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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-08-14 Council Minutes - Special Meeting• KENAI CITY COUNCIL - SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 14919% 7:00 P.M. . KENAI SENIOR CITIZENS' CENTER �w CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 'E DISCUSSION ITEMS I. Discussion - Temporary City Manager Position (resumes attached in alphabetical order). 2. Discussion - Mission Street Paving Project r • KENAI CITY COUNCIL - SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 7100 P.M. KENAI SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER MAYOR JOHN J. WILLIAXB # PRESIDING • Mayor Williams called the meeting to order at approximately 7:04- p. m. Council present were: Smalley, Williams, Bookey, Swarner, Moore, Measles and Bannock. Staff present: Graves, Freas, Ernst, Burnett, Feltman, Frates, Kornelis, Kohler, and Porter. Others present: Bob Peters, Richard A. Ross, James E. Carter, Sr., and Paul Day. ✓�Y. _ . 1 _�i'.� Williams referred to a memorandum from Clerk Freas indicating she would be out-of-state from August 19-30, 1996. Council had no objections. Williams referred to the addition of materials to the agenda . Those materials were the resume and cover letters of George Edes and a response from Wayne J. Cherrier in regard to the Mission Street Paving project. Williams requested council discuss Item B-2 prior to B-1. There were no objections from council. B-2. Disoussion - Mission Street paving.Project Public Works Director Kornelis reviewed the response from Cherrier which was distributed at the beginning of the meeting. Cherrierts letter proposed."If the city would pave the small portion of Alaska Avenue (a public street) and:pays us $2,500.00 in cash; we will deed over to the Coity of Kenai, the 31822 sq. ft. of our property for the Right of Way to the Mission Street improvements." Kornelis stated that if the city would condemn the property, it would have to pay Cherrier $8,600 for the property (appraised value). He added, the paving on Alaska Avenue amounted to approximately 3,000 sq. ft. -He-had estimated it would cost. $3,000 to pave the parking lot and the road.and approximately $5,000 to do the street. Cherrier was asking for $2,500 and added to the $5;000 (for paving the street), it amounted to less than what the appraised value was on the parking lot property. •SPECIAL I{ENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 2 Williams asked if the right-of-way could be paid for by grant funds. Kornelis stated no, it would have to come from the General Fund. Smalley asked Kornelis if he felt confident that when they began excavation, they would find more work would be required than they now expected. Kornelis answered he felt confident the project could be done for approximately $7,000. He added, Cherrier had told him he didn't think there would be any problems found during excavation. There had not been a lot of problems over the years with the road settling. :fie would like to go forward with Cherrier's offer and have Attorney Graves draw up an agreement with Cherrier. The agreement of paving could be included in the Mission Street bid document but as a separate item. Bookey asked if there would be some test holes dug first. Kornelis stated yes, he would have some of the crew dig some holes with the back has next week. Smalley asked if there would be a clause in the agreement with Cherrier if something unacceptable was dug up the agreement would be voided. Bookey asked if the council would be willing to allocate additional funds if something bad is dug up. Kornelis stated they would dig three large test holes before entering into the agreement. If there's a problem he would stop the project at that time. $7,500 would need to be allocated in order to do the paving for Cherrier and pay for the right-of-way. Moore-asked-Karnelis if Cherrier stated the road was ready. Kornelis stated yes, verbally, he told him they'd only have to pave it. Williams asked Bookey if the road used to go the whole way through and if anyone would remember when the plat was changed. Bookey estimated it was changel in the late 601's. Williams noted the consensus of council was to move ahead and allow the department to do the test holes and formulate the contract with Cherrier, bringing it back to the next meeting. The tentative agreement outlined was acceptable to council and would be re-examined during the next meeting. There were no objections from council. Moore asked why Cherrier didn't take the $8,600 and pave the lot himself. Kornelis answered perhaps because he didn't want to deal with the paving, although he couldn't be sure. Kornelis added, he had been under the impression the Cherrier right-of-way •SPECIAL KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 3 was holding up the project. He just found out it wasn't, as the state had to do some archaeological studies, etc. They will be ready to pave Mission Street in the spring. B-i. Disauesion - Temporary City Manager Position (resumes attached in alphabetical order). Williams introduced the three candidates present: Richard A. Ross, James E. Carter, Sr. and Paul R. Day. He also noted the addition of the resume of George Edes. Williams suggested they handle the interviews somewhat informally and hopefully a decision could be made during the meeting. Williams requested the candidates come forward to the microphones during their interviews. Council had no objections. B-la. James Be Carter, Or.: Williams asked Carter to give an overview of his experience and his objective in applying for the • interim city manager position. Carter stated he had lived in Alaska for 50 years, 18 of those years in the Kenai area. He worked primarily with non -profits and government work. He worked for approximately 45 years in government; 32 years with .the FAA in Anchorage. He also worked for a short time assisting Mayor Gilman with reorganizing the Borough after Gilman's initial election. One of the main things he helped Gilman with was to separate the EDD from the Borough and into a non-profit organization --in order - to have better participation from each area of the Peninsula. He was the first executive director of the EDD during its start-up. He then was appointed to the APUC for a six -year term.. He resigned after three years. Carter stated he participated locally as a commissioner on the City of Kenai EDD Commission and was also the city's representative to the CIRCAC and was the first president and helped write their by-laws. He also helped, behind the scenes, with the building of the FAA Flight Service Station in Kenai. Bookey stated he was concerned that he was retired and leaves the state during the winter. He asked what he would do if the job would last for six months. Carter answered that he would stay. until the job was over. Swarner asked when he could start and Carter answered tomorrow. •SPECIAL KENAI AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE d CITY COUNCIL MEETING Moore asked Carter what he would bring to the City, i.e. his. objective, first steps, plan. Carter answered he would first have to get involved to see how things were. He purposely stayed away from the activities of the city for the last few months and only knew what he read in the paper. His purpose would be to come in with a clean and clear mind and start off fresh. He added, he thought he would bring continuity to the administration. He had a wealth of government experience and thought he knew some of the roads needing covered. Carter added, he was a no-nonsense administrator, however that didn't mean he wasn't compassionate, etc. He preferred not to be a hands-on administrator as he thought there were qualified department managers who knew their jobs. He also had very good knowledge of people in the city and with their help, he thought the job could be uncomplicated. Carter stated he could give four to six months of good service if . needed and with his background and experience, especially with dealing with the city, he thought he would be good help for the city. B-1b. Paul Day: Williams noted Mr. Day had worked for many years with the DCRA and in that capacity had been involved with the JTPA. Williams suggested the city reimburse Day for his out- of-pocket expenses in coming to Kenai. There were no objections from council. Day informed council he had been in Alaska for 20 years and work 14 of those years with DCRA. He then worked as the City Manager for the City of Nome for five years. He enjoyed working and living in Nome, but decided to marry and take some time off. Nome wanted him to stay. Day stated he had applied for a city manager position in Skagway, but would rather take a chance in Kenai as it was a larger community, more diverse and challenging. Day stated he had been the state president of the AMMA and he wag very familiar with Title 29, although he was aware Kenai was a home -rule city and Nome a first-class city. He felt working in Kenai would be an opportunity for all to re-examine what Kenai • wanted. He added, he was aware this interview was for an interim position, but wanted to be considered for a permanent position as well, but knew he would have to go through whatever interviews, etc. would be required for the permanent position. •SPECIAL KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 149 1996 PAGES Williams asked what'Day thought were his strongest points. Day stated he would first want to have a -work session with council to find out what council felt were the main issues before them. He would not want to just tread water, but could help in re - prioritizing city objectives, etc. He would meet with the department heads directly, review their budgets, find out from them how services could be improved. He would also provide a report to council upon his exit from the interim position. Day stated there were a lot of similarities between Kenai and Nome. He first noticed the resources in Kenai. While working in Nome, he wore many hats within his position. He would let the department heads do their jobs. He believed it would be an interesting challenge. Smalley asked what he would do if he were hired as the interim city manager and then offered a job in Skagway. Day answered, he would take the interim city manager position over that of the Skagway job. Nome also wanted him to come back, but he would rather try working in Kenai. He realized it was an interim position. His value would be to bring in other good candidates for council to review. Day stated he could start after Labor Day in order to move his belongings, etc. from Nome. e-lo. Richard A* Ross - Williams noted Ross was the past Chief of Police for the City of Kenai and wag -now -retired and working -in the-private.sector, Ross was well -aware of the..city and its operation. Rose stated because he knew the city, its organization, the employees, etc. and had been involved with the formulation of many of the city policies, he would give the council an opportunity to concentrate on the search for a city manager. He could hit the ground running. Ross added, he had a personal feel for the city, he knew the, community and community organizations well. He felt he had creditability with both the community and the city employees. Moore asked, with the situation here and having -been through what the city has, what would be his plan or management style to cover the interim period, Ross answered his plan would be not to look SPECIAL KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 6 at the past. He didn't think it would be a positive thing to do. From what he could tell, the department heads and employees stayed out of what had been going on. Bookey asked, since he was retired, would he be comfortable with the position for three to six months. Ross answered yes. He added, he had been trying to stay busy. He was not looking for a job, but at the same time, was willing to do it. Ross added, he would not be available until the and of the first week of September due to a previous commitment. Ross stated it was his understanding the council was looking for a city manager to perform the duties and responsibilities involved. He added, he also understood he would be supervised by the council as a whole and not individually by any one councilme3mber or the mayor. Ross asked if that was correct. Answer given was yes. • 8-14. Alaska Municipal League Talent Bank - Williams noted that after reading the letter (included in the packet) he would like to dismiss any involvement with the AML Talent Bank because of the time needed to make a placement, etc. Swarner stated she contacted AML and found they, at this time, had no one in their pool for a city manager position. The only person in the pool was Mr. Day and he wouldn't be under the AML agreement. Swarner added, she didn't have a problem with the AML requirement that the person would have to be hired for a year and would be a permanent employee. She thought that a good idea, however it'was null and void anyway. • B-1e. George Edee Reeume - Williams referred to the resume and stated he would prefer dismissing Edes as a possibility at the present time. He suggested a latter be sent to Edes and tell him to be aware of the future potential opportunity for a permanent position and resubmit his resume at a later date. Smalley agreed. There were no objections from council. Discussions Councilman Bookey stated he thought there were three very talented people, but was concerned about the length of time when some could start. He did not feel comfortable leaving the administration with filling in as an acting city manager. He added, he had known Ross for 38 years and Ross knew he had his •SPECIAL KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 7 support. He believed the city needed to fill the position right away. He thought it would be good to hire Carter as he could start right away. Bookey recommended Carter. Swarner stated she thought council needed to discuss the length of hire for an interim city manager. She thought the city should start advertising very soon and start the search immediately. She didn't want to prolong placing an interim city manager either. The city needed to move on. Councilman Bannock stated he agreed with most of Bookey's remarks. He added, thils process was very new to him. He thought all three applicants were very well qualified to serve the immediate needs of the city. He believed Day would make an attractive city manager, but he was not comfortable with an interim city manager that would be applying for a permanent position. Bannock added, he knew Ross to be of upstanding character and quality. He did not have a problem waiting for Ross to come to work. He felt Ross had the abilities and skills to bring the city back to where it needed to be. Bannock stated he would support Ross. He added, he also trusted Ross' judgement in hiring a permanent city manager and would look to Ross to help with that. Swarner asked Ross if he would be interested in the job in the future. Ross answered he didn't think so. He added, in the - past, the only time he did consider applying was after Bill Brighton passed away. However, he didn't meet the minimum education requirements council was looking for, so he didn't approach the idea. In looking at the idea of taking on the interim responsibilities, he would be in line with what Bannock had stated. He thought it would be inappropriate to apply for the full-time position if working as the interim manager. The interim manager should help in the final selection of the permanent manager. Swarner stated that even though Day was very well qualified, she did not feel comfortable with an interim manager applying for the full-time position. Mr. Day stated he understood and agreed. Councilman Moore stated he agreed with Mr. Bookey and that time was of the essence. Council needed to get the city back to . normalcy and he would support Carter. r, • SPECIAL KENAI C1TY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 8 Councilman Measles stated he agreed with both sides. He added, he didn't know Mr. Day, but did know both Ross and Carter for many years. He thought all were very well qualified. He also had the same concerns in regard to an interim applying for the permanent position. He added, he didn't have a problem waiting until the first of September to have someone start work as he did not think it was a big issue. Measles stated he would support Ross. Councilman Smalley agreed with most of what was said. He agreed with Swarner about beginning the search right away. The process needed to get started. In reviewing the candidates, Carter would come with a lot of knowledge of airports and personnel. Mr. Day was probably the most qualified of the three candidates, but Smalley had the same concerns with him being an interim and then applying for the permanent position. Smalley recommended Day apply for the full-time position when it became available. • Smalley added, Ross had been with the city for a long time and understood the idiocrasies of the departments and the employees. It was not a big concern to him in waiting until September because it was the city employees that had kept things going since June. Smalley stated he supported Ross. Bannock asked Acting City Manager Graves if he felt he had any conflicts if requested to continued as acting city manager until September. Graves answered that if council wanted him to continue he would stay on until the first of September. He -- added, he had reviewed his legal calendar and it was quiet. He didn't anticipate much coming up within the next few weeks. Mayor Williams thanked the candidates for attending the meeting. He stated he thought the time element was a concern. He thought there were some affairs of the city that needed to be dealt with, as soon as possible. He stated he would support Carter for various reasons, i.e. his work with EDD would be vhluable in formulating a proposal for a multi -national company wanting a large building site in the area; his past experience with FAA and CIRCAC would be valuable in light of the proposed ARFF project, Antenna Farm relocation, and contaminated soils concerns. Williams added, Carter had worked with all of that and had knowledge and relationships in the community that were long- standing. Williams noted Carter could begin work immediately and take an objective look at the operations of city hall and he is believed the staff could work with Carter. •SPECIAL KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 9 MOTION$ Councilman Bookey MOVED to hire James Carter as interim city manager and Councilman Moore SECONDED the motion. VOTE: Smalley: No Swarner: No Bannock: No MOTION PALLED. MOTION$ Williams: Yes Bookey: Yes Moore: Yes Measles: No Councilman Bannock MOVED to enter into an agreement with Richard A. Ross to be interim city manager. Councilman Smalley BECONDND the motion. • Moore asked if there would be started date. Bannock asked Ross when he could start. Ross answered he could start on Wednesday of the first week of September -- September 4. Councilman Bannock suggested he add to his motion "to begin on Wednesday, September 4, 1996," making the motion read, "...enter into an agreement with Richard A. Ross, to begin on Wednesday, September 4, 1996, to be interim city manager." Councilman Smalley had no objections.- There were no objections from council. VOTE: Smalley: Yes Swarner: Yes Bannock: Yes MOTION PABORD0 Williams: No Bookey: No Moore: Yes Measles: Yes Williams confirmed the start date would be September 4. Bannock thanked all of the applicants for attending the meeting and asked Mr. -Day to not leave Kenai out of his mind and he would look forward to seeing his resume for the permanent position. Moore asked if there would be a contract. Williams answered no, . the Charter stated the manager was an '*at will" employee. Attorney Graves handed out a draft professional services • SPECIAL KENAI AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL MEETING agreement (independent contractor) and stated the manager was to be appointed for an indefinite term. Graves added, the interim manager would ne paid a lump sum, would not be an employee and for Ross, wouldn't lose any PERS. Graves stated the agreement required a start and end date and the compensation. Measles suggested having the contract extend to January 8, 1997 and at the same time change the first meeting of the council in January, 1997 as the first of January would be the normal meeting date. There were no objections to moving the meeting date. Measles added, if no decision would be made by that time for the permanent position, the contract could be extended. Ross stated he had no problem with removing that sentence altogether. Graves explained either the city or Ross could give a ten day notice to end the contract. Ross added, that would still leave him as an independent contractor if they left out the sentence. Measles suggested adding "or until a permanent city manager is hired or agreement is terminated.' Graves stated that could be added, or they could rely on Paragraph 5 entitled Termination in which either party could terminate the agreement by giving a ten- day written notice to the other party. He added, if they don't have a term of contract, they would have to eliminate the last sentence of Paragraph 5. Measles agreed that Paragraph 5 would cover it. Compensation: Ross stated he would like to be compensated higher than the highest paid department head. Williams stated he thought the pay scale was out of line. Moore added, as an independent contractor the city would save 7.5% in social security. Smalley noted the previous city manager was making $6,800/mc., not including benefits, etc. Swarner asked Feltman stated That amount wa MOTIONI Feltman what the highest department head was paid. Kornelis was the highest paid at a Range 24CC. s $6,968/month. Councilman Measles MOVED to compensate interim City Manager Ross at $7,000 a month. Councilwoman Swarner SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. 80 ORDERED. •SPECIAL ICENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE it It was noted the $7,000/month would be gross with no benefits. Williams stated to Ross he would be expected to attend the September 4 council meeting and council would then have a list of directives for him. Williams suggested council make independent lists of concerns to bring to the meeting.. A time would be included on the agenda to discuss the duties and what council would expect of him during the interim period. Swarner stated she spoke with Kevin Ritchie and he suggested not going nationwide with advertising. Swarner requested the last job description used for advertising included in next week's packet and a list of publications in which the city advertised the position. Williams stated he was extremely uncomfortable in searching nationwide and felt there were very well qualified people in Alaska that could apply. He added, there was a large learning curve when someone is brought in from out of the state. He believed council needed to look at a method of how they would be searching for the city manager. Williams added, he thought they could begin advertising after the election. It would give some time to let things settle down. He wanted to wait until..both.the local and state/national elections were over. Smalley disagreed and thought they should start the process sooner. He suggested beginning advertising in September. Swarner agreed -and -added, she'didnot want to draw out the process as they did the last.time, Councilman Measles stated he thought advertising could begin in September as there were long lead times required for some of the publications in which they advertised. He added, the outcome of the elections wouldn't having any bearing on the city manager. Williams suggested discussing the matter on September 4 and have information in regard to deadlines of periodicals in that packet as well as in next meeting"s packet, if possible. Measles added, there was enough delay built into the process with publication deadlines, etc. It may take three months to get ads in some publications. Williams stated the matter would be discussed further during the September 4 meeting. • • • SPECIAL KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 14, 1996 PAGE 12 Diaoussion: Cemetery committee Smalley stated he had received a couple comments suggesting a Cemetery Commission be formulated. Bannock stated there had been discussion at a Parks & Recreation Commission meeting about that. The Commission was passing the discussion on as a request to council to make it a subcommittee of the Commission, something like the Townsite Historic Board is to the Planning & Zoning Commission. Clerk Freas was asked who was in charge of the Cemetery. She answered she handled the sale of plots and kept a record of plots, etc. The Parks & Recreation Department was in charge of maintenance and care of the cemetery. Freas added, her concern would be that council could have problems if setting up another commission as there were attendance problems and difficulties in getting volunteers to serve on the active commissions. She added, the Beautification Committee was originally the Cemetery Committee. Parks & Recreation Director Frates stated he agreed with Freas. He added, the idea was a subcommittee be formed from members of the Commission and Beautification Committee. They want to address some policy issues and other concerns. Tim Wisniewski had already expressed an interest. Williams stated the person who talked with him suggested some of the service organizations might be interested in looking after the cemetery. He added, he had strong reservations in setting up another commission. Williams stated this person had actually complained about the condition of the cemetery. Williams stated Parks & Recreation Commission should continue with their discussions and bring a recommendation to the council.. Williams again thanked the applicants for attending the meeting and submitting their resumes. He added, he looked forward to talking with them again. The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 p.m. Minutes transcribed submitted by: tM¢svEo BY COUNCIL. TCLWX DATE