HomeMy WebLinkAbout06262006 City Council Minutes
City of Seward. Alaska
June 26. 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Pal?e178
Call to Order
....
The June 26, 2006, regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:30
p.m. by Mayor Vanta Shafer.
Opening Ceremony
Sergeant Valadez led the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
Roll Call
There were present:
Vanta Shafer presiding and
Willard Dunham
Bob Valdatta
Jean Bardarson
Dorene Lorenz
Steve Schafer
Robert Thomas
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Clark Corbridge, City Manager
Jean Lewis, City Clerk
Johanna Dollerhide, Assistant City Clerk
....
Absent - None
Special Orders~ Presentations and Reports
Proclamations and Awards
A memoriam for Ex-Mayor Bob Richardson was read and a banner was presented to
the City by wife by Liz Richardson.
July was announced as National Parks and Recreation Month.
Borough Assembly Report. Borough Assembly Representative Ron Long stated the
Assembly met last June 20, 2006 and awarded a contract to Architects Alaska for the architecture
and engineering design for the new Bear Creek Fire Hall. The grand opening ofthe Cooper Landing
Senior Center took place on June 25,2006 and was very successful.
City Manager's Report. City Manager Clark Corbridge announced Representative Paul
Seaton was in attendance. A public hearing for the Alaska Railroad's permit to apply chemical weed
control was scheduled for July 17,2006. New Boards and Commissions Executive Liaison Christy
Terry was introduced. Corbridge announced he had major plans to reorganize the Community
.... Development Department.
City of Seward. Alaska
June 26. 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37. Page 179
VISTA Volunteer activities: VISTA Volunteer Rob Rance had been tasked to work on
economic development in Seward. Rance was pursuing a means-tested program for individuals in ....J
economic disparity. Corbridge suggested implementing an outreach program including advertising
the program in the local paper and offering assistance to fill out applications for those interested.
Brad Gilman. The City's federal lobbyist reported funding had been requested for
completion ofthe multi-agency facility, the first year of construction ofthe Alpha Helix replacement
vessel, planning and design work for the breakwater project, and for downtown road improvements
in Seward. Senator Stevens had agreed to renew the effort to obtain tax-exempt bond financing for
utility infrastructure.
Seward Marine Center (SMC) Dock. The City had been working with DOT to do the initial
drawdown of funds from that agency. Initial documents were sent to DOT today. A meeting was
scheduled with various players to discuss the current status of the SMC Dock.
Electric Department. Job requests were coming in daily and delays in getting materials were
preventing work to be completed timely. Rebuilding the T -line from the pole yard south across the
bridges would begin August 1,2006, and outages would occur. The City was gathering information
on a new generator and building to replace two generators. Corbridge met with Larry Bell, new
Business Manager and Financial Secretary for IBEW, where agreement on a mechanism to work
towards a global settlement on the outstanding grievances was reached.
Washington's Armv. The City's opposition to Washington's Army's request for an expedited
written decision was successful, and Corbridge had been informed that the attorney for Washington's
Army was planning to file an emergency motion with the Alaska Supreme Court today.
J
Harbor. The City closed the $4.5 million harbor revenue bond issue in Seattle on June 21,
2006. The bonds were sold at 4.305%, which was an exceptionally favorable rate.
Pavilion Design. The design had been well-publicized during the last two weeks, with 12 out
of 14 comments favorable. The Seward Senior Center also supported the design, calling it "beautiful
and appropriate."
Long Term Facility. Meetings continued to occur and administration was ready to proceed
with Resolutions 2006-76 and 2006-77. Each month this project was delayed cost the city $1 00,000
per month.
In other areas, Corbridge reported Seward's taxable sales growth rate was higher than any
other community in the Borough at a rate of9.1 %. DOT and the City had purchased signs to assist
in directing traffic during the construction of the Mile 0-8 project. The Department of Motor
Vehicles and the City successfully reached an agreement to keep the Seward DMV open.
Corbridge responded to questions by council.
J
Chamber of Commerce Report. Debra Carter stated the Chamber bid farewell to the old
Derby Booth last week and the new booth would be installed before the Derby, which was August
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26, 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, PaKe180
~
12, 2006 to August 20, 2006. The Chamber was supporting a branding effort with the Kenai
Peninsula and would keep the council updated on this. The Fourth of July was upon Seward and the
theme was "All American City." Vendor booths would be open Monday evening and all day
Tuesday. She hoped this would help drive business to downtown businesses over the holiday
weekend. The next Board meeting was July 7, 2006 with a presentation on the Art Train, which was
coming to Seward in conjunction with the Seward Arts and Music Festival.
Seward Planning & Zoning Commission Report. Commissioner Kay Strobel stated a
work session occurred on the replat of Washington Street. The commission discussed the city
manager recommendations for the Boards and Commissions and the temporary off-premise sign
variance issue at their most recent regular meeting. The upcoming work session would be on the
new Long Term Care Center and the municipal land plan. The Planning and Zoning Commission
would continue to list the Long Term Care Center as a topic of future work sessions to ensure
adequate public notice. Strobel said the commission reviewed and approved a letter to send to
candidates and property owners, explaining the political sign ordinance.
Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations-None
DOT Project Engineer Allen Drake updated the council and public on the Mile 0-8 project.
2005 City Financial Audit was presented by John Bost of Mikunda, Cottrell & Co.
....
A Library/Museum Committee Report was given by Keith Campbell.
A presentation on Coal Use in Alaska was given by Vice President of Governmental Relations
Charlie Boddy, Vice President of Business Development Steve Denton, and Manager of
Environmental Affairs Bartly Coiley, all of Usibelli Coal Mine Inc..
Council recessed at 8:50 p.m.
Council resumed at 8:56 p.m.
Representative Paul Seaton briefly updated the council on legislative funding and business
efforts. Seaton spoke about the budget, gas line contract, special sessions, and other big picture
items.
Citizens' comments on any subject except those items scheduled for public hearing.
Tim McDonald, announced Washington's Army filed with the Supreme Court today for
their opposition of the vacation of Washington Street. Regarding the proposed coal fired facility;
McDonald was hesitant to consider the idea because of the pristine natural parks surrounding
Seward. A coal fired facility would be best built someplace less sensitive. McDonald thought the
city was jeopardizing the Mary Lowell Center by denying the public's right to address the issue.
II-. Polly Egger, reported how administration treated some of its citizens poorly. Last week,
staff showed up to her residence three different times to prevent the Egger's from building a fence on
their property. She felt if they were any other people in this town, they would be left alone.
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26, 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Pag-e181
Scott Egger, reported his firing was being grieved through the arbitration process. He felt
the fence post incident was harassment. The suit brought against Egger was a violation of private
property ownership. He noted the city staff was implementing regulations for public property, but
this was incorrect, as the land in question was private property.
J
Dale Hoogland, said four weeks ago he believed the property site for the new Long Term
Care Facility was the best choice. Since the latest meeting with the architects, he felt the site was
designed poorly. Hoogland felt responsible involvement with the citizens within the subdivision
should be required. He felt concerned because there were not any public hearings on the resolutions
before the council tonight and Hoogland felt threatened by this. If the Long Term Care Facility
resolutions passed tonight, permission would be given to move forward with these designs. He
asked the two resolutions be postponed for proper public input on this issue.
Rob Rance, let the council know he was still in town, and encouraged council and public to
contact him with any questions. He thanked the presenters from Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc for their
fantastic presentation.
Rebecca Orchard, re-iterated Hoogland's request to postpone the Long Term Care Facility
resolutions tonight.
Sharyl Seese, spoke against the executive session on tonight's agenda. Seese felt the city j
manager was doing a good job and council should take that into consideration tonight.
Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Motion (DunhamILorenz)
Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Motion Passed
Unanimous
Resolution 2006-079 was pulled from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda.
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
The June 15, 2006 special city council meeting minutes were approved.
There was no objection to the liquor license transfer for Chinook's, Fam-Alaska.
Resolution 2006-078. approving the use agreement between the City of Seward and the Alaska
V ocational Technical Center.
Resolution 2006-080, authorizing the city manager to sign an extension of a special services j."
contract between the City of Seward and the Department of Public Safety providing dispatch '.
and clerical services to public safety employees in the Seward area for forty eight thousand
and five hundred dollars ($48,500.00).
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26, 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37. Pag-e182
Public Hearings - None
-
Unfinished Business
Resolution 2006-069. approving a concept design for the Waterfront Pavilions.
Motion (Lorenz/Bardarson)
(previously made at 6/12/06 meeting)
Approve Resolution 2006-036
Mayor Shafer said she received a lot of positive comments about the design and was glad it
was noticed in the paper for more public input.
Dunham agreed with the Mayor. He was also pleased with the design and the public
comment it received.
Valdatta stated he did not like the design, he thought it was too modem and a bit off-scale.
Motion Passed
Yes: Bardarson, Schafer, Thomas,
Dunham, Lorenz, Mayor Shafer
No: Valdatta
New Business- Resolutions
....
Resolution 2006-075. authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with Alaska
Sales & Service for the purchase of a 2006 Chevrolet 4x4 truck, for an amount not to exceed
$29,906.00.
Corbridge stated staff needed a vehicle of this size and strength to conduct business in the
Electric Department. The current vehicles had liability issues. Staff was using a state bid in this
purchase.
Motion (Lorenz/Valdatta)
Approve Resolution 2006-075
Bardarson wanted to know if the city could trade in the old vehicle, or if there was some
reason why they were choosing not to trade it in.
Corbridge said the amount offered for trade in was so low, staff figured it was better to either
surplus it or get more use out of it and then surplus the vehicle.
Motion Passed
Yes: Thomas, Lorenz, Dunham,
Valdatta, Bardarson, Mayor Shafer
No: Schafer
I...
Resolution 2006-076. authorizing the city manager to appropriate $283,000 for the offsite
infrastructure design by CRW for the new Long Term Care Facility location in Forest Acres
which includes the design of sewer, water, and roads.
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26, 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Page183
Corbridge reported many had seen the proposal for the new site location. Last Thursday
Architects Alaska gave a detailed presentation on this issue. The contract proposed would extend
existing infrastructure; primarily water, sewer, and streets from its current location to the new site.
J
Motion (LorenzlBardarson)
Approve Resolution 2006-076
Valdatta wanted to know where the traffic would be generated. Corbridge said the current
design had some traffic coming in from the south side, an estimated 9-10 people at a time. All other
traffic was anticipated to come in from the north side, although staff was pursuing options to acquire
some right of ways so they could have a different north access. Once the levee was in place, the
traffic would be routed onto that road and some other roads on the north side. This route had
changed because the location of the levee had changed.
Project Manager Tom Shepard pointed out the projected traffic patterns on a map.
Shepard noted the total staff volume at the Long Term Care Facility was 30 people, which was far
less than if homes were built on this land instead.
Corbridge said this item was not going out to bid due to a time crunch, and CRW was very
experienced with Seward projects.
Bardarson wanted to know ifthe water and sewer infrastructure would only service the Long
Term Care Facility. Corbridge said it was set to primarily serve the facility, but would have
capabilities to have service to all the lots on the land acquired and lots on the route.
j
l
......
Valdatta suggested utilizing the space by putting the building on stilts so cars could park
underneath.
Point of Order (Thomas)
This was not the item of discussion before
the council.
No Ruling
Lorenz asked about recouping the tax payer's costs. Corbridge thought costs would be
recouped from Medicaid and Medicare once patients were in the building. Lorenz wanted more
public input on these issues.
Motion Passed
Unanimous
Resolution 2006-077. authorizing the city manager to appropriate an additional $220,000 for
the on-site design of the New Long Term Care Facility (LTCF) site in Forest Acres.
Corbridge stated because the city had to choose a new site for the Long Term Care Facility,
changes would have to be made to the design ofthe building. This resolution would implement the
design changes.
i
I
..J
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26, 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Pa!?e184
Motion (Thomas/Bardarson)
Approve Resolution 2006-077
.....
Schafer was less concerned with this resolution than the previous as it did not affect the
public like the utility/traffic issues did.
Valdatta wanted to know how much feedback the employees had in this process. He thought
they should review the blueprints, too. Corbridge felt the employees had a lot of input in this process
by the many meetings with hospital staff.
Motion Passed
Unanimous
Resolution 2006-079. approving an assignment of the agreement by and between the City of
Seward and Qutekcak Native Tribe for operating and maintaining the Seward Mariculture
Research Center and Shellfish Hatchery to Chugach Regional Resources Commission.
Corbridge stated there had been an agreement in place for a number of years with the
Qutekcak Native Tribe for the operation of the Shellfish Hatchery. Qutekcak and the city were
asking for a change to allow for a reduction in the bond to more realistically reflect the conditions
under which the Shellfish Hatchery might go out of business, and a modification to assign operation
of the hatchery to Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC). There had been one
assignment previously, but it had since expired.
....
Motion (LorenzNaldatta)
Approve Resolution 2006-079
Valdatta was concerned with the power lines in that area. They were in the way and needed
to be removed.
Point of Order (Thomas)
Discussion didn't have anything to do with
approving the operating agreement.
Mayor Shafer allowed the discussion.
Dunham wanted to know if this contract addressed the spending with the hatchery.
Corbridge responded it required an information exchange at a better level that he was confident they
would achieve. Corbridge couldn't guarantee the city would be rid of helping the hatchery get
funding in the future.
Assistant City Manager Kirsten Vesel addressed some ofthe issues regarding the funding
concerns with the Shellfish Hatchery. The Shellfish Hatchery, Qutekcak and the CRRC have been
excellent to work with, and they were working towards finding alternative revenue sources. There
was a proposed operating lease agreement with CRRC removing Qutekcak, which would transfer the
bond. The resolution before the council was an extension to keep pursuing this, and a final
resolution would be coming at a later date.
...
Motion Passed
Unanimous
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26, 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Page185
Council Comments
j
j
Bardarson wanted to know where the land purchase contract with the Salvation Army was.
Corbridge said they had received correspondence from the Salvation Army indicating they were
going to take care of the environmental issues at hand. At this point, the ball was in the Salvation
Army's court and Corbridge had no idea of the timeline they were working with.
Thomas liked the look of the pavilions and was excited to get the project moving. He was
interested to find out what was happening with the Holiday Inn electrical rebate issue.
Lorenz wanted to know what was going on with the Alaska Railroad and the design in the
Harbor. Corbridge hoped to address this issue soon. Regarding the Egger fence issue, Lorenz
wanted to know if the city was proceeding in the same fashion they would proceed with everyone
else. Corbridge was assured staff was taking the same measures. It seemed odd to her this was such
a dramatic ordeal, just because of a fence.
Dunham felt the coincidences with Egger were rather strange to him, also. He hoped the city
was secure in their knowledge before they went into other people's property. Dunham thanked
U sibelli for speaking tonight and hoped to establish a work session sometime this summer to further
discuss the issue of coal. He commended the Parks and Recreation Department with the camping
and parking departments. Dunham wanted to schedule an agenda item on the permitting process
with the city and the building department. He liked Corbridge's idea of reshuffling the CommunitYl
Development Department and the permitting department, and wanted a public agenda item or a work .....
session about this.
Shafer said she took a group of Chinese people with the Alaska Seafood Marketing group
down to the hatchery and were very excited about coming to Seward. She was looking forward to
the Fourth of July and was thankful Third Avenue would be open during the holiday.
Citizens' Comments
Dale Hoogland said the diagram shown tonight on the Long Term Care Facility did not
include the other future plans such as a hospital and other buildings. He was only requesting they cut
the Long Term Care Facility off at Cottonwood and everything south of Cottonwood put into
institutional re-zone, and everything north of Cottonwood kept rural residential. He felt the public
was being forced and threatened into this situation by the hospital. He didn't feel it was right for the
hospital to threaten to cut down on their services. This was an important issue to the property
owners of Forest Acres and he hoped the council would work with them on it.
Polly Egger was thankful for the questions brought up this evening. The borough said
property owners were allowed to enjoy their land from property line to property line, including utility
easements. The fence line in question was inside their property line. Their neighbor had a cement J"'.,'
slab two feet into their easement as well as derelict vehicles right outside their house, so a fence .,
would be really nice to have.
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26. 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Page186
...
Tim McDonald said Washington's Army was not going to go away. They were concerned
about Washington Street, but it was becoming more about the principle than anything else. The
street would ruin the view shed of many businesses and would disturb the traffic flow. He felt the
public had been stonewalled at every turn they took. The people wanted to vote, and as
representatives ofthe people, the council should allow the vote. Washington's Army didn't have any
choice but to go to the Supreme Court. Council's approval ratings would suffer, but the public were
the real losers in this situation because they were unable to do anything about it. Washington's Army
was going to do everything they could to prevent the vacation of Washington Street.
Scott Egger, agreed with much of McDonald's comments. He felt people were being
ignored and run over. It was time for the City Council to start listening to the people of the town and
addressing the issues appropriately. There were legitimate concerns, and not listening to them and
only addressing the special interest groups was obvious to the public. Egger spoke again on the
public property chapter 7 in the Seward City Code, and noted it did not pertain to private property.
This could affect a lot of property owners if something was not done about it. He spoke directly to
the city manager on his termination and the harassment he had received. Egger felt the things that
were happening to him were not coincidental.
Council and administration response to citizens' comments
lIoo..
Thomas stated earlier this evening, someone had said "everyone wanted the town to be the
way they wanted it to be," but the problem were there are 2,500 people in town who thought the
same thing, so he felt it was an unrealistic statement. To Washington's Army, Thomas said they
should consider they might be wrong if they've lost every step along so far.
Lorenz said regarding the Egger's situation, derelict vehicles should be removed in a clean
sweep like Anchorage did a few years ago, at a minimum.
Schafer said it was the city's intent to leave the area north of Cottonwood rural residential. If
the Long Term Care Facility had gone to the original property, traffic issues would have been worse.
Schafer pointed out three members of council opposed the vacation of Washington Street.
Mayor Shafer said in 2002 and 2003, there were 28 public meetings regarding the Mary
Lowell Center. The design chosen for the center was approved which required the vacation of
Washington Street. There was no solid consensus not to vacate the street. People were initially
opposed to A VTEC and the prison, but look at the economic benefit it had brought to the community
now. It was difficult to drive economic development in this community, and it couldn't be done
without change.
Valdatta felt Bill Hearn was trying to address this issue and he was washed under the rug.
He felt A VTEC was promoted much differently than it was now, which may have by why there was
opposition to it initially.
.... Lorenz said she thought no one wanted the Mary Lowell Center to go away. She felt people
had a very valid point if a store like Wal-Mart was going in that area; there certainly would be a vote
on it.
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26. 2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Pal?el87
Dunham objected to Valdatta' s comments about A VTEC. In planning, there had to be some
alternates with the Long Term Care Facility traffic issues.
f
....
Executive Session to discuss performance expectations of the city manager.
The city manager requested this session be made public and council did not go into an executive
session.
Mayor Shafer thanked Corbridge for making this public. She hoped this would be helpful
for him and for the council. The Mayor addressed specific issues she was concerned with regarding
the city manager's performance. The issues were as follows:
-- the Boys and Girls Club Title V Grant that the city missed out on
-- the city manager's refusal to meet with special interest groups
-- the disrepair of the Senior Center and the Senior Center elevator
-- the lack of organization and repair of the Community DevelopmentJPlanning Department
-- Corbridge forming a "Do Not CallIDo Not Email" list, not calling people back, including
lobbyists
-- failure to meet the community and attend community meetings, lack of public knowing
their city manager
-- lack of signs indicating the Third Avenue businesses affected by the Mile 0-8 project i
..."
Corbridge responded to each issue and concern addressed by the Mayor.
Councilmember Thomas' concerns were the following:
-- too much of a lawyer, not enough of a city manager
-- how the lease with the Alaska SeaLife Center was handled (including the PowerPoint
presentation)
-- not making council direction happen when the city manager disagreed with the direction
glVen
-- city employees managing the city manager, rather than the city manager managing the city
employees
Due to time restrictions the Mayor requested this executive session continue to the next regular
meeting.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 10:58 p.m.
J
--
....
..
....
City of Seward, Alaska
June 26,2006
City Council Minutes
Volume 37, Page188
~1:HA4lAJ/UA) /i(finJ&r
i ean LewIS
City Clerk
~;fA/ ~
Vanta Shafer r
Mayor
(City Seal)
"""....,,
~, OF S.l!- 1"'-
~~ '-< ,/A_ ",
~.. ~ .......... ~A"~
$ (,i ,";"p"'''O./t;'''_"?'""" ~
..... ..,;t:" ~.. 'V ~
~ ...~ --- ~o.~ ~..
. . .
:0: SE.IJ\T : :
:: \ LlJ...I: . =
':. ~ -.-. I..
.. . .
or. lP '.v~ '1- .' ;:
~ :c.....~!' 1 ,\~\.., ~ .:>
..... i)-bo......I..... c~ ....
"..... .... OF ,.,~:J .........
-~I, f"\ "
"ffun'~\