Session 07-04, a Regular Meeting
of the Homer City Council was called to order at 7:03 p.m. on
PRESENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: HEIMBUCH, NOVAK, ROBERTS, SHADLE, STARK, WYTHE
STAFF:
ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANT
Department Heads may be called upon from time to time to participate via teleconference.
Council met as a Committee of the
Whole from 4:
Council met with Advisory Bodies
for a Worksession on the Land Allocation Plan from
AGENDA APPROVAL
(Addition of items to or removing
items from the agenda will be by unanimous consent of the Council.
The following were amendments to the agenda: corrected Ordinance Reference Sheet for Ordinance 07-09(A), Ordinance 07-09(A), Resolution 07-37(A), Memorandum 07-36 from Councilmember Shadle, Re: National League of Cities Conference, and written public testimony on Resolution 07-36.
City Manager Wrede requested Resolution 07-37 be pulled for more research and Councilmember Novak requested Resolution 07-36 be pulled.
Mayor Hornaday called for a motion to approve the agenda as amended.
STARK/SHADLE – SO MOVED.
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS UPON MATTERS ALREADY ON THE AGENDA
Public may comment upon any matter on the agenda except Public Hearing items: Ordinance 07-06, HAWSP Funds for Fairview Avenue Water Main Extension, Ordinance 07-07, Revisions to Ordinance 06-07(A) by Revisor Authority, Ordinance 07-08, Accepting a Donation from the Homer Volunteer Fire Department Membership Association and the Emergency Operations Plan.
RECONSIDERATION
None.
CONSENT AGENDA
(Items listed below will be enacted by one motion. If separate discussion is desired on an item, that item may be removed from the Consent Agenda and placed on the Regular Meeting Agenda at the request of a Councilmember.)
A. Homer City Council unapproved meeting minutes of
B. Ordinance 07-09,
Of the City Council of Homer, Alaska, Accepting and Appropriating an Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation FY 2007 Grant No. 40907, in the Amount
of $1,045,000 for the Construction of the New Homer Waste Treatment Plant, and Authorizing the City Manager to
Execute the Appropriate Documents. Public Works/City
Manager. Fiscal Note: Funds received go to 215-865; matching portion of the grant ($1,045,000) funded by HAWSP
153-375, financed through ADWF low interest loan. Recommend Introduction and First
C. Ordinance 07-10,
Of the City Council of Homer,
Memorandum 07-31 from Police Chief through City Manager as backup.
D. Resolution 07-29, Of the City Council of Homer,
Memorandum 07-25, from Public Works Director through City Manager as backup.
E. Resolution 07-30, Of the City Council of Homer, Alaska, Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Contract (No Defined Term) with the Kenai Peninsula Borough for Emergency Management Communications Services and Related Matters (911 Dispatch Services) in the Amount of $48,000; and Rescinding Resolution 06-143 on the Same Topic. City Manager. Recommend adoption.
F. Resolution
07-31, Of the City Council of Homer,
Memorandum 07-33 from Administrative Assistant through City Manager as backup.
G. Resolution 07-32, Of the City Council of Homer, Alaska Requesting
that Fiscal Year 2007 Public Employees
Retirement System (PERS) Relief Funding (SB 231) in the Amount of $248,456, be used to Reduce and Offset the City’s FY
2007 Defined Benefit Contribution
Amount. Mayor, City Council. Recommend adoption.
H. Resolution 07-33, Of the City Council of Homer,
I. Resolution 07-34, Of the City Council of Homer,
Memorandum 07-26 from
Police Chief through City Manager as backup.
J. Resolution 07-35, Of the City Council of Homer, Alaska Authorizing
the City Manager to Purchase
Doors for the Fire Station from Spenard Builder’s Supply in the Amount of $12,780.00. City Manager/Fire Chief.
Recommend adoption.
Memorandum 07-27, from
Fire Chief through City Manager as backup.
K.
Resolution 07-37, Of the City
Council of Homer,
Mayor Hornaday called for a motion to approve the consent agenda.
STARK/SHADLE – SO MOVED.
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
Mayor Hornaday called for a motion to add and approve Item L. to the consent agenda:
L. Memorandum 07-36, from Councilmember Shadle, Re: National League of Cities Conference.
STARK/SHADLE – SO MOVED.
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
VISITORS
A.
Julie
Julie Woodworth reported the
Alaska Meth Education Project (
ANNOUNCEMENTS/PRESENTATIONS/BOROUGH REPORT/COMMISSION REPORTS
A.
Mayor’s
Recognition and Special Presentation to Mary L. Calhoun, 20 Years of
Service to the City of
B. Memorandum 07-34
from Councilmember Stark: Re: Trip Report - Governor's Inaugural Ball, Kenai,
PUBLIC HEARING(S)
A. Ordinance 07-06, Of
the City Council Authorizing Use of
HAWSP Funds for Fairview Avenue
Water Main Extension. City Manager .PWD. (First Reading
There was no public testimony.
STARK/WYTHE – MOVED FOR THE ADOPTION
OF ORDINANCE 07-06 BY
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
B. Ordinance 07-07, Of
the City Council of the City of Homer Authorizing the City Clerk to Make Revisions to Ordinance 06-07(A),
Pursuant to Homer City Code 1.08.060, Revisor
Authority. City Clerk. (First Reading
There was no public testimony.
Mayor Hornaday called for a motion for the adoption of Ordinance 07-07 by reading of title only for second and final reading.
WYTHE/SHADLE – SO MOVED.
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
C. Ordinance 07-08,
An Ordinance of the City Council of Homer Alaska Accepting a Donation from the Homer Volunteer Fire
Department Membership Association in the amount
of $34,588; Depositing Funds in an Alaska Municipal League Investment
Pool (AMLIP) Account Established for
HVFD Donations; and Placing Restrictions Upon the Use of the Funds. City Manager. (First Reading
There was no public testimony.
Mayor Hornaday called for a motion for the adoption of Ordinance 07-08 by reading of title only for second and final reading.
WYTHE/NOVAK – SO MOVED.
WYTHE/NOVAK - MOVED IN THE FIRST
WHEREAS TO STRIKE EVERYTHING AFTER “FROM”
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
WYTHE/NOVAK – MOVED TO AMEND THE
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
The public hearing was reopened with no public testimony.
WYTHE/NOVAK – MOVED TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 07-08 AS AMENDED.
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
D. Emergency Operations Plan, by NUKA Research and Planning Group, LLC
Tim Robertson and Elise DeCola of NUKA were introduced. The Emergency Operations
Plan was devised for the City in an emergency situation. For several months a
series of meetings have been held to make revisions to the old plan.
Bryan Zak, city resident, commented he did not see a lot on winter operations.
Councilmember Stark asked for the
Hard copies of the
ORDINANCE(S)
None.
A. City Manager’s Report
1. Port and Harbor Lease Notes: An informational meeting was held for people who are interested in submitting proposals on Friday, Feb. 16. Five people attended. The questions posed included inquiries about easements, property lines, pollution liability, lease terms, zoning vs. restricted use districts, and assessments. We explained the proposed changes to the lease policies that the Lease Committee submitted to the Council. The group appeared to be disappointed that the Lease Polices had been referred to the Economic Development Committee because of the delay and the uncertainty about what amendments might ultimately be approved by Council. I explained to them that I did not know how soon the lease policies would be taken up by the Commission and how long it might take to review them and make recommendations. We talked about ways to deal with this if the Economic Development Committee ends up taking a long time reviewing the proposed amendments and makes additional recommendations of its own.
2. KESA Contract Negotiations: Representatives from the Borough, KESA, and the City had a meeting at the Fire Hall on February 7 to talk about the details of a new contract. The meeting was very productive. The proposed contract is only for a one year period because KESA wants to hire a consultant this year to do some research on what its long term options are and to develop a strategic plan. The City supports this because we need to plan long term also. It is important to understand where the two organizations are going with this relationship and where they want to be five years from now. The options include continuing as we are now, forming one big service area fire department, or having KESA become its own self-sufficient fire department and developing a mutual aid agreement. We have essentially agreed on all proposed amendments and a new contract with the exception of the contract amount. Discussions on the contract amount are on-going. This proposed contract states that KESA will be responsible for servicing its own vehicles. This will take a large burden off the public works department. We expect to have this contract before the Council for approval on March 12.
3.
4. Old Wooden Dock Demolition: As you may recall, the City Administration has recommended that the old wooden dock by the ferry terminal be torn down. It would be very expensive to fix the dock up and it presents safety and security concerns at present. The reason we have not pursued this issue too aggressively in the last couple of years is because Petro Marine still has a working fuel line on the dock. We have asked Petro Marine to relocate the fuel line but wanted to give them a reasonable amount of time to do so. Petro Marine is working on this and presently has its engineers reviewing the options for relocating the line. Petro Marine representatives met with City staff several times in the last two weeks to discuss the details. The Council should anticipate that we will be submiting a capital project budget to you sometime this year for demolition of the dock.
5.
6.
7.
Emergency Operations Plan. The City and its
consultants, Nuka Research, have been working on a new Emergency Operations
Plan for the past few months. This plan is now ready for public review. The
Council is scheduled to have a public hearing on the draft
8. Cook Inlet Ports of Refuge: The next meeting of the Cook Inlet Potential Places of Refuge Workgroup is tentatively scheduled for March 28 in Seward. Work on the Potential Places of Refuge document is on-going. You can view the latest draft by going to www.dec.state.ak.us/spar/perp/cookinletpor/index/htm.
9.
Travel: I will be out of the office the week of Feb 19
beginning on Tuesday morning. I will be traveling to Kenai to hear a
presentation by Enstar about the latest plan to bring Natural Gas to Homer, and
then to
10. K-9 Program: You will recall that last year members of the community requested that the City look into establishing a K-9 Program to assist with drug enforcement. The Council asked the administration to look into this and report back regarding potential community support, benefits, and budget implications. The City believes that a K-9 program would be very beneficial but we have real concerns about the budget and staffing issues. The Chief has maintained that the best location for a K-9 unit would be the Trooper Post in Anchor Point because the Troopers serve a much wider area and work a significantly great number of drug investigations. It now appears that this may be possible. The Council agenda contains a resolution in support of establishing a K-9 unit at the Trooper Post.
11. Coast
Guard Construction: The City leases
Also discussed was $1M additional
revenue in the budget.
B. Question of the Week
C.
Memorandum 07-35 from City Planner through City
Manager, Re: Estimated Expenses to Relocate the Planning and Zoning Office to
the
COMMITTEE REPORT
A. Comprehensive Plan Community Advisory Committee
B. Global Warming Task Force
(Next
meeting is scheduled for
Alan Parks, Chairman of GWTF, reported fine citizens were appointed to step up to the plate to reduce CO2 emissions. The task force has established four sub committees: Waste Reduction, Energy Management, Land and Harbor Use and Transportation. They are looking at ways that can be done easily and today. It is a big job looking at all the infrastructure to see where we are loosing energy and where the holes are. Meetings are every Wednesday; regular meetings every fourth Wednesday.
Councilmember Stark commended Mr. Parks and Special Projects Coordinator Anne Marie Holen on a fantastic job on an exhaustive committee.
STARK/WYTHE – MOVED TO SUSPEND
THE RULES
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
Council discussed costs of preparing the building for the Planning and Zoning office, options for subdividing the property into two lots, and paying down the debt on the new library from the proceeds of the sale of the old library. Spreading out city offices to different buildings should not become long term; plans for a new City Hall should still remain on schedule. Space for the college is needed in the current City Hall once a new building is constructed.
City Manager Wrede reported the appraiser valued the lot after subdividing into two lots at $725,000. A plan for defining a new place for City Hall will follow.
C. Public Arts Committee
(Next
meeting is scheduled for
D. Transportation Advisory Committee
(Next
meeting scheduled for
Councilmember Stark reported the
committee unanimously opposed the proposal for a one-way loop around
PENDING BUSINESS
A. Resolution 07-03,
Of the City Council, Adopting an Emerald Park Master Plan which Shall be to Leave the Land in its
Memorandum 07-30 from City Planner through City Manager as backup.
Motion on the floor from the
NOVAK/ROBERTS - MOVED TO ADOPT
RESOLUTION 07-03 BY
Concern of fire hazard from the dead trees on the parcel were voiced.
NOVAK/ROBERTS – MOVED TO ADD #1
UNDER BE IT FURTHER REVOLVED: DEAD TREES WILL CONSTITUTE AN UNSAFE CONDITION
FOR
There was no discussion.
VOTE: YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
VOTE: (main motion) YES. NON OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.
Motion carried.
A. Memorandum 07-28, From the Economic Development Advisory Commission Re: International Pacific Halibut Commission Action Limiting Halibut Take. Recommend approval.
Recommendation:
Direct the City Manager to send
a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as soon as possible, protesting
the IPHC decision that would impact Homer’s halibut charter industry by
imposing a one-fish bag limit during part of the summer sportfishing season.
WYTHE/NOVAK - MOVED TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF MEMORANDUM 07-28.
Council discussed the one-fish bag limit; its origin at a Federal level, as a conservation method with an economic impact. Previous lengthy discussions were evenly divided and the IPHC is taking no action.
VOTE: NO. NOVAK, HEIMBUCH, ROBERTS, WYTHE
VOTE: YES. SHADLE
Motion failed.
RESOLUTIONS
A. Resolution 07-39, Of the City Council of Homer, Alaska Designating City Owned Lots in the Area Immediately Adjacent to the Homer Fish Dock as a Restricted Use Area and Limiting Primary Uses There to Activities Directly Associated with the Commercial Fishing Industry. City Manager. Recommend adoption.
This item was pulled.
B. Resolution 07-36, Of the City Council of Homer,
This item was pulled.
COMMENTS OF THE AUDIENCE
Brad Faulkner, city resident, has leased
Arn Johnson, city resident, opposes Ordinance 07-06 as the City has put
the cost to only six of the eight lot owners. Lots A & B are not assessed;
they have free access to the line if they decide to subdivide. Lots G and H
have access to another water main on
Jon Faulker, city resident and Economic Development Advisory
Commissioner, spoke on behalf of the commission. His personal views on the
halibut limit were outlined in a five-page letter. He finds the Council has
avoided controversy on the subject and finds it worse with their current policy
of neutrality. The amount of halibut conserved by allowing the charters to fish
for two weeks is miniscule; long term consequences are huge. It is not a
conservation issue. The EDC’s discussion was lively and divided, yet every
commissioner signed off on the recommendation given to Council passionately.
Being one of the most serious issues the community has faced in 20 years, the
Council has taken a position against the visitor and the charter industry.
Bryan Zak, city resident, commented on the
COMMENTS OF THE
City Attorney Tans was not present.
COMMENTS OF THE
City Clerk Johnson had no comments.
COMMENTS OF THE
City Manager Wrede had no comments.
COMMENTS OF THE MAYOR
Mayor Hornaday thanked Dennis for
filling in while he was gone. He attended the Navigational Safety forum in
Mayor Hornaday commented the City made $1M more last year than it spent. He commended the staff and City Council for good work on that.
There are a number of openings on commissions, boards and committees. The Mayor asked anyone interested to submit an application to the Clerk’s office.
COMMENTS OF THE
Councilmember Novak responded to Mr. Jon Faulkner. He appreciates the effort the EDC put in on the one fish issue. For the City Council it is a bigger picture with more things to consider. Local issues and people that make a living here were items for dialog and he believes we are moving in a positive way.
Councilmember Shadle said he voted yes on the fish issue. Stocks are hurt when you go over the GHL, there are no studies done on the impacts of fishermen catching other types of fish.
Councilmember Wythe had no comments.
Councilmember Stark appreciated Mr. Faulkner’s five-page letter. It is not unusual when there are policy and emotional issues to have 49% to 51% support or opposition. With bigger money riding on it, the issues become larger. The City Council does the best it can.
Councilmember Heimbuch understands Jon Faulkner’s passion about the fishing issue. He is struck by Brad Faulkner’s testimony on the lease policies. He wanted to clear up the fact he doesn’t view the buildings as shanties or shacks on the Spit. Mr. Heimbuch would like to learn more about the imbalances of the leases. The City has had trouble getting responses for RFP’s and he would like to learn more about what is stymieing development on the Spit. He appreciates the quality of testimony, as it made an impact.
Councilmember Roberts stated she
read Jon Faulkner’s letter several times and examined what the EDC had been
doing. She agrees with Mr. Stark it is a difficult issue to decide. She thought
about it very carefully and assured Mr. Faulkner she is not ignoring his
opinion. She thanked Mayor Hornaday for representing the Council at the
navigational forum. Finally, she is glad to hear the Council will soon see a
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business
to come before the Council the meeting was adjourned at
______________________________
JO JOHNSON,
Approved: _____________________