April 29 City Manager Newsletter

City Manager Newsletter

City of Seward

April 29, 2024

Kat Sorensen

From the City Manager

We’ve had some quintessential Seward spring weather since my last newsletter and I hope everyone is enjoying all the added sunshine. Some highlights from this month for me have been my trip to D.C. in early April, a night out at the Alice in Wonderland play at the Seward High School, and some warm spring skiing on Bear Lake before it got really warm. Here’s some exciting highlights of things Jason and I have been working on.

Clean Ports Grant Workshop: We met with a working group of stakeholders and grant writers to begin the application for the Clean Ports grant, which is due at the end of March.

ASLC Board Meeting: I attended the Alaska SeaLife Center Board meeting, the first for their new director Wei Ying Wong. Congrats Wei Ying!

Borough Assembly Meeting: I attended the KPB Assembly meeting at the Seward Community Library and got to have a brief convo with our borough mayor and assembly members. The Seward Seahawks wrestling team was also recognized.

Heat Loop Project: The project was recently given $500,000 of federal funding through the Economic Development Initiative Grant and highlighted in the Alaska Business Magazine.

KPEDD: We attended the Economic Development District Industry Outlook Forum on April 25th and heard from a variety of industry leaders and representatives, including Senator Sullivan.

Jesse Lee Home: We recently heard back from ADEC regarding the testing results that were done last summer. Part of the delay is that they have had some turn over (two times) in the position that reviews our case – it looks like they are running with the baton again. They are getting some clarifications from our engineer. We are hopeful that in the not too distant future, we can be finished with the mitigation process.

And a big thank you to the public works team for getting our new City of Seward rug set up at the Utility Desk. It’s such a nice welcome to City Hall!

ksorensen@cityofseward.net

Look down the next time you stop by city hall!

Council member Bob Barnwell, Norm Regis, and I travelled to D.C. and met with our federal delegations and/or their staff!

And a quick reminder the parking lots open in the harbor starting May 1 - get your seasonal harbor parking pass today for only $50

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO LEARN MORE

We have a lot to celebrate at the City of Seward!

to Norm Regis for his retirement after 30 years with the city of Seward,

and to Nort Adelmann on his retirement after 30 years with the city of Seward.

Thank you to both Nort and Norm for their years of dedication and hard work. We appreciate both of you!

Congratulations and thank you to the following employees who are celebrating work anniversaries with the city.

Celebrating 5 years!

Ryan Anger- Harbor Department

Tatiana Calenici-Electric Department

Clinton Crites- Fire Chief

Kirsten Loertscher-Public Works

Katja Mocnik-Animal Control

Dustin Phillips-IT Director

Celebrating 10 years!

Shelli McDowell-Animal Control

George O’Dell-IT

Bryan Thrall-Electric Department

James Unrein-Electrical Department

Morgan Woodard-Fire Department

Celebrating 20 years!

Eddie Armstrong - Police Department

Celebrating 25 years!

Karen Corrigan - City Clerks Office

Community

Library&

Museum

Click here for more

The Adult Education/GED classes continue on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday through June.
We have 2 Chapbooks published and on display. This is an ongoing project so we will continue to release chapbooks by local artists as they are written.
Summer Reading Program schedule is firming up and we will begin registration soon.
With assistance from the Curator we have begun developing field trip opportunities, (in-person and virtual) for the ‘American’s and the Holocaust’ traveling exhibit. We have reached out to community and state organizations for volunteers and programming development.
We are working to start a book club for 8- to 12-year-olds. This is a staff/student combined effort, and more details will be forthcoming.
We are partnering with Seward Seniors Center to begin a library resource delivery program in coordination with their Meals on Wheels program.
Additionally, we have reached out to Spring Creek Correctional Center to see how we could assist them with library resources, possibly a book club.

Inter-Library Loan:

We are still on track to begin reciprocating in this program again for the first time since November 2022. Next week we will go live and continue to work with ALC to keep this endeavor manageable.

Museum collections & Exhibits

Museum Summer Admission Hours May 1 to September 29 Admission price is 5 Tuesday Friday 9am to 6pm Saturday 9am to 5pm Sunday 1pm to 4 30pm

Only halfway through the month and the museum has received over 100 visitors!

Ongoing Exhibitions:

First World Flight Centennial, 1924 – 2024 Window Display: Did you know that Seward was one of the stops in mankind's first-ever flight around the world? In collaboration with Friends of Magnuson Park in Seattle, we will mark the centennial of this historic achievement in aviation. (On Display April 2 – June 1)
Celebrating Historic Preservation: Join us this May as we celebrate Historic Preservation Month with an exhibit that focuses on the places & sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (On Display April 18 – June 1)

Upcoming Exhibitions:

Jesse Lee Home: The museum team is working on enhancing this exhibit based on evaluation and feedback from the community and visitors. With new text panels ordered and an interactive touchscreen kiosk, we are contacting community members to record oral histories and provide many narratives to bring this historic place back to life.

The Loop District Tunnel No. 1 is a historic railroad tunnel located about 40 miles north of Seward in the Placer River Valley. The tunnel was dug in 1906 and served the Alaska Railroad until the route in the area, known as the "Loop District" was rerouted in 1951. It is now on the national register of historic places.

Fire Department

We NEED volunteers, if you or someone you know is interested in serving your community, call at 224-3445 or stop by at one of our trainings on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm.

THANK YOU to our volunteers.

Eight of our members took the State of Alaska Driver Operator’s test on April 28th.
There are 15 building permits issued and we have responded to 117 calls for service year to date.
May 11 during the Bike Rodeo, the Fire Station will have an open house with picture boards, turn out gear for kids, and Root Beer Floats!
We are working with the KPB OEM to consolidate our Hazardous Mitigation Plan into one living document that will support mitigation projects collectively.

KITE FESTIVAL

Tim Sorenson

Parks and Recreation

The Kite Festival was held April 20th and was a soaring success!
The Seward Alaska Ventures Volleyball Tournament was held April 27-28 that included 16 teams with 13 teams from out of town.
Sports and Rec is ramping up for our busy event season, in the meantime we've had some cool classes going on like Dance Cardio run by our own Megan Harwell.
Embroidery class with Lizabella has been a huge success with 24 people learning an awesome skill the past two months.
Board Game night was a success at Millers Landing with around 15 participants.
Basketball Championship was 4/18 followed by Volleyball championships 4/24. The favorites are The Runners in the basketball league and Pound It in the volleyball league.
The following weeks we have the

Pink Cheeks Triathlon (May 4th),
Bike Rodeo/Super Saturday Cleanup (May 11th)
Exit Glacier 5K/10K (May 18th).

Calendar of Events

Check out the Parks and Rec website for a full calendar of events and information on how to sign up!

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Board game night at miller’s landing saw over a dozen gamers!

Join our team!

Below are a selection of current openings with the city of Seward. You can see all employment opportunities by clicking HERE.

An application for employment can be found HERE, by emailing HR@cityofseward.net or in the lobby of City Hall at 410 Adams Street

Applications may be sent electronically to Tammy Nickell, HR Manager at HR@cityofseward.net, faxed to 907-224-3577, or delivered to City Hall at 410 Adams Street (5th Ave & Adams Street), Seward, Alaska 99664.

Executive Assistant - Harbor

Water/Wastewater Operator

Journeyman Lineman

Patrol Officer

Electric Utility

You will see a new line-item charge called the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) Charge, as part of the tariff approved in January. This rate was established the the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) and supports the Railbelt Reliability Council, whose mission is to work collaboratively and transparently to establish and uphold protocols that sustainably balance safety, reliability, cost, and environmental responsibility.

The cost of the RRC is split amongst the Railbelt utilities (which includes Seward Electric) as mandated by Alaska state legislation. The ERO charge is based on your monthly kWh usage at a rate of .008886. You will see this charge separately on your bill to provide full transparency of the costs.

Click here for a billing breakdown

ERO Charge

Learn more about the RRC

HARBOR HAPPENINGS

Summer season duties have begun but still monitoring the weather and we will start turning on water as soon as temperature allows. Typically, this is the last week of April or first week of May.
We are terminating our agreement with Dockwa and will revisit a software update in the fall
Attended the last PIDP Grant (Port and Infrastructure Development Program) webinar on 4/3/24 as a possible funding source for the 50 ton washdown pad. We are now updating information with PND for that grant submittal deadline at the end of May.
Started working with Alaska Harbor Consulting for Z – float Expansion layout to optimize use of that area for our year-round Tenants as well as our seasonal Tenants.
Vendors started staging freight within North Dock storage area with first scheduled vendor using 4/20, next on 4/28 and another on 5/8/24.
Continuing to work with vendors on new power pedestals for additional power throughout the SMIC boat yard. Vendor has follow up questions on Transformer size and layout before we can get a more detailed/accurate quote.
Harbor Department is currently participating in the online portion to become certified in CPR and first aid.

Public works

Springtime is really trying to show up. As much as we are all ready for warmer weather, It also comes with spring ground thaws that sometimes freeze water lines. Occasionally the frost is pushed deeper and can break a water line or main.
A broken main on Phoenix caused some light damage to pavement and roadside areas. The Water Department was able to isolate the break and keep all customers water on. Temporary damage measures were completed at the site. We will have to finish the repair in a few weeks when the frost is gone, and new repair parts arrive. We have several other digs planned in the next few weeks to repair shut off valves and turn on seasonal services.

Finance

Community Development Report

Finance continues working with the auditors performing our annual audit.
We are actively implementing a cross-training program, a strategic move that will enhance our team's versatility and efficiency in handling internal areas of our department.
Finance is assisting Util. Assist with the collection procedures in preparation for the upcoming season of shutting off services for delinquent accounts.
Finance congrats to our A/P, Karma Hibbets, on her first six months within the Finance Department. We hope that you keep up the good work for more months to come!
Congratulations to our Senior Accountant, Naneth Ambrosiani, on her 12 years in the Finance Department. We know you have worked hard, and we appreciate your dedication.

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Police department

Animal Shelter

The Police Department would like to make sure the public is aware of the extension for studded tires to May 15th. After this date, you will need to have your studded tires removed for the summer. We have some important events coming up for the community:
May 11th is the Bike Rodeo. We hope for great weather and a greater turnout! As always, the PD will be rustlin’ up some hotdogs for everyone.
May 18th we will have the annual Torch Run in support of Special Olympics. Turnout has dwindled over the last several years and we hope to see people rally to support this worthy cause. Even if you come walk the course, the support is appreciated and its beautiful scenery along Herman Leirer Road. Participation is free, but if you choose to donate $35 or more you will receive a t-shirt to commemorate the race.

Thank you out to all the amazing people who made March’s Spay and Neuter Clinic a success with 406 animals being spayed, neutered, and vaccinated.

IT TECH TIP

Community Development Report

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Community development

The Community Development staff has begun holding weekly internal meetings to discuss and work on the Comprehensive Plan update. We are currently researching and reviewing the comprehensive plans of other cities. As we continue with this project, we will periodically bring our ideas up at future Planning and Zoning work sessions to get input from the Commission and the public.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is still looking to fill their final seat on the Commission. A recorded informational session about the Commission is up on the Community Development website for any interested Seward citizens.
Community Development is representing the City on the Steering Committee for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Coastal Resiliency Grant. The project description of this grant is to evaluate and prioritize projects into a comprehensive coastal resilience protection plan for Seward, Alaska, to restore floodplain function, fix degraded salmon habitat, and alleviate threats from flooding and erosion. The timeline for this plan includes community outreach which is scheduled to take place in the fall. We will continue to pass on updates as they occur.

There are 3 ordinances on the April 29 agenda for enactment. Click HERE to see the packet and learn more.

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Join a P&Z Commission Today

Community Development Report

The Planning & Zoning Commission is in need of a commissioner!

Do you live inside city limits and have an interest in community and comprehensive planning? P&Z advises City Council and promotes public interest and understanding of comprehensive planning, platting, zoning, land management and other issues relating to community planning and development. The P&Z Commission meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. and a work session on the third Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Email the application below to clerk@cityofseward.net

P&Z Application

City of seward

Kat Sorensen, City Manager

ksorensen@cityofseward.net

Jason Bickling, Deputy City Manager

jbickling@cityofseward.net

CITY COUNCIL

Mayor Sue McClure

Vice-Mayor John Osenga

Mike Calhoon

Randy Wells