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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-07-02 Council MinutesAGENDA KENAI CITY COUNCIL -REGULAR MEETING JULY 2, 2008 7:00 P.M. KENAI CITY COUNCIL http: / /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) City Manager Rick Koch -- Forestry Video (11 minutes) Judy Reese, Kenai Peninsula Fsre Wise Team/Division of Forestry -- Fire Safe Program Update ITEM C: UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS (3 minutes) ITEM D: REPORTS OF KPB ASSEMBLY LEGISLATORS AND COUNCILS ITEM E: PUBLIC HEARINGS (Testimony limited to 3 minutes per speaker.) Ordinance No. 2321-2008 -- Increasing Estimated Revenues and Appropriations by $250,000 in the Library Expansion Capital Project Fund and $750,000 in the Street and Sewer Capital Project Fund for Public Improvements. Ordinance No. 2322-2008 -- Placing on the Ballot for the Next General Election the Question As to Whether the Municipal Officers of the City of Kenai Should be Exempt From the Provisions of the State of Alaska Financial Disclosure Statutes (AS 39.50). 3. 'Ordinance No. 2323-2008 -- Amending KMC 1.85 by: 1) Updating the Financial Reporting Requirements for Municipal Officers and Candidates Contained in KMC 1.85.020; and, 2) Including the Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission in the Definition of "Municipal Officer in KMC 1.85.070; and, Including Stockbrokers and Financial Advisors in the List of Professionals Subject to Modified Requirements in KMC 1.85.030. 4. Ordinance No. 2325-2008 -- Amending the Code Violation Fine Schedule in KMC 13.10.015 to Include a Standard Fine of $500 for Trespass in Violation of KMC 3.20.010. 12esolution No. 2008-40 -- Contributing $5,000 to the Central Area Rural Transit System, Ina (CARTS) for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Transit Services. 12esolution No. 2008-41 -- Awarding the Bid to Alaska Enviroscape for Leif Hansen Park Sprinklers Installation - 2008 for the Total Amount of $52,630. ITEM F: MINUTES *Regular Meeting of June 18, 2008. ITEM G: ITEM II: i. Bills to be Ratified 2. Approval of Purchase Orders Exceeding $15,000 3. *Ordinance No. 2326-2008 -- Amending KMC 7.22.010 and Enacting a New Section of the Kenai Municipal Code (KMC 7.30.020) to Establish a New Investment Policy for the Airport Land Sale Permanent Fund. 4. *Ordinance No. 2327-2008 -- Amending the Official Kenai Zoning Map by Rezoning a Portion of Lot 4, FBO Subdivision No. 7 & Lot 5, FBO Subdivision No. 8 From Conservation to Light Industrial. 5. *Ordinance No. 2328-2008 -- Amending the Official Kenai Zoning Map by Rezoning Tract A, Gusty Subdivision No. 3, Tract B, Gusty Subdivision No. 6, and Tract C-1, Gusty Subdivision No. 7 From Conservation to Light Industrial. 6. *Ordinance No. 2329-2008 -- Amending the Official Kenai Zoning Map by Rezoning Tract lA of Buffalo Run Subdivision 2008 Replat (Preliminary Plat) Consisting of Approximately 72 Acres from Suburban Residential and Rural Residential to Rural Residential. 7. *Ordinance No. 2330-2008 -- Increasing Estimated Revenues and Appropriations by $25,000 in the Airport Special Revenue Fund and the Courthouse Parking Capital Project Fund for Engineering. 8. *Ordinance No. 2331-2008 -- Enacting a New Section of the Kenai Municipal Code (KMC 13.20.040) Titled "Trespass" Making It a Violation to Trespass Upon Real Property. 9. Approval -- Grant of Easement/T6N Rl 1W, Sections 32 & 33, Seward SW KN2006025, Baron Park 2006 Replat Lot A, Records of the Kenai Recording District (Slope Easement/Marathon Road Improvements). ITEM I: COMM%SSIONOCOMMITTEE REPORTS 1. Council on Aging 2. Airport Commission 3. Harbor Commission 4. Library Commission 5. Parks 8s Recreation Commission 6. Planning 8v Zoning Commission 7. Miscellaneous Commissions and Committees a. Beautification Committee b. Alaska Municipal League Report c. Mini-Grant Steering Committee 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 ITEM M: PENDING LEGISLATION (This item lists legislation which will be addressed at a later date as noted.) Ordinance No. 2314-2008 -- Enacting KMC 23.55.080 Providing for Longevity Pay of Two Percent (2%) for Certain Employees in Step CC in the City of Kenai Salary Schedule. (Postponed on June 4, 2008 to August 6, 2008.) -- City Manager Evaluation Continuation ITEM N: ADJOURNMENT KENAI CITY COUNCIL -REGULAR MEETING JULY 2, 2008 7:00 P.. KENAY C%TY COUNCIL CIIAMBERS http: / /www.ci.kenai.ak.us MAYOR PAT PORTER, PRESYDING MYNUTES ITEM A: CALL TO ORDER Mayor Porter called the meeting to order at approximately 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the Kenai City Hall Building. A-l. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Porter led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance. A-2. ROLL CALL The City Clerk took roll. Present were: Hal Smalley Barry Eldridge Rick Ross Robert Molloy Mike Boyle Pat Porter, Mayor Linda Swarner, Vice Mayor A quorum was present. Student Representative Maya Johnson: Absent A-3. AGENDA APPROVAL ADD TO: Executive Session -- Financial Matters SUBSTITUTE: H-8, Ordinance No. 2331-2008 -- (Change =removal of "or buildings" from 13.20.040(a)/first line), MOTION: Council Member Swarner MOVED for approval of the agenda as amended. Council Member Smalley SECONDED the motion and requested UNANIMOUS CONSENT. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. A-4. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: Council Member Swarner MOVED to approve the consent agenda and requested UNANIMOUS CONSENT. Council Member Smalley SECONDED the motion. There were no objections. SO ORDERED. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 2 Mayor Porter presented Finance Director Larry Semmens with an inscribed clock and thanked him for his years of dedication to the City of Kenai and commending him on his new position as City Manager at the City of Soldotna. ITEM B: SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS (10 minutes) B-Y. City Manager Rick Koch -- Forestry Video Koch reported the video would be reviewed during the Division of Forestry presentation. B-2. Judy Reese, Kenai Peninsula Fire Wise Team/Division off Forestry -- Fire Safe Program Update Reese presented a video and discussion related to the Fire Wise Protection Plan for the City of Kenai and its goal to protect life, safety and property. Discussion followed the presentation during which City Manager Koch noted, without further direction of council, when the team returned to continue its work in the City, the work would continue as it had been. Council Member Molloy requested a discussion item be included on a council agenda to continue speaking to the issue, including monitoring the removal. of brush, an agreement with the contractor, etc. Mayor Porter indicated the discussion could be at the next meeting." ITEM C: UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENTS -- None. ITEM D: REPORTS OF KPB ASSEMBLY, LEGYSLATORS AND COUNCILS -- None. ITEM E: PUBLIC HEARINGS (Testimony limited to 3 minutes per speaker.) E-1. Ordsnanee No. 2321-2008 -- Increasing Estimated Revenues and Appropriations by $250,000 in the Library Expansion Capital Project Fund and $750,000 in the Street and Sewer Capital Project Fund for Public Improvements. MOTYON: Council Member Smalley MOVED to adopt Ordinance No. 2321-2008 and Council Member Swarner SECONDED the motion. The floor was opened for public hearing. There being no one wishing to be heard, the public hearing was closed. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 3 Council discussed amounts already expended or obligated with regard to the library and bluff erosion projects. Administration was requested to keep the council up to date with regard to amounts needing to be expended before use of the library bond. It was also suggested, when funds become available, consideration should be given to developing a drift boat pullout along the river. VOTE: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent Smalley Yes Eldridge Yes Ross ~ Yes Molloy Yes Boyle Yes Porter Yes Swarner Yes ' - _ _- - MOTYON PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. E-2. Ordinance No. 2322-2008 -- Placing on the Ballot for the Next General Election the Question As to Whether the Municipal Officers of the City of Kenai Should be Exempt From the Provisions of the State of Alaska Financial Disclosure Statutes (AS 39.50). MOTYON: Council Member Swarner MOVED for adoption of Ordinance No. 2322-2008 and Council Member Smalley SECONDED the motion. The floor was opened for public hearing. There being no one wishing to be heard, the public hearing was closed. MOTON TO AMEND: Council Member Molloy MOVED to amend the ordinance title and last whereas paragraph adding, "but remain subject to the Kenai Municipal Code disclosure ordinance (KMC 1.85)" after AS 30.50. Council Member Eldridge SECONDED the motion. VOTE ON AMENDMENT: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent Smalley Yes Eldridge Yes Ross Yes Molloy Yes Boyle Yes ~ Porter Yes Swarner Yes KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 4 MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. VOTE ON MAIN AMENDED MOTION: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent Smalley Yes ~ Eldridge Yes Ross Ye~ ~ Molloy Yes ,Boyle ~ Yes ~ Porter ~ Yes ~ Swarner Yes i ~ ~ i MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. E-3. Ordinance N®. 2323-2008 -- Amending KMC 1.85 by: 1) Updating the Financial Reporting Requirements for Municipal Officers and Candidates Contained in KMC 1.85.020; and, 2) Including the Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission in the Definition of "Municipal Officer in KMC 1.85.070; and, Including Stockbrokers and Financial Advisors in the List of Professionals Subject to Modified Requirements in KMC 1.85.030. MOTION: Council member Eldridge MOVED for adoption of Ordinance No. 2323-2008 and Council Member Swarner SECONDED the motion. The floor was opened for public hearing. There being no one wishing to be heard, the public hearing was closed. Council discussion followed with the following comments: • The ordinance (subparagraph 3) should include the exception with regard to reporting of rental income to coincide with the proposed financial disclosure form. • The ordinance (subparagraph 5) should include "Do not report credit card obligations or revolving charge accounts" in order to coincide with the proposed financial disclosure form. • Add "or another municipality" to subparagraph 6 of the ordinance. • Add "on the form approved by resolution by the Council" at Item (c). • Clarity needed in Section Two, 1.85.030 related to "spouses of medical doctors, ..." • Include a note directing the filer, if additional pages are needed to list information, include the schedule and the filer's name at the top of each extra page. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 5 MOTION TO POSTPONE: Council Member Molloy MOVED to postpone Ordinance No. 2323-2008 to the second meeting in July and Council Member Swarner SECONDED the motion. VOTE MOTION TO POSTPONE: MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. E-4. Ordinance No. 2325-2008 -- Amending the Code Violation Fine Schedule in KMC 13.10.015 to Include a Standard Fine of $500 for Trespass in Violation of KMC 3.20.010. MOTION: Council Member Ross MOVED for approval of Ordinance No. 2325-2008 and Council Member Eldridge SECONDED the motion. The floor was opened for public hearing. There being no one wishing to be heard, the public hearing was closed. There were no council comments. VOTE: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent E-5. Resolution No. 2008-40 -- Contributing $5,000 to the Central Area Rural Transit System, Inc. (CARTS) for Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Transit Services. MOTION: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent MOTION FAILED UNANIMOUSLY. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 6 Council Member Eldridge MOVED for approval of Resolution No. 2008-40 and Council Member Boyle SECONDED the motion. The floor was opened for public hearing. Jennifer Beckmann, Executive Director, CARTS -- Beckmann discussed the history of the program and spoke in support of the resolution, requesting support of the resolution on behalf of the people needing the program. Beckmann also noted gas costs had risen; a circular plan for carrying people to and from work had been suggested, but had not gone forward; and reviewed funding sources, etc. Council Member Ross stated his support of the resolution, recognizing it was a one- time payment and would not establish a line item in the budget. Council Member Smalley reported his wife was a member of the CARTS board, but neither she or he received any financial gain from her participation. There being no one else wishing to be heard, the public hearing was closed. VOTE: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent Smalle Yes Eldrid e Yes i Ross 'Yes ~ Molloy Yes Boyle Yes ~ Porter ;Yes ~Swarner Yes ~ ~ ( ~ I MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. E-6. Resolution No. 2008-41 -- Awarding the Bid to Alaska Enviroscape for Leif Hansen Park Sprinklers Installation - 2008 for the Total Amount of $52,630. MOT%ON: Council Member Swarner MOVED for approval of Resolution No. 2008-41 and requested UNAN%MOUS CONSENT. Council Member Eldridge SECONDED the motion. The floor was opened for public hearing. There being no one wishing to be heard, the public hearing was closed. There were no council comments. VOTE: There were no objections. SO ORDERED. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 7 ITEM F: MINUTES F-1. Regular Meeting ®f June 18, 2008 -- Approved by consent agenda. ITEM G: UNFYNISHED BUSINESS -- None. BREAK TAKEN: 8:10 P.M. BACK TO ORDER: 8:30 P.M. ITEM H: H-1. Bills to be Ratified MOTION: Council Member Smalley MOVED to ratify the bills and Council Member Eldridge SECONDED the motion. VOTE: *Student Representative Johnson: Absent Smalley Yes Eldridge Yes Ross ~ Yes Mollo Yes Bo le Yes I Porter Yes Swarner Yes MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. H-2. Approval of Purchase Orders Exceedsng $15,000 MOTION: Council Member Swarner MOVED for approval of the purchase orders exceeding $15,000 and requested UNANIMOUS CONSENT. Council Member Eldridge SECONDED the motion. VOTE: There were no objections. SO ORDERED. H-3. Ordinance No. 2326-2008 -- Amending KMC 7.22.010 and Enacting a New Section of the Kenai Municipal Code (KMC 7.30.020) to Establish a New Investment Policy for the Airport Land Sale Permanent Fund. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 8 Introduced by approval of the consent agenda. H-4. Ordinance No. 2327-2008 -- Amending the Official Kenai Zoning Map by Rezoning a Portion of Lot 4, FBO Subdivision No. 7 ~ Lot S, FBO Subdivision No. 8 From Conservation to Light Industrial. Introduced by approval of the consent agenda. H-5. Ordinance No. 2328-2008 -- Amending the Official Kenai Zoning Map by Rezoning Tract A, Gusty Subdivision No. 3, Tract B, Gusty Subdivision No. 6, and Tract C-1, Gusty Subdivision No. 7 From Conservation to Light Industrial. Introduced by approval of the consent agenda. H-6. Ordinance No. 2329-2008 -- Amending the Official Kenai Zoning Map by Rezoning Tract 1A of Buffalo Run Subdivision 2008 Replat (Preliminary Plat) Consisting of Approximately 72 Acres from Suburban Residential and Rural Residential to Rural Residential. Introduced by approval of the consent agenda. H-7. Ordinance No. 2330-2008 -- Increasing Estimated Revenues and Appropriations by $25,000 in the Airport Special Revenue Fund and the Courthouse Parking Capital Project Fund for Engineering. Introduced by approval of the consent agenda. H-8. Ordinance No. 2331-2008 -- Enacting a New Section of the Kenai Municipal Code (KMC 13.20.040) Titled "Trespass" Making It a Violation to Trespass Upon Real Property. Introduced by approval of the consent agenda. H-9. Approval -- Grant of Easement/T6N R11W, Sections 32 8s 33, Seward SW KN2006025, Baron Park 2006 Replat Lot A, Records of the Kenai Recording District (Slope Easement/Marathon Road Improvements). MOTION: Council Member Smalley MOVED for approval of the Grant of Easement. Council Member Eldridge SECONDED the motion and requested UNANIMOUS CONSENT. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 9 It was noted, the grant of easement would provide for construction slope easements for the Marathon Road project, and the "SW" in the description would be corrected to be "SM" (Seward Meridian). VOTE: There were no objections. SO ORDERED. ITEM I: COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REPORTS I-I. Council on Aging-- Council Member Eldridge reported the July meeting had been cancelled and the next scheduled meeting would be August 14, 2008. I-2. Airport Commission -- Council Member Molloy reported the next scheduled meeting would be held on July 10, 2008. I-3. Harbor Commission -- Council Member Boyle reported the next meeting would be held Monday, July 7, 2008. I-4. Library Commission -- Council Member Smalley reported the July meeting had been cancelled and the next scheduled meeting would be held August 5, 2008. I-5. Parks & Recreation Commission -- Council Member Eldridge reported the next scheduled meeting would be held July 3, 2008. Mayor Porter noted, the commission would be reviewing a draft ordinance related to formation of an advisory cemetery committee with a sunset date. I-6. Planning & Zoning Commission -- Council Member Ross reviewed the actions taken at the June 25, 2008 meeting (minutes were included in the packet). Y-?. Miscellaneous Commissions and Committees I-7a. Beautification Committee -- Council Member Swarner reported the next scheduled meeting would be held July 8, 2008. I-7b. ,Alaska Municipal League Report -- No meeting. I-?e. Mini-Grant Steering Committee -- No meeting. ITEM J: REPORT OF THE MAYOR -- Mayor Porter noted functions she attended, including the BP community picnic and career fair, Frontier Services annual baseball game, the Alaska Oil 8s Gas Annual luncheon, and Kenai River Classic events. ITEM K: ADMINISTRAT%ON REPORTS KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 10 K-1. City Manager -- City Manager Koch noted the following items: • Report on the fire in the Campbell Creek area in Anchorage. • The slash deposited at Forest and Spur Highway had been removed as well as others generated from Fire Wise Program. • He would continue to participate in the suggested sports dome discussions, noting he emphasized the group should focus on operational costs and how they would be met. project. Will be meeting with the Governor in late July related to the bluff erosion He would be out of the office from August 4-15. He would be meeting with state agencies related to grant opportunities for dunes protection. K-2. Attorney -- City Attorney Graves thanked Finance Director Semmens for his years of work with the city and reported he was investigating purchase of software related to attaching Permanent Fund Dividends and would bring a resolution to transfer funds if the software would be purchased. K-3. City Clerk -- No report. YTEM L: L-1. Citizens -- None. L-2. Council -- Swarnex -- Noted the following items: Thanked Clerk Freas for volunteering at the Kenai Classic. The Federal Express office had been remodeled. • The addition to the GLM building was progressing. • She suggested a copy of the most recent audit and income tax returns be received from non-profits to whom the city may consider donating funds of $5,000 or more. Attorney Graves noted, the request could be a condition of the resolution declaring the donation. Smalley -- Noted he believed the city was looking very nice and stated his appreciation of the care given, thanked Semmens for his years of employment and welcomed Terry Eubanks (Semmens' successor). Eldridge -- Stated he was happy to see the corporate jets at the airport, reported the EDD Executive Director was resigning, and thanked Semmens for his service to the city. KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 11 Ross -- Thanked Semmens for his years of service, welcomed Eubanks, and thanked Attorney Graves for his memorandum related to cell phone towers. Molloy -- Requested administration investigate boats parked by Tern on Walker Lane; requested administration to investigate the city's policy of other entities linking to the city's webpage as he had received a comment from the Kenai Community Foundation Board to that regard; and, requested aerial photographs of the rezones to be before council at the July 16, 2008 meeting. Boyle -- Thanked Semmens and wished him good luck and welcomed Eubanks. ITEM M: PENDING LEGISLATION (This item lists legislation which wiU be addressed at a later date as noted.) Ordinance No. 2314-2008 -- Enacting KMC 23.55.080 Providing for Longevity Pay of Two Percent (2%) for Certain Employees in Step CC in the City of Kenai Salary Schedule. (Postponed on June 4, 2008 to August 6, 2008.) - City Manager Evaluation Continuation MOTION: Council Member Swarner MOVED to convene in an executive session of the Council of the City of Kenai concern matters, the immediate knowledge of which would clearly have an adverse effect upon the finances of the City of Kenai, and that would tend to prejudice the reputation and character of another, i.e. continuation of the city manager's evaluation. Council Member Smalley SECONDED the motion. VOTE: Smalle Yes Eldridge ;Yes Ross Yes Molloy Yes Boyle !Yes Porter Yes Swarner ~ Yes r MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. EXECUTIVE SESSION: 8:49 P.M. BACK TO ORDER: 10:18 P.M. Council Member Swarner reported during the executive session, council decided not to pursue real estate options; directed administration to proceed with the negotiations with the University of Alaska Anchorage; directed administration to continue KENAI CITY COUNCIL MEETING JULY 2, 2008 PAGE 12 investigating easement issues on Wildwood Drive; and, reviewed goats and objectives of the city manager and discussed them with the city manager. Further comments of council: • Electrical use survey -- Koch reported the survey had been completed and was being used as a tool for projects. Council requested they be provided an executive summary of the summary with what direction would be taken. • Concern from a resident of a visiting relative being cited for four-wheeler use and felt it was inappropriate to be cited without a warning. Concern was expressed the council should not be involved with whether citations are issued or not and should refer the matter to the city manager or police department. ITEM N: ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Council, the meeting adjourned at approximately 10:25 p.m. Minutes submitted by: Carol L. Freas, City Clerk *The student may cast advisory votes on all matters except those subject to executive session discussion. Advisory votes shall be cast prior to the official council vote and shall not affect the outcome of a vote. Advisory votes shall be recorded in the minutes. Student representatives may not move or second items during a council meeting. ~ a ~, .~;~ :...~_ t JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM ITEM B-2, JUDY REESE, KENAI PENINSULA FIRE WISE TEAM/DIVISION OF FORESTRY -- FIRE SAFE PROGRAM UPDATE PORTER: Ms. Reese, do you want to come forward. You are with the Kenai Peninsula Fire Wise Team and the Division of Forestry. REESE: Good evening. (pause) I don't know if we'll need to maybe dim the lights, we'll see how well it shows up. Um, thank you for having me tonight and my primary goal in meeting with you is sharing with you the Community Wildfire Protection Plan as I know it for the City of Kenai and a lot of the great progressive things that are going on relative to that plan just to get you up to date on all that. Okay, so the Kenai Community Wildfire Protection planning process is definitely a statewide process. Looking at our city here in Kenai, our first real bottom line of the protection plan is that when we do fight wildland fires, our goals are to protect life, safety and property. So, if we start with what the main goal is in the program, we can work from there and look at the resources and values at risk. When we're planning for wildland fires, there's a lot of benefits that come from that. It allows us to minimize fire occurrences overall; prevention, it helps prevent financial loss to constituents and citizens' businesses; and, we also have a goal of managing fires rather than just fighting them. It's kind of a new strategy, but if you think ahead, it's much more cost effective. Any fire program, we always start by looking at the fuels in the area of the community and here we're looking at mostly the tlammabiiity of those fuels, the nature of them, what kind of fire behavior do we expect around Kenai should we have a fire, the frequency of those incidents, and how easily we're able to control them as a fire organization, either structural or wildland. Looking at the ignition sources, we're not going to have a fire if don't have this, but primarily they tend to be human caused, and knowing Kenai and living here, certainly wind-driven events are probable and cause the greatest concern to fire extinguishment. Another thing we're concerned about around Kenai is the ability to catch or access these wildland fires wherever they may occur so... Fire can be funneled by terrain features, and I'm sure you're kind of aware of this in mountains but also with the ravines along the bluffs of Kenai, excellent corridors for wind-pushed fires, so we identify that as a risk. And whether the fires are large or small, they snag affect large or small numbers of residences. And certainly Alaska is not immune from homes being consumed by fire. Caribou Hills last year is a prime example and I left some reference materials here on the desk for you from the Fire Wise Program. We did our lessons-learned at Caribou Hills and also a promotion for our Fire Wise Program. JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 2 Okay, whenever we have a fire around Kenai, we're relying on these local resources, basically the structural departments, working in unified command, or state forestry to knock it out as soon as possible, but if that's not successful, again we look to the skies and usually across the Inlet, with a little bit of time delay, hoping for resources and reserves. Okay, so Kenai is in the Wildland Urban Interface. It's also called the "wooie." You've probably heard of that, but it's a national problem and it's pretty evident when we start putting homes, with Alaskan values especially, into a fuel type, that just is a fire, fire favored. Okay, the flammable mix with the community increases the risk because then we start focusing on houses, we're not able to catch the fires. People go out of their way to protect structures and lives are lost in the advent of trying to do that. So the, excuse me, the Wildfire Protection Plan is actually set up to mitigate and minimize the risk of wildland fires to the community. Now, every community on the Kenai Peninsula already has a plan in place and we're working across Kachemak Bay at this point and it's an excellent, excellent program that was established several years ago and building core teams of, you know, knowledgeable, professional pro-active people in your community. They all contributed their concerns and built this plan, so it's kind of a home-grown look at Kenai in order to have better fire planning. In that plan, these key individuals, along with resource managers, they identified the risks and ranked them around the community of what would best be done, cost effectively, to make this a safer community. So in that plan, a lot of work has already been done and ideas were listed and arranged in a manner that we could proceed. All the goals were set and they were measurable and they were all stated in the plans and I believe Chief Tilly has given everyone access to the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and it's a pretty formidable document. Okay, as I mentioned, every community on the Peninsula does have a CWPP. We're part of a bigger network, and because it's related and linked to bark beetle activity within the State of Alaska and on the Kenai, we've been fortunate enough to be funded fairly well from federal emergency monies, forest management monies and so we're seeing an abundance of programs that are being supported by the Borough that are helping Kenai. So, that's kind of where the money's coming from to do a lot of these projects. The pieces of the puzzle that we see as a solution to fuels management and mitigating fires in Kenai, there's a lot of them, but they're primarily based on the funding that does come in, you know, every once and awhile there's a lull. The season that we plan to do the work, or can do the work, resources available within the community and also administrative organizational availability. So, we start juggling these to get the work done. JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 3 Right now in Kenai, there's four, maybe five, primary programs that I'd just like to touch on, and if you have any questions later maybe we can address, but right now we have a fuel reduction and mitigation program in place. This is pretty much administered through the Borough. We have the slash disposal site in your community and I commend you because aside from Cohoe, you guys are the only community on the Peninsula that has an established site and we'll talk about that a little bit more. We have Fire Wise home visits with teams across the Kenai Peninsula and we also have the right-of-way clearing and safety program also administered by the Borough. Right now the fuel reduction program that's active in the community involves the Denali Hand Crew, contract crew from Chugachmuit, and part of their goals, when tasked from removing fuels, in Kenai, is to remove the dead aerial fuels. To remove ladder fuels, those branches, limbs and shrubbery that carry fire from a ground fire into the crowns because, as a firefighter, we're not so intimidated when the flames are two feet, three feet, maybe four feet, but as soon as they get into the tops of the trees, we begin to feel very small, our water doesn't quite go as far, we're dealing with a lot more fire and a lot higher risk for human safety and spread. So, we want to keep those fires on the ground. Also by removing the dead and down woody material, the fires burn quicker and have less residence time, take less water to put out. Reducing the overall volume of combustibles in the wood lots and on vacant property is good management cause that equates to fire behavior, duration, and increased probability. The benefits of the fuel reduction again, we're decreasing the risk that we are going to have fires. If we do get one, we're going to have a better chance of managing that fire instead of it managing us, let's say. We'll have lower intensity fires, better safer access 7f there :s a fire :n the area, eve dcn't have hoses and people and ~vur-vVilecicrs gettlYig hung up on dead and down material or deep grasses and brush. What we also see is modified plant succession so as the aerial canopy is modified and dead materials taken out, sunlight reaches the floor of the forest and we see new plants, new seedlings established and the hardwoods tend to do very well. Once the canopy is opened up, we see the start of new seedlings. We also do see the increase utilization and the understory by wildlife and sometimes this is a progressional phase that follows the vegetational changes. So, different animals use different forests at different stages and so by modifying different fuels, we see advantageous situations develop for different species. And we do see a lot of benefits now and in the future as far as browse species because the dead material really doesn't serve anybody, maybe some rodent dens or bird resident trees. There is some organic recycling, but overall, our soils are pretty rich organically and we don't have shortages there, so I see benefits to browse species. The slash disposal site -- again excellent program. It encourages the locals to clean up their property, decrease that risk of escaped fires. Again human-caused fires on the Peninsula? Slash burning. That's why we have burn permits, all these programs to manage and watch that at our highest peak season. I also hear a lot of people saying JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 4 they appreciate not having to drive to the dump and burn extra gas to get rid of their brush. So, we can save resources and allow for the safe disposal of flammabies in our communities. The Fire Wise Home Support visits -- right now we have two teams of three people each working the entire Kenai Peninsula and what they do is they provide homeowner support and counsel. They meet and. look at residences, advise on safe construction methods, combustibles around the building, and how to prevent flammable occurrences. We also give discussions and presentations at different events and help with the fire departments to have safe work environments for our structural firefighters. There's another program that my team and this program does bring to Kenai and I just wanted to briefly put it on the table. You'll hear more about it or you can give us a call, but we have a new grant cost share program that I'm introducing to the homeowners. It's up to twenty-five hundred dollars per homeowner. You have to have a structure on your property. You can treat up to two and one-half acres. You have twelve months to do the work and you can do your own work, hire a contractor, and it's a really good program for the elderly and the disabled. So, Fire Wise comes out talks about the trees that would make their home safer, should they be modified or removed,, and then we set up an agreement to do that. So, great program. Also the right-of-way clearing public safety hazard reduction for infrastructure fuel reduction. We've got to maintain safe access and egress as well as work with the utilities to provide for our citizens and there's cost to the city there. So, my point tonight, aside from making you aware, is that there's lots of pieces in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan. They're integral, they're proactive, and they're all kind of fitting together really, really nicely in this community to reduce risk and allow the firefighters to do a better job. Like an example in Cohoe, the Fire Wise Program in working together, has built a better, stronger community, more networking, more events together, and we're seeing less fires started and more fires are being caught by fuels management applications. One thing I wanted to mention too, with the Denali crew working in your community, I'd just like you to know, we are all very lucky because we have twenty skilled, hearty, firefighting machines in our back pocket for the summer is a real asset because when they come from somewhere else, the delays can be substantial. So, we're catching those fires, we're putting defensible space where it's needed around homes, homeowners are responding, and it's really coming together. And most importantly, is we want to create a safe space for all the firefighters to do their job and protect the resources of the community. And thank you for having me tonight. PORTER: Thank you Ms. Reese. Anyone, any of the council have questions? It was a very nice presentation. REESE: Thank you. PORTER: Are you serving cake now? JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 5 REESE: ....I need more carrots on that way I think...yes? PORTER: Councilman Eldridge. ELDRIDGE:- I, I notice that several, you know, cleared several acres or brushed out several acres, are you going to be concentrating on the gullies as you mentioned earlier, that they're a potential for the fire running to a lot of subdivisions if they start running up the creeks. REESE: Exactly, the gullies have been identified as one of the primary target areas for fuels treatment. The ones that I have looked at have been really nicely done and good progress is being made from the beach up and I guess on some of the other ones, there's land ownership issues that need to be cooperatively resolved so that the work can be applied there, but it's an excellent, just based on the winds and how fire moves through topography, it would be a great place to start. PORTER: 'Any other questions? Councilman Ross ROSS: I, I live on a bank of a gully that is quite wind driven. All of the land coming down to the bottom where the creek runs is in private ownership. Now, I've pretty much removed a Iot of my beetle kill, but on both sides of me, I have issues. Are you working on private property at all? REESE: Yes, we are. Our program deals distinctly with private land owners. For the Fire Wise Program, a structure needs to be present on the property. If the iaiidowner owns more tl.an seven acres, there's a chance that Forestry migl'it be able to bring in a stewardship forester to write a management plan and make them eligible for grants if,it's more than seven acres. But, what I encourage people to do is it's easy enough to get on the borough website, find out who owns the land adjacent to you, take one of our business cards, and pop it into the mail to them, and say "hi neighbor, give these folks a call" cause we're encouraging especially remote or out of state homeowners to at least give us a call so we can share with them some ideas or plans for their own property to help their neighbors out. PORTER: Yeah, go ahead. ROSS: Yeah, and, and I will tie my neighbors into it. They've been very generous. They've extended my property line as I've cleared. But, on the ladder fuels, I've been leaving the live stuff. How high up should those be cleaned? REESE: You know, we really want to have a spatial gap between the tops of the brush or the regeneration and the nearest portion of branches and crowns in the live or dead trees. So, you want to think at least, I'd say, six feet. We shoot for eight to ten, because you know, heat rises, but the goal is really to have a direct spatial separation and even between trees, crown to crown, we recommend anywhere from JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 6 eight to 15 feet between the treetops so in event fire does get into the top of tree either from embers or from ground fuels, it's not necessarily going to go crown to crown to crown, cause those are our most threatening and devastating urban interface fires. There's, there's no way to fight them on the ground and they move so quickly. ROSS: I appreciate the work you're doing. I know in 1969, the fires here did follow many of those corridors down on the south end... REESE: Yeah, history does repeat itself with fire behavior. ROSS: Thank you. REESE: You're very welcome. PORTER: I have a question to ask. Do you have authority to go on private property if you're not, invited to do that? REESE: Ah, no. You know, as a wildland firefighter, we do f it's an access issue, but as a Fire Wise public servant, we ask to be invited and only rarely do we put door hangers. Only in areas where's there's been a recent fire and we want to notify them of the concern. PORTER: Okay. Thank you. Councilwoman Swarner. SWARNER: Thank you. Thank you very much for the presentation because those of you who did not watch Channel 2 News tonight, there's a fire in Anchorage and it's very dose to subdivisions, so I Think, you know, it is really happening dose to us. REESE: Exactly, and in Caribou Hills, I mean, it was only last year and we lost over a hundred structures there, so if you were one of the cabin owners or homeowners, it really strikes reality. PORTER: I think it was a very informative presentation that you gave to us and it certainly, for my eyes opens, like over the hill from where I live, my husband better going down there clearing six feet under. I will be gone some where when it happens. Councilman Molloy. MOLLOY: Thank you Mayor Porter. Thank you for your presentation. I had some quesfions about administration of the program and you said it was administered by the borough? REESE: Yeah, most of those programs are. The Fire Wise Program is administered by State Forestry in a cost-share arrangement with the borough. So borough pays part of the personnel services, but Forestry manages Fire Wise. The cost-share grant program is administered by State Forestry from federal U.S. Forestry Service monies and it's under the stewardship program. JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 7 MOLLOY: And the, there's been a few complaints received regarding the program mostly having to do with sometimes a perception of too many live trees being cut down or sometimes slash piles being left for long periods of time. Another one was the under-story part being cleared out by the gully resulting in more highway noise and things like that. Is, is the contractor, Chugachmuit, is it acting under a contract with the borough, you know, for doing the clearing or....? REESE: Yeah, I believe they are administered through them. MOLLOY: And, is there a contact number for people to call with concerns? REESE: You know they do have a director or a liaison. I think there are a couple of different numbers and I think some good points to be asked is when the work is done, that community values can be woven in there, you know, to meet the expectations or the needs of the community. So, there's a lot of flexibility. I think the biggest thing is getting out the dead material so the dead trees, that doesn't impact your live ones, and also limbing up the ladder fuels is really important. But what you might remember from the Pacific Northwest when they do logging there, lots of time they leave screening trees along the edge to, so it's not asee-through forest. It's kind of bounded by it's own natural vegetation to kind of create an edge effect, but for safety purposes, limbing the trees up is really important. MOLLOY: And one more question if I may? Thank you Mayor Porter. So, is there, is there a person who is responsible for monitoring the scope of work and, and following up to make sure that something's happened, like, you know, getting the bruslx out, you know, and Things like that? REESE: You know, I'm not sure who's actively monitoring the field activities of the Denali crew and their projects. Yeah. MOLLOY: ,Thank you. REESE: Yeah. PORTER: Ms. Reese, I have a suggestion. If you could get, please give those numbers or find out what the numbers are, and provide them to the administrafion, I think that would be helpful. We do now produce, well we've done one, produce a newsletter and that would be handy to put in our newsletter as an information item for our property owners. REESE: Very good. PORTER: So when they have questions, they can certainly field them through that channel. JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 8 REESE: Good idea. PORTER: Any more questions? Councilman Eldridge. ELDRIDGE: The Denali team is here only because there are no major fires going on in Alaska at the present time. REESE: And they're not here right now because there are major fires somewhere else. ELDRIDGE: Because there, okay, so they're only here to work when, when there are not major fires going on..... REESE: And that's how they're able to fund their crews to develop private firefighting crews that are not sponsored by government monies, so it's a new test program that's worked very well in the Lower 48 and certainly there's not enough people willing to go out there and work with chainsaws as often as these guys do, so they're kind of really a gift. PORTER: You know, actually Ms. Reese, excuse me, one of these things that we certainly can do as a city and I, I'm sure our administration would concur with that, obviously they go and remove the dead trees and underlimb the trees and then leave the piles there and then maybe get called off to a fire and can't get back so maybe the city, you know, could help remove some of the debris that's just there...the slash. REESE: And, and I do have an addition there cause I have fielded concerns about piles left under 'tight-of-ways by C'riugach Electric. They're not necessarily getting rid of their slash and in the right-of-way program, the specifications for removing that fuel is, if it's not on a lawn or someone's developed property, they are told that they can lop it up and get the fuel depth down to less than a foot and leave it in a natural forested environment. So, that was some of the specs I had to check on last week due to some complaints, you know, there's all this fuel on the ground now, but it's not in the tops of the trees, it's now on the ground. PORTER: Okay, thank you. Any other questions? Wonderful presentation. Thank you very, very much. REESE: Okay, thank you. KOCH: Madam Mayor. Could I just follow up with that. PORTER: Yes certainly Mr. Koch. KOCH: So, we've, I've learned some stuff as we went through this today. When the Chugachmuit team comes back, I mean, there will be other areas that, you know, they'll be moving into to perform this, this same work, and barring some other JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 9 direction from the council, they'll, I mean, the policy the way that we've been doing it is the sa~-r~e way that they'll do it wrien they, when they come back. So, you know, if there, if there's something, if we, if we need to talk about this some more, you know, we can do whatever it is you want, but I just want, so, you know, that's what will happen unless there's different direction. PORTER: You know, one of the things that I noticed in here on page seven of three, a couple of areas in town which, what I, which I found were interesting are actually in here and that's the trees around the high school and the vohab building, that's actually one of their goals to, and also behind Sears Elementary School and Mountain View Elementary and also the graveyard over in the historic part of Kenai and having just driven back in there, there`s a lot of dead trees in that graveyard. Councilman Molloy. MOLLOY: Thank you Mayor Porter. I just wanted to respond to the city manager's comment... PORTER: 'Sure. MOLLOY: ...and, you know, personally, I would like to see a discussion, you know, Ms. Reese indicated that, you know, they can work in values like, you know, protecting, not reducing so much that you have an increase in highway noise and things Like that and I'm also concerned about having some kind of a mechanism for monitoring and I like your idea of city complementing to refer on the brush part and everything because we have had fuel piles that have been sitting for a long time. So, I, I would personally like to see discussion about it and maybe some kind of an agreement 4Jittii the act'uai Cvritraet(ir, you kriOw, wiiiCii i t'fimk woitid be prlldeYlt fOY us as the landowner. Thank you. PORTER: Okay, well, if we do that, can we do it at a different time than tonight? MOLLOY: Oh yes, yes. I'm just saying some, some, you know, like a discussion item. PORTER: ,Okay, thank you. But, my own personal opinion and of course, council can certainly weigh in on this, is that I really feel at this point, Mr. Koch, I would feel very comfortable if he, if he would go for safety and security of the property. Security concerns and the safety, I don't know if we need a discussion, but it's also the time of year when the fires are prevalent and I just think you should be able to move forward until we have that discussion maybe at our next meeting. Councilman Eldridge. ELDRIDGE: Yeah, one of the, one of the issues is, is the gullies and I, I would certainly like to see them working on the gullies. That's, I think, one of the greater fire dangers is, is the fire getting started there and getting into some of the subdivisions. So...and, and the city owns that property, so there's no reason, you know for not..... JULY 2, 2008 COUNCIL MEETING PARTIAL VERBATIM PAGE 10 PORTER: Okay. Thank you very much. END OF ITEM. Prepared by: ~ r~ ~~^i"E-Q ~ ~~ Carol L. Freas, City Clerk