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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03262013 City Council Minutes City of Seward, Alaska Cite Council Minutes March 26, 2013 Volume 39 Page 103 w.. CALL TO ORDER The March 26, 2013 Regular Meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor David Seaward. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Tom Clemons led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Seaward presiding and Jean Bardarson Ristine Casagranda Marianna Keil Bob Valdatta Vanta Shafer Christy Terry comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Ron Long, Assistant City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Cheryl Brooking, City Attorney Brenda Ballou, Deputy City Clerk Absent — None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Susan Ernst owned the Rez Gym and had heard that the city employees may be opening a gym with employee wellness funds. She did not have an issue with that, but was concerned that the location being targeted was the old museum space, that the gym would be fee -based for community use, and that this had all been directed to administration by council to fill the gap left from the reduction in hours at the AVTEC facility. She considered that to be a broadening of the Parks & Recreation Department's mission and thought it was inappropriate for the city to undertake. She asked the city to help support private enterprise to fill this apparent gap. She was also concerned that no one from the city apparently knew about this potential project, but residents in general seemed to know all about it. She asked for the city to adopt a position of competitive neutrality. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Shafer) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes March 26, 2013 Volume 39 Page 104 Keil pulled Resolution 2013 -020 off the consent agenda and added a discussion item for the city old museum /gym space. Long added a discussion item to send a letter to the House and Senate Finance Committees supporting the Seward Marine Industrial Center expansion project, at the request of Senator Cathy Giessel. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2013 -019, Authorizing The Seward Arts Council For The Seward Mural Society To Paint An International Friendship Mural In Obihiro, Japan In 2013, And Appropriating Funds In The Amount Of $37,420. Approval of the February 28, 2013 City Council Special Meeting Minutes. Non - objection to the liquor license renewals for: Christo's Palace, The Ivory Cove, Tony's Bar, Tony's Liquor Store, Oaken Keg #2728. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards A proclamation declaring March 25, 2013 as Seward's Day was accepted by Patty Linville. A proclamation supporting Governor Parnell's Choose Respect initiative and announcing the Choose Respect March on Thursday, March 28, 2013 at noon at the Alaska SeaLife Center was read and received by Dawn McDevitt from SeaView Community Services. Chamber of Commerce Report, Cindy Clock brought copies of the April 2013 issue of Alaska Magazine and said it was being mailed to every person who held a fishing license last year. The chamber was mailing visitor's guides to approximately 2,200 individuals who had requested them year -to -date, and 4,000 travel agents across the nation. Over 11,565 visits had been made to seward.com in the past month, with over 29,000 pages views. The chamber had a booth at the Matanuska - Susitna Sports & Recreation Show last weekend where they promoted fishing in Seward. The chamber was hosting and promoting several events, including Lemonade Day, the Seattle Partners trip, the Alaska State Chamber's Outreach event and the Marine Firefighters Symposium. The Board of Directors for the World Eskimo Olympics chose Seward for their annual board meeting in early May. Clock echoed the sentiments expressed earlier and said the chamber would like the city to have a non - competitive stance regarding private businesses. City Manager's Report, age eport, Jim Hunt stated the following purchase order was approved by the City Manager for between $10,000 and $50,000 since the last council meeting: North West Service & Sales for $28,900 for a mulching head. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes March 26, 2013 Volume 39 Page 105 Imo On March 20, 2013 Flip Foldager received a Governor's Special Achievement Award for Safety at a ceremony held at the Egan Center. The Fire Chief, Building Inspector, Public Works Director and Assistant City Manager attended the three -hour ADA training session on March 20, 2013. The Planning & Zoning Department was updating the Municipal Lands Management Plan. On March 11, 2013 administration received a copy of a letter sent to Jim Pruitt, owner of Seward Ship's Drydock Inc., by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) which stated the shipyard site status had been upgraded and was now listed as "Cleanup Complete." The Port Director from Homer, along with Homer's Port Deputy, Maintenance Manager and Office Manager visited Seward on March 13, 2013 to exchange ideas about operating procedures and other valuable topics. Electric Power Systems would be in Seward this week to perform preliminary testing and sampling on the transformers at the three substations and again on April 15, 2013 for further evaluation, contingent upon the weather. The Alaska Railbelt Cooperative Transmission and Electric Company (ARCTEC) was working with legislators on behalf of Seward to outline the state's highest transmission and generation priorities. Hunt attended the National Emergency Training Center's All Hazards Response training last week in Maryland along with Police Chief Tom Clemons. He encouraged council to take the National Incident Management System (NIMS) ICS 100 and 200 courses online. City Attorney's Report, Cheryl Brooking stated her firm had been working on bidding procedures, contracts and various resolutions. As well, she worked on the possible conveyance of the imp Jesse Lee Home property, the city's interconnect policy, and various labor and health care issues, including the recent Providence settlement with the state. She attended a Tax and Securities Law Seminar and reported that large banking institutions were being exposed for intricate, fraudulent schemes relating to bond certificates. Normally, banks would take money from tax - exempt bond proceeds and invest it during the construction period on behalf of the community by giving it to a Guaranteed Income Provider (GIC) to put out to bid. The fraud happened between the banks and GICs wherein they colluded on who would bid, what the amounts of the bids would be, what they would tell the community their price was, what the real price would actually be, and then how the banks and GIC would split the difference. This issue was relevant for Seward because they issued tax - exempt bonds. In response to Shafer, Brooking said there was often prison time associated with these schemes as well as financial penalties. In response to Seaward, Brooking said she did not give interviews to any media as the attorney for the City of Seward unless she had been directed to do so by the City Manager or by council. She did not consider it to be part of her role to be a spokesperson for the city. Mayor's Report, David Seaward stated he received a securities report for the Kenai Peninsula that he was making available for council and public review. He thanked Martha Fleming and GCI for helping to broadcast the meeting tonight. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes March 26, 2013 Volume 39 Page 106 Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations j Seaward read a report submitted by Deborah Altermatt on behalf of the Port And Commerce Advisory Board (PACAB) for the first quarter of 2013. Martha Fleming reported on behalf of the Planning And Zoning Commission for the first quarter of 2013. Charles Vaught presented an overview of the recycling services provided in Seward on behalf of Waste Management of Alaska — Kenai. There would be approximately four days scheduled for hazardous waste drop -off at the landfill which they would be advertising to the community. They would also look into the possibility of accepting fluorescent bulbs and let administration know. PUBLIC HEARINGS — None UNFINISHED BUSINESS — None NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2013 -020, Authorizing The City Manager To Purchase One Ford Explorer Police Vehicle And Equipment For An Amount Not To Exceed $46,000. Motion (Bardarson /Terry) Approve Resolution 2013 -020 Police Chief Tom Clemons said the Police Department needed to replace the 1997 vehicle they had, and after this new vehicle was purchased they would not have to replace another vehicle for three years, excepting an unforeseen event like an accident. Keil asked about the ratio of officers to vehicles and Clemons said there were ten officers and ten vehicles. Clemons said the department had increased the number of vehicles over time, partly as a requirement to improve response times, and partly due to the Active Shooter Program he instituted at the schools which required between four and six officers at the same time. Instead of replacing each vehicle every seven years, the department would be replacing vehicles every ten years. The department's policy was that officers were not allowed to use the vehicles for personal use, but were allowed to take them home. Terry asked for clarification from the city attorney in reference to Title 6 and the city's procurement code, and Brooking said it appeared that this vehicle purchase seemed to be tagged onto the state's competitive bid process in order to obtain the best price for the vehicle and, therefore, was not required to go through the city's competitive bid process. Clemons added that it was more advantageous to go through the state's bid process in this case because of the economies of scale resulting from the state's purchase of hundreds of vehicles at a time. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes March 26, 2013 Volume 39 Page 107 Other New Business Discussion on sending a city official to the unveiling of the mural in Obihiro, Japan in September. Council selected Mayor Seaward to be the city's representative in Japan. Discussion on declarations and rulings of conflicts of interest. Brooking suggested council consider creating a procedure to determine a common law conflict of interest versus a financial conflict of interest. Brooking advised that in any conflict of interest case, rulings should be made individually so that each individual's involvement may be considered on its own merit. Council directed the City Attorney and City Clerk to bring forward a resolution proposing changes to the language in Rules 20 and 28 in the Council Rules of Procedure. In response to Seaward, Brooking said the procedure for "reconsidering" his previous ruling on a conflict of interest for Bardarson and Keil relating to the Community Health Center Board (CHC) would be to make a new motion at the next meeting to re -rule on their conflict of interest declarations individually. Seaward questioned the original resolution that had approved the appointment of Bardarson and Keil to the CHC Board of Directors, and City Clerk Johanna Kinney confirmed that the council did appoint them. Discussion of the city old museum /gym space. When asked about the possibility of the He Will Provide Food Bank using the space, Long said he still needed to speak with Jackie Campbell to discover their needs, and possibly visit the food bank during their distribution of foodstuffs on a him Thursday. As an alternative, Terry suggested a Mom & Tot program be considered in that space as long as private industry was not able to offer it. Bardarson suggested a cultural exchange center where various classes could be held. Seaward suggested that the space could be leased out. Discussion on sending a letter to the House and Senate Finance Committees supporting the Seward Marine Industrial Center Expansion Project. Long presented a letter for council's endorsement and signature, requested by Senator Cathy Giessel, to the House and Senate Financial Committees outlining the Coastal Villages Regional Fund (CVRF) and Seward Marine Industrial Center (SMIC) expansion plans. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS January 2013 Providence Financial Report. COUNCIL COMMENTS Bardarson thanked Flip Foldager for the harbor safety program. She reminded everyone about the Fur Ball fundraiser on March 30, 2013 at Chinook's Restaurant for the animal shelter. She thanked Commissioner Fleming for her Planning and Zoning Commission report and encouraged people to apply for the vacant seat on the commission. ■... Keil said there was a disturbing comment about Seward today made by Representative Stoltz that Seward was a passe harbor location. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes March 26, 2013 Volume 39 Page 108 Terry congratulated the Native Youth Olympics athletes from Seward, as well as the Seward High School basketball teams for going to the State Championships. She was proud that the boys' team receiving a Good Sportsmanship Award at the event. Seaward reminded everyone about the Choose Respect March on Thursday, March 28, 2013. CITIZEN COMMENTS - None COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS - None EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion (Terry /Keil) Go into Executive Session to discuss City Clerk's evaluation. Motion Passed Unanimous Consent Council recessed at 9:10 p.m. Council resumed at 9:15 p.m. Council went into Executive Session at 9:15 p.m. Council came out of Executive Session at 9:58 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:59 p.m. • A immia Jo anna Kinney'MC David Seaward V Pity Clerk Mayor (City Seal) $ . ssssR IIIA1, 0 444:: 47 i fie °17�'••. .1 0,, 4, • Y � .iH to Li M SEAL • • ••