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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09092019 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40,Page 798 CALL TO ORDER The September 9, 2019 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:03 p.m.by Mayor David Squires. OPENING CEREMONY Police Chief Tom Clemons led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: David Squires presiding and Sue McClure Suzanne Towsley Jeremy Horn Sharyl Seese John Osenga Kelley Lane comprising a quorum of the Council; and Scott Meszaros,City Manager Jessica Stallard, Deputy City Clerk Holly Wells, City Attorney Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Craig Ambrosiani thanked council for reconsidering Resolution 2019-076;the Community Health Center (CHC) was in favor of changing Section 2 of the resolution to read, "Both parties agree to abide by the co-applicant agreement."He believed this change would simplify the CHC's agreement with the City of Seward.Ambrosiani said that at the CHC's last board meeting,the CHC agreed to propose having four ex-officio seats to their board: the City Manager, City Council healthcare liaison, healthcare administrator, and Seaview executive director. Ambrosiani said the CHC provided time for public comment in their board meetings and everyone was welcome to attend. Bruce Jaffa said the Alaska Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration(FAA)were not the only solution to the airport problem.He believed the city needed to bring a group together to support the runway extension.He reminded everyone that there would be a town hall meeting to discuss the airport on September 16, 2019. He wanted to show people who did not have time to study the airport how important the airport was to the city. He said someone needed to be the point of contact for this project. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 799 Jim Doepken said the CHC was able to receive benefits that were not available to other entities because of their status. He wanted the city to reach an agreement with the CHC that would be open, honest, and fair to all health care businesses. Ristine Casagranda was happy that Safeway had stopped using plastic bags, and she thanked council for the plastic bag ban. She did not want health care to be cut short anywhere because she felt that mental health and crime went hand in hand. She encouraged everyone to protect one another. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Lane) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda McClure moved Resolution 2019-077 to the consent agenda. McClure removed the approval of Patrick Lewis' application to Historic Preservation Commission from the agenda. Squires postponed Resolution 2019-080 to the September 23, 2019 council meeting. McClure removed Resolution 2019-079 from the consent agenda. Squires removed Resolutions 2019-081 and 2019-082 from the consent agenda. Council unanimously agreed to put the Introduction of Ordinance 2019-015 on the consent agenda. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Ordinance 2019-015, Amending Seward City Code 2.10.045 "Methods Of Action" And SCC 2.15.010 "Methods of Council Action" To Permit Council To Direct The City Manager,City Attorney, And City Clerk By Motion. This ordinance was introduced tonight, and will come for public hearing and enactment on September 23, 2019. Resolution 2019-077, Authorizing A One Year Contract For $368,952 With The State Of Alaska,Department Of Corrections,For Operating The Seward Community Jail And Housing Prisoners Charged Or Sentenced Under Alaska Statutes. Resolution 2019-078, Authorizing The Seward Police Department To Receive Reimbursement Of$12,257.90 From The$2 Million Dollars Allotted To The Department Of Public Safety As Part Of Senate Bill 142 For Crime Prevention And Response And Equipment, And Appropriating Funds. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 800 SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS air Proclamations & Awards Remembering September 11, 2001 The American Legion Day POW/MIA Recognition Day Borough Assembly Report.Kenn Carpenter said Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce would be in town on September 12, 2019. Carpenter said brochures approved by the borough assembly were being sent out about the sales tax cap. In response to McClure, Carpenter said the borough was considering appointing officials rather than electing them. In response to Lane,Carpenter said the borough assembly had nothing to report regarding the schools. He asked the teachers to support the mill tax, so the schools could stay open. In response to Squires,Carpenter said he would give a presentation on the borough sales tax cap increase on September 23, 2019 at the council meeting. City Manager Report.Scott Meszaros reported the following purchase orders over$5,000 had been approved by the City Manager since the last council meeting: $28,000 to Lumen Design, LLC for Professional architectural concept design for Seward Animal Shelter per Resolution 2019- 072;$11,678 to Anixter Inc. for fall and climbing protective equipment;$6,250 to Rocky Elhard for electric meter base upgrade well house #4; $15,273.40 to JWC Environmental for grinder for lift station #3; and, $6,000 to Electric Power Systems Inc. for Fort Raymond substation plant troubleshoot. In response to Lane, Meszaros said Lumen Design, LLC was initiating design work on the animal shelter, and they had worked on a lot of other animal shelters in Alaska. In response to Towsley,Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said all components of the meter housing and well house were very old and needed to be replaced. He said the city did not have an electrician on staff who could wire the well house. In response to Seese,Meszaros said he was researching bed tax penalties that other cities had in place, and he would bring a resolution to council for waiving bed tax penalties when it was ready. Towsley requested that the city manager replace the Alaska flag outside of city hall. In response to Towsley, Meszaros said DOT and FAA would not be available to attend the town hall meeting on the airport on September 16,2019. He said he would work with the city clerk's City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 801 office to promote the September 16, 2019 town hall meeting at the K.M. Rae building. Towsley asked the city manager to communicate more with council about changes in the city employees' work status. Seese suggested the city consider outsourcing the Finance Director position. Towsley asked that Meszaros provide information to council about the Interconnect Policy and a timeline for it in the next city manager's report. In response to Towsley, Community Development Planner Jackie Wilde said vibrocompaction was the process where pillars were being made underground to help with liquefaction during an earthquake. She said ground testing was done before and after the project and a monitor will be placed at the individual's house who was concerned about this process affecting her house. Wilde was working with the construction company on security issues. In response to Towsley, Meszaros said numerous letters had been sent out to Mike Dunleavy's office regarding the airport project,but no feedback had been received from Dunleavy. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations 2019 Student Exchange Program — Samuel Koster, Max Pfeiffenberger, Angel Schwertfeger PUBLIC HEARINGS —None UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items for Reconsideration Resolution 2019-076, Approving The 2020 Grant Year Budget For The Seward Community Health Center As Required By The Co-Applicant Agreement Between The City Of Seward And The Seward Community Health Center (CHC). Motion to Reconsider (McClure/Towsley) Reconsider Resolution 2019-076 Towsley believed council could come up with something that would work better for both the CHC and the city than the resolution council passed at the last council meeting. Lane was in support of the reconsideration,because new information had been received since the last council meeting. Motion to Reconsider Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 802 Council suspended the rules to speak to Craig Ambrosiani from the Community Health Center. In response to Towsley, Craig Ambrosiani said the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) consultant's concern with Section 2 of the resolution was that it told the CHC that they could not hire behavioral health providers,when HRSA said that the CHC needed to have the final say in its programs. In response to Lane, Ambrosiani said there was a CHC board meeting on August 29, 2019 that reviewed the health center's co-applicant agreement with the city. He said the four ex-officio members to the CHC board would be allowed to participate in discussions during board meetings but they could not vote. In response to McClure, Ambrosiani said the council had to approve any revisions made to the co-applicant agreement. He said HRSA gave the CHC 40 days to correct the language in Section 2 or else HRSA was going to take away the CHC's grant. In response to Seese,Ambrosiani said he had not spoken with Seaview about Section 2 but he would be willing to talk to them about it. In response to Seese, Ambrosiani said the ex-officio positions on the board would go into effect when the co-applicant agreement was completed,but these positions would be renewed every January. In response to Towsley, Ambrosiani said his proposed change to Section 2 would reiterate that all parties would follow the rules outlined in the co-applicant agreement. Council went back on the rules. Motion to Amend (Towsley/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-076 by striking the language in Section 2 and replacing Sit with, "Both the City of Seward and the Seward Community Health Center agree to abide by the co-applicant agreement and all applicable laws,regulations,and governing policies." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda `rm City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 803 Schedule a specific date for previously agreed upon six month review of the legal firm contract-hired by the City Council to represent our municipality and its citizens' interests. sari In response to Lane, McClure wanted council to conduct a review of the city's legal firm before the new council members were appointed. She felt that the current council members should complete the legal firm's evaluation. In response to Lane,City Attorney Holly Wells said she was available for council to review her performance at any time. She had hoped to finish putting together the flat rate agreement for council before her review, though. In response to Lane, Squires said the review would be for the legal firm as a whole. In response to McClure, Wells said she preferred to have a six month review of the legal firm as an open session in public. In response to Squires, Wells said she could be available for a special meeting on September 18, 2019 or September 20, 2019. Towsley suggested Lane bring back a date for the legal firm review as a discussion item for the September 23, 2019 agenda. Horn suggested waiting until January review the legal firm. Council scheduled a special meeting to review the legal firm at October 14, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. In response to Lane, Wells said she could provide council with information on other cities who have in-house city attorneys. NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2019-079,Authorizing The Seward Police Department To Receive Reimbursement Funds From The Anchorage Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Division For The Purchase Of Software And Equipment. Motion (McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2019-079 McClure said the purpose of removing Resolution 2019-079 from the consent agenda was to add the amount of the reimbursement funds to the title. Motion to Amend (McClure/Towsley) Amend the title of Resolution 2019-079 by including the amount of the reimbursement funds and adding "appropriating these funds" at the end of the title, so that it reads, "Authorizing The Seward Police Department To Receive Reimbursement Funds of $3,707.47 From the Anchorage Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Division For The Purchase Of City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 804 Software And Equipment, And Appropriating Funds". Towsley requested that amounts of funds were included in the resolution titles from now on, as well as the words "And Appropriating Funds" at the end of the resolution titles. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous a tion 2019 non, A uthor-izing The Citty Manager To Enter Int„ A n Agrno., ent �I'ith . Postponed to September 23, 2019 Council meeting On Consent Agenda. Resolution 2019-081, Accepting A Grant In The Amount Of $5,000 From The Seward Community Foundation, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2019-081 City Clerk Brenda Ballou suggested adding the words, "for the Teen Youth Center" to Section 1 of this resolution to explain where the money was going. Motion to Amend (McClure/Towsley) Amend Resolution to 2019-081 by adding "for the Teen Youth Center" to Section 1. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (McClure/Towsley) Amend the Title of Resolution 2019-081 by adding, "For the Teen Youth Center and Appropriating Funds." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Council recessed at 8:58 p.m. Council resumed at 9:04 p.m. Resolution 2019-082,Accepting A Grant In The Amount Of$3,000 From Alaskans For Litter Prevention And Recycling, And Appropriating Funds. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2019-082 tiro Motion to Amend (McClure/Towsley) Amend Title and Section 1 by adding"for City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40,Page 805 the ALPAR Program." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2019-083,Adopting The Reimbursement Incentive Program Application Required Under Seward City Code Chapter 5.22"Developer Reimbursement And Incentive Program." Motion (McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2019-083 Meszaros said Exhibit A was the draft application for the developer reimbursement and incentive program,but this form was amendable.In response to Towsley,Wells said Exhibit A being a laydown should not be an issue for council,because was available as a laydown on the website. In response to Towsley,Wilde said developers were concerned that maps and the location of utilities were not provided to them when they submitted an application, because that process was completed in the assessment district. She said the approval of the assessment district would come before the developer reimbursement and incentive program in the process. In response to Squires, Wilde said in the assessment district process, bonds and loans were acceptable and Community Development would work out the banking aspect with the applicants.She said the assessment would go with the title of the property.She said the reimbursement would go back to the homeowner and if the lots were not sold,then the reimbursement would go back to the developer. In response to Seese, Wells said the developer reimbursement program was when the developer got up to 50%of the money they spent on the development back.The special assessment program was not a subsidy or reimbursement, and the city did not control this program. The City could choose to add a subsidy to any district at any point in the process.This reimbursement program was designed to encourage developers to be a part of a special assessment program.Wells said that the incentive could not be held in the middle of the program. Wells said the city may receive a reimbursement if they choose to help a developer out financially. In response to Lane, Wilde said Phil Zimmermann had petitioned for a special assessment district. Zimmermann had held off on moving forward with building his subdivision until the reimbursement program was approved. She said many developers had the money for subdivisions but wanted the city to help them out with utilities due to the cost of utilities being so high.Wilde said the incentive program was the city's way of getting developers to move forward with a chance of getting a reimbursement back for utilities. She supported approval of this resolution,as long as the city had the funds to offer these reimbursements to developers. In response to Lane, Meszaros said the reimbursement program was for developers and not for individuals buying houses. In response to Lane, Wilde said the developers she had spoke to were holding off on developing their districts until the reimbursement program for special assessment districts had been City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 806 approved. In response to Towsley,Wilde said the developers she had been working with were aware of the laydowns provided at the Council meeting tonight regarding to this resolution. Wells offered council members the option to call her with questions regarding the developer reimbursement program and special assessment district free of charge. Council suspended the rules to speak to Public Works Director Doug Schoessler. Doug Schoessler said the idea of the developer reimbursement program was to extend the utilities into the subdivisions that were being built by developers. Council went back on the rules. Main Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Review and discuss subsidies provided by the city to local businesses, agencies, etc. In response to Lane,Towsley said she was concerned there might not be a consistent policy for council granting subsidies. Horn believed that subsidies should be determined case-by-case. In response to Squires, Meszaros said Cooper Landing residents were granted lower camping rates in Seward based on their evacuation due to the Swan Lake wildfire.He said generally speaking,the city tried not to give things away for free but sometimes,circumstances warranted it.City Attorney Holly Wells said the city treated everybody fairly but not necessarily equally,because there were different circumstances involved for each subsidy. Council asked the city manager to provide a list of subsidies given in the past year during the budget process. Review Council Rules Of Procedure, Rule 17 with particular attention paid to the flow of information between Council&City Administration.Clarifying the role of mayor using rule 5 and reviewing protocol for calling special meetings based on rule 8. Motion to Postpone (Lane/McClure) Postpone to the September 23, 2019 meeting. Motion to Postpone Passed Yes: Lane, McClure,Towsley, Seese, Osenga No: Horn, Squires Direct administration to develop with the attorneys a short blurb with regard to the plastic bag ban, written in layman's terms (including city compliance tools) and advertise it in the city City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9,2019 Volume 40,Page 807 managers report,on the city website and in the paper to help small businesses understand how to be compliant and what changes are coming. In response to Towsley, Wilde said the poster for the plastic bag ban was advertised by the City Clerk's Office and brochures on the plastic bag ban will be mailed out to all Seward and Moose Pass residents.In response to Towsley,Meszaros said Title 1 of the Seward City Code could be used to enforce the plastic bag ban by charging fees to business owners who continued to use plastic bags after October 1' 2019, if council decided this was necessary. In response to Wilde, Seese said aluminums were recyclables. Discuss council options when administration is taking and acting upon unilateral direction from less than 4 council members. In response to Towsley, Wells said each council member was welcome to talk to the city manager but if there was an issue with the city manager receiving unilateral direction from council members,then council could call an executive session to discuss this.Wells advised that the council member's concerns be shared with the city manager and the mayor. In response to Squires, Towsley said she believed that the city manager met with a couple individuals and took action based on their discussion during the first week of June. She was also concerned that the mayor might have given unilateral direction to the city manager during the break at the August 26,2019 council meeting. She was also concerned that at the last council meeting,the city manager said he had spoken with the mayor about the town hall meeting being scheduled for the airport. In response to Towsley, Squires said he reiterated the importance of having the meeting regarding the Jesse Lee Home before August 30,2019 with City Manager Scott Meszaros and Sue Lang during the recess at the August 26, 2019 council meeting. Squires said his email response to previous Assistant City Manager Brennan Hickok stated his concerns about the Friends of the Jesse Lee Home's request for an extension, and the mayor told Hickok that he would not call the special meeting regarding the Jesse Lee Home. Wells reminded council that the city clerk should receive emails to council and then,send the emails out to the council as a whole.She advised against the city manager sending emails directly to council as a group. She suggested that council add a memo to all discussion items and make sure that they are actionable items. In response to Seese,Wells said the idea of the Open Meetings Act was that the business of the people had to occur in front of the people. As a matter of law, the city manager could not talk with the council members as a whole through email. Horn said the direction council provided to the city manager was not for the city manager to set a special meeting with the Jesse Lee Home but to have a conversation with them. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9,2019 Volume 40,Page 808 In response to Towsley,Squires said that his discussion with the city manager about the town hall meeting for the airport occurred after a Port&Commerce Advisory Board(PACAB)meeting with two of the PACAB members.He was asked the purpose of the town hall meeting on the airport and he explained that he wanted the community to be involved in the airport discussion and to help • council determine the best alternative to reach their goals for the airport. Towsley felt that better communication between the council and city manager through the clerk's office could resolve this.Squires said that he would inform council of all of his meetings that would not violate any confidentiality. Discuss replacement/employment process for department heads and possibility for council to change our process and be involved in the hiring process for more positions. Horn was strongly against council having more hiring and firing capabilities.He said that it was against both code and charter.In response to Towsley,Wells said the charter prohibited council members from being involved in the hiring and firing of employees,but the city code violated the charter when it came to council's hiring and firing capabilities. She said that council had always followed the charter when it did not comply with the code. She said this discrepancy between the code and charter needed to be needed to be addressed and council had the authority to change either the code or the charter. L Lane requested a recess, but Squires, Horn, and McClure objected because they wanted to continue the meeting. Meszaros said it was hard to perform as the city manager when council questioned every little thing that he had done.He felt that on-boarding,training,and education would benefit the council,as well as himself. He recommended that council look at their process for putting agenda items on the council agenda. Squires said City Code 2.20.015 stated that the city manager should appoint the electric utility manager, chief of police, finance director, and fire chief with council's approval. He said council just wanted to make sure that he was looking at good recruits. Wells said that Chapter 7 of the Charter stated that council should not nominate or appoint any employees of the city. She believed that the approval process used by council to appoint the utility manager, chief of police, finance director, and fire chief violated the city charter. In response to Wells, Towsley said that council had been told before that Chapter 7 of the Charter prohibited council from having hiring and firing capabilities. She believed that this contributed to the mistrust at city hall between council and the city manager. In response to Lane,Meszaros said Alaska was an at-will state and he had to keep his conversations with employees about their departure from the city confidential. In response to Lane, Meszaros said that Sam Hickok was the Acting Finance Director. Towsley requested council receive more communication with the city manager.She said she would have a conversation with the city attorney about this discussion and bring it back at a future meeting. k City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9,2019 Volume 40,Page 809 Osenga said he did not feel any mistrust with the city manager. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS On-going City Project and Goal List Lane was interested in hiring an engineer for the city to help complete the projects on the city's goal list. Clerk's Report on Public Records Requests through September 3, 2019 In response to Towsley,Deputy City Clerk Jessica Stallard said that she did not send out her monthly email reminders to previous Assistant City Manager Brennan Hickok and the Police Lieutenant Nickell reminding them what public records requests were pending at the end of August due to Stallard being on vacation for a couple of weeks. In response to Towsley,Meszaros said his office responded to public records requests within 72 hours of receipt.He said that many of the pending public records requests were due to them being too costly for the requestor,or requiring a large amount of research to be done in order to complete them.He said his office did respond to every requestor to see if they wanted to pay for the request or if they wanted to pull their request.In response to Towsley,Wells said the requestor must be notified within ten days of the request being sent if their request was denied. In response to Squires,Stallard said public records requests stayed in the pending status until they were completed but notes were kept on the status of each public records request. These notes were also included in each month's report from the clerk to council on public records requests. In response to Towsley,Wells said that the city attorney,clerk,and city manager would work on the pending public records requests. COUNCIL COMMENTS McClure said she went to the tsunami talk at the library, and she found the discussion very useful. Towsley thanked everyone who spoke tonight. American Legion was hosting their auction for Toys For Tots on September 14, 2019. She congratulated the American Legion on their 100th Anniversary. Seese said there were new handicap lines in the parking lot at the post office. Osenga thanked the American Legion for all their efforts,and he said the student exchange program students gave a good presentation. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes September 9, 2019 Volume 40, Page 810 Lane thanked the students for their presentation tonight. She wanted to encourage everyone Lir to be kind to one another. She thought everyone handled the reconsideration well and she was pleased with the turnout. Squires asked the clerk to put an ADA presentation from Nick Woodard on the September 23,2019 agenda. He would be out of state September 23-30,2019. He encouraged all citizens to vote for the municipal election on October 1, 2019. CITIZEN COMMENTS Lynda Paquette said September 11, 2019 was the Meet the Candidates Night. She encouraged everyone to be nicer to one another. Ristine Casagranda said she believed starting the budget discussion at the end of September was too late. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Towsley said there were multiple conversations about starting the budget early this year,but it did not happen. She agreed with Casagranda that the budget discussion should start earlier. In response to Squires, Lane said the budget needed to be approved by the end of December. Wilde said she would make sure that council received the proposed schedule for budgets. Meszaros expressed his condolences to the Atwood family for the loss of their son. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:54 p.m. uoiLzi Jessica Stallard David Squires Deputy City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) • (j��.G�FtP O�r.�O • • . 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