HomeMy WebLinkAbout09282015 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
September 28, 2015 Volume 39,Page 520
CALL TO ORDER
The September 28,2015 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at
7:00 p.m. by Mayor Jean Bardarson.
OPENING CEREMONY
Police Chief Tom Clemons led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.
ROLL CALL
There were present:
Jean Bardarson presiding and
Ristine Casagranda Christy Terry
David Squires Dale Butts
Iris Darling
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Kris Erchinger,Acting City Manager
Johanna Kinney, City Clerk
Absent—Marianna Keil
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
•
Tim McDonald said he was accused of not being clear on his handouts last meeting.
McDonald referred to the Maintenance and Operating Agreement for the ship lift facility that was
amended in 2014. McDonald had concerns with Section 3.01 of the agreement which stated the
operator shall have the right to collect and retain all revenue received from the facility. He also
thought Section D of the Recitals contradicted the newly amended Section 5.02 in regards to
assignment of agreement: one section said the city needed to have consent,the other said consent by
the city was not needed.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (Terry/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
Approval of the August 10,2015 and August 24,2015 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes
and the August 31,2015 Special City Council Meeting Minutes.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
September 28, 2015 Volume 39, Page 521
Schedule a work session with BDO to review 2014 audit results for Monday,October 12,2015
at 5:30 p.m.
Ordinance 2015-004, Amending Portions Of Seward City Code § 14.05.010 Refuse Service
Provided And Required,To Clarify That Refuse Billing Is Not Required On Vacant Lots And
That Mandatory Refuse Service Does Not Preclude Individuals From Disposing Of Their Own
Refuse, But Still Requires Payment For Refuse Service,And Seward City Code § 14.05.040
Frequency Of Collection,To Clarify That The Requirement To Clean Garbage Receptacles Is
That Of The Person Occupying And/Or Owning The Property. (Introduced and set for public
hearing and enactment October 12, 2015)
Resolution 2015-085, Authorizing A Donation Of$2,000 To The Phoenix Chapter Of The
Alaska State Firefighters Association For The 2015 Alaska Fire Conference Held In Seward
The Week Of September 28,2015—October 3,2015.
SPECIAL ORDERS,PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards—None
Chamber of Commerce Report. Cindy Clock thanked everyone for their work on the
music and arts festival last weekend. She welcomed the firefighters across the state to Seward for
• their annual conference. Clock said in tallying up visitor statistics she learned the visitor's center
received 1,500 more visitors in 2015 than the year before. The chamber had 13 new members.The
next chamber luncheon was October 2, 2015 where the speaker will be a representative from the
Alaska Energy Authority.
City Manager's Report.Acting City Manager Kris Erchinger said three purchase orders
had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting:$22,707 to R&M Consultants
from Parks and Recreation for the Seward Beach Erosion Project, $30,000 to Trailhead Lodging
from the Electric Department for meter reading services,and$15,000 to Procomm Alaska from the
Police Department for three dispatch computers.
Erchinger added an update from the sewage lagoon sludge removal project.She was happy to
report the project had gone well,most recently with the installation of the bio domes.Both lagoons
were refilled and now operational. City staff and M.L. Foster did a final inspection and a report
should be forthcoming to council soon. The project was completed on schedule and significantly
under budget.Erchinger stated Public Works would prepare a spreadsheet on the costs for the next
meeting. She estimated it was approximately$1.1 million under budget.
In response to Terry, Erchinger did not know when staff would have preliminary budgets
to council but would keep them updated when she would have an answer to that question.
In response to Casagranda,Erchinger said she would find out the anticipated completion date
for the water tank project.
In response to Darling, Electric Utility Manager John Foutz said his department was
working on two major projects before the ground froze.In downtime in between those projects,the
•
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
September 28,2015 Volume 39, Page 522
crew was working to replace the downtown decorative streetlights.Once the ground froze,Foutz said
they would be able to dedicate more time to that project.
City Attorney's Report.Will Earnhart announce Wohlforth,Brecht and Cartledge would
be closing their doors at the end of the year. Attorneys Wohlforth and Earnhart would be going to
different firms.Earlier this evening,council had a special meeting to go into Executive Session on
this matter. Council came out of session and made three motions: direct staff to draft a Request For
Proposals for legal services,to keep Eric Wohlforth on as the city's attorney through 2015, and to
direct administration to negotiate a contract with Will Earnhart to represent the city with any current
or pending litigation. Earnhart said he and Wohlforth intended to work together to make sure the
transition of legal representation was smooth and Seward would be well represented.Earnhart stated
the City of Seward had a great group of people and he enjoyed working with everyone in Seward.
Other Reports,Announcements and Presentations—None
PUBLIC HEARINGS—None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None
NEW BUSINESS—None
Other New Business Items—None
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS
City and Providence Financial Reports through July, 2015.
Status update for the All Hazard Mitigation Plan, Annual Report to the National Flood Insurance
Program Community Rating System.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Terry welcomed the attendees,instructors,and vendors for the fire conference.It was a big
event. She thanked the Seward Music and Arts Festival organizers. It was a great event and good
economics for Seward as well as a great opportunity for the arts. The Anchorage Economic
Development Corporation had a conference in Anchorage,and attendees would be traveling down to
Seward on the train on October 3,2015 so that would also bring many people to Seward for the day.
It would be a busy weekend. Terry announced she would not be at the October 12,2015 meeting as
she would be attending the State Harbormaster's Conference in Anchorage that week.
Butts welcomed the 300 firefighters and guests coming to town this week. He encouraged
people to participate in the annual run honoring medic and firefighter Cameron Carter.
Casagranda reminded everyone that October 6, 2015 was Election Day and to please go
vote. She echoed the comments about how great it was to have these great economic boosts of the
conferences and festivals in Seward.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
September 28, 2015 Volume 39, Page 523
Squires encouraged the public to vote. He stated on September 19, 2015, police dispatch
received a report of a man in the water in the harbor.Many people responded including a cab driver,
Officer Morgan Woodard, Sean Corrigan,Austin Chapman,and Mike McHone responded to assist
in saving this individual's life.These individuals put their own lives in danger to rescue someone.He
was excited for the many people attending the firefighter conference this week and hoped the
community would welcome these new visitors.
Darling reiterated earlier comments, agreeing it was great to have a town full of people in
October. She was happy to see the shoulder season in Seward grow.
Bardarson said from the Seward Music and Arts Festival to the State Firefighters
Conference,this town had a lot of volunteers to thank. She also thanked the Alaska Railroad for the
use of their terminal for these big events.
Erchinger reminded the public the budget work sessions would be October 7-9,2015 at 6
p.m. She thanked Earnhart and Wohlforth for their years of service to the city.
Bardarson also thanked the attorneys for their service and Terry for her work on the City
Council as this looked like it would be her last regular meeting.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Curt Jacobson, President of the Phoenix Chapter of the Alaska State Firefighters
Association, thanked council for their generous donation tonight. In 2010, the Phoenix Chapter
hosted this conference with over 400 people attending. They had nothing but positive feedback for
the event, and hoped for the same this week. He thanked council again for their generosity.
Tim McDonald said the firefighter's conference was a nice way to end the season. He'd
introduced copies of the 2012 Maintenance and Operating Agreement with Seward Ship's Drydock.
This was the second biggest shiplift facility in Alaska.He recited again the various clauses from the
agreement that concerned him.He stated again the money earned from this facility was kept by the
vendor and the city wasn't retaining any of the revenues. The Seward Marine Industrial Center
(SMIC) was a strategic asset of national importance and he was concerned with the language on
assigning the agreement to another vendor with consent of the council was contradictory at times.
This language was a dangerous precedent that the council unfortunately inherited but should have
fixed when they had the opportunity.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS
Terry asked if the clerk could help retrieve records to the public,and Kinney confirmed she
could. Terry asked if the administration could help explain and answer citizen questions as they
arose. Long confirmed they could as well.
Butts asked if he was a business in town and using an asset from the city like a fish cleaning
station, were any portion of their profits required to be given back to the city? Erchinger wasn't
aware of any requirement,but regarding SMIC and the shiplift operating agreement and lease,the
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
September 28,2015 Volume 39, Page 524
city received a benefit such as lease payments from city lessees including maintenance costs the city
didn't have to spend. She reminded the council and public the lift was not purchased by the city,but
with federal funds. The city didn't have to pay costs on insurance or pay to maintain the asset. A
• certification was required and this also was not paid for by the city.
Casagranda appreciated Erchinger's explanation, and added the operator was also
responsible for maintaining the rails at the facility.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m.
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