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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-04-07 Council Minutes� AGENDA KENAI CITY COUNCIL - REGULAR MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 7:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS htt www.ci.ken.ai.ak.us Council/Harbor Commission Work Session/5:30 p.m., Council Chambers ITEM A: CALL TO ORDER 1. Pledge of Allegiance 2. Roll Call 3. Agenda Approval 4. Consent Agenda *All items listed with an asterisk (*) are considered to be routine and non- controversial by the council and will be approved by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a council member so requests, in which case the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda as part of the General Orders. ITEM B: SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS (10 minutes) 1. Council Member Bookey/2004 Arctic Winter Games Presentation ITEM C: REPORTS OF KPB ASSEMBLY, LEGISLATORS AND COUNCILS ITEM D: PUBLIC HEARINGS ITEM E: COMMISSION / COMMITTEE REPORTS 1. Council on Aging 2. Airport Commission 3. Harbor Commission 4. Library Commission 5. Parks 8s Recreation Commission 6. Planning 8s Zoning Commission 7. Miscellaneous Commissions and Committees a. Beautification Committee b. Kenai Convention 8. Visitors Bureau Board C. Alaska Municipal League Report d. Kenai Chamber of Commerce e. Arctic Winter Games ITEM F: MINUTES 1. *Regular Meeting of March 17, 2004. ITEM G: CORRESPONDENCE ITEM H: OLD BUSINESS ITEM I: NEW BUSINESS 1. Bills to be Paid, Bills to be Ratified 2. Purchase Orders Exceeding $2,500 3. *Ordinance No. 2037-2004 -- Amending KMC 23.40.080 to Provide for a Five Year Maximum Period of Reemployment for Those Persons Participating in the PERS Opt -Out and Reemployment Provisions of AS 39.35.150(b). 4. Discussion -- Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association Donation/Midget U- 16 Team 5. Discussion -- Budget Work Session Date Possible Rescheduling ITEM J: REPORT OF THE MAYOR ITEM K: ADMINISTRATION REPORTS 1. City Manager 2. Attorney 3. City Clerk ITEM L: DISCUSSION 1. Citizens (five minutes) 2. Council EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled ITEM M: ADJOURNMENT KENAI CITY COUNCIL - REGULAR MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 7:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS htt wvwcr. ci . kenai . ak. u s MINIJTRS ITEM A: CALL TO ORDER Mayor Williams called the meeting to order at approximately 7:10 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Kenai City Hall Building. A-1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Williams led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. A-2. ROLL CALL Roll was taken by the City Clerk. Present were: Joe Moore Pat Porter Blaine Gilman Rick Ross Mayor John J. Williams James C. Bookey, III Linda Swarner A-3, AGENDA APPROVAL MOTION: Council Member Bookey MOVED to approve the agenda as presented and Council Member Moore SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED, A-4, CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: Council Member Bookey MOVED to approve the consent agenda as presented and Council Member Moore SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. ITEM B: SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS B-1. Council Member Bookey/2004 Arctic Winter Games Presentation Council Member Bookey, with Arctic Winter Games General Manager Loren Smith and Kenai Chamber Executive Assistant Kathy Moore gave a presentation based on their recent experience in attending the 2004 Arctic Winter Games in Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 PAGE 2 ITEM C: REPORTS OF KPB ASSEMBLY9 LEGISLATORS AND COUNCILS -- No report ITEM D: PUBLIC HEARINGS -- None. ITEM E: COMMISSION / COMMITTEE REPORTS E-1. Council on Aging -- No report. Applications submitted to be considered for placement on the committee were reviewed and the application of Dan English was recommended by Mayor Williams for appointment. There were no objections from council. Clerk Freas was requested to forward a letter of appointment. E-2. Airport Commission -- Council Member Moore reported the Commission would meet again on April 8, 2004. E-3. Harbor Commission -- Council Member Bookey noted a work session was held with the Harbor Commission and council prior to this council meeting. He stated it was refreshing to have the council be asked for support and not financial l support for a project. 1 E-4. Library Commission -- Council Member Gilman reported a meeting was held April and the Commission discussed a bill before the state legislature relating to libraries and privacy for minors; modified their goals and objectives by including the desire to work cooperatively with the Alaska Court System to help finance an addition to the city library and house the legal texts; meeting on a monthly basis; and generally discussed a library expansion. E-5. Parks & Recreation Commission -- No report. E-6. Planning & Zoning Commission -- Council Member Ross reported the minutes of the February 24 meeting were included in the packet. E-7. Miscellaneous Commissions and Committees E-7a. Beautification Committee -- Council Member Swarner reported the next meeting was scheduled for April 13 and noted she would not be in attendance. Council Member Porter stated she would attend for Swarner. E-7b. Kenai Convention & Visitors Bureau Board -- Council Member Porter reported the minutes of the last meeting were in the packet. She also reported she discussed their budget with the new executive director, and the Board would like a joint work session with council to discuss the direction council wants them to take, their lease and contract. Freas was requested to place the issue on the May 5 agenda. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 PAGE 3 E-7c. Alaska Municipal League Report -- Swarner reported she would be attending the AML spring meetings in Juneau April 13-15. Williams stated he would also be attending and will attend additional meetings with Council Member Gilman, who would be in Juneau on private concerns. E-7d. Kenai Chamber of Commerce -- Kathy Moore, Chamber Executive Assistant noted a bowling fund raiser was scheduled for April 24; the Officer Watson memorial fund was progressing well; and the next board meeting was scheduled for April 8. E-7e. Arctic Winter Games -- Moore reported the next meeting was scheduled for April 8. He requested Council Member Bookey be appointed as an additional city alternate. Council had no objections. ITEM F: F-1. ITEM G: ITEM H: ITEM I: MINUTES Regular Meeting of March 17, 2004 -- Approved by consent agenda. CORRESPONDENCE -- None. OLD BUSINESS -- None. NEW BUSINESS I-1. Bills to be Paid, Bills to be Ratified MOTION: Council Member Bookey MOVED to pay the bills and Council Member Swarner SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED, I-2. Purchase Orders Exceeding $2,500 MOTION: Council Member Bookey MOVED to approve the purchase orders exceeding $2,500 and Council Member Swarner SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED, I-3. Ordinance No. 2037-2004 -- Amending KMC 23.40.080 to Provide for a Five Year Maximum Period of Reemployment for Those Persons Participating in the PERS Opt -Out and Reemployment Provisions of AS 39.35.150(b). KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 PAGE 4 Introduced by consent agenda. I-4. Discussion -- Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association Donation/Midget U- 16 Team Williams explained he bid on lessons for operating a Zamboni at the KPHA fundraiser for the Midget U-16 Team who would be traveling to Florida to play in a national tournament. To his surprise, he won the bid at $650 and asked if council was willing to pay the amount so that city employees would receive the training. Bookey stated he felt the purchase of the lessons would be a direct benefit to the city and because none of the city employees could run the machine, he felt the donation was fitting. MOTION: Council Member Bookey MOVED to give a donation of $650 to the Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association for the purchase of Zamboni lessons. Council Member Porter � SECONDED the motion. Council Member Gilman stated he objected to the donation, but offered to personally pay half of the cost. He noted, he did not feel it was appropriate for council to support one sports group over another and that it was a bad precedent. Council Member Moore disqualified himself from the issue as he felt he had a conflict of interest due to his son being a member of the team. Mayor Williams stated he would make the donation personally and the motion was not voted. I-5, Discussion -- Budget Work Session Date Possible Rescheduling Due to some scheduling conflicts, Mayor Williams requested the April 15 work session be rescheduled. The work session schedule was amended to be: April 12, 2004, 6 p.m., Council Chambers -- Gilman will be absent. April 15, 2004 -- Cancelled April 19, 2004, 6 p.m., Council Chambers -- Williams will be absent. April 27, 2004, 6 p.m., Council Chambers Council had no objections. ITEM J: REPORT OF THE MAYOR KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7 2004 PAGE 5 Williams reported he was asked to attend a dinner at which Richard Warrington would be presented with a commendation for his work with the Brain Injury Prevention group. ITEM K: ADMINISTRATION REPORTS K-1. City Manager -- City Manager Snow reported the following: • The old FAA antenna property (last property to be included in the Millennium Square) was transferred to the real estate division for their review which should take approximately three to four weeks and could include requesting additional work from the contractor. However, she expects after three or four weeks, the status should be known and felt the property should be deeded to the city during the summer. • She will include her analysis of what kind of administrative and field work would be involved if the council decided it wanted to enact and to authorize the administration to enforce Kenai Peninsula Borough Code 21.18 relating to Anadromous Streams Habitat Protection. She noted, she was very close to finishing the work and it was intended to schedule the matter for discussion by the Planning 8v Zoning and Harbor Commissions at their next meetings. She will also forward a copy to council members to have it at the same time the commissions receive it. • She and Director Frates discussed the possibility of flea markets being held at the multipurpose facility during the summer as suggested by the Parks & Recreation Commission. Frates is preparing bid specifications and notice to advertise a Request for Proposals and they are hoping someone or group from the community will be interested taking on the lease of space. A brief discussion followed of whether the sale of guns would be included and it was stated that issue was being researched and discussed. It was also reported a year-end use report for the ice facility will be forwarded to council in the near future. Finance Director Semmens reported the following items: • He and Airport Manager Cronkhite attended the Borough Assembly meeting of April 6 and gave testimony in support of their flat tax for aircraft. He noted his pride of Cronkhite's eloquent testimony of the vision of aviation in Alaska and Kenai. Semmens stated the ordinance was passed by the Assembly and the next step would be for the council to consider whether to amend the City's code to mirror the borough ordinance. • He has twice spoken in teleconferences relating to HB91, adding five years of medical benefits for police and fire. Since then, a more reasonable fiscal note came out and instead of costing .97% of police and fire payroll, it will now cost at lease 3.11 % (tripled). Semmens explained, instead of costing $1.7 million a year for the benefit, it would be $5.5 million in the first year. The bill has been amended to require the State of Alaska to pay all of the costs associated with HB91. He noted his doubts j of how the costs would be allocated. He also reported letters from PERS and TERS '4 KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 PAGE 6 were sent to the Legislature requesting no further changes to their systems be made by the Legislature. Semmens stated his concern was if there is support of the bill in Labor and Commerce or Senate Finance, the requirement of the State to pay the costs would be removed or in the future, the State will decide it cannot afford to pay the municipalities' share and the costs will be borne by the municipalities. For Kenai, he estimated the cost to be $86,000 a year. A lengthy discussion followed on the bill and the PERS retirement program. Ross stated he would like to pursue a compromise of HB91 which would allow retirement at the age of 50 with a minimum of 20 years work for police and fire. Williams requested Semmens prepare a synopsis of his testimony for him to take to Juneau to distribute to the members of the Senate. K-2. Attorney -- No report. K-3. City Clerk -- Clerk Freas noted council had requested a letter be sent to those persons who, over the last six months, stated their interest in forming special assessment districts for street improvements in their subdivisions. She referred to a draft letter included in the packet which she prepared and asked if council wanted the letter to be forwarded. Consensus of council was to send the letter. ITEM L: DISCUSSION L-1. Citizens John "Ozzie" Osborne -- Stated he filed to run for the position of State Representative in House District 33. He reported it was his intention to attend both the Kenai and Soldotna council meetings to keep up-to-date with issues and concerns. L-2. Council Bookey -- No comments. Swarner -- No comments. Moore -- • Thanked the public and Mayor Williams for their contributions to the KPHA U-16 team. • Asked about a junk vehicle sitting on the Burger King property. Attorney Graves reported he was trying to find the owner of the vehicle; letters have been sent to the owner of the property; by city code, because the vehicle is sitting on private } property, the city cannot remove the vehicle without serving a search warrant; and the KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 7, 2004 PAGE 7 code could be amended to allow removal from private property without a search warrant. Porter -- • Recommended a new policy from council relating to renewal of terms on boards, committees and commissions, i.e. the person, if interested in serving an additional term, would be required to complete a new application and that application be considered along with any others that may have been submitted. She will discuss the issue with the City Clerk. • Reported she had received concerns council had determined the Dust Bowl property not available for sale at their last meeting (she was absent) without the proposed purchaser being present. The purchaser discussed his concerns with her that he was not given the opportunity to follow the procedure through though she felt he understood why council did not want to sell the property. Administration was asked to contact the purchaser and ask if he wanted to be placed on the April 21 agenda to discuss the issue further with council. Swarner -- Stated, because she would be meeting with the purchaser, she would ask whether he would want to discuss the Dust Bowl property further. She also noted, the purchaser was also interested in property along Lawton Drive which is currently zoned conservation and is interested in knowing the procedures for rezoning property from conservation. Gilman -- Reported he would not be at the April 12 budget hearing or the April 21 council meeting. Ross -- Reported the Stranded Gas Committee participation will go into October to review an additional application. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled ITEM M: ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:24 p.m. Minutes transcribed and prepared by: Carol L. Freas, City Clerk