquette) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approve the October 6, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None Administration Report—None Other Reports and Announcements Alaska Railroad Report. Port Operations Manager Christy Terry was not able to attend the meeting in person,but had provided a report in the packet. Chamber of Commerce Report. Executive Director Kat Sorenson stated she was the new executive director for the Chamber of Commerce. She handed out copies of the new Seward Marine Industry Guide and the 2022 Seward Visitor's Guide. The chamber was working with the city to provide branding and photography for the city's legislative priorities that would coordinate with the chamber's branding. Sorenson was collaborating with PACAB to identify barriers to business and to understand the importance of workers on visas; she would be bringing some information to next week's PACAB work session. Kellyanne Cavaretta was the new Small Business Development Center (SBDC) representative in Seward and her office would be located at the chamber. Preparations were underway for the Polar Bear Jump Festival, as well as for the Tsunami Ocean Sciences Bowl on February 5-6, 2022. There would be a weekend event planned in February for Valentine's Day to entice visitors to come to Seward. Sorenson would be attending the Industry Outlook Forum in City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2022 Volume 4,Page 38 Kenai this week. The chamber was working with a vendor to obtain statistics on visitor activities and frequency of visits; this would provide intelligence that would assist with marketing efforts. In response to Holmdahl, Sorenson confirmed that the SBDC position was full-time and dedicated to Seward. Harbormaster Report.Harbormaster Norm Regis said the boat lifts had been shut down due to the cold weather. The work on changing out the anodes on the concrete floats would start next week. The Northeast launch ramp work was expected to start in mid-February. Presentations—None NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2022-001, Approving The 2022 Port And Commerce Advisory Board Priorities And Goals. Motion (Hughes/Lawrence) Approve Resolution 2022-001 I p Jaffa said the board had reviewed and updated these priorities and goals at the work session. Motion to Amend (Jaffa/Paquette) Amend Resolution 2022-001 by adding a new Short Term Goal that reads, "Solicit data, input, and comments for recommendation to solve problems with employee recruitment and retention." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2022-002,Adopting The Seward Marine Industrial Center Development Plan As Updated Through 2021. Motion (Lawrence/Paquette) Approve Resolution 2022-002 In response to Jaffa,Regis explained that this resolution would complete PACAB's annual review of the plan,but would not be brought to council until 2023 when it was due for a complete update. Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Items City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2022 Volume 4,Page 39 Elect Chair and Vice Chair. Jaffa opened the nominations for the Chair. Lawrence nominated Brandii Holmdahl as Chair. There were no other nominations. Jaffa closed the nominations. Motion 0 Elect Brandii Holmdahl as Chair with a term to expire July,2022. Motion Passed Unanimous Jaffa opened the nominations for the Vice Chair. Hughes nominated Lynda Paquette as Vice Chair. There were no other nominations. Jaffa closed the nominations. Motion 0 Elect Lynda Paquette as Vice Chair with a term to expire July,2022. Motion Passed Unanimous Discuss having a Renewable Energy Fair. Paquette wondered if this event could transition into having a local map created for interested residents to see the heat pumps and solar panels that had already been installed around town, and have the opportunity to speak directly with the home owner or business owner. Jaffa thought having an energy fair in Seward would be worthwhile, and suggested scheduling an event for the fall. In response to Holmdahl, Smith said the 2017 fair had been organized professionally; one of the repetitive complaints that Smith received after the 2017 fair from the sponsors was that they didn't feel they got a return on their investment. Smith cautioned that this event was a lot to take on and organize, and he wondered who could handle pulling it together. Jaffa said he didn't know if PACAB had the capacity to organize an event. Review the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon (Waste Water Treatment Facility) report from CRW Engineering (through R&M Consultants). Hughes wondered if PACAB had been directed by council to address this concern. Regis said PACAB had requested to have this report; the report had already been provided to council. City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 5,2022 Volume 4,Page 40 Paquette said she remained concerned about this sewage lagoon based on its size and functionality. She said even now in the winter,without visitors,she questioned the capacity of the lagoon.When she considered all the discussions happening recently about building new residential housing, she thought it prudent to address the future of this critical infrastructure. Holmdahl concurred,and said this report was predicated on slow population growth for the foreseeable future.As the shortage of residential housing was being considered,Holmdahl thought this topic should be kept as part of the conversation. Jaffa said the report showed that the facility was within operating parameters, but just barely. He thought plans should be developed to address this situation, and then action could be taken when funding became available. Review Phil Kaluza's letter regarding heat pumps. Jaffa wondered where the city could help remove obstacles to enable citizens to pursue opportunities for energy efficiency. In response to Holmdahl, Regis said this issue was on the mind of the electric manager and it would be addressed. In response to Paquette, Assistant City Manager Stephen Sowell said the electric manager had met with Phil Kaluza several times to discuss this project,and it would be addressed. However, Sowell said, at the moment there were five major infrastructure rebuild projects that were more urgent and were demanding the electric manager's attention. Lawrence left the meeting. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS—None CITIZEN COMMENTS Phil Kaluza recalled,before COVID-19,that Cordova had run a campaign to electrify the city which included education about things like installing a charging station for an electric vehicle at a residence. Casie Warner said she was in the process of installing a charging station for her electric vehicle at her house, and she would report back on how things went. Cindy Ecklund said the Municipal Lands Inventory and Management Plan had been reviewed and updated by the Planning& Zoning Commission via Resolution 2021-016. She said there had some city-owned parcels around town that the commission had changed from a hold status to use for residential development. BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION COMMENTS & RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS City of Seward,Alaska Port and Commerce Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 5, 2022 Volume 4,Page 41 Holmdahl said this was her first official meeting. She was happy to be back in Seward. She appreciated all the citizens coming out for the meeting, and for sharing their concerns. Paquette congratulated Holmdahl for being elected chair. She thanked Phil Kaluza for his efforts to keep the heat pump rebate program conversation alive. Hughes thanked everyone for coming to the meeting, and said he appreciated all the information in the reports today. He thanked Jaffa for his service as chair. Smith congratuled Holmdahl as the new chair and Paquette for being re-elected as vice chair. He appreciated the community support at the meeting, and thought the topics addressed today were timely. Jaffa thought it was noteworthy that the city administration, mayor, and new chair of PACAB were all strong women. Jaffa had begun digging into the problems of employment recruitment and retention; he believed it was critical this topic be addressed. Jaffa had looked at the 2013 Seward Economic Growth Plan and discovered these same issues with employment were happening back then. Regis congratulated Holmdahl and Paquette. He said the Chamber of Commerce had plans to install two electric vehicle charging stations; also, there would be two green charging stations installed at the Northeast Lunch Ramp. Regis said the extension had been requested for the heat loop project, and they were waiting for approval; the project was not dead. The Polar Bear Jump Festival was coming up; everybody be safe. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 1:20 p.m. B nda allou, M B ce Jaffa City Clerk Chair 9�p9":I Srpdq.: (City Se •' ��„ �'e. • � fg G •.••(;0)01 q•• eo • SEAL• i