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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12092019 City Council Minutes City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41,Page 59 CALL TO ORDER The December 9, 2019 regular meeting of the Seward City Council was called to order at 7:02 p.m.by Mayor Christy Terry. OPENING CEREMONY Lieutenant Alan Nickell led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL There were present: Christy Terry presiding and Sue McClure Sharyl Seese John Osenga Kelley Lane Dale Butts Tony Baclaan comprising a quorum of the Council; and Scott Meszaros, City Manager Brenda Ballou, City Clerk Holly Wells,City Attorney(Telephonically) Excused—None Absent—None CITIZEN COMMENTS ON ANY SUBJECT EXCEPT THOSE ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLIC HEARING Walter Corrigan was a member of the Airport Committee; he had spoken with Barbara Beaton who said years ago the Alaska Department of Transportation(ADOT)had asked pilots if they would have any objections to the proposed runway changes and she said none had objected;he said that was categorically untrue because every pilot he spoke to said they had raised objections. Corrigan said,although a 3,300 foot runway was adequate for his needs,he thought it would severely affect Seward's commerce, disaster relief, and emergency needs. The committee had agreed unanimously on the amendments being provided tonight as a laydown regarding the State and Federal Priorities. Joevahnta Weddington wanted to speak about the Lowell Canyon Hydro Project Flow Study;the city had previous experience with hydro in Lowell Canyon from 1905-1938,and again in the mid-1980s.The short term concern might be about the financial investment it would take,but he believed the long term benefits could potentially be bountiful.Weddington said the Alaska SeaLife Center had already proven that this was viable. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9,2019 Volume 41,Page 60 Bob Linville was on the Airport Committee;he agreed that the airport project had serious consequences for the community long term.He didn't see any sense in trying to create a new runway, and thought it would be bad for the community.The ADOT project manager apparently did not want to involve the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the flood service board, or FEMA people. Linville didn't believe that the city stood to lose the funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He thought it was critical to get a multi-agency meeting together. He thanked council for their support. Bruce Jaffa was the chair for the Airport Committee;the committee was very diverse,but amazingly like-minded.Regarding the State and Federal Priorities,the committee had provided some clarifying language.On another note,Jaffa encouraged council to put the Airport Committee on the hot seat for contacting multiple agencies to come together,in order to take some of the pressure off the city manager. r. Steve Leirer said the airport problem was really two problems: the ADOT's design for the airport was not what the city wanted,and the river;the Resurrection River was a real problem for the airport, and potentially for the barges and cruise ship dock, as well. Lynda Paquette was on the Airport Committee pointed out the laydown for the State and Federal Priorities, but said there was a resolution that the committee had created as well. The committee decided it was important enough to get the airport right, and that they were willing to recommend the city walk away from the funding that was currently being offered by the FAA. Paquette requested that council add a priority to re-open the Silvertip Maintenance Station. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approval of Agenda and Consent Agenda McClure added Resolutions 2019-116 and 2019-117 to the consent agenda with no objection from council. Motion Passed Unanimous The clerk read the following approved consent agenda items: Resolution 2019-116,Authorizing The City Manager To Enter Into A Contract With MacSwain Associates,LLC To Re-Appraise 43 Lots For The City Of Seward In The Amount Of$38,700, And Appropriating Funds. Resolution 2019-117,Authorizing A Contract Beginning January 1,2020 Through December 31,2021 With TriDelta Incorporated For City Calendar Advertising In The Seward Journal At A Rate Of$273 Per Week. Approval of the November 25, 2019 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41, Page 61 Approval of the November 15, 2019 Special Meeting Minutes. Cancel the December 23, 2019 City Council meeting. Non-objection to the renewal of the following liquor licenses: #4617 Beverage Dispensary for Chinooks Waterfront. Non-objection to the renewal of the following liquor licenses:#5356 Restaurant/Eating Place— Public Convenience for Zudy's Café. Non-objection to the renewal of the following liquor licenses:#5621 Restaurant/Eating Place— Public Convenience for The Highliner Restaurant. Schedule a work session to discuss the city's social media policies& procedures and to have a demonstration of the new city website on January 6, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. Schedule a work session to review and discuss the city's wage and classification study results on January 13, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS Proclamations & Awards—None Borough Assembly Report.Kenn Carpenter said he had missed the last meeting because he was at the KPB school board meeting. Carpenter reported that Japanese Creek was an important project for the Seward Bear Creek Flood Service Area Board(SBCFSAB),and the borough would be putting$135,000 towards the mitigation project.The borough had three crews working on three separate projects in the community right now doing flood prevention work: Lost Creek,Japanese Creek, and Sawmill. The next borough meeting would be January 7, 2020. In response to McClure, Carpenter said the override on the veto on the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council(KPTMC)had passed. Carpenter said the funding for KPTMC was a sore subject because,in his opinion,KPTMC hadn't delivered what the borough wanted and hadn't demonstrated their effectiveness. In response to McClure, Carpenter confirmed there was a new anadromous stream committee created,and he had reached out to Bob White and Jim McCracken to see if they would like to take part. Terry said the city had penciled in funding for the Japanese Creek project in the Capital Improvement Plan budget. 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: None. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9,2019 Volume 41,Page 62 Meszaros said it had been suggested to him from one of the banks that the city use caution when reporting out on purchase order and expense payments.Acting Finance Director Sam Hickok said the banks were cautioning the city in a fraud prevention effort;reporting publicly on a specific item purchased for a specific dollar amount may enable a fraudster to send the city a fake invoice. Hickok suggested there were other options to report out on purchase orders without disclosing the vendor name. Lane wondered what code requirements were, and was concerned that reporting on expenditures might become less transparent.Terry suggested the current practice continue for now, and the city manager could bring back some options for council consideration if he wished to pursue changing the reporting practice to mitigate that risk. In response to Terry,Meszaros reported that Chugach had located the trees that had fallen on the transmission lines coming into Seward; as well, a garbage truck ripped some lines and pulled down the top of a pole on Nash Road which contributed to the power outage. JAG was bringing in equipment for generation because the city could not provide generation service at the Seward Marine Industrial Center(SMIC).The danger of wires across Nash road had been remedied,but it might take a few days to repair all the lines. Terry reported that the city's infrastructure at SMIC was also being impacted by the power outage because the Syncrolift was not operating.Another concern was the fish processing plant and the Spring Creek Correction Center both being operating on generators. Meszaros replied that the city had been reaching out for additional linemen to assist the city. Lane wondered if Chugach was the cause of the outage today. Meszaros said the outage at SMIC was the responsibility of the city.He said Chugach was still investigating the situation,and he did not yet know if the city could expect any cost recovery. Baclaan inquired about the water and sewer rate study.In response,Public Works Director Doug Schoessler said the vendor was waiting for data from the city;Hickok said the city's billing company would deliver the data this week.Baclaan was concerned with the extra time this study was taking, and wondered if there would be a financial break for having to wait. Schoessler said not because it was the city's responsibility to deliver the data, through the city's billing vendor. In response to Butts, Meszaros said the City of Seward was not experiencing a flood emergency at this time.Schoessler said the waterfall and rivers were not a concern at this time;there was greater concern the farther north one traveled. Terry requested an update on the financial director position. Meszaros said he conducted interviews last week, and expected to follow up with second interviews. Hickok added that there were six other Alaskan communities that were seeking finance directors. Lane said she thought the city needed to keep valuable employees, and congratulated City Clerk Brenda Ballou on being elected as 2nd vice president of the Alaska Association of Municipal Clerks. City Attorney Report. Holly Wells stated she was available to answer any questions. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41,Page 63 In response to Lane,Wells said this month the firm had worked on appeals and quasi-judicial proceedings. She had worked on the policies and procedures committees to draft some documentation for next steps. There were some personnel issues worked on, as well. Other Reports,Announcements and Presentations—None PUBLIC HEARINGS Resolutions 2019-098 through 2019-108, Adopting The 2020-2021 City of Seward Biennial Budget. These resolutions had a first public hearing on November 25, 2019 and are coming back tonight for a second public hearing and approval. The resolutions were previously amended to direct the city manager to bring forward options for a balanced budget, and then were postponed. The main motion is back on the floor. Hickok said the budget was a moving target;changes were made throughout.There had been minor changes made over time,and there was no comprehensive list of everything that was changed. Revenues had been increased in order to balance the budget,but were still conservatively estimated. Meszaros said the initial budget was$2 million over, and they had worked to reduce that to less than$200,000. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. Lynda Paquette didn't know if consulting fees had been included in the budget for the Lowell Point Sewage Lagoon,or for the slide area on Lowell Point Road. She recalled discussions last year when the intention was to start the budget process earlier;it would have been more helpful to have text to go along with the numbers for the budget changes.Paquette wondered what could be done to make the process more transparent. Bruce Jaffa had business activities and properties inside the city,and he was had an interest in the budget. He had previously encouraged council to pursue the heat loop project,as well as the Lowell Canyon Hydro Flow Study Project.Jaffa knew of at least one private company that would be interested in partnering with the city on the Lowell Creek Hydro Project. Joevahnta Weddington said the summer wildfires may have impacted the current electric situation; all the better to get off other power. No one else appeared and the public hearing was closed. Motion To Amend (Baclaan/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-098 by adopting the laydown provided by the city clerk for the following budgets: Mayor & Council, Boards & Commissions, and City Clerk. City of Seward, Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41, Page 64 Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-108 in the city's contribution to Japanese Creek by striking the amount of $275,000 and replacing it with $135,000. Council recessed at 8:16 p.m. Council resumed at 8:21 p.m. Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Butts,Seese,McClure,Baclaan,Terry No: Osenga Note: Lane was not at the dais for this vote. Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-099 in the Electric Enterprise Administration budget for 2020 Salaries by striking the amount of$291,858 and replacing it with $273,950. Motion to Amend Failed Yes: Lane, Baclaan, Seese No: McClure, Butts, Osenga, Terry Motion to Amend (Seese/Terry) Amend Resolution 2019-099 in the Electric wig Enterprise Administration budget for 2020 and 2021 Travel by striking $40,000 and replacing it with $20,000. Motion to Amend Passed Yes: Lane,McClure,Baclaan,Seese,Terry No: Butts, Osenga In response to Baclaan, Parks & Recreation Director Tyler Florence said he was researching options for the parking chalet. In response to Terry, Hickok confirmed there was not $300,000 in the budget to build new office space at the electric warehouse. Motion to Amend (Baclaan/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-105 in the Parking Enterprise budget by striking$100,000 for the Parking Chalet. Harbormaster Norm Regis said the new parking chalet would make it ADA accessible. Regis said the function of the building was for staff to process all the Luke kiosk payments, to process year-round parking passes, etc. Florence said he was looking for software options to eventually reduce staffing needs. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9,2019 Volume 41,Page 65 Motion to Amend Failed Yes: Seese,Baclaan, Lane No: McClure,Osenga, Butts, Terry Main Motion Passed Yes: Seese,Butts,McClure,Osenga,Terry No: Baclaan,Lane Resolution 2019-113,Amending The Electric Rates And Charges And Readjusting Rates To Reflect Seward Electric Utility Charge,Cost Of Power Adjustment And Customer Charge,For 2020 And 2021. Motion (McClure/Osenga) Approve Resolution 2019-113 Meszaros said this resolution represented a freeze in 2020 rates,and a CPI increase for 2021. Notice of the public hearing being posted and published as required by law was noted and the public hearing was opened. No one appeared and the public hearing was closed. In response to Osenga, Meszaros confirmed that the current budget that was just passed reflected a freeze in the 2020 electric rates. In response to Osenga,Terry said she brought this resolution forward because she wanted to reassess the functions of the electric department, consider some options, and research some future options for the department. Motion Passed Unanimous UNFINISHED BUSINESS Items Postponed from Previous Agenda Resolution 2019-111,Establishing The City Of Seward's Calendar Year 2020 State Legislative Priorities. This resolution was approved on November 25, 2019, and then reconsidered and postponed to tonight. The main motion is back on the floor. Motion to Amend (McClure/Butts) Amend Resolution 2019-111 under Beneficial Legislation, number 3, by striking the words, "rip rap levee" and replacing it with, "flood damage control project; and, under Capital Projects, number 10, by striking the word "$8,100,000" and replacing it with "$8.1 million" and by striking the words, "extend the proposed runway to 4,000 feet"and replacing it with, City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41, Page 66 "repair and restore the existing runway 13- 31". Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2019-111 under Beneficial Legislation by adding a new number 14 that reads,"Reinstate state funding for the Silvertip Maintenance Station year round operations on the Seward Highway." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous NEW BUSINESS Resolutions Resolution 2019-114, Approving An Amendment To The Legal Services Agreement With Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot. Motion (McClure/Lane) Approve Resolution 2019-114 essii Meszaros said this resolution made a lot of sense from a cost saving standpoint. Wells said this flat fee arrangement was new and innovative. In response to Lane,Wells said this resolution represented a contract extension for one year, but the firm worked for council at will,so the contract could be severed at any time with no penalty. Motion to Amend (Terry/Lane) Amend Resolution 2019-114 by creating a new Section 2 that reads, "The city manager will issue a competitive request for proposals by December 31, 2019 for a city attorney." and moving all other sections down. Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Motion to Amend (Terry/McClure) Amend Resolution 2019-114 by creating a new Section 8, number D, that reads, "Unused hours in one month will be rolled over to the next month." City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41, Page 67 In response to Osenga, Wells said the firm would notify council if 33 hours per month or $6,700 per month were anticipated to be exceeded. Wells stated that if the city were to consistently exceed these figures,that would be a clear indication that there were inefficiencies that needed to be addressed. In response to Seese, Wells said any unused hours in one month would roll over to the next month's "bank". Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Resolution 2019-115, Establishing The City Of Seward's Calendar Year 2020 Federal Legislative Priorities. Motion (McClure/Seese) Approve Resolution 2019-115 Motion to Amend (McClure/Osenga) Amend Resolution 2019-115 under Appropriations and Grants, number 8, by striking the words, "rip rap rock levee" and replacing it with, "flood damage control project; and, Appropriations and Grants, number 9, by striking the words, "extend the proposed runway to 4,000 feet" and replacing it with, "repair and restore the existing runway 13-31." Motion to Amend Passed Unanimous Main Motion Passed Unanimous Other New Business Mayor appoint two Council Members to the Tabulation Team for the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk evaluations, and set the timing for each evaluation. Council scheduled the following evaluations: City Attorney January, 2020 Tabulation Team: Lane& Osenga City Clerk February, 2020 Tabulation Team: Butts & Terry City Manager March, 2020 Tabulation Team: Seese & McClure Council agreed unanimously that any evaluation not submitted in a timely manner would not be counted. City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9,2019 Volume 41,Page 68 Schedule a council retreat. Council directed the city clerk to schedule a council retreat as a half to three-quarter day on a Saturday in March, 2020 to be held at the Community Room or the K.M. Rae Building. Schedule a work session to discuss Electric Department rates, classifications, utility infrastructure management,current contract regarding power factor adjustment penalty and current status/process of selling electric utility. Council added the following items to the work session topic: update on current demand meter project;update on air-to-air project;clarifying billing;and,timeline/schedule for pole replacement. Council scheduled a work session on January 20,2020 at 5:30 p.m. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS AND REPORTS On-going City Project and Goal List Port& Commerce Advisory Board(PACAB) written report for 3Q19&4Q19 Clerk's Travel Report to Alaska Association of Municipal Clerks(RAMC)Conference in November, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska Public Records Report through December 3, 2019 COUNCIL COMMENTS Butts thanked everyone on the Airport Committee for coming tonight. On December 14, 2019 there would be a parade with Santa starting at the American Legion,followed by the wrapping party at the fire hall. Presents for the Angel Tree were still needed;deliveries would take place on December 18, 2020. Butts thanked administration for getting through the budget. Baclaan thanked administration for their hard work getting the budget prepared;he hoped people understood that he felt a duty to the citizens to understand the budget and ask questions. In the future,he would welcome starting the work session further in advance.He was happy to see the high school students attend tonight's meeting.Baclaan thanked Joevahnta Weddington for coming to the council meeting again and for getting involved,and he thanked the citizens for giving him input, for coming out for the craft fair last weekend, and for supporting the Seward Pride Alliance. Osenga thanked the Airport Committee for their united front and their recommendations.He thanked administration for their work on the budget.He wished everyone Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. City ofSeward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9,2019 Volume 41,Page 69 Lane thanked the Seward Police Department for their work on the Preston Atwood case.She thanked the electric linemen for getting the power back on this morning.Lane appreciated the boards and commissions for their work and advice. She said she voted against the budget tonight because she thought the budget still needed work. Seese congratulated the city clerk, and thanked the Airport Committee for coming tonight; she thanked the students for attending the meeting tonight. Seese thanked Sam Hickok for his hard work;for as many hours as she had put into examining the budget,she knew he had spent a lot more. She announced that on December 14, 2020, the Pioneers would have Santa at the Breeze Inn and would be selling smoked turkey legs. McClure appreciated the Airport Committee;they were working so well together. She was happy to make it through the budget; at mid cycle, she would take another look. She loved the electric workers and the city's generators.McClure planned to wrap presents at noon on Saturday for the Angel Tree, and announced there would be a free Community Choir concert on December 12, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. at the K.M. Rae Building; bring a canned item for the food bank. She wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Terry said Angel Tree donation locations were available around the city.She welcomed the Alaska Department of Fish&Game(ADF&G) Conference to Seward this week. She thanked the Airport Committee,and noted there was more work to do.Terry wondered if council would want to work with the SBCFSAB to talk about moving Resurrection River. She thanked the finance department for their hard work on the budget; in the future, perhaps the city might consider developing a finance committee to work with citizens and council.Terry thanked the electric crews and their families,as well as the police department for their diligence and excellent work. CITIZEN COMMENTS Norm Regis met with the Department of Defense last Saturday to look at sites for a new antenna base; they had a good visit and may have identified a temporary site at SMIC. Ristine Casagranda thanked council for their diligence, persistence, and dedication to working on the budget. She knew it wasn't easy process.She thanked administration for their work, as well. Regarding the electric department work session, Casagranda said there had been two rate studies done;the first time was raw and the second was a little less transparent.She thought the cost of power adjustment(COPA),Seward's electric charge,and Chugach's rates were very difficult for citizens to understand. She encouraged council to start work now for the mid-cycle budget adjustments in ordered to give administration time to prepare. Casagranda was concerned that the finance director position was not filled yet. She requested that the pay range scale be posted on the city's website, along with the city's payroll. Lynda Paquette was happy to have a full council working together.She thanked the electric department for getting the power back on. Paquette had tried to call to report the outage and was disturbed that the city's land line was not working;she was told that the city did not have the battery City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9,2019 Volume 41,Page 70 back-up for their land line. Paquette suggested perhaps the city should have a back-up cell phone number to call,or some other means to get through in the event of a power outage. Brandon Tatum was new to the community of Seward. Regarding the electric utility, he wondered how citizens could be notified of outages. He wondered if the community could pull together when the generators were running in order to conserve energy. Bruce Jaffa learned today that Homer Electric installed a large battery system;Fairbanks had the largest battery in the world. He was pleased with the work of the Airport Committee and knew there was more work to do.At some point,the city would have to make some hard decisions about which direction they wished to go regarding the airport.Regarding attracting employees to join the city,he encouraged the city to promote the attractions of the city itself rather than just focusing on wages;promote Seward as a healthy,safe community.Jaffa thought the new chair on PACAB was bringing energy and enthusiasm. Doug Schoessler provided an update on the Lowell Point Road repairs;he was waiting on FEMA to process paperwork and funding.The storm surge damage at the Alaska SeaLife Center had been completed; the road work on Lowell Point Road would continue in January. Lynn Hohl thanked council for the state priorities and their support of Seaview Community Services.She was glad the highway and the airport were priorities.Hohl announced that Seaview had been re-accredited. COUNCIL AND ADMINISTRATION RESPONSE TO CITIZEN COMMENTS Meszaros said when there was a power outage,the crews responded quickly and tried to get the generators up and running within one hour. Although he appreciated the thought, turning off Christmas lights did not save the city any money when the generators were running. The city was working on creating a multi-faceted communications platform for pushing out messages to the community. In response to Lane, Meszaros said there was not a direct increase in costs to the customers when the city went on generators; there was a contingency fund set up to cover those additional costs. Motion (Lane/Seese) Direct the city manager to look into back-up battery power for the city phones. Motion Passed Yes: Butts,Lane,Seese,Baclaan No: Osenga,McClure,Terry Motion (Baclaan/Seese) Direct the city manager to look into the trouble with the phone lines. Motion Passed Unanimous City of Seward,Alaska City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 Volume 41, Page 71 Meszaros said the city's finance director position was being widely advertised on a national L level. Representative Ben Carpenter would be in Seward on Wednesday. Meszaros thanked his staff for their hard work. Terry thanked the electric department for installing the holiday lights downtown. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. Brenda J. Ballou; MC Christy Terry City Clerk Mayor (City Seal) ,z. : .•y OF Big •*.'S .` , 'e0F. ■ •• : S' ■ • • • S .9• FOF • '••....e.as a•'''.