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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2019-10Sponsored by: Mayor Gabriel and City Council Members Suggested by: Council Member Molloy CITY OF KENAI RESOLUTION NO. 2019-10 A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, ENCOURAGING THE STATE OF ALASKA BOARD OF FISHERIES TO RESCIND THEIR JANUARY 18, 2019 DECISION TO MOVE THE UPPER COOK INLET 2020 FINFISH MEETING TO ANCHORAGE DUE TO THE LACK OF ADEQUATE PUBLIC NOTICE AND PROCESS. WHEREAS, in March of 2018 the State of Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) considered and passed Board Policy 2018 -289 -FB by a vote of 4-2 at their Statewide Dungeness Crab, Shrimp, and Miscellaneous Shellfish meeting, establishing a rotating schedule of the Upper Cook Inlet Finfish (UCI) meeting between the communities of Kenai / Soldotna, Palmer / Wasilla, and Anchorage beginning with Kenai / Soldotna in 2020, Palmer / Wasilla in 2023, and Anchorage in 2026; and, WHEREAS, prior to considering Board Policy 2018 -289 -FB, the public was adequately noticed 35 days prior to the vote through the Boards Supplemental Notice of Regulatory Actions to Be Taken on February 2, 2018; and, WHEREAS, the BOF held their Arctic / Yukon / Kuskokwim Finfish meeting from January 15 — 19, 2019 in Anchorage; and, WHEREAS, on Tuesday, January 15, the BOF Chairman, Reed Morisky, stated that they would be discussing the UCI meeting location later in the meeting; and, WHEREAS, on Friday, January 18, the BOF voted 4-3 to move the UCI 2020 meeting to Anchorage; and, WHEREAS, adequate public notice was not provided prior to the vote, the action was inconsistent with past BOF practices, and it did not meet the requirements of the Open Meetings Act; and, WHEREAS, this action has the potential to erode the public trust in the BOF process; and, WHEREAS, all Alaskans deserve consistency, openness, legal compliance, and transparency when engaging with their government during any deliberative decision making process. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA: Section 1. That the Kenai City Council encourages the State of Alaska Board of Fisheries to rescind their January 18, 2019 decision to move the Upper Cook Inlet 2020 Finfish meeting to Anchorage due to the lack of adequate public notice and process. Resolution No. 2019-10 Page 2 of 2 Section 2. That rescinding the decision to move the Upper Cook Inlet 2020 Finfish meeting to Anchorage will help restore the public's trust in the Board of Fisheries and their processes. Section 3. That a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to Governor Mike Dunleavy, Board of Fisheries Chair, Reed Morisky, Board of Fisheries Members, and the Board of Fisheries Executive Director, Glenn Haight. Section 4. That this resolution takes effect immediately upon passage. PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 6th day of February, 2019. BRIAN rABRML SR.. MAYOR TIM NAVARRE. VICE MAYOR SOLDOTNA C'1, [ f SOfam.,P. AlAS4d January 25, 2019 Chairman Reed Morisky Alaska Board of Fisheries Board Support Section P.O. Box 115526 Juneau, AK 99811 Dear Chairman Morisky and Members of the Alaska Board of Fisheries: We are deeply disappointed in the action taken by the Board of Fisheries (Board) on January 18, moving the location of the Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) 2020 Finfish meeting without reasonable public notice, and after being assured by the Board Chair that no action would be taken. Given the legitimate and numerous concerns with the public process, we encourage the Board to rescind that decision and re- schedule the issue to be considered at a later date. Regardless of the outcome of the eventual vote, we hope Board members recognize the need to reassure all Alaskans in the fairness of the public process. Addressing the location of the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting at a future date would also allow the Board to consider the decision within the context of the current policy establishing rotating meeting locations. This policy, 2018-289FB1, was not referenced in the Board's action last week and we presume is still in effect. We recognize that the UCI Finfish meeting location is a perpetual topic for discussion, that comes up every cycle. However, several stark differences exist with how this most -recent vote was handled. When the Board revisited the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting location in early 2018, it was added to the agenda for the March meeting2, and included in the Supplemental Notice of Regulatory Actions to be Taken3. This notice was published February 2nd, which was 35 days ahead of the vote and well before the cut-off for providing on-time written comments. Members of the public did provide written comments in the Board packet, and attended the meeting to speak to this issue in-person. The public also had access to the written proposal that was to be voted upon (referenced in the policy as RC50), before the Board ultimately approved the policy by a 4-2 vote. Prior to the meeting last week, there was no advance notice given to the public that this item would again be revisited. No document was posted on the meeting website as a proposal. This topic wasn't published in the original Notice of Proposed Changes, and a Supplemental Notice was not issued. And ' Policy 2018-289413, adopted March 9th, 2018 z Statewide Dungeness Crab, Shrimp, and Miscellaneous Shellfish, held March 6-9 2018, Anchorage. a https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/regprocess/fiisheriesboard/pdfs/2017- 2018/su pp_notice_final.pdf even the Miscellaneous Business Agenda, posted on the website as RC70, fails to identify this topic as an action item. Nonetheless, after learning via text message about the Chairman's intent to bring the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting location up for a vote, and despite not knowing exactly when the vote would occur, Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen, and Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander drove to Anchorage to attend the meeting in person. Knowing that there would be no opportunity for public comment directly to the Board, the group hoped to talk to individual members during breaks to learn what was being considered. During a morning break, the Board Chair informed the City delegation that no vote would be taken that day —a position he reiterated to the City officials when the Board broke for a lunch recess. He indicated that a teleconference would be scheduled to address the issue, and that public notice would be given and public comments taken. The City delegation left the meeting in reliance on the Chair's assurances, and was already back in Soldotna when we learned that the Board did in fact approve a motion to relocate the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting after returning from lunch. When the audio was posted online later that evening, we were able to listen to the deliberation and decision. In justifying the decision to move ahead with a vote despite concerns raised about the lack of public notice, it was noted that the agenda states that it is subject to change. The statement Board Chair Morisky made on Tuesday, that "there's been an interest expressed in discussing the Upper Cook Inlet meeting location and so ... that will likely happen near the end of this meeting' was referenced. When pressed to explain why the motion was being made at that particular time, in the middle of other unrelated agenda items on Friday afternoon, Board Member Jensen explained that Friday was his last day of availability and he wanted to vote on this particular item. We note that had this action item come up during the 'Miscellaneous Business' section of the agenda on Saturday, Mr. Jensen's personal schedule would have prevented him from voting, and the motion to move the meeting back to Anchorage may have lacked sufficient votes to pass. We believe these actions cannot be considered "reasonable" public notice, as required by law. If items can be added to the agenda without specific prior notice (and not even posted as an update to the meeting agenda after the fact), and then brought to a vote at any point in the meeting, the public would essentially be required to attend every Board meeting in its entiretyjust to make sure that no issue of interest was unexpectedly added, considered, and voted on. In a multi -day meeting, which in this case was scheduled to discuss completely unrelated matters, we find this expectation unreasonable. In a practical sense, this version of "reasonable" notice serves the same function as no notice at all. We work in government, and are familiar with Alaska's laws designed to guarantee public notice and access to decision-making. And we understand that public processes require flexibility so we can effectively deal with business at hand. But standard practices exist, to allow boards to have flexibility in conducting their business, without leaving the public in the dark. We know the Board of Fisheries can do better. Public notice in this case was insufficient, inconsistent with past Board practices, and does not meet the requirements of the Open Meetings Act. Adhering to customary policy and procedures for adding and considering new agenda items, and providing reasonable notice, would not only better serve the public but Board members as well. In our conversations with Board Members during breaks in the meeting on Friday morning, it was clear that 4 Audio available on meeting website. See AYK Finfish meeting, Chair Morisky 2:26:43 PM Tuesday, Jan. 18th there was confusion as to what the Board was potentially reconsidering. One Board member believed that the policy to rotate communities was still in place, and that the Board was simply reconsidering which community should go first. Another Board member was apparently unaware of the rotating policy entirely, telling us that the Board had never adopted a policy that set rotating meeting locations. Without any packet materials to provide the background, nor comments from staff or the public, we feel the Board's decision was made in haste, and without access to all the relevant information. Furthermore, we feel that the policy adopted by the board in March 2018 to rotate the location of the UCI Finfish meetings, is a thoughtful solution to the sensible goal of providing access for all Alaskans impacted by the Board's decisions. It doesn't require the Board to designate one 'best' meeting location. Instead, it recognizes that stakeholders are significantly spread out geographically, and experience different personal sacrifices and expense to attend the two-week long UCI Finfish meeting. The difference between a 45 -minute commute versus a 2 hour and 45 -minute commute, for many Alaskans, means the difference between being able to participate or not. The rotating policy gives favorable access to Anchorage/Mat-Su residents by keeping the meetings within an hour drive most of the time (two out of every three cycles), while also bringing the meeting to the Kenai Peninsula to afford KPB residents the same opportunity once every nine years. The Board's decision on Friday, to proceed with a vote to relocate the UCI 2020 Finfish meeting despite the concerns raised at the time, has the potential to erode public trust in this important process moving forward. Alaska's Open Meeting Act was designed not only for the public, to ensure they have access to deliberative processes and government decision-making, but also to benefit government decision - makers by hearing from residents who have knowledge, experience and valuable perspectives to offer. We expect that the Board will recognize the significance of the errors made last week, and take corrective actions to remedy them. Sincerely, S (� S ephanie Queen, City Manager Mayor Charlie Pierce City of Soldotna Kenai Peninsula Borough Cc: The Honorable Governor Mike Dunleavy John Jensen Orville Huntington Alan Cain Israel Payton Robert Ruffner Fritz Johnson Glenn Haight Paul Ostrander, City Manager City of Kenai ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE Kenai Peninsula Delegation SENATOR PETER A. MICCICHE, DISTRICT O °F, TyF SENATOR GARY STEVENS, DISTRICT P REPRESENTATIVE BEN CARPENTER, DIST. 29 REPRESENTATIVE ��w REPRESENTATIVE SARAH VANCE, DIST. 31 REPRESENTATIVE GARY KNOPP, DIST. 30 wLA B� Official Business January 23, 2019 Reed Morisky PO Box 83707 Fairbanks, AK 99708 Dear Chairman Morisky and Members of the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BoF), Fisheries are of extraordinary importance to all Alaskans, including those Alaskans from all user groups on the Kenai Peninsula. Therefore, the actions of the BoF are carefully scrutinized for fairness and adequate public process. As we have recently heard the importance of "rebuilding the public trust", many Alaskans were surprised by the lack of public process displayed by the Board on January 18, 2019 when the rotating location of the Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Finfish meeting was moved from the Kenai Peninsula to Anchorage. A recent contrasting example that included adequate public notice and participation took place on February 2nd 2018, when the Board published notice of their intent to revisit the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting location at their March 6-9 meeting in Anchorage. This gave the public more than 30 days notice. Individuals submitted on-time public comments to be included in the Board's packet and gave in-person testimony. No such process was included in the sudden January 180' decision. Last week, during the ArcticNukon/Kuskokwim Finfish meeting in Anchorage, Chairman Morisky indicated that the board would again be taking up the issue of the location of the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting. He made this statement on Tuesday after the public comment period had closed, when the meeting was already underway. We are not aware of any prior public notice on the website or elsewhere that this item was again up for consideration. Furthermore, Kenai Peninsula elected and public officials were misled when they were informed by Chair Morisky on two separate occasions that the vote on the 2020 meeting location would not take place on that day. The Kenai Peninsula officials felt comfortable enough with those emphatic statements that they left soon after the BoF break for lunch and after one last guarantee by the Chair that the vote would not take place. The public later learned that the vote did take place rather immediately after lunch, apparently through a decision made behind closed doors, out of the view of the public and again, without opportunity for public testimony. The Alaska BoF was created to establish a public process for conserving and allocating fisheries resources for all user groups. The function of public notice helps us ensure that members of the public have an opportunity to comment on matters of importance to them on resources that belong to all Alaskans. We feel that the public process was circumvented at the January 18`h meeting. We support Governor Dunleavy's desire to restore the people's trust in government. The Alaska BoF has a responsibility to ensure that official actions are beyond reproach. Although we do not demand a particular final result, the legislative representatives of the people of the Kenai Peninsula request that you rescind your action to move the 2020 UCI Finfish meeting to Anchorage, which would allow for adequate notice to revisit the issue in a process that includes full and appropriate public participation. Sincerely, Representative 16ary Knop Cc: The Honorable Governor Mike Dunleavy John Jensen Orville Huntington Alan Cain Israel Payton Robert Ruffner Fritz Johnson Glenn Haight