Feb. 12 City Manager Newsletter

City Manager Report

City of Seward

February 12, 2024

Janessa Anderson

From the City Manager

Hello and welcome to the City Manager newsletter! We’ve created this newsletter to share information and increase accessibility to information outside of our usual City Council meeting packets. Since this is a new venture for the City Manager’s office, the template may change and information may be added or removed as we find the perfect format.

The game plan is to publish this newsletter with each City Council meeting and include information from the City Manager Report, which covers each department in the city of Seward.

Thank you for reading, and please let me know if there is anything you’d like to see added to this newsletter over time. Send me an email with your thoughts and ideas!

Thanks -- Kat Sorensen, Seward City Manager

ksorensen@cityofseward.net

KPEDD: Jason had his first Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District board meeting. It was also the first for their new Executive Director Cassidi Cameron after the recent retirement of longtime ED Tim Dillon.

Ongoing

Projects

Airport: Jason and Kat met with DOT staff on January 23rd. They have had some staff changes on their end and we just wanted to get re-familiarized with the Airport Project Status and start working on next steps.

Public Works Facility: R&M is wrapping up the 65% design which will be brought before council in a future work session and the project will then move to a 95% design.

Heat Loop: We just finished our Q1 (Oct – Dec) grant reporting for the Department of Energy Grant. The Ad hoc Committee met on January 31st. We are looking at a couple of new grant possibilities for the development of the project.

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.

Chief Crites, Fire Marshal Mallory and Building official Rogers attended the Fire Marshal’s forum Jan 23-25th

Chief Crites and Chief McCoy attended the State of Alaska Certifying Officer program January 27th and a Marine Firefighting Train-the-Trainer course through AVTEC Jan 29-Feb2

61 Emergency Calls for service

·Firefighter 1 had live fire training January 20th and tested for Firefighter 1 January 27th

2023 YTD Statistical Information

Fire & Life Safety Inspections:

355 with 338 violations noted.

Emergency Calls: 502

New Building Permits Issued 2023:

56 with a total construction valuation of $27,124,795

Community

Library&

Museum

Click here for more

“I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you for your unwavering support and understanding during the recent seasonal shortages and transitions. Your patience and cooperation have been instrumental in navigating these challenging times. Your willingness to adapt and find solutions together has not only strengthened our community but also exemplified the spirit of unity. Together, we have proven that even during challenges, the power of collaboration and understanding can build the path forward.

We have returned to our standard winter operating hours and recommenced passport processing.

-- Sue Drover, Deputy Library & Museum Director

Operating Hours: There are no anticipated changes to our operating hours until spring. The Library is implementing a practice of locking the doors 15 minutes before closing has significantly improved our ability to close the facility properly and safely. We have not received any negative feedback from patrons regarding this adjustment. The Library and Museum will be closed February 20th for President’s Day.

Staffing: Currently, we have one seasonal position available. I am pleased with the progress of our new staff members. While I was remotely attending ICS training at Ft Greely, the team, including Cara Schaefermeyer (aide), Lily Kornachuk (technician), and Robin Bracken (seasonal), performed admirably with no issues. These additions have been warmly welcomed by the library/museum staff.

Patron Statistics (Jan 9 – Jan 27): Over 15 working days, we served 4,056 patrons, averaging 270.40 visitors daily. Additionally, we facilitated 20 events during this period.

Passport Processing: There has been an increase in passport processing, prompting me to submit a request to commence training for new employees who qualify as processing agents.

Chapbooks Writer’s Series: This month marks the commencement of our new writer’s series, Chapbooks. We've received early positive feedback, and we extend our gratitude to Sean Ulman for spearheading this initiative. This series will be an ongoing feature of the library, with the chapbooks produced available for reading onsite.

Inter-Library Loan: Following up on my previous report, I confirmed that the Seward Community Library & Museum requested a temporary hold on our participation in the inter-library loan program in November 2022. We have scheduled training for all current staff with the Alaska Library Catalog to regain the privilege of inter-library loans. This month alone, we have received over 100 books from libraries across the state. Notably, we fulfilled a special request from Big Lake, being the sole library in the state with a copy of the requested book.

Museum Operations Update:

·This month, with being open each Saturday, the Museum saw 60 visitors. The visitors who traveled the furthest were from Boston, MA.

·There are no new acquisition highlights to share. The Collections Committee will be meeting the Week of February 19 – 23.

·The Museum received four videos from the Jesse Lee Home Anniversary in the late 1980s. The team agreed to send the tapes to Anchorage to have them converted into a digital file.

Over 15 working days, we served 4,056 patrons, averaging 270.40 visitors daily. Additionally, we facilitated 20 events during this period.

Ongoing Exhibitions

Polar Bear Jump Window Display: History of Seward's Polar Bear Jump. On display until February 3rd.

Dancing into a New Era: A glimpse into Seward's Nobby Club, a post-World War II jazz and swing dance club on Fourth Ave. Begins January 20th through March 2nd.

Upcoming Exhibitions: February Film Window Display: An exhibit highlighting the history of motion pictures in Alaska & movie-going here in Seward.

The next Exhibits Committee Meeting took place on January 25th. Topics of discussion were ordering photo reprints from Anchorage, designing new text panels for permanent exhibits, and finalizing plans for the new Jesse Lee Home Exhibit. The next meeting will take place on February 20th.

The Museum will be open on Fridays & Saturdays, 12 pm to 5 pm,

beginning February 2nd.

Sports and Rec was rolling in January with our busiest month in the past year at the AVTEC Gym with 1772 visitors for the month. And now we're open seven days a week starting Feb 1st.

Archery has taken off as we've had a steady stream of youth classes and at least 10 youth participants for open archery every week in January.

The Garage Sale on January 20th was a smashing success featuring over 20 sellers and 150 visitors to the gym.

Urbach's Youth Basketball League is starting on February 17th and we have eight sponsored teams to bring games back in the mix for 2024.

Adult leagues - Racquetball, Volleyball & Basketball started up for late winter and spring.

Parks and Recreation

Campgrounds

We are working on Shower house improvements in Resurrection Campground. Acquiring quotes for installation of control box, sump pump and new water heater.

Assembling/Staining Picnic tables for the upcoming season.

Park Maintenance:

The Parks and Rec crew has been working diligently on 2nd Lake. Establishing a surface has been challenging but rewarding for community members to enjoy ice skating in the heart of town.

We are also busy painting and numbering Parking bumpers and updating the parking pay stations with new fees, as well as training staff on the Upsafety software for enforcement starting this May.

Sports and Recreation

Calendar of Events

Check out the Parks and Rec website for a full calendar of events, including Neon Skate and Basketball League

CHECK IT OUT HERE

Join our team!

Below are a selection of current openings with the city of Seward. You can see all employment oppportunities 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.

Accounting Technician II

Electric General Manager

Journeyman Lineman

Patrol Officer

Electric

A management contract with Matanuska Electric Association is being drafted and is slated to come before Council at the February 26th Meeting.

Administration, Finance, and the Project Foreman met with Sturgeon Electric to go over the invoices for Phase 1 of the Infrastructure Project as well as discussing Phase 2.

Chugach Electric reached out to the City on the evening of January 31st in regard to possible disruption of service with their power supply contract. This was due in combination to Enstar’s equipment issues and natural gas use spike with the colder temperatures. This impacted the entire railbelt and led to a stressful weekend across the railbelt. Our entire team was prepared and ready to continue service without interruption, but, luckily, service was not interrupted and temperatures have warmed. We’re not anticipating this being an issue again in the near future, but we are prepared.

Public Works

With all the heavy snow and weather Seward has received this winter, the Public Works crew routinely gets up and out the door to start plowing at 4 a.m. With less traffic, we are able to give Seward residents a fresh start of the day after a snow event.

Snow blowing center berms and hauling from the downtown and harbor areas is a considerable effort taken on each time after snow plowing is finished.

Public Works Water crew repairing a broken water line repair on Resurrection Blvd. This is just one of many duties that isn’t always known about

Public Works

If your water line has a history of freezing, please pay attention to the Public Notice to keep your water running at about a #2 pencil lead stream. There is already some residences and businesses that had frozen water lines this month.

Colder than normal temperatures in Seward for the last few weeks are hard on the heavy equipment. Hydraulics are slow and need extra time to warm up. The sub-0 temps make equipment fittings, hoses, and attachment pieces very brittle and subject to damage and failure. We are working diligently to keep everything repaired and operating.

The Public Works crew are also exposed to working outside in the cold for snow removal, to locate water valves for customers with freeze ups, and read water meters etc.

·The boilers and heating systems at City buildings have also been put the test with these few weeks of cold temperatures. Boiler adjustments and repairs have been done to try to keep our buildings comfortable. It is a challenge as most of the city building’s systems are older and were not as insulated as we would like.

HARBOR HAPPENINGS

The Land acquisition is finally done the City Manager signed the paperwork on 1-30-2024, 14 years the city and I have been working on this.
The Land Sale with 4JBC closed last week. The sale is final, we are going to use the funds to add more electric pedestals in the SMIC boat yard, more to come later.
Updated schedule on the Coast Guard vessel schedule: Nothing new as of 1-30-2024
Harbor crew continuing to clear snow at SMIC.
Vessels want to go into the water for the 2024 season, one is scheduled next week.

Seward FRC Homeport Schedule:

Scope: Acquire real property and complete NEPA for future FRC homeport.

(DONE)

Status: CEU Juneau obligated funds on 25 Aug 2023 to purchase a 1.5-acre parcel at the Seward Marine Industrial Center (SMIC) for future waterfront improvements. (DONE)

Schedule:

Mar 2024: RFP package to contracting.

Apr 2024: Design/Build solicitation released.

Sep 2024: Contract award.

Projected Construction Completion Date (CCD): September 2026

Notes: Construction pends funds appropriation which is anticipated in FY2024.

Finance

Community Development Report

Audit – The Finance department is starting the preparation for Audit FY23 in conjunction with Altman Rodgers and Co firm.
Finance is reviewing Tile 14 and submitted to our City’s Attorney for review.
Finance is working with Chief Nickell on the upcoming E- 911 dispatch contract, analyzing cost and services.
Billing news:

New Rates for the Tarif approved on January 8,2023 will be effective for billing in February for reads on 1/15/24 - 2/15/24.
Utility Assist and Finance are working on the collection workflow program to collect old outstanding balances.

Your Main Idea Goes Here

There is just enough space here for several lines of text. You can add details, share a quick story, or elaborate on an idea, as long as you keep the information engaging and relevant. For maximum impact, make sure you get your message across clearly yet concisely.

Police Department

The Police Department is continuing our bear awareness work, rolling out our “Seward Cares For Its Bears” magnets on the police vehicles. Please help us raise awareness by sporting one of our stickers on your water bottle, car bumper, etc. Stop by and see us to request some bear swag. We have stickers available in a variety of sizes!

We would like to remind people this week that turn signals aren’t optional equipment! Please use your signals and let others know your intentions on the roadway. The Chief is asking the officers to take notice and make stops.

·Chief Nickell is interested in speaking with citizens from all over the greater Seward area including Moose Pass and Cooper Landing about what you need, want, and expect when you call 911. The Chief is a member of the 911 board here on the Kenai Peninsula and needs your input to make the best decisions for the future. Please reach out to him at (907) 224-3338 Monday – Friday. If he’s unavailable, please leave a message and your call will be promptly returned.

MIS (AKA IT Dept)

Community Development Report

-The team completed year end software updates for AccuFund to allow the finance team to complete year end reports and processing of W2s.

-Continuing work to complete network upgrades in city hall and install new servers and networking equipment in PD. Installed new

multi-fiber cables to allow for increased network bandwidth in city hall, and between city hall and the fire station.

TECH TIP

When All Else Fails, Reboot. It’s good practice to reboot your computer a few times each week. This flushes system memory, allows windows updates to complete, and can lead to better productivity and performance. It’s also the first thing tech support is going to ask if you have done when you have an issue.

Your Main Idea Goes Here

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

Kevin Finch