Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12102007 City Council MinutesCi(r u/Sewurrl, .Alarkn Ci(v Gxuuil:Lfinutec Dvccmhvr /0. ?pp7 4iilume 37 Pn£e 47/ C:~LL TO ORDER .. The December 10, 2007 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by R4ayor Clark Corbridge. OPEI\IVG CE.RF.)•1O~I1' T.ieutenant Butch 'l'iner led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. KULL, CALL. There were present: Clark Corhridge presiding and «'illard Dunham Linda Ambcrg Bob Valdatta Tom Smith Betsy Kellar comprising a quorum of the Council; and Phillip Oates, City Manager Jean Lewis, Cily Clerk ABSEI\"I' - Jcam Bardarsott Cl'1'IZE~S' CUMI`IEN"f5 OI\ AI\1' SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED N'OK PUBLIC HN;.4Hll\G T1an Seavey, highlighted some events for the 100°i birthday of the fditarod National Historic. Trail which would showcase itselfon Febnrary 2 and 3, 2008 in Seward as Iditarod Days. Seward is the first mi le of the Iditarod Trail and he thought it was important to get involved artd asked for some financial city support. On this date, the Iditarod Trail began when Col. Walter Goodwin took the first step and conducted the Iditarod trail survey. Pierre the Bear, appeared and through his interpreter Karin Sturdy, invited everyone to the Ilarlem Ambassadors basketball show. She notified there were still openings for players and tickets were on sale and available now. She suppor[ed the council resolution that offered community outreach and support for the three "Stay in School, Stay off Drugs" school assemblies. Jennifer [teadtke, spoke in support of Seward becoming the mural capital of Alaska. She mcnlionud that the society began in 1998 as an experiment to paint murals and it became a strong group of art enthusiasts. Hcadtkc thartkcd Pat Williams for inspiring lhu thought of paintin~~ murals years ago with her aviator story, and also thanked the ciq for their support of the mural paintings. which promoted cultural tourism for the connnunity Cilp u1 Sexurd, Alu+ku Cin Council ,4linutes December /0, 2t)0? 1'olume 37, Page 472 Dol Bardarson, also spoke in support of the mural society resolution. She stateil the Mural Society had a 5-year pion which include) Ed Tusscy painting a National Park Thcrnu for 2008, and ~.. other ariisis and thcnus through the ycar?012. Shc inlormcd that the group had a websile artd was a strong agauization that would have nrurc nuuals painted in the future. APPROVAL OF AGENllA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Dunham/Amherg) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Two items were pulled from the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: The November 13, 2007 Regular Cih Council Meeting 31inutrs Werr Approved. Resolution 2007-131, Accepting A (:rant In '1'hc .4monnt Of $1,299.60 From The Alaska Ilighway Safety Office For 200R First Quarter AS'fF;P Driving Undcr'I'hc lnfluence (llU1) Enforcement Campaign And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2007-132, Accepting A Grant In The Amount Of S1,299.h0 From The Alaska Highway Safely Office Fur 2008 First Quarter ASTEP Seatbelt Enforcement Campaign And ,,. Appropriating I•'turds. Resolution 2007-133, Dcsignating'I'he Cih• UfSeward As The Mural Capital Of Alaska And Is Requesting The State Of Alaska To h:ndorsc'1'his llcsignatiou. Resolution 2007-135, Awarding A Contract Fnr Three Years To Merritt Enterprises For Custodial Services At The Teen & Youth Center .4nd The Sports & Recreation Program Site, .4 V'I'EC'S Sludrnt Services Center For An Annual Amount Ot S3R,2R0.00. Resolution 2007-136, Adopting An :1ltrrnativr ;Ulocation Method For The Il'2008 Shared Fisheries Business 'l'ax Program, And Certifying That This Allocation Method Fairly Represents The Dktrihution Uf Significant Effects OCFisheries Business Activity In The Cook Inlet Fisheries 1lianagement Area. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations and Awards A Alemoriam Was Read For Uale R. I.indsev By ~'icc-Mayor Dunham. Borough Assembly Rrpurt. Borough Assembly Representative Ron Long, following a r citizen comments, stated a sidcnotc. "hearing Dan Scavey say hr had a little something to do with the Iditarod Trail was like saying Dale }.indsey had a little something to du with the oil business." Last Cilr n(.Ceuvn•d..Alnskn l.'iR' Co~urci! ,llinufcs Ueramhcr /0, 20(17 6~hune 37, Puce -073 Tuesda} •s meeting discussed two ordinances, which changed senior exemption requirements, resulted in a 4-3 failed vote which has bean reconsidered, and a borough road standards requirement ordinance prior to final plat approval. Long basically supported the idea behind the latterordinance, but after eight puhlic hearings, introductory remarks at the last hvur stated road standards would he changed in .lanuary. Long thought it would have been nice to have kr)own this all along. It also had a 4-3 vote and was up for reconsideration. Cih manager's Report. City Manager Phillip Cates congranilated the high school dr,una class un their Radio Date play. Ile thought it was superb. Oates also mentioned that the C'Icrk`s ul7iee tvuuld be cutting packet distribution in half heginning January 2pOR, with the availability of the inlormalion on the website. City Attomey Brad ~teyen would he taking ajoh with the Attorney Gcnural OI'licc later this month. r Oates had ntct with Culoncl Wilson with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss assumption of responsibility by the Carps for the Lowell Canyon Tunnel and correction of the design deticiency iu the small bunt harbor, noel with Dan Seavey and pledged city support for the Iditarod Days Cclebratiou in February; ntcl with DOT to partner for funds to collocate state and city public works shops, utd attended the Alaska Commuttily workshop for administrative and Icgal needs. i Bob Hicks had accepted the position ofConmmnity Development DirccWr, and would slant January 7, 20fIR, and the hiring period for the Harbomtastcr positiat had been extended to secure more applications. Oates had received a letter from Chugachmiut requesting support for their applica[irnt to apply as a section 330 Community lIealth Center. Because of conczms it would create an unfair cornpctitive advantage over local healthcare providers, he intended to reyuest community wide meetings by Chugachmiut lu show it was in the cvrttmunit}'s bell interest. Oates noted that Governor Patin had released her FY'O) budget proposal today, anJ also informed that the city's lire boat the John Foster was scut lv W'hilticr to aid in the search operation of the Lifeguard helicopter that had went down in the area. Uates explaiucd that the city operated their cdcclric generators on December 3 and 4, 211117 due to nanrral gas delivery problcnts in Anchorage. Oates was excited to report that Seward was listed in the top three by the Trip Advisor's Top Ten U.S. Destinations for 20Q8. City Attorney's Report. Not present. Chamber of Commerce Report. Ron Hewitt stated a strategic planning session was held and the Chamber was looking forward to cxpmtding its offerings for small businesses. Some of their plans were to offer a business fair, seminars, develop short-term goals, redevelop marine sen•ices, support KCC campus offerings, cte. to promote business. Hewitt stated the Chamber opposed raising the bed tax because it would result in a 50°i~ iucrcasc and would deter what the Chamber had L done for marketing in Seward. He encouraged council to not damage an industry that w•as encouraging business. City u/'Srxwrd, Alaska Cily Council,4firnues Decemher /0, ?BOi Volume 37, Page 474 Sr~rard Planning and Zoning Commission Rrporl. Not present. Olhrr Reports, Special Prrsrntations A Presentation On The P.A.R.K.S Project was Given By `lava Yloriarty, Council recessed at R:37 p.m. Council resumed at 8:43 p.m. (Due to a fancily errrergency, the Cih•:1lannger left and Finance Director Kris /s'rchiuger sat in. j PUBLIC IIEARII$GS Ordinances Rryuiring A Fublic hearing Ordinance 2UU7-UlU, Revising Seward Cih~ Code Section 5.35.045 (Computation - IVlasimum Tax), Inereasing'1'he Sales'I'ax Cap From $5110 To 51,000, Effective April 1, 2008. Notice of the puhlic hearing heing posted and puhlished as required by law was noted and the. public hearing was opened. Tom Tougas, was brainstorming items priced between $500 to S 1 UUU, and noted at $3.32 a gallon, this lax cap would affect people's fuel bills. He thrntght the city should work with the borough on raising the lax cap together, but Seward should not raise it alone. Tougas thought it was J an unnecessary proposal that would heavily impact fuel and electric hills. Ron Long, reminded council it would take ti0"/o voter approval to increase sales tax. While he appreciated the intent to hold this until April 2008 Cor the borough, there would still he shout $ 100,000 in costs that would be passed on to the rest of the borough. That cost to implement these services would come from other services and Long ut;ecd the council to find a better way. Vary 1Culstad, thought this tax cap would have a negative impact on overall income for businesses, and the cost would increase to the custnntcrs. Shc thought it was a hardship because customers could pay less outside the city limits, Motion (Dunhatn/Smith) Enact Ordinance 2UU7-UlU Finance Director Kris Erchingrr stated this would increase [he tax cap from 5500 to $1000, and was in conjunction with Orilinancc 2007-O1 1. The sales lax cap was implemented in 1965 and never adjusted for inflation. She stated baying power of sales lax today was much less than in past. The issue of raising the tax cap had been discussed many times in the last couple oCyears. Ahhough it was diflicult to estimate the data, staff felt it would amount to about 570,000 for 5cward. h:rchinger noted the borough would have significant costs to implement this and would have to add columns to their form for any peninsula sales tax changes. She recommended implementation for April 1, 2008. „~ Cite o f Se•n tree/, Alro lur t~rR' f,ntnrri! ,Ll mules Der•vniher /0, :200' Yolru,rc J' f'IIQC 4,'3 Dunham had keen in favor of raising the lax cap, but each time the borough had talked the city out of it. He noted this tax cap had been at the books for 40 years. Although he was sensitive ` to pre-sold packages, he noted a (i0% vote to raise. this cap on the borough level was not likely. Dunham noted the difference between gross sales vs. taxable sales was huge. IIe thought Seward had been the lowest taxed community on the Peninsula for 13 years. Corbridgc suppurted raising the tax cap. ! le pointed out i f this was corrected for intlatiou it would increase to $1 ~UU, so he I'clt this approached the CPI gently. Armbcrg wondered ifthe city was just spinning wheels for very little revenue, especially if the borough was not willing to implcrncnl the change. F.rchinger stated the borough was capable of implementing the change. Smith sympathised with the borough, but noted they were given hvo years notice. Dunham said cities had to make the move or the discrepancy would get fin~thcr and lurthcr out of whack. Motion Passed V'es: Smith, Valdatta, Uunhant, Corhridgc No: Kellar, Amberg Ordiuanrr 2UU7-Olt. Revisink Seward Cih Code Section 5.35.040 (Exclusions And Exemptions), ExentptinQ That Portion Of Residential Rents Above $500, From Sales Tax, Effective April 1, 2UU8. Notice of the public hearing boing posted attd published as squired by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. '1'om'Ibugas, supported exempting rents but tell it rnorc important utilities anJ healing oil should also be exempt, since those. items had the most impart on the. eonununily. Motion (Dunham/Amberg) Enact Ordinance 2U07-011 [rchinger stated the intent would cap [he sales tax on residential rents ro S~QO. Dunham did not support this and did not think it was a serious need. He informed the borough did not like selective review of taxes. Atubcrg supported keeping rents al $500. Smith did not like a tax that applied to a certain group, although some rentals could not atTord to pay. Erahinger staled this was not intended to affect holeL'motel customers with bills over $500. Cirp ~jSewunl. Aiusku C'im C'oueci! .M1finutes Drrembe•r 10, 1007 Volume 37, Page J7G Kellar thought it was foolish to target a specific group of people, and voting yes on the prior resohrtian and not on this one didn't make sense to her. Motlnn Failed tics: Ambcrg, Valdatta, timith Nn: Uunham, Kellar, Corhridfic Ordinance 2007-012 Revising Seward City Code Section 5.35.015(A) (Hotel/1liotel Room Tax- Levy Of Tax), Increasing The Il:oteUMotel Tax Rate From 4"/" To 6"/,, F,ffective April 1, 2008. Votia• of the public hearing being posted and published as required by la+v was noted and the public hearing was opened. Tom '1'ougas, disagreed that Seward had the lowest sales lax. IIe did business in five conuuunitics and Sc+vard was the. only curnmunity on the peninsula with a bed tar. IIe reminded council it was an initiative by Margaret Artdcrsun to lirnd the Chamber with bed tax money, and felt the resolution needed "a whereas" stating iu 1995, halCof the hotel/rnutcl lax was initiated with half going to the chamber for marketing. 'I'ougas argued retail sales were up sigttilicantly because of gasoline prices, and the borough elimination of group exemptions for tours. He noted the general fund received a windfall from the price of fuel. Tougas expressed this was a "stick it to the visitor" budget and asked when enough was enough. Rou Hewitt, again mentioned it was an initiative in 1995 that provided the hed tax funding in the first place. Hc. thought it unfair that his leases in the harbor went up, sewer went up 5°io, etc. He opposed the increase in the bed tax because hotel communities were investing millions in this ...~ community and thought it remiss to gouge tourists w ith rnurc bed tax. Hewitt stated with tourism up, this industry alone would generate more sales tax for the community. He felt the city was shooting the golden goose and stepping nn the heels of the tourism industries that would take years For recovery to occur. Ilew•itt thought this tax was unnecessary and urged council to let the businesses grow and bring in more sales taxes. Mary Kulstad, agreed with the prior public speakers and opposed raising the hotel bed tax. -[his industry alredy had bookings for 2008 and this would create an unfair advantage for the same businesses outside dre city limits with a l0"/o discount. Jackie Wilde, had +vorkcd in other towns and felt the community needed to support their Chamber. She waild like to sec more dollars f;iven to the Chamber for marketing. Their marketing efforts brought the tourists to Seward. Debbie ~'an Tassel, reiterated the ahove and felt it was hitting a small business group. ?008 contracts were already signed and this caused an undue burden. She felt taxes should not focus on any one industry, and stated customers did want to know the bottom line rnt what they would pay. Ron I.nng, stated out of town hotels would love to market a ! 0"/" reduction from city hotels. People do ask about the tax amounts. The. council had a commitment to the Chamber and it was not a gift. IIe thought this increase was a had idea. /C'itt' Alcuru~er Dotes renn•rred to the nrecnng.l t,,n• oJ.Sewnrd..-Ilnsdn r; i!;,,::;: , Ueccmbcr 10.:00' ~ ~' . L Motion (Duuhant/Smilh) Enact Ordinance 2007-012 Oates stated as city manager, he saw many general fund needs not being met. This proposal would generate shout S 1811,1100. If increased to G°/", there w urc still many other communities in the state that were higher. lle was sensitive to bookings, and though it fair W implement for all new rooms after April 1, 2008. As a visitor, Hates thought people would watts to stay within the city limits and would lose a lot by staying outside the city limits. Erchinger addressed the history of sharing the bed tax with the Chamber of Conuncrce. • It was lirst irnplcnrcntcd in 1976 al the rate of 5"/0. • It was eliminated 1 year later when the city implemented a 2"/" sales tax. • In 19')3 a bed tax was imposul ol'S°io. • One year later the industry came bcforo cuuucil and stated they were considering an initiative petition to repeal the bed tax. • To avoid a costly election, council repealed the bed tax and replaced it with a Ilat nightly fee. • In the same year, 1994, Margaret Anderson sponsored an initiative petition wish 202 voter signatures, asking to initiate a 5°/u bed tax and provide 50% lu the mainlonance and enhancement of the visitor industry in Seward. • The petition was certified but could not go to the voters at that time because the similar bed tax had just been repealed. ^ [n 1995, took up the same issue, same initiative, and language stated, "shall initiative ordinance !?95 providing fora 4% huteVmulel room tax be approved?" There was no mcutiat ul'splitting the matey with the visitor industry. • Lt 1997, council passed a cuuucil resolution declaring intent to give the Chamber of Conunerce 50°iu of the bed tax to market the local community and allucale a percentage of FY 98 revenues to the C7tanrbcr spccilic lur marketing, the dcvcdopntent of tourism, infrasa-ttchn'e and visitor services, including establishing a cunli:rcncc center in Seward. • Have historically given $0`;~0 of the bed tax since then to the Chamber oCC'onuncrcu. ~'aldatta wanted to make the effective date Ianuary, 2009. Oates staled ii'the effective date changed, there would be cuts to the general fund to the tune of S 180,000 for this year. Dunham hoped to set this for 2009 and make it a lot easier for the people that have packages sold. Kolar did not want to step on the toes of the hotel industry and was in support of the amenrin:ent, L Amendment (Valdalta/Dunham) Change The Effective Date In The Title :1nd Section 2 To Read "Effective January 1, lUU9". City' 4(SrN~urd. Alusku Cir~~ Council Minutes December In, ?nn~ Valumr 37, Pngr 478 Amendment Passed Unanimous ... Dunham was not in support of the bed tax. Kellar guaranteed if her family were shopping for a place to stay, she would stay in the cheaper place out of town than in town. Smith also wanted to put this off for a year. Possibly bring hack in a couple of months. He sympathized with local people, but thought customers that came to Seward wanted to bed in Seward. Amberg would support it with an cllcetive date ol'January 1, 2009. Oates submitted a 1 % bed tax amendment. He wanted council to atncnd to 1'%ur kill it for now. '~7ayor Corbridge wanted to re-visit the issue in April of 2008. _~lotiou Failed Yes: Vnldatta, Amberg No: Smith, Dunham, Kellar, Corbridge Resolutions Requested By Administration, But Vol Required For A Public IIearing Resolution 2007-130, Supporting Application For A Community Development Block Grant For The Purpose Of Constructing The tieward Comnnmih~ Playground. Notice of the public hearing bring posted and published, was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared to address the Council and the public hearing was closed. ;`lotion (DunhanJSmilh) Approve Resolution 2007-130 Oates stated unfortunately he found out the city did not meet the eligibility requirements for the block grant and urged council to pull this Irom the agenda. Pulled from Agenda Unanimous Consent UNFINISIIF.D BUSINCSS Resolution 2t1t17-124, Supportin£ 'the Electric Tarif( To Establish A New Fee To Equalize Charges To Customers Outside Of 'l'hc Seward Oily Limils, ~~'ith Customers Inside The Seward City Limits, Effective .January 1, 2008. 11lotion (Dunham/Amberg) .4pprovc Resolution 2007-124 htloGan p~eviuuilp mode an ! //?(gin'/ Motion to Pwlpone to January 14, 200R (('orbridgc/Kcllar) Cin• nfSe+cm•d. Alnsku ~ ; ' ~, ,,, Ueccmbcr 10, ?007 L Lt looking at rules bused on tones, Oates ran into complications in crafting another resolution as cnunci I desired, and puuncd to the draft in the packet. I Ie was not opposed to postponing this to a time cettain incase the other resolution was not preferred. Motion Passed Unanimous VF.N' BUSINN;SS Resolution 2007-129, Extending Holiday Wishes 'Co 't'he Cmumunily By Sponsoring The Seward School Assemblies And Providing'I'ickets For'1'he Harlem Ambassadors Basketball Show Tor Community Members In Need And .Appropriating 5),600 In Funds. Motion (DunhanUSmith) Approve Resolution 2007-129 Uates stated this resoh+tiun was drafted to meet councilmember Durham's request for conuuunity outreach for the holiday season. Valdatta wanted this invitation extended to the returning vets liom Iraq. Oates offered to take care of that personally. lllotion Passed inanimous r_ Resolution 2007-134, Authorizing The City Manager To F.nter into An .Agreement V1'ith Tt~•ck Nyman Mayes, Incorporated ("TNI[") For Change Order #6 To The Fast Harhor F.xpnnsion Contract Fur An Amount Not-To-Exceed $226,724 And Appropriating Funds For F.nKinrrrin;;, Desi>;n :1nd Contract Management For Construction Of The Z Float In The Small Buat llarbur. Motion (UunhanUSmith) Approve Resolutimr 2007-134 Harbormaster Scott Ransom stated Phase 3 of the harbor project was finishingL-float which would run north+'south along the existing hreakvvater. Completion of L-float would result in stages. The ciq had $3 million from the Denali Commission to cnnstn+ct this portion ofthe project. This design proposal would he for heavy duty timber Floats mm~ing 20S feet in 301) feet, ar a possible 800 feet total, and was completely separate from the I and T dock project going on now•. Uatcs said this set the stage to finish the project and the most revenue generating parts of the project. It did not include the vehicle access on dte float, but would open the window lu fiord the revenue producing pans of the float which was increased moorage. Valdatta wanted to he guaranteed wa[er. Ransom was not sure there would be enough money for completion but cited there would be utilities. Water was being addressed on the kCT duck project. City nfSex•urJ, .Almku Ci(r~ Coune•il bAinutes Uales stated utilities would gu to the end of tlrc dock since the Cuasl Guard would be setting _• up there. Motion Passed Unanimous (The Cin' ;1'/nnnger, Cnucrcil, and ntulir'rux applauded Harbnrraasler Scott Rntrsan,%or hh• lust nreetrng asd pr•inr service befa•e retn•ement at the end of the ranrtth.) Resolution 2007-137. Amending The City of Seward's Calendar Ycar 2008 State T.cgislativc Priorities. Motion (Smith/Dunham) Approve Resolution 2007-137 Oates noted the laydown version changed the title back to the above, and added supporting DOT and public works for building a new shop to bcneticial legislation, and changed the dollar amount for the Friends of the .terse Lee Home from $2 million to $2.6 milliwr and recommended approval. llwilram wanted Public Facilities #3 dropped. Oates stated they did not have a lien price for redesign costs but replacement of the culvert was around $140,000. .J Amendment (Dunham/Smith) Change the dollar amount on Public Facilities #3 from $500,000 to $150,000. Amendment Passed Yes: Smith, Kellar, AmberQ, Dunham, C:orbridgc No: Valdatta Amendment (Amberg/Dmrham) Change the wording nn Beneficial Legislation #3 to read, "Support the Friends ol'Jessr Lee Hume efforts to obtain $2.6 milliou for stabilization of the Jesse Lee Home.,, Amendment Passed Unanimous Maio Dlotion Passed as Amended l!nauimous U'I'HER NEW' BUSINESS Council appointed 'T'om Smith to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Economic Development District Board. :~ powerpoint presentation was shown pertaining to the Seward Ships Dry Duck EPA report. Cin q/ Je~, nrd, alnskai Ciry~ Council ;tlinules Uerembe+ !!/. ?007 6ulumr 37, Page J~41 but due to time constraints, guidance will be givrn at the next council meeting on January 14, _ ?008. Due to lime limit, the following was re-scheduled for the latmary 14, 2008 council meeting: :lppoioting Dorene Lorenz To Represent Scrvard On 'l'he Friends Of The Jrssr Lre IIome Board. 1NFORDIA'1'IONAL ITEMS AND REFORTS (,Vo nclion rcyuire~ City October t'iuaucials. Draft Resolution To Arncnd Tits Eloctric TariCCTo Increase Various Pees And Charges To All 'Loner. COl!NCIL CUMMEN'I'S Dunham, Amberg and Smith all wished the conuuuniry happy holidays. CITIZENS' COMl1)ENTS Tom Tougas requested warnings from the utilities for electric generator turnovers be sent by .... email. He thought the public would appreciate knowing when these were accurring. Run Lung, thanked all who spoke on the bed tax issue. He was disappointed the discussion art the sales tax cap sounded like an "us vs. them" discussion, but encouraged to have the city share their pain. COUNCIL ANll All~11NIS'1'lt4'1'IUN RESPONSE TO CITIZENS' COMMENTS Valdatta stated the radio stations were artothcr gaud way lu in!'umt the public oCouta~es. ADJOURN11Ih;N"1' The meeting was adjourned at 10:58 p.m. .lean I ewis, CMC' , .,.u,,,, Clark Corbrrdge -----~~~~~ Cit1' Clerk ~~.• ~C. ~`'- Mayor .• jti;?Qti; J L (City Seal) " `c' 4 <.. o .;~ ~.7 !,. ~ G . t - +`, ~r ~ .YI` ...• ~.) 1 yY,~,ftJ~ ui s+~'~~~~y