HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 3053-2019Sponsored by: Council Member Bob Molloy
and Council Member Glenese Pettey
CITY OF KENAI
ORDINANCE NO . 3053-2019
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, INCREASING
ESTIMATED REVENUES AND APPROPRIATIONS IN THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE
DONATION OF A BUSH DOCTOR'S HISTORIC CABIN FROM DOCTOR PETER HANSEN AND
KENAI COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AND SUPPORTING THE PLACEMENT OF THE CABIN
ADJACENT TO THE KENAI VISITOR CENTER.
WHEREAS, in 1967, Dr. Peter Hansen moved to Kenai, a community with no hospital in the area,
and began practicing medicine, bringing with him used medical equipment he had acquired in
Juneau; and,
WHEREAS , the antique medical equipment has been saved and most recently stored by the City;
and,
WHEREAS , Dr. Hansen is in the process of constructing a Bush Doctor's Historic Cabin to display
the antique medical equipment for public viewing ; and,
WHEREAS, the construction project for this donation is funded by Dr. Hansen and the Kenai
Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization, including the funding for construction of the
cabin, preparation of the site for the cabin and antique medical equipment, and moving and setting
up the cabin and antique medical equipment at the site; and ,
WHEREAS, a fund has been established with the Kenai Community Foundation to allow for future
contributions for capital improvements and maintenance; and ,
WHEREAS , Dr. Hansen and the Kenai Community Foundation desire to donate the cabin and
medical equipment to the City and locate the building adjacent to t he Kenai Visitor's Center; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Hansen would like his family members to be allowed access to the cabin to help
maintain and display the medical items; and ,
WHEREAS, Dr. Hansen has worked w ith the Kenai Historical Society to develop a proposed site
plan that the Kenai Historical Society supports; and ,
WHEREAS, the City Council graciously supports the plan for the donation of the Bush Doctor's
Historic Cabin to the extent that it will accept the building and maintain the structure and
equipment and make it available for public viewing as funding and future plans allow; and,
WHEREAS, the City will assist with location of the cabin and antique medical equ ipment and
development of the site plan to the extent resources are available, primarily through the City's in-
kind services.
Ord inance No. 3053-2019
Page 2 of 2
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA ,
as follows:
Section 1. That this is a non-code ordinance.
Section 2. That the City Manager is authorized to accept the donation of the Historical Bush
Doctor's Cabin and equipment from Dr. Hansen and the Kenai Community Foundation.
Section3. Dr. Hansen's family members will be granted access as reasonable to help
maintain and display the antique medical items .
Secti on 4. That estimated revenues and appropriation be increased as follows:
General Fund
Increase estimated revenues-
Donations
$103 ,000
Increase Appropriations-Park Recreation and Beautification-
Buildings
$103 ,000
Secti on 5. Severability: That if any part or provision of this ordinance o r application thereof to
any person or c ircumstances is adjudged invalid by any court of competent ju risdiction, such
judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision, or application directly involved
in all controversy in which this judgment shall have been rendered, and shall not affect or impair
the validity of the remainder of this t itle or application thereof to other persons or circumstances .
The City Council hereby declares that it would have enacted the remainder of this ordinance even
without such part, provision , or application.
Section 6. Effective Date: That pursuant to KMC 1.15.0?0(f), this ordinance shall take effect
upon enactment.
ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI, ALASKA, this 201h day of March , 2019.
BRIAN GABRIEL SR., MAYOR
Introduced: February 20, 20 19
Enacted : March 20 , 2019
Effective: March 20, 2019
New T ext Underlin ed; [DELETED T EXT B RACKETED)
tlrcdfyuf.
"Vt11aje with a Past, City with a Future"
210 Fidalgo Avenue, Kenai, Alaska 99611-7794
Telephone : 907-283-7535 /FAX: 907-283-3014
www. kenai.city
KENAl~LASKA
"V"
MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor Gabriel, Council Members,
Student Representative, Administration
Council Members Molloy and Pettey
February 14, 2019
SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 3053-2019, Donation Of A Bush Doctor's Historic Cabin
And Supporting The Placement Of The Cabin Adjacent To The Kenai Visitor Center
This ordinance authorizes the City Manager for the City of Kenai to accept a charitable donation
of a Bush Doctor's Historic Cabin/Mu seum from Dr. Peter Hansen and the Kenai Community
Foundation. This generous donation will increase estimated revenues and increase
appropriations to Park Recreation and Beautification in the amount of $103 ,000. Dr. Hansen 's
Letter of Intent, his letter to the Kenai Historical Society, a letter of support from the Kenai
Historical Society, and the draft conceptual site plan, are additional explanation , comment, and
support for this ordinance.
This donation of $103 ,000 is intended to cover the costs of the construction project involved in
this donation , including the funding for construction of the cabin , preparation of the site, and
moving and setting up the cabin and antique medical equipment at the site. The source of these
charitable funds is a designated fund that Dr. Hansen has set up specifically for the Bush
Doctor's Historic Cabin/Museum within the Kenai Community Foundation, which Dr. Hansen
intends to be a source of funds for future capital improvements to the cabin/museum.
We believe that the Bush Doctor 's Historic Cabin/Museum will add value to and be an additional
educational and enjoyment opportunity for visitors to Kenai. We are grateful to Dr. Hansen for
his generosity to the community; to the Kenai Community Foundation for its assistance with the
charitable donation process; and to the Kenai Historical Society for its support of this donation.
If enacted, the City will accept the donation of the cabin and antique medical equipment; will
assist with location of the cabin and antique medical equipment and development of the site.
The City will maintain the structure and equipment and make it available for public viewing.
Funding for this will come from the Kenai Community Foundation under the category of "Bush
Do ctor's Historic Cabin/Museum."
We will ask for a postponement to the 3/20/19 Council Meeting with a public hearing to be held
at that meeting so that Dr. Hansen can participate in the public hearing. He is unable to be
present for the public hearing at the 3/06/19 Council meeting.
Council's support of this ordinance is respectfully requested.
~
SIGN
I SQ.,,~I e
PARKING LOT
KENAI VISITOR CENTER
SIDEWAY
NOTES:
o NEW LOG CABIN WITH ENTRANCE
SPACED 10 FEET FROM BOAT ARE
o CIRCULAR RAMP IS FLUSH WITH P
LAWN
Cl l=l\ITRAl\tri= RAl\11P '~ AnA ni=~l~t\11=
LEITER OF INTENT -TO THE CITY OF KENAI
To Establish a Kenai Bush Doctor Cabin/Museum
By Peter Owen Hansen, M. D.
February 11, 2019
The purpose of this letter is to formalize with the City of Kenai my desire to construct, equip, and assist
in maintaining a one room log structure to be known as a Bush Doctor Cabin/Museum; to be donated to
and placed on City public property, which may be open at appropriated times of the year for public
visitation and educational purposes; and to fascinate and intrigue not only locals but tourists visiting our
town. It is my intent to see this project further beautify our downtown area, and be an attraction
drawing people into our community.
Now-some details. The year -1967 . Town of Kenai had no doctors, no hospital, and was having a
boom with tar paper shacks and camper trailers everywhere. My wife and I moved here with kids ages
1,2, &3 and found a little log house to live in, and I brought with me used medical equipment I had
acquired practicing medicine in Juneau. Quickly I had to acquire more surgical, medical, x-ray,
laboratory, and physical therapy equipment to be able to deliver babies, treat every emergency, and
serve the rapidly growing industries in Nikiski. By 1987, I had to update my practice with new
equipment, but a lso saving the old for bre akdowns on the new. I now have enough antique medical
equipment to fully equip a one room cabin which I would like to do, with educational displays showing
people what my medical practice was like 50 years ago. The abbreviated story since follows.
Nov. 5, 2017 -Presented the above to the Kenai Historical Society (KHS) along with need for storage of
my medical equipment due to my impending retirement. This was met with enthusiasm from the group.
Thoughts were of such a Cabin being in the Historical Cabin Park . (Presentation attached)
Nov. 8, 2017 -KHS President June Harris and I met with City Manager Paul Ostrander who offered warm
storage for my equipment. January 2018, I moved four pallets of my medical equipment in.
May 17, 2019 -Met with City Mgr Paul Ostrander -concern expressed about security of Hist. Cabin Park
July 2, 2019 -Met at KCCVC with Paul, Johna Beech, June & J. Harris & decision made to set cabin there.
Early Nov . 2019 -Nikiski Logsmith, Arnie Sellenger, begins construction of cabin in Nikiski.
Several Meetings Nov. Dec. & January-Building Inspector Mike Wesson, Engineers Mike Reberg & Mark
Fondren, Parks & Rec . Director Bob Frates, IT Director Dan Castimore, Paul Ostrander and City Attorney
Scott Bloom.
Feb . 4, 2019 -met at KCCVC with Johna Beech, Joe & June Harris to discuss site plan next to Visitor's
Center and by late in day Joe and I agreed to move the Steam Engine to make way for the cabin leaving
the Ward Sign in place .
Feb . 10,2019 -Kenai Historical Society unanimously passes motion supporting this project.
The Bush Doctor Cabin is a one room (15 X 16 Ft) log structure with low ceiling and a 6 Ft covered porch,
much like the log houses Johnny Parks built in the 1950s-60s in Kenai. My family of five lived in a four
room house of his when permanently moving to Kenai in 1967. Emergencies often came to my door.
The intent is to move this cabin, which is being constructed in Nikiski, into the City in late May or early
June this yea r and pla ce it on a sauna t ube foundation near the Visitor's Center; following that my
stored medical equipment would be moved into it along with other furnishings, and over the ensuing
month s formation of a Bush Docto r 's Cabin/Museum would take place .
Construction of the finished one room log cabin, moving the cabin into the City, construction of the
foundation, placing the cabin on its foundation, and direct expense involved in relocating other
historical items nearby is being funded by charitable irrevocable contributions, coming out of a
Designated Fund which I have set up specifica lly for this purpose, within the Kenai Community
Foundation (KCF); it is my desire there be no taxpayers' dollars spent directly on these . Future capital
improvements to the cabin/museum I anticipate being funded by the same KCF Fund .
I now have a request of the City, and the City Council, for a resolution:
• Supporting acceptance of the project as outlined above, and/o r as amended by Council,
• Allowing myself, my wife, family descendents, and others I or they authorize to enter the
cabin/museum anytime for the purpose of maintaining, updating, or replacing historical medical
items to improve the museum; and also for showing the museum to others.
• Providing in-kind services when needed and avai lab le, to assist with completion of this project
and to beautify the landscape of the Visitors' Center area; and to assist with long term
maintenance of the cabin/museum (e .g. landscaping, police security as with other City
properties, moving heavy medical equipment, building repairs)
My family and I anticipate being involved duri ng my lifetime in the upkeep and maintenance of the
Kenai Bush Doctor's Cabin/Museum. The Charitable Fund established for this project and its future
preservation should continue indefinitely unless the log building and its contents are destroyed .
Ken ai Comm Fndn Dr CabMus let of intent #2 2019.2.10
Kenai Historical Society
Kena i, Ala ska 99611
November 5, 2017
RE : Open l etter to Officers and Members of the Kenai Historical Society
This is a personal request, as a member of the Kenai Historical Society, asking for consideration
of the Society in accepting for display or temporary storage for future display, the entire
package of historical medical equipment collected and used over the past 50 years in the City of
Kenai by the Kenai Medical Center, a professional corporation I established following my arrival
in Kenai in 1967. The Kenai Medical Center closed its doors and went out of business December
31, 2016 .
Some of the equipment I brought with me to Kenai after closing my medical practice in Juneau,
other bits and pieces of historical significance were delivered to my office when Wildwood Air
Force Station, established in _1954_, was closed in the 1970's.
During the 1960's and early 1970's, Kena i's population and citizens of the area had no access to
local hospital care ..... there was no hospital. My being the only physician in town, I was blessed
in coming here with having had the medical training and Boy Scout ingenuity to develop a
medical practice, and staff an office, trying to meet the needs of a "Boom Town " w ith camper
trailers and tar paper shacks on nearly every block. This meant things like taking every
ambulance call in my office; developing an X-ray facility, a laboratory, and a surgical room;
setting fractures, delivering over two hundred babies, doing many surgical procedures which
today are performed in a hospital setting; devising physical therapy techniques and providing
needed supplies for recovering patients; training local people to be medical assistants when
there were no nurses, laboratory techs, X-ray tech s; and meeting the needs of rap i dly growing
oil field industries in Nikiski and Cook lnlet ......... sending in daily accident victims. Then there
were weekly air evacuations of injured or sick to Anchora ge hospital s ..... and train i ng attendents
to go with patients.
The reason for sharing the above is so Society members can better unders t and the nature of
the antique items of medical equipment I have to donate; most of these I have had in storage
1
for 20-30 years . These include the setting of doctor's lab 50 years ago ....... microscope with
slides & staining chemicals for bacteria identification, equipment for making blood agar media
to grow bacteria on, mini incubator; centrifuge for spinning blood down with pipettes, counting
chamber & mixer for doing blood counts; mailing package s for blood chemistry tests in which it
took 10 days to get results .
Surgical equipment includes the antique Ritter surgical table with accessories used for Ear-
Nose-Throat work, pelvic surgery, child deliveries, setting extremity fractures, and surgical
procedures of many types; a great assortment of instruments of many types used for things like
skin grafting, amputations, foreign body removals, gastric lavage; plaste r & materials for
setting fractures & a cast cutter; gowns, dressings & bandages.
X-ray equipment -some has already been donated and is in one of the Historical cabins . Still
stored for donation are X-ray view boxes and a series of X-rays showing fractured bones,
gastric ulcers, colon polyps ........... all for display, which I have accumulated as a 1960s-1970s
subspecialist in Radiology on the Kenai Peninsula , before the day of having a Radiologist .
Physical therapy -crutches have also been donated and are in one of the Historical cabins. Still
stored is the Jacuzzi whirlpool pump used for debriding wounds and restoring range -of-motion
of extremity joints.
PROPOSAL: If the Society is currently unable to provide a suitable historical building for
displaying the above, and if the Society would provide suitable land for such, my family and I
would be interested in donating the construction of a one room cabin, to house and display the
above items in a manner emblematical of a Kenai doctor's office in the "Boom Town" it was SO
years ago.
Thi s request and proposal is good thru December 31, this year. By then, I will need to seek
other places in the Central Peninsula to meet my needs of disposing the above. I would like to
keep this within the City of Kenai if possible, where I have lived and practiced medicine for
more than SO years; this in itself is a rarity in today's world.
Peter 0. Hansen, M . D.
P. 0 . Box 1390
Kenai, Alaska 99611
Home phone : 907 -283-4615
Kenai Historical Society ltr 2017.11.3
2
P.O. Box 1348
Kenai, AK 99611
February 11, 2019
kenaihiston·~gmail.com
This is a letter of support to the Kenai City Council from the Kenai
Historical Societ)·.
The Kenai Historical Society agrees to support the Bush Doctor Historic
Cabin project as presented to June and Joe Harris at a meeting with Dr.
Pete Hanson on February 9, 2019; namely only the moving of the steam
donkey winch.
The l\1embership also approved support after the presentation by Dr. Pete
Hanson of the project at their Historical Society meeting on February 10,
2019.
June Harris, President
\J_~~_-/ ~ l-~
Kenai Historical Society