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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-12-08 Council Minutes - Work SessionDip Net Report: Public Comment: KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DECEMBER 8, 2009 KENAI CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 6:00 P.M. MAYOR PAT PORTER, PRESIDING NOTES Council present: P. Porter, B. Eldridge, J. Moore, R. Molloy, R. Marquis, H. Smalley, M. Boyle Staff present: C. Freas, T. Eubank, G. Sandahl, W. Ogle, K. Stearns Mayor Porter called the work session to order at 6:00 p.m. and noted the floor would be opened for public comment and each person would have three minutes to speak. The work session would have three sections: Dip Net Report Management of the beach areas Broad discussion of ATV and off -road vehicle use Rebecca Lambourne, 1506 Toyon Way, Kenai Noted the following: She liked the fencing. Appreciated the patrolling of the beach and park Felt there had been more impact to their neighborhood during the 2009 dip net season. People were parking along their street; people were camping in their boats parked along Forest Drive; and, people were cleaning fish on residents' yards. Trash impact to Municipal Park was very bad and suggested an autumn clean-up. Understood there was discussion of setting a 25 mph on the beach; was concerned would be saying it was safe to drive at 25 mph; and, was in favor of a ten mph speed limit. As a resident, would like Forest Drive not to be an access point to the beach; at best, on one side only and no parking on side streets. Council /Administration Comments: Have had discussions with Fish Game to acquire funding to purchase property for parking. Priority was to do better in not allowing parking in the Forest Drive and residential streets in that area. Jim White, 1509 Toyon Way, Kenai Noted the following: Asked how much should the city do to accommodate users. Concerned if more people find there's an ATV trail to the beach, there would be more people parking in the Forest Drive area. KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DECEMBER 8, 2009 PAGE 2 Would like not to have people parking on the side streets in front of residences. He left the area during the dip net fishery. Beach camp fires were still a concern to him. Noise from the motorcycles begins in March. There were problems with campfires, loud music, four wheeling, etc. the whole summer. There were discussions about having food and more parking believed it was past "enough was enough." Believed the fire rings were positioned far enough away from the bluff, however because of their height, people put more wood on the fires to get more warmth from the fires. Sue Carter, 1505 Toyon Way, Kenai Noted the following: Believed it was 100% better during the 2009 fishery and past years. Believed there was good signage. Concerned there were no restroom facilities along the beach and what people were doing as an alternative. Felt the Police Department did a really good job. Has worked well stopping access to the Park. Would like more fencing in front of the property in front of Toyon Way (beach side). Supported having park hosts. Concerned about noise and speed on the beach, but was still better than past years because of the police presence. Council /Administration Comments: Summer hires could be staggered in order to begin patrol earlier. One hire would need to be extended to cover through the dip net season. Jim Butler, 117 Kaknu, Kenai Noted the following: Believed the workers at the pay shack and who do the policing did a very good job. Did not like the posts and chain fencing, etc. to be used to handle the people. Recommended permitting vehicles to allow on the beach which would be a way to handle the non permanent vehicles. Parking on the roads was a real safety issue. Recommended not allowing drinking alcohol on the beach during dip net and other times. Processing of fish leaves lots of waste. Suggested saying: no processing of fish allowed on the beach." Waste was another consequence of the fishery. The speed limit suggested would not be practical when trying to manage tides and soil. Enforceability would be difficult. Council /Administration comments included: KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DECEMBER 8, 2009 PAGE 3 The fishery had negative impacts to businesses and the whole town, displacing residents, etc. Suggestion local residents should have free parking. Suggestion local residents could have discounted parking. There were concerns of public doctrine issues. Believed the City was doing a really good job in managing the fishery. Drinking alcoholic beverages was not allowed on public property, however, the major issue was the amount of garbage from the fishery. Support of no cleaning fish on the beach. Believed the City was doing a very good job in managing the fishery, however believed the State needed to take a more active role in it and the City get paid more for managing the fishery. There were no littering provisions in the Code, however not allowing cleaning of fish probably would not be practical. If not done there, people would do it somewhere else. The KCHS Nordic Ski Team begins cleaning the beach during the fishery however, because of the amount of people, not much could be done until 1 1:30 at night. Believed the best alternative would be to allow cleaning of fish on the beach, but have a place for disposal of the offal. Administration was looking into disposal of the waste. When discussed with representatives of Fish 86 Game, enforcement and fish waste were the two major concerns expressed. Support of permitting vehicles. Reminder the Council works for the residents of Kenai and believed the residents should be able to enjoy the beach and sleep at night. Council needed to have its priorities straight. Support having a host at the park. Administration would continue to pursue a host program. Support a vehicle permit, but not wanting to displace residents from driving on the beach. Beach Speed Limit: Council /Administration comments included: Would support either 20 or 25 mph, but felt ten mph was too slow. Agreed with the 20 -25 mph; felt focus needed to be on noise. Public comment: Tom Thompson, 111 Paula Street, Kenai Introduced himself as chair of the Harbor Commission. Believed the management of the fishery was getting better. Waste concerns were better during the 2009 fishery. KENAI CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DECEMBER 8, 2009 PAGE 4 Did not believe driving on the beach was a dip net fishery issue and suggested shutting driving on the beach down for the fishery participants. The fishery did support businesses in town. Believed a 25 mph limit would be fine and beach conditions would limit the speed. Not enthused with the permitting suggestion; thought it was an enforcement problem. Council /Administration Comments: The ordinance was presented with respect to safety of the people; suggested the driving in proximity to people should be the issue; and, the ordinance would need to be easily enforceable. Administration would work with Council Member Boyle with regard to the ordinance and incorporate comments from the work session related to noise, fish offal, parking on one side of Forest Drive (this year), but not allow parking on the interior subdivision streets. BREAK TAKEN: 7:40 P.M. BACK TO ORDER: 7:50 P.M. Off -Road Vehicles: Council and Administration comments included: There had not been an overwhelming amount of complaints. Administration suggestions included increased enforcement presence and more information outreach through the newspaper and radio explaining allowable use. Suggestion: Require a permit and decals if City was going to allow riding on streets. Suggestion: Add a schedule of fines in the Code for repeat instances. Suggestion: Hold the speed at 10 mph, as well as prohibit use during certain hours of the day, but enforce the restrictions as well. Suggestion: Focus on noise concerns. The work session adjourned at approximately 8:41 p.m. Notes prepared by: Carol L. Freas; City Clerk