From the City Manager

The snow is melting, and then returning, and then melting again but with the influx of visitors and “OPEN” signs throughout town we know that summer is here! Jason and I have been busy attending a variety of meetings and working on some big projects. Here’s some of the things we’ve been working on:

Cruise Ship Terminal: The Alaska Railroad, Royal Caribbean, and the Seward Company spent a few days throughout town talking about the new cruise ship project slated to begin in 2025. Learn more about the Seward Company and the project at sewardcompany.com

Clean Ports Grant: We are in the final stages of applying for a $45 million grant that would bring shore power to the new cruise ship terminal. We are working closely with the Seward Company on the grant package and are hopeful and excited for the end result!

EDA Grant: We are in the early stages of applying for a grant for communities impacted by the loss of the coal industry.

And a big thank you to everyone who participated in Super Saturday this weekend and helped clean up the Seward area. We appreciate you!

Thanks -- Kat

Quick reminder the parking lots open in the harbor starting May 1 - get your seasonal harbor parking pass today starting at $50 at Parks and Rec office or AVTEC Parks and Rec Counter.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO LEARN MORE

Summer operating hours for the Library & Museum (May 1-Sept 29)

Tues-Fri 9-6, Sat 9-5. We will be closed Tuesday May 28 to honor Memorial Day.

• Patron Statistics (April 2024): 21 working days, we served 7315 patrons, averaging 348 visitors daily. Additionally, we facilitated 54 events, 21 Shushbooth reservations, and proctored 3 exams during this period.
  
• Passport Processing: Our new agents are processing passports still under guidance, and I am confident they will be able to process them without supervision soon. We processed 11 passports in April.
  
• Summer Reading Program is receiving registrations for ages 1yo to 8th grade. We are running 2 groups for each event broken down as follows, Group 1 (0-4th grade) and Group 2 (5th-8th grade). There are 11 weeks for this years Summer Reading Program. Our theme is “Coastal Community” we are celebrating things that make living in a waterfront community special.
  
• Library on Wheels has begun registering participants through the Senior Center Meals on Wheels program who are unable to physically come to the library to check out materials and receive those items weekly with their meal delivery.
  
• Americans and the Holocaust exhibit has put out invitations for field trips. We are offering in-person and virtual field trips for those that cannot visit the exhibition in-person. We have several bookings and look forward to filling the calendar. Additionally, we are having an Opening Ceremony which will offer guest speakers and representatives from the Anchorage Jewish Museum.
  
• After our full day of Seward Middle School field trips on April 24th we have seen a significant increase in YA services and YA library card applications.
  

Fire Department

• There are 17 building permits issued and we have responded to 135 calls for service year to date.
  
• APRIL 24TH Manufacturer Rep. LN Curtis brought in an expert on our Extrication tools to give us a 4 hour training on Extrication and Stabilization and will return later to present a full day class to Seward and the surrounding departments.
  
• The 12th Annual Phoenix Chapter Cruise will be May 25! Get your tickets now before they are sold out. This benefit cruise helps support Fire and EMS training on the Eastern side of the Peninsula. A huge shout out to all our supporters and donors especially Major Marine Tours for graciously donating their vessel and crew! Come by the station or call 224-3445 for your ticket today!
  

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.

Parks and Recreation

Basketball League Winners!

Executive Assistant - Harbor

Water/Wastewater Operator

Journeyman Lineman

Patrol Officer

Electric Utility

• Our new management is learning Seward's policies and procedures to ensure compliance and effective project management in line with organizational standards.
• We have eviewed and acquired updated fire protection systems estimates. This initiative aims to enhance safety measures and ensure up-to-date compliance with fire safety regulations.
  
• We’re preparing preliminary estimate and description for the Railbelt’s attributes for shore power grant application. This document outlines the projected costs, necessary to support the application process.
  
• We reviewed vendor proposals and formulated draft resolutions for the annual procurement of essential materials and transformers. This effort supports the maintenance, reliability, and expansion of our electrical infrastructure to meet our consumers new service requirements.
  
• We are working with our consultant and field crews, reviewed and developed comments on our draft Forest Service permit for Right-of-Way (ROW) management plan. Our feedback focuses on optimizing the alignment with environmental standards and operational efficiency.
  

HARBOR HAPPENINGS

• Seasonal bathrooms and water on floats are all on as of 5/2, unfortunately, the Uplands section has a major break. We are sourcing parts and hope to have fixed within the week.
• April had a total of 39 lifts with the 50-ton Travelift.
  
• We are adding the final additions to the PIDP Grant (Port and Infrastructure Development Program) proposal with PND and should be completed the week of May 6th. This is a possible funding source for our 50-ton Travelift Washdown pad.
  
• Float layout and design with Alaska Harbor Consulting for Z – float Expansion Project has begun and hope to have that completed in the next couple weeks.
  
• I met with AK Lands and Community Development to discuss layout and preliminary design for developing the Harbor Uplands.
  
• Activity at North Dock has increased significantly the past couple weeks. We had 244 tons of Wharfage cross the dock. • 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.
  
• The Harbor Department is currently participating in the online portion to become certified in CPR and first aid.
  
• We had a total of 16 lifts with the 300-ton Travelift
  

Public works

• We continue to meet with the US Army Corp of Engineers as they engineer the project. It is still on schedule for construction to start in 2027. The inlet and outfall designs are firming up and the main tunnel design is close to being finished. A few of the Corp team traveled to Switzerland to see similar tunnels that are excellent examples of tunnel construction methods.
• State of Alaska DOT and QAP will be finishing up work on the Mile 0-8 Project. The line painting from Van Buren to Railway is to be completed starting June 3rd. There will be road closures and night work to finish as quickly as possible, more information to come.
  
• The Water and Sewer Rate Study is almost ready to present, and a presentation/discussion will be scheduled soon at an upcoming council meeting. There are two very important parts to implement from the study. First, we need to replace the current complicated ERU billing for all businesses and any residential apartment buildings that are a 3-plex or larger. They will all have to be “metered”. This will simplify the whole system for the customer and our billing process. Second, we need to adjust the rates and revenues to keep on track for maintenance and operations.
  
• The Water-Wastewater Departments have been very busy with water turn-ons for businesses and residents as the summer folks return to Seward.
  

Police department

Chief Nickell and Deputy Chief Schaefermeyer just attended a course on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and are now able to advise on projects for new construction or existing construction improvement projects in the local area. If anyone would like help with making their area safer, feel free to reach out to us. We are happy to be of service

May 18th is the Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics, please stop by and support this worthy cause!

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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

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

Bob Barnwell

Julie Crites

410 Adams St.

PO Box 167

Seward, AK 99664

Upcoming council meetings

Packets and agendas are posted on the city website prior to each meeting.

Meetings are livestreamed on our YouTube channel and 91.7 FM Seward Public Radio