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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07242017 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 24, 2017 Volume 40, Page 247 CALL TO ORDER The July 24, 2017 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 Marianna Keil Ristine Casagranda Dave Squires Sue McClure Deborah Altermatt comprising a quorum of the Council; and Jim Hunt, City Manager Johanna Kinney, City Clerk Absent— Slater CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Kelley Lane asked about the vacant lots on First Avenue owned by the city. She was getting discouraged about these lots staying vacant during what people have considered a housing crisis.She wanted growth and didn't want those lots to remain vacant. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda Keil added Resolution 2017-039 and Resolution 2017-040 to the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Approval of the July 10,2017 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes. Appoint Carl Hughes to the Port and Commerce Advisory Board with a term expiring July, 2020. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 24, 2017 Volume 40, Page 248 Resolution 2017-039,Amending The 2017 50 Ton Travelift Budget To Perform Repairs In The Amount Of$18,274.44,And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2017-040,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into An Engineering Contract With Wince-Corthell-Bryson Consulting Engineers For Design And Management Of The Repair And Refurbishing Of The Lowell Canyon Water Storage Tanks In An Amount Not To Exceed $75,020,And Appropriating Funds. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None Chamber of Commerce Report. Cindy Clock stated the chamber now had 403 members. Halibut Tournament ticket sales came in just under$25,000. The Fourth of July Festival went very well; she noted the chamber website had close to 30,000 visits during the holiday.The Seward Silver Salmon Derby was August 12—August 20,2017,and they needed volunteers.Clock noted Borough Mayor Mike Navarre was proposing a borough-wide 8% bed tax, so the chamber was monitoring that closely. Borough Assembly Report.Kenn Carpenter said they had a short meeting,but an eventful one. They re-appointed Cindy Ecklund to the Planning Commission and began the process of approving the new Seward Comprehensive Plan.There was discussion of implementing a borough- wide bed tax,and noted this could be appearing on the October ballot.The assembly was reviewing the renewal contract with Central Peninsula Hospital for another ten years. City Manager Report. Jim Hunt said there were no purchases between $10,000 and $50,000 authorized by him since the last council meeting. He stated the Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon was a huge success.A production company was in town for it and a televised documentary would air and it would highlight Seward. Long said a teleconference with the Borough Mayor's Chief of Staff regarding the proposed bed tax.One provision under consideration was some kind of mechanism to remit back to cities that already had a bed tax in place, including Seward. More conversations were anticipated. In response to Squires, Electric Utility Manager John Foutz said the electric meter exchange project was postponed to May,2018. They intended to stay with the original contractor for the project. In response to McClure, Foutz stated there was a delay in the boring project as crews got stuck installing a third conduit under the lagoon. They were working on remedying that. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations PUBLIC HEARINGS—None UNFINISHED BUSINESS—None City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes July 24, 2017 Volume 40, Page 249 NEW BUSINESS Resolution 2017-041, Submitting A Proposition To The Qualified Voters At The October 3, 2017 Regular Municipal Election Which Would Amend The Seward City Charter,Section 3.1 And Section 3.2 To Elect Council Members And The Mayor To Three Year Terms. Motion (Keil/Casagranda) Approve Resolution 2017-041 Long stated mayor and council terms of two years were established by charter,back in 1959. Since then,much had changed for the city,including the formation of the Kenai Peninsula Borough, and the city had gone to a two year budget cycle. He felt changing the length of terms to three years may help new members become more familiar with the budget process, and rely less on administration and their fellow members.Currently a member with a two year term would only vote on one budget. Potentially half of the City Council could turn over every year. Three year terms would be more consistent with the rest of the boards/commissions of the city, as well as the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and most councils on the peninsula. McClure inquired why the city couldn't approve their budget earlier in the year. Long said there were pros and cons to moving the budget process up. Bardarson added the annual audit would not be completed earlier in the year. Casagranda felt like moving the budget would be a better solution.A three year commitment may be difficult and could squeeze out a lot of the candidate population. Hunt believed it took at least two years just for newly elected officials to get their feet wet and have a good understanding of the position. Altermatt felt the resolution explained a lot of the justification. She thought the idea of three years was ideal to get over the learning curve of being on council. She did agree that three years was a large time commitment and perhaps they would lose potential candidates. She wondered if some terms could have longer and shorter terms. McClure clarified this resolution was just to take action to allow this to be on the ballot for the voters to decide. Long stated they would come back with a resolution appropriating funds to make sure they were following the proper channels to potentially influence the outcome of the election. Motion Passed Yes: Keil, Altermatt, McClure, Squires, Bardarson No: Casagranda Other New Business Items City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 24, 2017 Volume 40, Page 250 Schedule a work session to discuss 2017 goals for City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Manager. (Casagranda) Casagranda couldn't recall if council established goals for the manager and attorney like they did with the clerk. Perhaps they could discuss it further to be ready for the 2018 evaluation process. Council decided to put the agreed City Clerk goals on 2018 evaluation. They decided to put the short term goals established by the City Manager prior to his 2017 evaluation on the 2018 evaluation. They directed the City Clerk to request the City Attorney establish and include goals to council as soon as possible. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS On-going City Project and Goal List. April 12, 2017 minutes from the Seward Community Health Center and City of Seward Coordinating Committee Meeting. (Keil) Commendation from Mayor Bardarson to Harper Harris, First Place winner offour year old girls Mini Mount Marathon Race. COUNCIL COMMENTS McClure was excited for the paving. She watched the workers on Sunday and was impressed with the level of detail. There were complaints going on regarding noise, but the end product was going to be so nice. She encouraged the public to be respectful of the crews and flaggers. Squires echoed the same comments.He received complaints and he told those individuals to please put up with the inconvenience for a little bit, because it would be worth it. Keil thanked Carl Hughes for volunteering again for the Port and Commerce Advisory Board. Bardarson thanked Cindy Ecklund and Carl Hughes for reapplying for the Borough Planning Commission and the Port and Commerce Advisory Board,respectively. She welcomed the Obihiro exchange students to Seward this week and encouraged the community to come to the welcome potluck on July 31, 2017. Casagranda congratulated Harper Harris for her citizenship and encouraged the public to look at the Mayor's commendation in the council packet. She wished her two daughters Happy Birthdays this week. Altermatt thanked Hughes for reapplying and appreciated his service.She complimented the City Manager and staff on their work to welcome the Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon participants,and agreed it was an amazing event. Altermatt hoped the event came back to Seward next year, it was great to see that activity in town. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes July 24, 2017 Volume 40, Page 251 Hunt would pass along those compliments to the race organizer. He noted there were 200 volunteers in addition to the racers,which was a jolt to the economy. Hunt thought TV crews were lacking this year, but anticipated next year to see their presence. He thanked the council for their wisdom and guidance,and his staff for working well with the visitors.It was a great summer so far, the numbers for visitors had to be high. Hunt was looking forward to the derby next month. Long updated the council on the paving project over the next few weeks and noted the streets already paved. CITIZEN COMMENTS Norm Regis stated he received a call from Alaska Department of Fish and Game,who went out for engineering and design for the South Harbor Launch Ramp, so things continued to move forward on that project. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION—None ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. 111I aalt) Joh: a((inney, M C Jan Bardarson City lerk Mayor (City Seal) '* Irao.ui.• JSEh,`'. • J + O • ' SEAL • p _-.- , i (Six, 'NN�1 i .. �Q'.