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Home My WebLink AboutResolution No. 2020-13Sponsored by: Mayor Gabriel and Council Member Peterk in CITY OF KENAI RESOLUTIO N NO. 2020-13 A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA, SUPPORTING SENATE BILL NO. 232 -AN ACT RELATING TO PERSONAL USE FISHING PERMITS, THAT WOULD ESTABLISH A FEE FOR PERSONAL USE DIPNETTING TO BE USED BY THE STATE AND CITY OF KENAI TO SUPPORT PERSONAL USE DIPNET FISHERIES. WHEREAS, the Kenai River Personal Use Fishery is the most popular personal use fishery in Southcentral Alaska and takes place at the mouth of the Kenai River within the City of Kenai city limits ; and , WHEREAS, since the beginning of the fishery in 1996, the City of Kenai has provided services and support, incl ud ing parking areas, launch ramp and docking facilities, restroom facilities, fish waste and garbage management, e xtensive and continuous beach raking and clean up, camping, law enforcement, and emergency services to enhance the experience for fishery participants and protect City, and natural resources; and, WHEREAS, the management of the fishery has evolved over the years as we continue to improve our processes and infrastructure to provide the best possible experience to the personal use participants; and , WHEREAS , prior to instituting our current management processes , the personal use fi shery was jeopardizing the health and safety of participants due to fish waste and damage to the local environment; and , WHEREAS, the City has created efficiencies, refined processes, and eliminated duplicative efforts over the last three years, reducing its expenditures in support of the fishery by over $150,000; and, WHEREAS, even with the reduction in expenditures, due to unpredictable runs and in participation over the last four years, the fees collected to support the fishery are not sufficient to cover the costs that the City incurs; and, WHEREAS , the State of Alaska incurs the e xpense of managing the ot her fisheries in the Upper Cook Inlet; Fish Creek and Kas ilof River, w ithout the benefit of user generated revenues to offset t hose costs; and, WHEREAS, participants in the Ch itina personal use fishery have paid a perm it fee since 2017 used to ma inta in and improve state-owned land used to access the fishery and to maintain and operate sanitary facilities provided for persons participating in the fishery; and , WHEREAS, funds collected through a permit fee would be used by the City to enhance personal use fishery participant experiences and protect natural and City resources related to the fishery. Resolution No . 2020-13 Page 2 of 2 NOW , THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA: Section 1. That the City of Kenai supports Senate Bill No. 232 -An Act Relating to Personal Use Fishing Permits , That Would Establish a Fee for Personal Use Dipnetting to be Used by the State and the City of Kenai to Support Personal Use Dipnet Fisheries. Section 2. That copies of this Resolution shall be forwarded to Governor Michael J . Dunleavy, Senator Peter Micciche, Senator Gary Stevens, Representative Gary Knopp, Representative Ben Carpenter, Representative Louise Stutes , Representative Sarah Vance, and the legislators of the 31st Legislative Session Section 3. That this Resolution takes effect immediately upon passage . PASSED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENAI , ALASKA, this 4 th day of March , 2020. B~~RIE~R c( ~YOR -_ TIM NAVARRE, COUNCIL MEMBER 'tlrfftlje tt1/tlv a PaJ'~ e~ tt1/tlv a h.tar-e JJ 210 F idalgo Ave , Kenai , Alaska 996 11-7794 Telepho ne : (9 07 ) 2 83-75351 Fax : (907) 283-3014 www.kena i.ci ty MEMORAND UM TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Mayor Brian Gabriel and Kenai City Council Robert Peterkin , City Council Member February 27, 2020 Resolution No. 2020-13 -Supporting Senate Bill No. 232 Relating to Personal Use Fishing Permits The Kenai River Personal Use Fishery is the most popular fishery in Southcentral Alaska and takes place at the mouth of the Kenai River within the City of Kenai city limits. Alaskans harvest an average of 350,000 sockeye salmon annually among approximately 30 ,000 permit holders. Participants must purchase a sportfishing license , but dipnet permits are free. Since the beginning of the fishery in 1996, the City of Kenai has provided services and support, including parking areas, launch ramp and docking facilities , restroom facilities, fish waste and garbage management, extensive and continuous beach raking and clean up, camping, law enforcement, and emergency services . We've refined the City 's approach to managing the fishery over the years, and in 2018 we developed the Dipnet App, which provides useful information to participants, including fish counts, webcams, fee cal culators, and push notification capabilities that help keep people safe . We continually strive to make the fishery safe and enjoyable while minimizing the impacts on sensitive habitat areas and the residents of Kenai. Our management of the fishery has evolved over t he years to provide the best possible experience to the personal use participants . Operations are now more efficient and effective than ever, and we have accomplished this while reducing ex penditures significantly over the last four years. The City of Kenai plans to continue to provide a high level of service in support of the fishery . However, due to a decline in partic ipation over the last four years , it is evident the fees we collect, such as a daily drop-off pass or fee for overnight parking , to support the fishery are not sufficient to cover the costs that we incur. In FY2019, the City of Kenai operated the personal use fishery at a net loss of $95 , 100. In FY2020, despite reducing budgeted expenditures by $56 ,000 , fish counts significantly higher than what we have seen historically, and recogniz ing an increase in revenues of almost $60,000, the City projects that we will operate the fishery at a net loss of Page 2 of 2 Resolution 2020-13 almost $3 ,000 . Last summer's fishery should have represented a year in which the City replenished our Personal Use Fishery Fund Balance, yet we continued to operate in the red. The follow ing photo, one of many taken in 2011, shows what the Kenai Beach looked like before the City of Kenai refined our processes and began to actively rake the beaches at low tide and provide educational materials to fishery participants about how to clean and handle fish and fish waste. The City and fishery participants cannot let the fishery revert to this previous standard, which was becoming dangerous to the health and safety of participants . At the same time, the City and its residents should not have to continue to subsidize the fishery. The continued efforts and the City's management of the fishery have been critical to the health and safety of participants and the impact on local beaches . We have worked as efficiently as possible to avoid a reduction in services. Still , it has become necessary to find a solution to the revenue shortfalls. Senate Bill No. 232 will establish a fee on personal use fishing permits and allocate the money to a municipality based on the total number of days fished in all personal use fisheries divided by the number of personal use days fished within the municipality. This user fee will help assure that the City of Kenai can provide the very best experience for personal use fishery participants at a reasonable fee without continued subsidies from the residents of the City. SENA TE BILL NO. 232 IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA T HIRTY-FIRST L E GISLA TURE -SE COND SESSION BY SENATOR MICCICHE Introduced: 2/24 /20 Referred: Resources, Finance A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED 1 "An Act relating to personal use fishing permits." 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3 *Section 1. AS 16 .05.340(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read : 3J -LS1501 \A 4 (28) Personal use fishing permit ......................................................... 5 5 * Sec. 2 . AS 16.05.340 is amended by adding a new subsection to read : 6 ([) The commissioner shall charge the fee in (a)(28) of thi s section for 7 personal use fishing not otherwise licensed or permitted under (a) of this section . 8 Receipts from personal use fishing permit fees shall be accounted for separately under 9 AS 37 .05 .146(c). The legislature may appro priate money in the account to the I 0 department to support personal use fisherie s, and to a municipality to support personal 11 use fisheries based on the total number of days fi shed in all personal use fisheries 12 di v ided by the number of personal use days fished within the municipality. 13 *Sec. 3 . AS 37.05.146(c) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 14 (80) receipts of the Department of Fish and Game fro m personal use 15 fishing permit fe es under AS 16.05 .340 . SB0232A -1-SB232 Ne w T ext Un d erl i n ed [D ELETED TEXT BRACKETED ]