HomeMy WebLinkAbout10142019 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14, 2019 Volume 41,Page 14
CALL TO ORDER
The October 14,2019 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:02
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—Hem Sharyl Seese
John Osenga Kelley Lane
comprising a quorum of the Council; and
Scott Meszaros, City Manager
Brenda Ballou,City Clerk
Holly Wells, City Attorney
Excused—None
Absent—Horn
CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR
PUBLIC HEARING
Heather Bardarson was a lifelong Sewardite who was gravely concerned that Big Bay
Beginnings Day Care would be closing on November 1,2019.Notice had only just been given,and
there were 13 children who would be left without day care. She thought our community needed to
take this very seriously.
Christy Terry reminded everyone that on October 19,2019 at 10:00 a.m.there would be a
Walk For Freedom to raise funds and awareness about human trafficking.As the Port&Commerce
Advisory Board (PACAB) chair, Terry said in tonight's packet there was a portion of Ordinance
2019-016 that was highlighted which talked about single phase connecting to three phase; the
Electric Utility Manager had done some research and discovered there was a rectifier that could
connect, so this should no longer be a concern. Terry thought having JAG take over the Syncrolift
had been a great decision on the city's part.
Craig Ambrosiani said the Community Health Center(CHC)co-applicant agreement was
coming before council tonight for amendment;this was due back to HRSA before October 23,2019.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14,2019 Volume 41,Page 15
Tommy Glanton was speaking on behalf of Seaview. He had concerns about the CHC co-
applicant agreement, particularly the public entity provider portion. Although HRSA would no
longer allow this language, Seaview wanted to have some assurance that that Seaview would be
protected against competition from the CHC.
Lynn Hohl was president of Seaview's governing services board.She was concerned that the
co-applicant agreement would not adequately protect Seaview.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA
Motion (McClure/Towsley) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda
Lane moved Resolution 2019-088 onto the consent agenda.
Seese removed the introduction of Ordinance 2019-016 from the consent agenda.
Motion Passed Unanimous
The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items:
Resolution 2019-088, Authorizing The City Manager To Select And Purchase, Outright, A
Used Vactor Truck For A Total Amount Not To Exceed$106,000,From The Motor Pool Fund.
Approval of the September 23, 2019 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes.
Certify the October 1,2019 Regular Municipal Election.
Cancel the 12:00 p.m. work session on October 25, 2019 due to the 6:00 p.m. budget work
session the same day.
SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Proclamations & Awards
Fire Prevention Month
American Legion Auxiliary 100th Anniversary
Borough Assembly Report. Kenn Carpenter reported that the tax cap vote failed in the
election,so another funding source for the schools would have to be identified.The assembly would
meet next Tuesday and would be considering Dieckgraeff Road and the Seward airport.
In response to McClure, Carpenter said the assembly decided to postpone the appointment
versus selection of service area boards to allow time for more research. In response to Lane,
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14, 2019 Volume 41,Page 16
Carpenter said the election stakeholders group was researching by mail voting. In response to Lane,
Carpenter said the mayor versus borough manager was voted down.
In response to Squires,Carpenter said the borough mayor was trying to get several agencies
together to work on Dieckgraeff Road so that it could be maintained without turning it into a service
area road.The Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area Board(SBCFSAB)had requested$15,000 to
dig out the road,and that had been turned down,but the borough mayor agreed to give SBCFSAB
$10,000.
Chamber of Commerce Report.Cindy Clock stated there were three new members.Mr.
Matias Saari has been hired as the Mount Marathon Race Director. The chamber's Board of
Directors elections would be held electronically next month. Clock thanked council for working
collaboratively over her nine year tenure as director of the chamber;Clock was retiring and Jason
Bickling would be taking over as director on November 1, 2019.
Seese said Cindy Clock had done a super job. Towsley congratulated Clock on her
retirement.
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: $24,975 to Harmon
Construction for sidewalk repairs; $7,296 to Potelcom Supply for 4" PVC conduit for Electric;
$6,218.80 to Anixter, Inc. for#2 220 Mil concentric neutral jacketed wire for Electric; $12,468 to
Anixter, Inc. for 167 kVA transformer for Electric; $538,000 to Motorola Solutions for Police
dispatch radio system;and,$8,500 to Silvertip Communications for Power Factor Adjustment billing
communication strategy for Electric.
In response to Towsley, Electric Utility Manager John Foutz explained that the electric
tariff currently indicated that the city was supposed to charge customers for a power factor,but the
city's billing software was not able to produce that charge until the most recent update.As a result,
Foutz was hiring a firm to create a communications plan to inform the large general customers who
would be impacted by the additional charge so that they could prepare. Foutz did not know how
many customers would be impacted by this additional charge, but thought it could be up to 100
customers.
In response to McClure,Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said sidewalk repairs on
Railway Avenue had just been completed.
In response to Towsley,Foutz said a customer who used hundreds of thousands of kilowatt
hours per month could potentially pay$2,500 in addition to their bill of$50,000-60,000.In response
to Seese,Foutz said this charge would appear monthly, and was not related to the demand meters.
In response to Towsley, Harbormaster Norm Regis was in Juneau last week for the
Harbormasters Conference, and he personally delivered Resolution 2019-087 encouraging the
governor to keep the Silvertip Maintenance Station open to the DOT representative.Regis said there
were four service stations that were being closed due to budget concerns, including Silvertip,but
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14, 2019 Volume 41, Page 17
more overtime was being provided to the Girdwood and Crown Point stations. In response to
Towsley, Meszaros said he did not meet with the governor when he was in town for the AVTEC
event and so did not discuss the Silvertip closure with him.
Regis said the Coast Guard would be in Seward on November 4, 2019 to discuss cutters.
In response to Lane,Meszaros said the community development director position was posted
internally. In response to Lane, Meszaros said an internally-posted position was not mutually
exclusive to the position receiving external equity. In response to Seese,Meszaros said Jackie Wilde
had been promoted to be the new Community Development Director.
Meszaros introduced and welcomed new Parks & Recreation Director Tyler Florence.
City Attorney Report. Holly Wells said her report was in the packet if council had any
questions, but she had nothing new to add at this time.
Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations
ADA Presentation by Nick Woodard
Providence Operational Update Report by Robert Rang
Council recessed at 8:54 p.m.
Council resumed at 9:05 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARINGS—None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Items Postponed from Previous Agenda
Discuss high organization core principles. Postponed from June 24, 2019, July 22, 2019, and
August 26, 2019.
Lane said she hoped that the city manager and council would consider ways to implement
some of these principles into the city's business practices.
Towsley supported the concept on the whole,and wondered what action was being suggested
that council take. In response, Lane said she hoped that these principles would be incorporated into
the city manager's goals at the next evaluation, adding that in order to accomplish that, they would
have to be measurable.
NEW BUSINESS
Ordinances for Introduction ow]
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14, 2019 Volume 41,Page 18
Ordinance 2019-016, Amending City Code Section 14.15 — Electricity, Article 415 —
Interconnection Requirements, Procedures, And Application Process For An Alternative
Power Source Less Than 25kW.
Motion (McClure/Lane) Introduce Ordinance 2019-016
Meszaros said this ordinance was brought forward by the Port&Commerce Advisory Board
(PACAB),and it needed some work.
Wells added that one of the firm's attorneys who had considerable experience with the
Regulatory Commission of Alaska(RCA)was currently reviewing this ordinance.That attorney had
reviewed the ordinance and had some small revisions to suggest. Wells recommended council
introduce the ordinance tonight and she would furnish administration with the suggested
amendments for council's consideration when it came for public hearing and enactment.
In response to Towsley,Meszaros said the AVTEC windmill was hooked up to the grid.
Motion to Introduce Passed Unanimous
This ordinance was introduced tonight and will come for public hearing and enactment on October
28, 2019.
Resolutions
Resolution 2019-089,Approving Amendments To The Co-Applicant Agreement Between The
Seward Community Health Center,Inc.And The City Of Seward.
Motion (McClure/Towsley) Approve Resolution 2019-089
Meszaros referred to a replacement agenda statement laydown which he provided.The city
had engaged a HRSA consultant in the development of this amended agreement.
Motion to Amend (Towsley/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-088 by adding a new
Section 2 to read, "The Seward City
Council intends to work with the CHC to
develop a Memorandum of Agreement
within 90 days from the passage of this
resolution, delineating the procedure for
compliance with Section 4.2.4 of the co-
applicant agreement."and moving all other
sections down.
Council suspended the rules to speak with Craig Ambrosiani.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14, 2019 Volume 41, Page 19
Community Health Center Executive Director Craig Ambrosiani said he would be
amenable to making changes to the policy rather than the resolution to address council's concerns.
..rl
Council suspended the rules to speak with Lynn Hohl.
Lynn Hohl wanted the resolution changed because it would be more permanent than a
policy.
Council went back on the rules.
Motion to Amend Failed Yes: Towsley, Seese, Squires
No: McClure, Osenga, Lane
Squires said he believed that CHC Executive Director Craig Ambrosiani had committed
himself to meeting the expectations of the community. Towsley concurred and said she had faith in
the CHC director as well.
Main Motion Passed Unanimous
Other New Business
Determine how many citizens to appoint to the Special Ad Hoc Citizen Advisory Committee
for the purpose of researching options for the Seward Airport; then vote and appoint citizen
applicants: Lynda Paquette,Steve Leirer,Walter Corrigan,Carol Griswold,Bruce Jaffa,Bob
Linville, Fred Woelkers, Bob Reisner, and Duke Marolf.
Motion (Towsley/McClure) Appoint all nine citizens, plus Stephanie
Presley, to the committee and report back
to council quarterly.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Mayor Squires appointed all nine citizen applicants plus Stephanie Presley to the committee, and
also appointed Bruce Jaffa as chair of the committee.
Council directed the city manager to forward all airport emails to the committee.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS
On-going City Project and Goal List
Lane inquired about where the report was about the Air Force Rec Camp property.Meszaros
said he had an engineering report from R&M that he would send out. Following up, Lane asked if
council could have a report on all of the projects that R&M was currently working on.
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14, 2019 Volume 41,Page 20
111 In response to Seese, Squires thought the city could create a permit-only parking space for
rear-loading accessible vehicles.
Public records report through October 7, 2019
Lane asked when she could expect to see a response to her records request for salary
information. Meszaros said there would be a charge for the records; Wells said by statute, the city
was obligated to charge for records. Towsley expressed concerns about being charged for
information that would be helpful to have for budget preparation.Wells said council could adopt a
policy, if they wished, to have salary information posted publicly.
Updated Workflow for Public Records Requests
Proposed schedule for budget work sessions
Motion (Squires/McClure) Reschedule the budget work session from
October 25, 2019 to October 29, 2019 at
6:00 p.m.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Motion (McClure/Towsley) Extend the adjournment time for tonight's
meeting to midnight.
Motion Passed Unanimous
Providence Operational Update Report
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Towsley was troubled that the Electric Department was spending money on a public relations
consultant. She thanked Heather Bardarson about bringing forward her concerns about childcare,and
she thanked Christy Terry for bringing attention to human trafficking.
Seese thanked Heather Bardarson about making her aware of the Big Bay Beginnings closure.
She attended the Kevin Hines presentation at the school today, and thought the students were
engaged by the presentation.Seese congratulated the American Legion Auxiliary on their centennial
anniversary and for the expansion of membership requirements.
Osenga wished a Happy Retirement to Cindy Clock, and wished the American Legion
Auxiliary a Happy 100th Anniversary. He encouraged everyone to check their smoke detectors and
carbon monoxide monitors.
Lane wondered if there was an answer to the request for the DMV to do motorcycle
licensing;in response,Police Chief Tom Clemons said it would be cost prohibitive to have the tests
City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes
October 14,2019 Volume 41,Page 21
performed in Seward. Lane thanked the city clerk for working hard on improving the council
chambers sound system, and she thanked the city manager for hanging in there.
Squires asked citizens for suggestions about what to do about childcare. He thanked Nick
Woodard for his presentation, and wished a Happy Retirement to Cindy Clock.
CITIZEN COMMENTS .
Craig Ambrosiani thanked council for supporting the Community Health Center.
Heather Bardarson thanked council for hearing her concerns about childcare,and said she
would work on bringing back some solutions.
Lynda Paquette thanked council for appointing her to the airport committee.She wondered
how well the Alaska SeaLife Center was set up for ADA compliance.
Lynn Hohl shared that she had twice had injuries that required her to be in a wheelchair and
so she understood some of the hardships for accessibility. She wondered who the current ADA
manager was for the city. She said all borough sales tax funds were required to be spent on borough
schools.
COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS
Towsley thanked Lynn Hohl for her service on the school board for many years.
Squires thought it was a good idea to check the SeaLife Center for ADA accessibility.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 11:12 p.m.
Brenda J. Ballou ' MC Davi. - •uires
City Clerk Mayor
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