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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-12-01 Council MinutesAGENDA KENAI CITY COUNCIL - REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 1, 1999 7:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS http: Z Z www.ci.kenai.ak.us 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) ITEM C: PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Resolution No. 99-66 -- Supporting a Charter Agreement Between the State of Alaska and BP/Amoco on the Acquisition of ARCO Alaska. ITEM D: COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REPORTS 1. Council on Aging 2. Airport Commission 3. Harbor Commission 4. Library Commission 5. Parks & Recreation Commission 6. Planning & Zoning Commission 7. Miscellaneous Commissions and Committees a. Beautification Committee b. Historic District Board C. Kenai Visitors & Convention Bureau Board d. Alaska Municipal League Report ITEM E! MINUTES 1. *Regular Meeting of November 17, 1999. CORRESPONDENCE OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS 1. Bills to be Paid, Bills to be Ratified 2. Purchase Orders Exceeding $2,500 3. Approval -- Special Use Permit -- Harvesting Spruce Beetle Killed/Infested Spruce Trees/Bill Joyce, d/b/a Arctech Services, Inc. 4. Approval -- Amendment to Schedule B of the Public Utility Regulations and Rates/Commercial Service (Non -Metered) Adding a New Section to Include Ballfields/Playfields (including Oiler Park). ITEM I: ADMINISTRATION REPORTS 1. Mayor 2. City Manager 3. Attorney 4. City Clerk 5. Finance Director 6. Public Works Managers 7. Airport Manager ITEM J: DISCUSSION 1. Citizens (five minutes) 2. Council EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled ADJOURNMENT AGENDA KENAI CITY COUNCIL - REGULAR MEETING DECEMBER 1, 1999 7:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS http://www.cl*.kenai.ak.us VICE MAYOR LINDA SWARNER, PRESIDING ITEM A: CALL TO ORDER Vice Mayor Swarner called the meeting to order at approximately 7:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Kenai City Hall Building. A-1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Vice Mayor Swarner led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. A-2. ROLL CALL Roll was taken by the City Clerk. Present were: Moore, Bannock, Frazer, Bookey, and Swarner. � Absent were: Williams and Porter A-3. AGENDA APPROVAL Vice Mayor Swarner noted documents marked H-1 and H-2 in the packet had been reversed in error. She then requested the following changes to the agenda: SUBSTITUTE: H-2, Purchase Orders Exceeding $2,500 -- adding purchase orders to Greatland Fence Co. and Burley's Rink Supply. MOTION: Councilman Bannock MOVED for approval of the agenda as amended and Councilman Bookey SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. A-4. CONSENT AGENDA Vice Mayor Swarner noted she had no changes to the consent agenda. MOTION: Councilman Bookey MOVED for approval of the consent agenda as presented and Councilman Bannock SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO � ORDERED. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 2 ITEM B: SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS -- None. ITEM C: PUBLIC HEARINGS C-1. Resolution No. 99-66 -- Supporting a Charter Agreement Between the State of Alaska and BP/Amoco on the Acquisition of ARCO Alaska. MOTION: Councilman Moore MOVED for approval of Resolution No. 99-66 and Councilman Frazer SECONDED the motion. There were no public comments. Moore noted, during the work session prior to the council meeting, the legislators indicated an agreement had been struck between the State and BP/ARCO and would be signed in the morning. He added, he was not comfortable in considering the resolution without knowing what the agreement contained. Bookey stated he had the same concerns and added, he didn't think council knew enough about the agreement to pass or fail the resolution. MOTION: Councilman Bookey MOVED to table Resolution No. 99-66 until the second meeting in January and Councilman Frazer SECONDED the motion. VOTE: Moore: Yes Porter: Absent Bannock: Yes Frazer: No Williams: Absent Bookey: Yes Swarner: Yes MOTION PASSED. ITEM D: COMMISSION / COMMITTEE REPORTS D-1. Council on Aging -- Swarner reported the minutes of the November 17, 1999 Council on Aging meeting were included in the packet. D-2. Airport Commission -- Bannock reported the minutes of the November 18, 1999 meeting were included in the packet. He noted he was out of town and did not attend the meeting. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 1 DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 3 D-3, Harbor Commission -- Bookey reported the next meeting was scheduled for December 6, 1999. He noted a copy of the Kenai Coastal Trail/Bluff Restoration Draft had been distributed to council with their packets. He added, a workshop to review the draft was scheduled for December 7 at 7:00 in the council chambers and the public was invited to attend and participate. Bookey stated, he discussed the draft briefly with Kornelis and was amazed the cost of the project was estimated to be $7 million. However, he was not sure the project could be done for that price. Bookey suggested council review the report prior to the workshop. D-4. Library Commission -- Moore reported the next meeting was scheduled for December 7 and that a holiday party would be held at the Library for families on Saturday and the annual Library Open House was scheduled for Thursday, December 9 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. D-5. Parks & Recreation Commission -- Frazer noted, the next meeting would be held on December 3 in the council chambers, beginning at 7:00 p.m. D-6. Planning & Zoning Commission -- Bannock reported the minutes of the November 10 Commission meeting were included in the packet. He noted, the November 24 meeting had been cancelled due to the Thanksgiving holiday. D-7. Miscellaneous Commissions and Committees D-7a. Beautification Committee -- Swarner reported the Committee's December meeting had been cancelled. D-7b. Historic District Board -- Moore reported the Board would meet again on January 17, 2000. D-7c. Kenai Visitors & Convention Bureau Board -- Bookey reported no meeting had been held since his last report. D-7d. Alaska Municipal League Report -- No report. ITEM E: MINUTES E-1. Regular Meeting of November 17, 1999. Approved by consent agenda. ITEM F: CORRESPONDENCE -- None. � ITEM G: OLD BUSINESS -- None. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 4 ITEM H: NEW BUSINESS H-1. Bills to be Paid, Bills to be Ratified MOTION: Councilman Moore MOVED to pay the bills exceeding $2,500 and Councilman Bookey SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. H-2. Purchase Orders Exceeding $2,500 MOTION: Councilman Moore MOVED to approve the Substitute Purchase Orders Exceeding $2,500 and Councilman Bookey SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. H-3. Approval -- Special Use Permit -- Harvesting Spruce Beetle Killed/Infested Spruce Trees/Bill Joyce, d/b/a Arctech Services, Inc. City Manager Ross explained the Special Use Permit would enact the Fire Wise Program under Project Impact. He noted, the project would be taking place behind Oiler Park and East Kenai Trails and would remove beetle -killed trees. He noted, there would be no cost to the city for the work and added, this was a trial project and if successful, they would be able to go to other areas within the city to do similar work. At that time, the work would be bid out and would allow property owners to participate with reduced rates. Ross also noted, the work would be done in the winter to allow for on -site slash burning, making it more economical to the individual harvesting the wood. He added, the Oilers' were working with the city and it was hoped the dead tree problems would be cleaned out in both the areas. MOTION: Councilman Bookey MOVED to approve the Special Use Permit harvesting spruce beetle kill infested spruce trees with Bill Joyce, d/b/a Arctech Services, Inc. Councilman Bannock SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. H-4. Approval -- Amendment to Schedule B of the Public Utility Regulations and Rates/Commercial Service (Non -Metered) Adding a New Section to Include Ballf elds / Playfields (including Oiler Park) . KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 5 Ross reported this matter came to his attention and he initially spoke to council approximately two months ago about it. He explained, the Peninsula Oilers was a user of the water/ sewer system, but were not paying any water/ sewer charges. He noted, the Code require all users to be billed. He asked council to divorce the issue with the Oilers from the proposed schedule change if possible. Ross continued, the memorandum included in the packet outlined what the impact to the Oilers would be, but as Councilman Bannock pointed out previously, the city has its own ballfields, play fields, soccer fields, etc. for which the General Fund was being subsidized by the Water/ Sewer Fund for the maintenance and watering of those fields. Ross added, the regulation before council would apply to playfields, ballfields, soccer fields. He noted, the current regulations, in talking about a recreation facility, did not apply to the applications where there was not a sewer demand. He asked council to review the regulation. He noted, administration showed (in the memo) what the impact would be on the Oilers. However, this was a regulation where the city could not meter its own usages and some were on a hydrant system where gallonage could not be computed. He added, the impetus for the amendment was after reviewing the Oilers situation. It was not a specific schedule change directed at the Oilers as much as to address the problem Bannock raised in that the matter had not been addressed on the city's other fields. Ross asked council to discuss and consider the amendment from that basis and after action is taken on the amendment, discuss the Oiler situation. Bannock asked if this was not an Oiler situation, who also would be charged under this scenario. Ross answered, the General Fund would be the main one because the city's softball fields were not. leased to anyone else, and were watered. The General Fund had not been reimbursing the Water/ Sewer Fund for that use. He noted, the Little League fields were not under the sole control of any organization and it would be the General Fund paying for that water use. The soccer fields, if not through the school system, would have to be investigated to know what to do. Ross continued, this would provide the city with a tool for pulling off the main. Bannock asked if currently there was a General Fund line item to repay the Water/ Sewer Fund, either line item or by bulk. Ross stated no and explained it was done by building. He noted, all the city buildings paid for water and sewer. In addition, all the outhouses in the various parks had been traditionally paying a water/sewer rate. The only place it had not been done was on the field watering. He noted, there had been no charge or monies transferred from the General Fund to the Water/ Sewer Fund for the cost of that water. Ross added, that was an issue Bannock brought up a month previous. Ross explained, they were showing what the application would be to the Oilers under a recreational facility versus this approach (the current regulation) , which would also apply to the city's own operations in the General Fund. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 6 Bannock noted, he believed it was fair to say that a General Fund to Water/ Sewer Fund was nothing more than, in simplistic terms, one pocket to the other and whether or not it showed on the budget, to the net effect to the city was absolutely nil. He added, there was "zero" difference and it begged the question, the General Fund pays an expenditure to the Water/ Sewer Fund and the Water/ Sewer Fund gets an increase. If done by budget by giving Parks & Recreation $10,000 in their budget to pay water/ sewer another $10,000, it would net itself out. Bannock asked, other than the Oilers' organization, who was expected to pay the costs. Ross answered, the General Fund; when it pays for water/ sewer services, it is a line item in the department's budget. He added, when the General Fund pays the Water/ Sewer Fund for those services, it was a recognition that the Water/ Sewer Fund was supposed to be self-supporting by the users which is generally the residences and the commercial that are hooked up. He added, there were facilities in the community, such as City Hall, who had a tax base that went beyond the users of the water/ sewer system. He added, it was the same for the Little League parks. Ross explained, the General Fund makes a contribution on behalf of all taxpayers, not just users of the system. In essence, when the General Fund pays, it was in theory, one pocket going to another, but represented users of the system and the general taxpayers, outside the users of the system (those hooked up). Bookey asked if the Water/ Sewer Fund was a standalone fund. Ross answered yes it was. He added, it would be an enterprise fund except there was no depreciation charged against it. Bookey added, then to keep it equitable for everyone, everyone hooked up to it pays their fair share. Ross noted, every organization in the community, non-profit or otherwise, pays. Bookey asked, by ordinance (taking the Oilers completely out of it), it had to be done, but was something that had not been done in the past. Ross answered yes and added, if the regulation (amendment) was not approved, it would not stop the city administration from billing the Oilers. He added, the Oilers would be billed at the (current) higher rate under Recreation. That was why he wanted the discussion to be handled as two issues. Council could then discuss who should or should not pay the Oilers' bill. It would be a separate subject. Ross noted, if council did not support the regulation (amendment), the Oilers would not be billed based on the regulation amendment, but at the higher charge of a Recreation facility (in the current regulation) . Frazer asked, if the regulation was approved, then in some form the city could change how the Oilers would be charged or who would pay the Oilers' bill would be a separate issue. He added, the regulation could be approved and exempt the Oilers from the regulation as it was written there. Ross stated, he wanted council to look at the regulation without considering how or who should pay the Oilers' bill. If council should determine they didn't want the Oilers to pay the bill, there were two ways he would discuss with them: they pay the bill and the council donates that cost back to the Oilers in their Legislative budget or since they are a lessee, the lessor could pay KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 7 the bill. He noted, the city had a lease agreement with the KVCC* under which the City of Kenai paid the bill. The Oiler lease could be amended if council chose to do that. He noted, he saw that as a separate issue from whether or not the Oilers should be billed. Ross noted, every city facility was billed. Frazer asked if the Borough or Boys & Girls Club, who use the soccer fields, were considered users and was the Borough being billed for water. Ross asked Semmens if the Borough was on a metering system. Semmens did not have that information with him. Ross explained, if the Borough schools were on a metering system, and it was out of their metering system, it would be a gallonage charge. If the Borough schools were on a flat -rate system, then they were on a demand -line charge as well as a use charge. He added, if it turned out those fields were not on part of their system and the city was doing the watering, administration would have to look at what the gallonage flow was coming off the main and figure it into a back payment to the Water/ Sewer Fund from the General Fund. However, if it is part of the school system, they were already paying the bill based on the line charge just as an individual home would be paying for the watering of a lawn. Frazer stated it appeared to him, whether the regulation was separated or not, the only affected entity was Oiler Park and it seemed to him that if they were to be assessed approximately $1,400 a year, council should be assured that other similar entities would be paying their fair share. He added, he would want to know if the water costs for the soccer fields were being paid through the Boys 8v Girls Club or school before he would support the regulation change. Moore stated the cost did not represent a lot, including the Little League and softball field watering. He noted, Ross' comment was that if the regulation change was not approved, city administration would bill the Oilers, Little League and softball fields as required by the Code. Moore asked if administration discussed the exclusion of certain areas of use by the general public. Ross answered, if council was going to that part of the conversation, he would prefer council bill the Oilers and donate through their miscellaneous budget, or change the lease. He added, if they start with a rate schedule that shows someone being exempt, a door would be opened for non -profits, churches, and anyone else who felt they had as worthy a cause or were just as important to the community as the Oilers. Ross added, he would not want to see council go there. Bookey agreed with Ross and added, he believed the regulation amendment should be approved at this time and there would be time through the winter for the Oilers to propose a plan or for the city to negotiate a plan during budget hearings, etc. He noted, he did not want another bill going to the Oilers and that he felt it was a housekeeping measure that should have been done a long time ago which just caught KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 8 up to them. Bookey added, he wasn't sure what could be worked out to work for the Oilers, but it definitely needed to be taken care of because the Oilers would be charged either way. Bannock stated he didn't believe the Oilers had to be charged because they had been in the location for 15-20 years without being charged. He added, it was, in fact, something selective. Bannock stated, he wanted to know who else the General Fund was paying the water/ sewer except for the special revenue funds. Collectively the city had been paying the charges no differently than every other park, etc. The city would not have to decide the Oilers had to pay a $ 1 a year or $1,400 a year. He added, he was not totally opposed to negotiating a lease, but that would have the same net effect on the city's cash flow as it did now. He suggested, if the Oilers were told they would pay $2,000 a year for water/ sewer and then the lease was amended to say the lessor would pay the water/ sewer, the net effect would be zero. Bannock stated, he was very disappointed the only entity the amendment would affect was Oiler Baseball. Ross explained, under Bannock's approach, the City of Kenai should not be paying through the General Fund (all the taxpayers of the city) for water/ sewer services received by city buildings which was currently done at approximately $20,000 a year. He added, that $20,000 would be apportioned back to the residences and businesses of the community which were the users to the water/ system which had no recognition of the tax base that uses the system that is not hooked up. Bannock disagreed and stated they were already doing it through the General Fund. He added, the money was not coming from those people's pay checks, but from the General Fund which was collectively money from all those people Ross had listed. Bannock stated, they were talking about new revenue. Bookey stated he saw a problem that by the Water/ Sewer Fund being a standalone fund, the bill has to be paid whether it would be by the Oilers, the city, or a resident. He added, he didn't understand Bannock's theory because a standalone fund had to be paid for the service being rendered. Frazer asked who had been paying for the water/ sewer service at Oiler park for the past 25 years. Ross answered, it had not been billed. Frazer asked if any other entities fell under the same circumstance. Ross answered no. He added, administration knew of no one else hooked up to the city's water/ sewer system that was not paying. Ross explained, that was the basic problem because the City Code required, through the city manager, that all people hooked up to the system be billed. Unless the code was changed, in January the Oilers would be billed under one of the two schedules. He added, if council did not pass the lower rate, the Oilers would be billed at the higher rate. Ross added, when the city's system was reviewed, they would use the higher rate. Ross again requested council to consider the rate schedule amendment absent who would be writing the check and discuss who would be writing the check at a later point. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES � DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 9 Frazer stated he was confused that there was concern over an amount of $1,375 or more to a non-profit organization that also provided a facility for the American Legion, when council just approved approximately $10,000 for items at the ice rink and $800,000 previously for that facility. Ross stated the multi -purpose facility, when hooked up, would be paying water/ sewer charges. He added, the issue first came to him with the file and a note stating the Oilers had not been billed for water/ sewer charges over the years. Ross stated, he could either ignore the file or follow the code, but he would follow the code. He added, the Oilers were hooked up to the system and the code requires everyone hooked to the system should pay for the services. He noted there were other non -profits in the community who also contribute to the community. Who should pay the bill was a separate issue from whether the regulation should be amended. Bannock proposed a motion to amend the memorandum adding a new section to Schedule B, Commercial Service, Non -Metered under usage charge as follows: Ballfield/ Playfields per restroom, $1.00 for water, $1.00 for sewer, use charge only from October through April. There was no second and the discussion continued. Bookey stated for clarification, if the amendment was not approved, the Oilers would be charged more in the future, but the Little League fields would be charged more, as well as the other sport activity facilities (through charges from the General Fund to the Water/ Sewer Fund) . Bannock noted, the Water/ Sewer Fund would take an increase and the General Fund would take a decrease. Bannock stated it was a no -net gain and was silly. Frazer stated he didn't believe the Little League or Boys 8s Girls Club paid anything for water and Bookey stated that was correct. Bookey corrected his comment by stating, the General Fund paid for it. Moore stated to help clarify, if $20,000 was pulled from the Water/ Sewer Fund revenues, it would be made up by those paying it. He noted, those monies would come from the other users of the system, i.e. himself, Bannock, etc. Bannock stated, the money was already there and had no net effect on anything except for one organization. Ross stated that was incorrect and added, it would build the fund balance of the Water/ Sewer Fund which was restricted and could not be used for General Fund purposes. Bannock noted, it was still the city's money. Ross explained, the basic issue was the code required all users connected to the system to pay, not whether or not it made a net affect to a fund balance in either one. The code was very specific: all users connected will pay. He added, the issue he wanted council to decide was if it was a reasonable regulation, differentiating between a recreational facility and a ballfield. Ross noted, administration would prefer, since a recreational facility had a larger sewer use in proportion to the water use, would benefit the General Fund in giving the city a reduced rate when the city was charged and leaving the Oilers out of the picture. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 10 Semmens stated another issue to consider was that the regulation would say "use charge only" from October through April; the existing regulation said "demand charge only." He added, the demand charge was substantially higher than the use charge. Semmens noted, the amendment to the regulation would significantly reduce the rate during the off season. Frazer noted, if the regulation amendment was approved it would affect Oiler Park. He asked if it would affect the amount the Water/ Sewer Fund would charge the General Fund for the Little League and softball fields. Ross answered yes and added, in some cases where the city had outhouses, the city was already paying for them. If the use was coming off the main with a hose bib, it would save the city money. If they were using hydroflowage and metering the gallonage, it may not. He noted, the Oilers could choose to put in a meter and save more off the schedule. Ross added, he wouldn't know what the difference would be because it would vary from field to field. However, it would result in a reduced charge. MOTION: Councilman Bookey MOVED to approve the amendment to Schedule B of Public Utility Regulations and Rates, Commercial Services, Non -Metered, adding a new section to include ballfields and playfields, including Oiler Park as presented in the amendment. Councilman Moore SECONDED the motion. Bannock questioned the comment that an increase from 0 to $1,375 was a decrease. Ross stated he misunderstood Frazer's question, thinking he asked if it would be a decrease to the General Fund. Bannock stated he was not referring to that question. Moore stated, if nothing was done, the charge would be higher. Bannock stated that would be status quo and asked what they were doing. Ross answered, right now the city was in violation of the city code. Bannock asked if they (the Oilers) were being charged at this time and Ross answered, no, which was a violation of the city code. Bannock stated that was zero and Bookey added, but it was a violation of the city code and that was illegal. VOTE: Moore: Yes Porter: Absent Bannock: No Frazer: No Williams: Absent Bookey: Yes Swarner: Yes MOTION FAILED. ITEM I: ADMINISTRATION REPORTS KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 11 I-1. Mayor -- Vice Mayor Swarner reported Mayor Williams had contacted her and asked if the proposed cost of $7.1 million for the Kenai Coastal Trail/Bluff Restoration Project was accurate and if others had received the postcard notification of the hearing. Ross answered, the cost estimate question should be asked at the public workshop on December 7 and it was not known if others received the notification. I-2. City Manager -- a. KRSMA Draft Plan -- Ross reported he advised the KRSMA Board of the city's position that it will consider their recommendations in the management plan during the updating of the City of Kenai Comprehensive Plan next year. b. Birch Island -- Ross reported he met with representatives of the Department of Natural Resources and discussed the city's suggested trade involving the restrictions on the FAA lands off Frontage Road. He noted, the initial reaction was positive and they would be discussing how to put that proposal together further. I-3. Attorney -- Graves reported, council had recently approved a Rescission of Lease with Mr. Zeecee Crow providing he entered into a payment schedule. He added, the lease was rescinded and Mr. Crow paid in full. I-4. City Clerk -- No report. I-5. Finance Director -- No report. I-6. Public Works Managers -- No reports. I-7. Airport Manager -- No report. ITEM J: DISCUSSION J-1. Citizens Debbie Sonberg -- 410 Cinderella Street. Sonberg noted she attended the last workshop for the Coastal Trail and was told she would receive a notice for future workshops. Sonberg stated she had not received a notice for the December 7 workshop. Kornelis noted, he contacted Petratrovich, Nottingham & Drage and was told the notices had been mailed and those persons attending the past workshop were to receive a notice for future workshops. He added, an advertisement was in the Peninsula Clarion. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES � DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 12 J-2. Council Bookey -- No comments. Moore -- Stated he was ready to work with the Oilers and Administration in regard to the water/ sewer issue. He added, he didn't want to impose something he felt would be unnecessary. Moore stated, he voted yes on the motion because he believed it would save money and made sense. Bannock -- No comments. Frazer -- No comments. Upon request of several citizens in the audience, Vice Mayor Swarner reopened the floor to public comments. John Lohrke -- Resident of Kenai. Lohrke introduced himself as President of the Peninsula Oilers. Lohrke asked why the Oilers had not been billed over the years. He suggested the answer be continually thought of while trying to determine what to do in order that an equitable situation be defined. He added, he thought it was the same answer why they had not been billed to this point. Ross stated he couldn't answer why the Oilers had not been billed. He stated he spoke with former Councilman Measles who had served on the Oilers' Board for many years. Measles could not think of a reason why the Oilers had not been billed and thought they had been billed over the years because he understood the Code required it. Ross added, he also contacted Mr. Baxter to research the Oilers' records for information and city administration researched their lease files and found nothing to direct the Oilers not to be billed. Ross noted, without something stating the Oilers were not to be billed, he had nothing to fall back on except the Code. If there had been something in the lease stating the City would pay the bill, there would have been a violation of the Code, but there would have been some definition of why they were in violation of the Code and would have brought that to council. He added, as it stood, he could not answer his question except to say the City was in violation of the Code and the Oilers should have been billed for the past 15 years. Lohrke stated he understood that Ross had to follow the Code, but as the issue was discussed further, it should be remembered. He added, he wasn't all that excited about the city having to consider a donation equal to the water usage to the Oilers' organization because they prided themselves in not having come to the city for money in the past and had been a self-sufficient organization. Lohrke noted the answer to his question of why the Oilers had not been billed over the years was "don't know." KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 13 Dwain Gibson -- Resident of Maple Drive, Kenai. Gibson stated he had been involved with the lease many years ago with City Attorney Rogers. He added, he worked with the city attorney but was not at the council meeting when the lease was approved. Gibson added, at that time the Oilers had water, the attorney knew they had water, and he thought most of the council members knew they had water or use of the water. When the lease was negotiated for $1.00 a year, it was under the assumption water was included,. even though it may not have been spelled out. Gibson stated, he always felt that way and was surprised the issue came up. Mike Baxter -- Resident of Woodland Subdivision, Kenai. Baxter stated, in researching when the lease was developed, he found that at the time there had been some assessments owed by the Oilers for water and sewer. The city was aware and the Oilers were aware. As they renegotiated the lease, part of the requirement was that the Oilers pay the assessments. Baxter added, the assessments were paid and knowing they owed the assessments and had never paid water at that time either, they were still lead to believe that as the ballpark was originally built with a lot of help from the community, the city provided the water because the ballpark was city property. Baxter noted, they had spent a great deal of money building new bathrooms during the year. He added, they built the bathrooms at their cost, which strapped their budget and were now being billed for future water/sewer costs. Baxter noted, their records didn't show a specific written agreement, but those were their feelings on the matter. Councilman Bookey stated he agreed with Councilman Moore in that he had no anticipation of the issue being a burden on the Oilers. He hoped that something would be worked out. Bookey added, he was disappointed the amendment had not been passed during the meeting in order to take care of the matter across the board on the legality concern. He noted, he felt there would be a way to work the issue out and that they had all winter and the budget sessions to work it out. He added, he thought the matter would be worked out and it would be beneficial and mutually agreed between both parties. Vice Mayor Swarner stated she voted to support the amendment to the Code because she didn't feel the city should be in violation of the Code and all the users should be billed. She added, she too wanted to work with the Oilers or other organizations in regard to the water bills. Swarner added, she understood the lease did not include everything and that was why she would not want to back -charge anyone for any of the water use. Swarner stated, at this point, she would support the city paying for the Oilers water and sewer as is done for the Visitors Center. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None Scheduled KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 1, 1999 PAGE 14 ITEM K: ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at approximately 7 : 5 5 p.m. Minutes transcribed and prepared by: 6,4-XZ Y. C-" � Carol L. Freas, City Clerk ovEo BY couracn