City Council - Regular Meeting

[clears throat] I'd like to call uh today's city council. Gentlemen, I'd like to call the city council meeting to order. Um before we get started, again, please uh silence your cell phones um as well as the council as well. U madam clerk, would you call the role, please? Mayor Cooper here. Deputy Mayor Canantra here. Council member Carrington here. Council member Collins here. Council member Graham here. Council member Hudson here. Council member Moer here. We have a quorum.

Thank you. And Jackie, would you lead us in the pledge, please? to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. [clears throat] Wishes of the council on the approval of the agenda. Looking for a motion to approve. Motion to approve. Second.

Thank you. Any any discussion on that? I I I have Please. [laughter]

I realized belatedly that a set of our minutes was missing some motion some motions at the end of the November 18th minutes. I emailed them to you, but I also brought a paper copy for everybody to look at in case you needed a paper copy. Thank you. And then I also um I we noticed some on the December 16th minutes. This is what happens when I don't slow down and do minutes properly. They um I just noticed a couple typos that I fixed. One of them I had put initial instead of initially. I had misspelled the word member for council member Gramber and I had been miss [laughter] with the wrong mayor and one part. I fixed that. And then I fixed this is for the December 16th minutes and I fixed the typo from um it should have been AFN but I had AFM on it and I fixed that typo. So just so everybody's aware, I fixed some typos on the December 16th minutes.

Thank you. Would you call the RO please? Council member Collins, yes. Council member Graham, yes. Mayor Cooper, yes. Council member Carrington, yes. Council member Hudson, yes. Council member Moer, yes. And Deputy Mayor Canra, yes. The agenda is approved.

Thank you. Moving on to communic communication appearance requests. Uh I don't see we have any elected officials in the room. Um, so I'm also have a I have a proclamation recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day. [cough and clears throat] Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life to advancing justice, equality, human dignity, and freedom for all people, inspiring generations with his courageous leadership and unwavering commitment to nonviolence. And Dr. King's legacy of service and sacrifice helped bring about significant progress in civil rights and continues to challenge communities to strive for fairness and opportunity for every individual. And Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed nationally as a federal holiday on a third Monday in January honoring his birthday and recognize the importance of his contributions to American society and the world. This holiday is also designated as National Day of Service, [clears throat] encouraging citizens to live out Dr. King's vision vision by engaging in meaningful community service, strengthening civic life, and fostering greater understanding. The city of Palmer values diversity, inclusion, and unity, and recognizes that Dr. King's message of hope, compassion, and justice continues to resonate and guide our community's efforts towards equality and opportunity for all. Therefore, I, Jim Cooper, mayor of the city of Palmer, do hereby proclaim Monday, January 19th, 2026 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the city of Palmer and urge all citizens to reflect upon Dr. King's legacy and to commit to service, understanding, and equality in our community. Moving on, uh, city manager report. [clears throat] Thank you. I'll keep it short and sweet. Um the airport appraisal services RFP closed with two bids and the evaluation committee will be reviewing them shortly and once the city receives the appraisal

status a corrective action plan will be submitted to the FAA and we remain on track to meet those timelines. Valley mayors and managers meeting this week will be hosted by Palmer. This meeting provides an opportunity to explore additional opportunities for collab collaboration across the Matsu and the city looks forward to these productive conversations, [clears throat] continued partnership with our neighboring communities. And as a reminder, public works snow removal. Our crews are out across the community actively managing snow removal operations. Residents are kindly reminded to move their vehicles off the street whenever possible. Keeping these roadways clear helps our crews move the snow safely and effectively. and your cooperation greatly supports winter maintenance efforts. Uh Palmer Museum History of Art continues to strengthen community engagement and there's going to be new exhibitions this year for 2026 and special events that showcase and celebrate the region's cultural heritage. These highlights historical perspective create opportunities to connect with Palmer's history. And I encourage people to stop by and take a look throughout the year. And lastly, Palmer Fire and Rescue rounded out 2025 with one of their busiest years on record, responding to a total of 1,127 calls. December in 2025 alone accounted for 183 calls, making it the busiest month of the year, which is approximately two and a half times their average month. So, great job, Palmer Fire and Rescue. Thank you.

Any questions? The manager. Moving on. my report. Uh, as the manager mentioned, uh, Thursday is the mayor's, uh, man. Hey, I just need you to know need to know what flights you want to be on and then I will keep touching base as we get closer. So, that's all I got. Any questions? Yes, sir.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, thank you, Mr. Johnson. um you you passed out a uh flight options uh going down on Monday and come back on Wednesday and certainly appreciate that and try to consolidate time, but the uh agenda for AML actually goes until the uh the kind of middayish or closing comments are at 11:00 on Thursday. So I assume with my trips I've made to Juno over my time that uh the the flights on February 19th are the same as they are on the 18th. generally

if somebody wanted to come back on the uh 19th, we could we could make that happen and stay stay. I know the mayor because he's on the board will probably have to stay for the entire time. And I encourage uh any members that might go down. Um even though the category is more budget blues and we're talking about possibly getting money out of the legislature, I think anybody who can stay till uh u the at least 111 flight on Thursday, I think I would encourage that. So, uh, thank you and absolutely. Yeah, I should have I could have put the 19th 18th or 19th.

Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions of the clerk? All right, moving on. Audience participation. Three minutes per person, limited total time of not more than 30 minutes. Sign in and state your name. Three minutes per person. Um, council meeting rules protect your right to testify and be heard even if others in the room disagree with you. Council meeting [clears throat] rules also ensure that those attending can express their views if they do not interfere with the rights of others to see and hear the proceedings at all times. Order and decorum will be maintained in keeping with the civility and dignity of the legislative process. Please be respectful during audience participation. No disruptions to city business or threats of any kind will be allowed. Individuals who cannot follow these guidelines will be removed. Any threats against others could result in criminal prosecution. Again, please come forward, sign in, state your name, and everybody has three minutes.

I don't have the sign in sheet, so you're Please, [laughter] please. Thank you. Thank you. I knew I was forgetting something, [clears throat] Mr. Mayor. Yes. I'm sorry. Yeah.

Yeah. Just a question. probably should have brought it up uh last night, but if there are people that are representing the group, whether it be Save the Palmer Golf Course, uh promote the Palmer Airport, Friends of the Library, whatever it may be, uh what I've understood in the [clears throat] past is that they were given five minutes to speak instead of three. And uh I don't know if there's documentation they need to show to prove that or not, but uh I think um I was a little sugar at myself for not bringing it up last night. And if there are people there that are representing a group overall, I believe that we offer them five minutes instead of three. Uh typically what we do is and for you know someone who wants to come give a presentation that they they there's a form that we fill out to go to the clerk and then you know we can give them probably up to 10 minutes you know but you know but they need to apply earlier so that we can get it on the agenda.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you Sebastian White.

[sighs and gasps]

Good evening, council. My name is Sebastian White and I live here in Palmer. Um, first I wanted to take a moment to thank uh, Councilwoman Graham for speaking to me um, the other day about the public camping ban and informing me about the therapeutic Alaska's therapeutic court system. Um, gave me a lot of hope, you know, about people that are affected by the the ordinance and I'd like to thank you for that. Um, tonight I'm here to comment about um, a LPRs. They're assisted license plate readers. Um they've been in the news lately. Um Anchorage has actually approved funds to put some of these in in Anchorage. Um and what they are are assisted license plate readers. Uh they're AI powered license plate readers. Um calling them license plate readers is kind of a misnomer. Um they're capable of reading your license plate, your bumper stickers, whether or not you have a spare tire on your car. um as well as facial recognition. Um there's a lot of companies that use these or that sell these. Um I'm going to talk about Flock Safety. Um they've had a lot of issues um with their deployments. Um if you go to a website called dflock.me, it'll show a map of over 10,000 of these cameras deployed um all over the country. Um, you'll notice that there are not any deployed in Alaska, and I think we should keep it that way. Um, so the problems with these range from, uh, financial and legal to, you know, just straight up privacy violations. Um, in 2023, Aurora, Colorado paid out a $ 1.9 million settlement after a license plate system confused a family's SUV with a stolen motorcycle. um and a

family of six was removed from their car and held at gunpoint. Um there's also uh the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation uh strongly oppose these systems calling them mass surveillance infrastructure that creates an authorit authoritarian tracking infrastructure. Flock has crossed dangerous lines by using AI to flag suspicious behavior patterns and report innocent people to police. The system tracks every vehicle movement of lawabiding citizens, not just sus suspected criminals. Criminals um security researchers uh recently have also been able to use uh just regular Google search terms to access some of the admin administrator consoles for these um cameras. Um they were able to actually track police cars in real time um as well as glean some personal information about police officers from these systems. Um, when confronted with evidence of widespread abuses, including officers stalking ex partners and innocent families terrorized by false matches, Flock has blamed the users rather than fixing the systematic problems. AI bad [clears throat]

Oh, you're fine. You got it right. All right. Hello, my name is Drew and I am here in opposition to the resoning that is taking place from residential to commercial in the city of Palmer. I'd like to point out a few things that I think have become far too conspicuous to really be too much of a coincidence to me. Um, uh, one of the things I would like to point out is that Palmer doesn't really need any more commercial property. In a short simple 1-hour search, I found multiple properties that were available that one two that were uh two acre properties out by the fairgrounds that are right next to each other. There's a 20 acre property that is has access to the Palmer Wasilla Highway, which has obviously better implications for travel and getting to your job quicker. That is access or that is inside the city limits right now. Um, I would also like to point out that the two properties that are being proposed to be transferred right now were in the airport advisory committee's August 2025 plans to be bought up by the FAA. So, it is confusing to me that someone would want to buy property that's going to get bought up anyways for the airport expansion. Um, [snorts] furthermore, I would just like to implore all of the members of the council to hear the citizen's voice, to acknowledge the citizen's voice, and to do what's right for the citizens and the people of Palmer and not just a singular businessman. Thank you,

[clears throat]

Hello, Mr. Mayor and city council folks. Uh for the record, my name is David Wilson. I'm a resident city of Wasilla, but I'm here on behalf of the Mass Health Foundation, my employer. Uh just uh it is that time of the year where our scholarship program has opened. Uh the clerk has some information about our vocational and scholarship programs along with theformational session hearing for families that may need a little bit more information. Uh our um anyone's eligibility to apply as long as they've been Matsu resident uh for a minimum of a year. Uh for your high school uh juniors and seniors, this is a great time to have them start looking at this. For the seniors, the application deadline is due March 6. Um, and as of 2025 last year, uh, academic scholarships are about 2.6 million. Uh, vocational is about almost 300,000 and professional development is about $80,000. It's about 500 students that we've been able to help last year and that's about 55% of them return and save back here in the Matsoo. This is for health allied health uh nonprofit management. There's a whole guidelines list on their website for more information or they can attend one of those uhformational sessions uh January 22nd uh February 5th or February 19th from 4 to 6. Uh meals are provided. It's there in our Matsu Health Foundation there off of Cruzy Street in Bogart. It's on the corner there and folks can come there or call the scholarships office to get more information on that uh on that request. And so it's just a wonderful opportunity to just give back to the community in terms of making sure we have a workforce development that can meet the needs of our growing population and making sure that we can keep folks here in the Matsoo and keep our uh Matsu strong. So with that, if you guys have any questions, I'll be here for the rest of the meeting and uh thank you guys for your service and I also recommend going to AML. I'll be in Juno for that time period, too. I think AHA is the healthcare association and I'll see you

guys at AML as well. So have fun. Thanks. JD Mitchell.

My name is JD Mitchell. Um, I spoke at the December 16th meeting about the resoning and uh my concerns with it. Oh, also nice to see you, new city attorney. Wish you were here last night. Interesting. Um but so you know I expressed concerns and then uh we had our delayed parade. Well, upon the con conclusion of that parade for our colony Christmas, I was pulled aside by a former city council member. Um, and the way they they were they thanked me for speaking out against this resoning and they said, "I was at a chamber of commerce lunchon was introduced by Mr. Dave Cruz, and I don't blame him for wanting this property, but introduced to our new city manager as this is Colobby Zurkel and our families have done a lot of business together. And I'm the superintendent at the Palmer Golf Course and I've been dealing with all this work. It's been stated that you've had constant communication with George negotiating things over the last few months, that Nate has been in contact with George. That is just a flatout lie. Almost every instance of interaction was initiated by George. And so I am just so disappointed in this council and how it has been portrayed to the public with how things have gone down. There are conflicts of interest. I don't blame Mr. Cruz for why he wants that property. I think he could hit his hanger with a rock from the edge of it. That's fine. I got no problem with that. It's okay for him to want that. But the reasons for reszoning everything, it's ridiculous. And the way that you've treated the golf course is ridiculous. And I am disappointed in all of you. And

I'm a lifelong citizen of Palmer and I will continue to be. And so if you would like to be back in these positions, let me know because I know which side of the line I'm going to stand against you. Thank you. Anna Dickson. [clears throat]

I'm gonna read my notes just because I'm nervous. So, uh, hello. My name is Anna Dickensson, Palmer resident. I reside inside city limits off of Outer Springer near the airport. I want to touch on a few issues tonight. One, I want to publicly oppose and ask that you vote no on the resolution to reszone. In my former community, I did serve as a planning and zoning commissioner, so I'm somewhat familiar with these processes. In my opinion, what is being done is a spot zoning is spot zoning and that is not recommended in the world of zoning. It should be done very rarely and only when it benefits the entire or larger community. That is not the case here. Ultimately, if a reszone is approved, what will happen is the adjacent lots will end up being reszoned and sold and we'll have an increasing commercial district and a large loss of residential land. It'll lead to an even smaller voter pool here in Palmer. And the abysmal voter turnout at the recent election shows that this is already a problem. [clears throat] We are already dealing with an airport adjacent to this land that occupies 15 to 20% of our community. Do we want to continue to chip away at that and have a community that's occupied by businesses and not residents? The recent issue of code having to be amended to allow the city manager and administrators to live outside Palmer proper demonstrated the lack of housing is already an issue for the community. Do we want to continue to create a community that caters to businesses and not families and the needs of residents. [snorts] Ultimately, you should be making major decisions that address the future of Palmer or excuse me, the future of the community. Sorry. You should not be making major decisions that address the future of the community based on a comprehensive plan that is decades your decades old. There are some major issues that need to be reviewed through the comp plan process. Doing so would allow the community to weigh in on priorities and the needs and the process would give the administration and council a guide book that would drive and direct the future of our community. [snorts] Without pursuing an updated comp plan, special

interest and ethical missteps can happen. There are major issues that need to be thoughtfully addressed such as the airport expansion. Does the community even want this? Saving the Palmer Golf Course, reviewing and updated the city's code. Example of this would be the outdated and antiquated parking requirements. [snorts] Please stop putting the cart before the horse and put a pause on these big issues and pursue an updated guide book for the community by taking the time to go through the process of the up of updating the comprehensive plan. Thank you. Is there anybody else who would like to come forward and speak on audience participation?

John Sher live in Palmer. [cough] [clears throat] I just wanted to uh say I was I was glad that the city council was able to approve the golf contract again last night. Um, tonight I'm here to ask [clears throat] again for the council to consider a release of obligation for the uh Palon Municipal Golf Course. Um, as you guys know, you are the airport sponsor and you have the ability to instruct the airport advisory council and the FAA to admit the golf course land from the airport master plan. You also have the ability to ask for a release of obligation, which has been successfully accomplished multiple times by uh prior Palmer City Councils. Um, I hope that the uh golf course contract will be finalized and signed immediately so the planning uh can begin for the 2026 season. And I also hope moving forward we can start looking at ways to improve the golf course and treat it as the gem of the community that it is. Um, and finally, I just wanted to thank uh Big Cabbage Radio for staying late last night recording the tail end of the session. I thought that was great.

Thank you.

Thank you. Howdy, Sherman Lifer, Palmer Bar, uh business owner. Uh just three things. Uh one is uh glad things are moving forward properly with the uh um with the golf course. Um glad that we got George back on there and hopefully we can keep that going. Um, number two was uh I did see the uh parking uh report that came out and I do have some concerns about the shared parking that's proposed in that and I hope that everyone's taking a good look at that one. And third was uh in regards to the ordinance um for the reasonzoning. You know, I I see a Mr. Cruz over here. He's uh got a worldwide business going on and this is the headquarters and you're talking about 35 to 50 people that would be living in the area, doing business, going shopping, eating right here in this area. He's gone through all the hoops and uh and uh you know, I just think that uh it's the right thing to do because we need it. We've had lots of uh conversations about businesses not being going on here in Palmer and the best thing we can do is is to keep this a thriving community, what we all love. So, um there's the three things, golf course, resoning, and the uh um parking. Thanks.

Anybody else wishing to come forward? [clears throat and cough]

Yeah, my name is Joel Stfansky. Um, some of the things that John had said, I'm going to duplicate, but I think it needs to be said. Um, I think the city has u pursued release of obligation before from the FAA, and I highly recommend the council um be successful in that on releasing obligation to the golf course from the FAA. Um, as you know, this is my fourth time speaking about the golf course and the benefits of that golf course. It's for all age groups, senior citizens, kids, special Olympians, and I want you to always take that in consideration. Um, thank you for renewing George's contract last night. I think we still have a long ways to go. I encourage and what I understand Kobe, you're you're the main person that George has to talk to on the on future issues and liquor license and stuff like that. I I encourage you to expedite that as quickly as you can. It's a big [clears throat] part of the success. And this is about I've said it mill a lot of times. It's about success here in the community. Not tearing down one group to fund another group. We all belong here. The airport belongs here. The golf course belongs here. Um Jim Cooper, you've said three times, the golf course isn't going anywhere. I'm going to hold you to that. You're a man of your word. I'm going to hold you to that. I don't want to be looking back 5 years from now finding this golf course is been destroyed. And what a tragedy to eliminate this gem. and you guys have control of this. I have a lot of faith in you that you guys are going to do the right thing. The council has made a lot of mistakes in the past and we move forward and we're going to move forward in a

positive manner for this community, not just one group, but for all groups and uh I think you guys all took an oath on that to benefit this community. This golf course is very important to hundreds and hundreds of people and we got to stop dividing the aviation community against the golfers. It's very childish, very immature. And thank you for your time and um thank you for keeping George going. Anyone else wishing to speak? [clears throat and cough]

My name is Barry Willardson. Uh I married a girl from Palmer, Alaska here and uh I truly enjoy after my career of moving back to Alaska and I'm a golfer and I've been golfing since I was a young age. The one thing about golf and why it's important to this community, every age would be in would be affected. And I'm 69 and it's hard for me to swallow that. But uh the older I get, there's one thing I can still do. I can go out and I can play 18 holes of golf. And I pro and I'm hoping I can when I'm 85. But if I played baseball or soccer, football, I wouldn't be able to do that my entire life. So keeping this golf course here, it touches junior golfers when they're five, six, seven. And I was a professional golfer. I I was a director of golf at Guadalajara Country Club and Monterey, Mexico as well for for nine years. And juniors love it. And and you'll learn so much about yourself playing golf. And you would be doing every member of this community a great service of every age group by keeping the golf course. Thank you.

Anyone else? once, twice, close audience participation, and bring it back to the council. [clears throat]

We have a public hearing um on uh ordinance serial number 25-007 alpha amending the zoning map to revise the zoning designation of tax parcel 17 N024 A007 tax parcel A008 and lot two block one number two subdivision to reszone parcels from single family residential one to business park. I will open up the public hearing. Anybody wish to come forward to speak on this ordinance, please come forth. Mr. Hansen.

Hi there. Thank you. Uh I'm Brad Hansen. Uh live at Palmer here. I'm also an owner of record on property that abuts the reszone. First of all, I want to thank you for continuing this uh public hearing to allow people to digest and understand its impacts. Uh second of all, I'd really like to thank the planning and zoning commission who uh when was presented this ordinance. There were no special limitations and they incorporated special limitations to attempt to make this a more compatible and tolerable use with residential property. As you all know, special limitations is uh something that the city enacted number of years ago to allow a more compatible uh use between uh districts where uh in some cases there may have the appearance of a spot zone or uh significant uh different intensities of zoning that require additional uh limitations. Um, I do want to encourage you to amend the title to refle to accurately reflect what's happening here. It's not a reszone from R1 to BP. It's a reszone to BP with special limitations. That needs to be corrected. All of those stars on that map over there are areas that have special limitations. That's what special limitations are. Okay. So that's that's an important aspect to this. Uh second of all, um special limitations on page 167, in my opinion, do not go far enough. It allows a developer full flexibility to incorporate a number of different activities that are outlined in item C. What is more appropriate is as what's shown here is this concept of an office

y a construction yard an office with an event space say that in your item C say this is a construction yard and office and accessory uses are allowed that limits your um limits this to one operator of that facility. If you allow those uses to continue then it could be multiple operators. It could be subdivided and every one of the uses that are identified in C could be used and that is not fair to the people that invested hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars living in an R1 that is clearly states shows on your map. So it's important for you to correct item C. Item D also needs to be considered and that is is if there is a subdivision. If the property is subdivided into more than three lots, four plus, then it reverts to an R1 and if the petitioner wants to subdivide it, they have to come back to the planning and zoning and to the council in order to have it rever continue on as a BP. Uh, one last thing is there's the provision for a clock on the wall. I think it would help put public testimony if the clock was up there so we could understand where we are. Thank you for your time.

Anyone else? I do want to get that clock. Mhm. What he said. Gordy Richmond was Cindy Richmond again. We're here. Sir, could you bring the mic a little bit closer to you? So, I can. So, we can I'm a little upbear. How's that? Thank you. Thank you.

Of course, thanks for coming to see me up here today. Rather be about anywhere, but Cindy and I are here again in opposition. Uh Dave's got his depiction out here. We, like Brad, are probably the most impacted. That blow up is of our house. It's me with the grandkids out there and the dog playing in it. So, and we've written and corresponded and and spoke at nauseium to this. Um, it's uh that's since August. This is going on quite quite long lengthy time and uh we'd like it to get this over with, resolved, get on with our lives, all of us. And uh alls we ask is fairness and equity. Um and no more than that. No more said than that. You can read my correspondence. I'm a little better at writing. I'm at speaking. Like I say, I'm a little impaired. Um and uh you know regardless who the end user is here if we realize any loss it's going to be the city's that's going to be accountable to that their quality of life or property values that goes for all the whole neighborhood there. Hopefully you guys understand that. Um Dave's doing what Dave's got to do. But again, we just want to resolution here. And uh like I say, it's time to get on with it. Uh I do appreciate Brad pointing out the the business end of these things. It's uh the business case is important for us. It's personal. We've got a lot invested there. That's where we're retired and have enjoyed it and hope to continue that. and say we just want what's best for the community, best for ourselves, best for Dave Cruz,

and uh thanks you guys for your time and efforts. Anybody else wishing to come forward to speak on this ordinance? [clears throat] [cough] [snorts]

I agree with Brad on the a clock on the wall would be nice. [clears throat] My name is Jay Vanist. I live outside the city of Palmer in the greater Palmer area. I went through the Palmer schools here um 1st through 12th and uh I plan to live here longer. Uh three points I was going to make. Um the zoning map over there is mostly yellow and uh it's not all developed and the yellow is a single family residential and then there is uh the light blue is public. The city owns light blue. There's quite a bit of light blue. The aqua is the airport on the east side there. And in the purple all the way down in the bottom there there's uh the purple's the BP, the um business and uh business park. that there's no lots available left down there. There's there's a few that come resale on the very bottom where the business park is. Then the Terasand has the other one, little 5acre parcel by the ice rink. And the third one, there's only three. Third one is right in the middle there by next to the aqua just west of where the airport is. And that's right ordering these two um these three actually lots. This 10 acres is the third one's next to it. So it's it's continuous to an already BP uh zoned area. It there is a need for that is what I was pointing out. It's the least amount of um zoning that we have and it's prudent in my opinion. Um I deal with zoning um often and uh it's prudent to not have single family next to an airport. There's a 60 foot wide easement between the airport and this property. So there's 60 feet. The helicopter can be landing and a house could be um as far as the property the house would probably have a setback. And the hangers though right now from the property the hangers that are existing along that is are under 100 ft. About five of the hangers are under 100 ft. And so currently it's not a not a good safety

area and it's not a good quality of life for putting single family there. And it's just it's I I would put it common knowledge not to zone single family right across the street from an airport. Um another thing is that it it improves having a diversified business in the in the city and one of the goals of the city is a walkability and having people work close to the city. That's a walkable area. We have the the the uh what is it the happy run goes real close to there. Um, and so there's a lot of room for walking if for employees that would be there. Um, and the last thing I was going to point out is the about investing in the city. There's um other places this headquarters could be located. Um, but it's um the city encourages I was just going to read just this few sentences from the city's website. The Palmer website of economic and development Palmer Alaska is the right place to invest. The city's considerable investment in infrastructure sets the foundation for future growth and expansion while remaining mindful of the historic character of Palmer. Palmer provides an unprecedented lifestyle and values and vast business and recreational opportunities. This is just one of the vast rec uh business opportunities. Thanks.

Thank you. Anyone else? [snorts] Seeing no one coming forward, we will close the public hearing and bring it back to the council. There's always been there's already been a motion on the table. So, the this uh ordinance is up for discussion at this point. Deputy Deputy Mayor. Um thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I would like to uh make a motion to amend the title to the uh last part where it says business park BP put uh comma with special provisions with special limitations.

Special limitations, I'm sorry. Thank you. I'll second that. Any discussion on that? Any any opposition? Okay, Mr. Mayor, I did have a question. I didn't know. Are we going to be able to hear from Mr. Cruz today on this issue or was that not part of the plan? I'm just wasn't sure. Typ typically not part of the plan. Okay. So, all right. No opposition. We will change the title with special limitations after BP. Yes. Any other other discussion? [clears throat]

Yeah, Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um there's a very difficult one obviously um a lot of people uh bringing very uh valid and uh strong testimony and u it's not just the stalwarts of this community whether they live in the community or beyond. I mean, Brad Hansen [clears throat] and Dave Cruz are two people that, you know, I've known for decades and they're both uh you know, fantastic uh businessmen, fantastic community members. Um I I wish and I'll take the responsibility of not doing enough. It's funny about somebody mentioned council making mistakes. One of the things when you're a council member is you become sort of a generalist. I mean, you don't really uh have the nitty-gritty details of every single topic, but when you see the work that went into it for months and um at the planning commission level and and they did uh as mentioned earlier, they put in the uh special limitations and other things, but it's it's hard to uh even though I appreciate the uh testimony and I appreciate the fact that people talking about this being next door, or um it it's difficult when somebody follows the rules, does the does the work and uh and goes through the process to uh really at the 11th hour plus decide that hey, this needs to either start all over again or this just isn't uh the proper way to do it. I I do know we know we have a city council member now who served a long time in the planning and zoning commission. So, I hope she has some comments to make, but uh I um I I am very torn. I mean, I I want to represent the Andas and the Drews more than I represent the Brads and the Daves. I mean, the people with uh business money and and longtime

political connections, they have plenty of representation already. I want to res represent the people that come forward. Uh but I wish it had came forward three and six months ago and I could have uh I think done more to try to make it even maybe a little more palatable. But at this point um uh unless somebody up here in the dis can convince me, I think uh a die has been cast and this thing probably needs to move forward. But I'll look forward to hearing what council member Moer has to say or or the mayor or other people up here on the dis. Thank you. You councilwoman Carrington. Can we ask questions of Mr. Cruz? He doesn't come. Yes. Uh

yeah, please come forward. And and I'd like to also have uh our staff community development director um be be available and come up as well. So we ask him questions so he has a staff report of this. And and if you don't mind, I'd like to have our staff go first. If you don't mind, could you please you can still sit there, Dave? Please come forward. Bring your chair. Sorry. Share. Chair. [clears throat] [clears throat and cough]

I know this has been going on for a long time, but there just to refresh people's memory and minds of have the community development director here who's actually in heavily involved in this. Sure. Please give us a report.

Yeah. Uh good evening. Um thank you for all of you being here. Second night in a row. Um so um we've had [clears throat] a couple of conversations about the lengthiness of this. So came across our office in Jul July. Um we've had plan and zoning meeting on uh August 21st, September 17th and last one in October 16th with the entire meeting was about the special limitations. Um there's been a lot of questions that have been asked in the previous or not a lot but several questions were asked there I couldn't address because they were more on the spot right and I I do want to address those if if you would like that. Um first question uh last meeting was is the zoning attached to special limitations? It is right and it will go forward with that. Um and I think we covered that. Um 50 uh there's a count of 50 people that will be there. Um there was a question about what's going on, what's the load, the occupancy of of the people there. Um next one was the tax exempt. Um there's no tax exemption for airport or anything. Um there was a an address earlier was discussed about the master plan for the airport. Um also about purchasing um well it's for sale, right? It's been for sale. Uh there was testimony from Mr. Cruz last meeting that he actually had been inquiring about this property for a while, not just this one. But this is what happens with land cells. People inquire. Um airports are going to be curious, other business owners are going to be curious. So um it happens right that's what uh people look to expand they inquire on land that's available and that happens to be land um heavy commercial traffic

equipment um we addressed that last uh meeting that uh it meets all the standards I can read a report about that um I received about the heavy load and increased traffic I will uh defer to Mr. cruise about the plan of it, but this is to be an office building. It is to be a lot. Um, I would like to There's a concern about storage. Uh, Mr. Cruz's equipment is already being stored in the vicinity. Matter of fact, the property next right next door. Uh, spot zoning was mentioned several times. I'd like to read exactly what spot zoning means. Uh for those that don't know, spot zoning is when a small parcel of land gets different zoning classification than the surrounding area, [snorts] often to benefit a specific owner, making it inconsistent with the overall master plan and usually seen as unfair, illegal favoritism. While sometimes necessary for public good like needed for business in a residential zone, it is generally challenged if it's arbitrary, discriminatory, or harms neighboring property owners by increased traffic, noise or decreasing property values, which are all addressed. However, the property just north of that was reszoned business park in 2002, and I will cover that uh the council meeting that was there uh and the discussion about special limitations. Um, so it's not spot zoning because it already is business park in the surrounding area. One part of it is R1, right? And I'll address why it's R1, uh, by default. Uh, there's also airport uh, industrial, airport commercial, airport mixed use, right? It's surrounded by multiple different zonings and the majority of them are not residential. So, it is consistent with the surrounding area and

does not classify as spot zoning. So, we can cover that one. Um, let me find apologize. Lots of uh questions, lots of supporting documents because I don't like saying things that I can't back up. Uh, Evergreen and Airport Road were originally both DOT roads and as such built to DOT standards. Both roads can support and sustain heavy heavy equipment. Heavy equip heavy public work vehicles that use those roads every year include dump trucks, loaders, graders. Dump trucks, loaders, and grers use these roads all the same time during snow removal operations. There are weights of the respective vehicles. Dump trucks are 68,000 lb. Loaders and snowb blowers attached are 52,000 lb. Graders are 32,000 lb. So at any given time, snow removal operations, there can be over 152,000 lbs of vehicles on those wrong roads in close proximity at once. That's vacant of Department of Natural Resources and their Wland vehicles that enter and exit. That's vacant of any operations that do happen on the airport that are fed by airport road. So that covers that. My understanding and I can be supported by uh Mr. Cruz, they are not doing operational activities. This is a construction office with a storage lot with other auxiliary uses that I can cover later that are covered in the special limitations and if there are questions I can finite why they were selected specifically selected. Additionally, there was a question about property uh all over the place. 20 acres here, 2 acres here. Those are commercial general. And the reason why business park was selected

over commercial general is because business park is the only zoning that requires buffer zones for the specific reason of [clears throat] separation between zoning uses. The special limitations will highlight that it went above. We chose, not me, the planning and zoning per my recommendation chose to increase those special limitations, not status quo, increase them, which are covered in your packet from 30 ft to 40 ft, from 6 feet to 10 ft high of a buffer. Matter of fact, uh, Mr. Cruz recommended we don't do fences because the maintenance of it would be extremely noisy, also labor intensive. So, we he chose to say, you know, I'll increase the tree coverage, right? It covers all the way down to the separation of the trees to the height of the tree, the type of the tree. It is very very finite on purpose and that's why I made that recommendation because it is the best way to preserve the R1 and the best way to make it consistent for the surrounding areas. Now, there's always going to be an opposite argument whether those are legitimate or the weight of those is was up to the planning and zoning. There was a comment about no votes. So just to cover it does not have to be an unanimous decision across the board meeting the comprehensive plan. It was a majority. There was one commissioner that voted no one. And then another commissioner voted no. Sorry. Voted no across the board. My apologies. And that'll be covered on I believe 258 of your packet. And another commissioner voted two on voted no twice on six questions. Voted to. The rest were all yeses.

I'm I'm going to stop you there and then uh allow Councilman Carrington to ask Mr. Cruz questions. Uh and looking at the the special uh limitations on C. So there's an authorized special event activity. Uh so what does that look like? I mean what what what is the planning there? [clears throat and snorts]

So the it's becoming popular for private businesses that have large meeting rooms such as a a conference room or training room or what to make them available to the public as well as their own needs. And as we've seen in Palmer, uh if you want to have a conference here, you have the depot and you have the depot. And so, uh part of the idea was this has been successful. Uh actually another construction company in Anchorage did it. Uh Davis Construction and they opened this meeting room is available to the public uh to uh anybody that wants to utilize it, nonprofits, profits for meetings, weddings, what have you. And that's uh part of a big portion of our business is we've got to have continual training for our folks that are working remotely. And so that would that's what this would allow. I think it would uh I could see people use it for weddings. I could see people coming to Palmer for a conference or just what we have now with the Great Lax aviation gathering might be conferences they want to have. It's just another use of your resources that benefits the public which prior most of the places you will not see that

and that and that's uh incorporated into your offices. That's what the community exhibit is talking about. It's it's it's in that offices. Yes. Okay. And then there was um let's see temporary buildings. What what kind of temporary buildings are we talking about?

You know that that's incorporated in it. Um let's say that you had uh a situation like what we're facing in western Alaska today. So cruise construction was in Kipnik fourth day it happened. We are building things in Kipnuk today that are getting built in another place boardwalk boardwalk components and flown out to Kipnook. I can see that in in times of an emergency, you may [clears throat] have to put together a portable building or temporary building to facilitate some kind of response that your company has been contracted to do. So that's what I would initiate something like of that nature.

Um, and this might be a question for nature planning and zoning. So last time I tried to ask the question if the land is resold is does that designation go with it or if it's subdivided can it be special limited that it goes back to residential until it's brought to zoning again? Is that

so if it gets subdivided smaller than it what it is, if it's resold or can it go back to can that be a special limitation that it would go back to residential until uh to take another look at it if it's divided and made smaller than what it is. Does that make sense? asking if it's sold or subdivided, can it revert back to R1 or can we create a special limitation to do so? Right. That's the question. I don't recommend it. Right. Okay. And why is that? We we are sitting here trying to reszone for the long long the long term for the property and to meet the comprehensive plan. Right. M

so reszoning in and the idea to reszone it again is is not what like that's that's not the intention. Right. Is it my understanding? Also go ahead. Sorry. No, you go ahead. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. Also, we're not it while it be a hypothetical. Yeah. We're not addressing hypotheticals. We're addressing what we have in front of us. Yeah. Yeah. The reason is is the applicant is reszoning the property for what they're reszoning it for. Yeah.

Well, special some special limitations that does address hypothetical because it's a hypothetical that you might use need a temporary building, but that beside that um um I lost my train of thought. It derailed. Um okay. If it comes back to me, I'll ask it. Councilwoman Collins,

thank you. I had a couple questions along the same lines as um Council Member Carrington. Just wanting to make sure that um this ordinance is narrowly tailored to the uses that are intended or expected both by yourself and by the surrounding community. So, um there are a couple additional things on that section 3 paragraph C um that I was wondering about. It says uh one of the permitted uses would be a machine shop. Is that something that you expect to be operating on the property or no? Well, currently in our shop on we have a lathe. So you would consider that a machine shop. We don't take in

we don't take in work. If you come to us and say I need you to fix this. No, we we have enough problems ourselves. So we just try to keep our own equipment. But I think that's the verbiage why you would it would say machine shop. Okay. So a single lathe does that and that Mr. Oats might would that still require the machine shop designation? That's exactly the exact reason why. Okay.

Um I recommended that we have a machine shop. The the purpose of these special limitations is actually to narrow it down to exactly what cruise construction wants to do for for the benefit of the surrounding areas specifically R1 right and so that was exactly I very carefully was like what are we doing what is the capacity and I've had multiple conversations about I want to make sure this is what you guys need need done because we don't want to do this again and I sure as heck don't want to put my stamp or my recommendation or have planning and zoning put the recommendation on something and then have to change it after the fact. So is a mill and a lathe for non-commercial purposes meaning inhouse. So anything that they're doing to remedy anything of theirs, their pontoons, the conxes, any equipment they're doing, um responses and and and uh hazard environment things that they're doing inhouse for their business, not and correct me if I'm wrong, right? not for commercial purposes for like retail, right? So I I know when you think machine shop, you're like, "Oh, you're manufacturing things." Like I was very specific about we're not going to be manufacturing things, right? This is auxiliary to the business. And the answer was yes.

Okay. So would it make sense to uh possibly with a machine shop add by amendment for non-comper non-commercial purposes? Would that be an accurate description then of what's Well, the argument would be if we're if we're machining a piece of equipment that's going and we're going to charge the state of Alaska on a job, we are commercial. Yeah, it's difficult difficult to define that then exactly nail that down with language, huh? Okay. Um, let's see. the the warehousing and freight movement and storage that's going to be a big part of what you're doing there or that is a very big part.

Okay. So, uh as I stated before the majority of our work is western Alaska and the North Slope. So, we have uh uh one of the reasons that have always liked this piece of property because it's adjacent to the airport. So we have a hanger on the airport and we have a tour prop that supports these jobs in western Alaska and the north north slope. And so that the warehouse part is we'll have a plane that's got maybe one passenger, two passengers and the rest is all camp food for a remote job in a village or at a camp somewhere. So yes, that's a big part.

Okay. And was this one of the major like impetuses for you to look for property close to the airport then? Was that need to be able to transport these kind of materials around the state or?

Yes. And and we wanted to stay we wanted to be we want to be in Palmer. We're final folks and this piece of property had been vacant for 60 years and uh and I had a no for the first 20 years from the owner till this year. And so I wanted to take advantage of that, build this uh this uh complex and uh it's uh as I stated before, I have a new president at Cruise Construction. He's 20 years younger than me and he's full to go and uh we are going to continue on as a company. Uh we've continued to grow and we've had stable jobs for many, many, many years for local residents.

Okay. Um couple other questions then. There's contractor yards, electrical, and masonry. How is that incorporated in your business?

That's verbatim from the code. So, it's not that he's doing electrical or masonary work. If you open up the code and the permitted uses under under that contractor yard because when it breaks it out, um, forgive me, I want have to reference something real quick. So for one of the uses that we're allowing, it says except like it's construction offices except like the yard and the yard is specific because but then it lists like what it is like a contractor yard and it it's basically just in the reference in the code. So that's why it needed to part and parcel verbatim what's in the code. Okay. So,

um, all right. Um, and then kind of follow-up question, same as, um, Council Member Carrington. So, I can understand not wanting to uh reszone if the property is ever sold, but if it was subdivided, does that or someone sought to subdivide, you know, sell and subdivide the property? Um, does that affect I I guess I just wonder if these special limitations address that scenario where we're talking about a buffer zone and the types of uses. So, we're talking about buffer zone around the uh three lots as a whole, correct? But not necessarily between lots if it were to be subdivided.

Okay. I think I know what you're asking. [laughter] Word that great. Can I get it rephrased for clarity? Just so I don't answer the wrong what? I don't assume what you're asking. So,

the buffer is not on all three jides. the buffer is between the R1 specifically the R1 and the what could be the business park zone right um so now we can that was what planning zoning chose right that that that's the concern is the buffer between the R1 and the BP right so when you're talking about the buffer zone that's what it is not not top north side not the roadside of airport and not the south side which is Yukon Okay. Now, if you want it to be that, then that's discussion that needs to happen.

Okay. So, is there anything that prevents us from, say, 40 years from now, Cruise Construction decides to subdivide and sell? Is there anything that keeps us from becoming like a very crowded industrial park? And because some of the concerns have been traffic and types of things um that having this uh zoned as uh business park might bring into the area. Is there what are your thoughts on that as far as whether that's addressed here? You're asking 40 years down the road if if zoning at business park with special limitations opens it up to industrial uses. Is that what you're asking?

Well, other business I shouldn't use the term industrial but other business park uses. But that it's subdivided. So, we've got five businesses there on that same parcel property instead of one. And so, we've got more traffic, more equipment, etc. If they subdivide it, it's still business park with special limitations. They will have to go to the PNZ to subdivide. They'll have to go to the burrow to subdivide as well, and it will go under review. So, anything that they have to do to change, whoever it is, it will come in front of the B uh plan and zoning board again or not board commission. apologized. Okay. All right. Thank you, Councilwoman Carrington.

My train came back. I found it. [clears throat] Uh so is it it's my understanding that when a property comes into the city, if it's uh if it's u annexed in, it just automatically goes to residential one, right? It's it's now it's transitional. Not anymore. So now when it come but when that when that was zoned residential one is that how it became residential one correct [snorts] because it was do you want me to read the history of the property? Oh sure. Okay. So um it's short. [laughter] I'll do my best here yesterday.

I come from a southern family so we'll talk till the end of this. I got two ears one mouth and I probably should use them accordingly. Right. Um so when the subject when the subject parcels were annexed into the city in 1997 they were initially zoned R1 single family residential as required under the provisions of Palmer Municipal Code P or PMC from further forward 17.16.060 060 right in effect at that time in October of 2004 that same code 171660 uh was replaced through adoption of PMZ 1759020 which established the requirement that privately owned land annexed into the city will be initially zoned T transitional. As a result, the current R1 zoning is a designation on the subject parcels that reflects an an a leg legacy annexation code requirements that rather the city later adopted policy framework intended to provide appropriate transitional zoning between incompatible land uses. Now, what that means is it doesn't just automatically go to R1, right? Case in point, that entire yellow that is being argued that it was by design to be R1, right? So, we can make the argument that that giant property uh right that's that borders the airport and Arctic um is not being used as an R1, but it's R1, but there's cows on it and heavy equipment. So that it's a case in point that entire area was just autopop populated R1. So we're making an argument that this was by design, but it was kind of by default, which is hence why we're here. Hence why I have the position, the [clears throat] city has the position or the staff has the position and planning and zoning has the position that this does meet um what would be good for the city and it covers the comprehensive

plan. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate your time and that you made it short. Yes, sir. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, Mr. Cruz, I'm just curious when this uh facility gets built here and however long it'll take, a couple of years, um, will this become the headquarters of Cruz Construction and the place on Paul Russell Highway either disappears or becomes [clears throat] a another warehouse or something like that? It will disappear to do this, but that's our that's our plan. Everything is centralized to there. All our operations come out of there. Thank you. Any other questions? [clears throat]

Yes, ma'am. Um yeah, I was just wondering if we had um an idea of the total capacity of the building and what the parking um will be expected to look like. Um, if we're talking about hosting events and stuff on that on that road with traffic and what the expectation is of the city to comply,

that'll be addressed when the building permit comes through and the driveway permit. We are addressing a reszone. I think the question that Miss Hudson's asking is with the size of the building you have is there and potentially with the the center that you have, community center, is there going to be adequate parking for the number of people that are going to potentially show up? I would say from the builder's perspective, yes. You've got 10 acres there. You have two buildings on it. You have plenty of parking for a special event.

All right. Thank you. that that would be addressed during the permitting time. Yes. That parking, right? We would have to have approval from the city. Right. Okay. Any other questions, comments, concerns? All right, Madame Clerk. Council member Carrington. Yes. Council member Graham, yes. Council member Moer, yes. Council member Hudson, no. Council member Collins, can I just confirm this is as amended? Correct.

Yes. Deputy Mayor Cantra, yes. And Mayor Cooper, yes. It is passed and approved. Thank you. Moving on. Action memorandum 260007 authorizing the city manager to spend an amount not to exceed 62,920 cents to Motorola solution for annual budgeted services related to Palmer Police Department radio communication infrastructure support and maintenance with the um wishes of the council. Move to approve. Second. Any would anybody like a staff report from the city manager or the chief? Please

chief come forward please. Thank you. [laughter] Chief, would you like to um talk to us about this a little bit? Let us know what's going on.

Certainly. This is uh it's been a yearly bill that's in in the past just hasn't come forward to the the process. Um I think last year it was 58,000. this year just with normal increases. But this this is for the payment uh for basically it's our console system and the maintenance and all the upkeep for our radios that go our cars in the dispatch center and all of that. It's just a contract for maintenance usage and things of that nature. Yes, ma'am. I have a quick question. I see you're wearing a Kenwood. Yes. Which is not Motorola.

Correct. Are there any expected uh I know part of this with the variant system is for E91. Totally understand. Um with the Motorola stuff though is there any expected compatibility issues that you guys are seeing with [clears throat] that uh more for a gym question? But we have not we have not had any issues with the compatibility. They talk to each other just fine. Okay. And seem to inter mesh. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions of the chief? Deputy mayor.

Uh yeah, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh thank you, chief. So, as I think you just addressed, I mean, this is normally just a budgeted item that doesn't come before us because I noticed that u you know, we're already more than half the way through this contract. And so, if it was going to come before us for approval, it seemed like it would become uh before January of 2026. So, this this ends June 30th of this year. Is that correct? All right. I'm just making sure I'm tracking. Thank you. Any other questions, concerns? Madam Clerk. [cough and clears throat] Council member Carrington. Yes. Council member Graham,

yes. Mayor Cooper, yes. Deputy Mayor Cantra, yes. Council member Moer, yes. Council member Hudson, yes. Council member Collins, yes. It's unanimous and approved. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yes, sir. We take five. Absolutely. Break, please. Do you need to get that going or do you want me to just skip out? Don't worry about it. Okay. I mean, I mean, I'm trying to think. So we have, you know, about 40 40 minutes or so of stuff, right? So um gonna be like Gina.

All right. So this is this is Gina. Yeah, this is [laughter] Yeah, that would be but it's an amendment for HDL. So that will be um June cuz his this is going to be chief. This will be uh this will be this one's June. What's the one where's the one from the chief that is the potentially

where did they put it? there. I think there's only nine. You have it on your Did it not make it? What do we forget? We're looking at this one number seven. That one is that if we ask the question that we would like to go into maybe. Yeah. So, do we do we want to move if there's any questions? But that's why it wasn't attached because it's infrastructure. So this is the chief talking about this a little bit.

Chief will talk about it and if we start to get into more details then we'll have to move into executive session. So what what actually what what actually is the issue of

I mean obviously there's concern about reasonable city unless Okay.

Nice meeting. Okay. Thank you. It's a secret.

[snorts] [snorts]

That's where You may call All right.

Anyone else? Yes. Yes. accurate.

That's what I mean. So, She said that

I don't know. Okay. That's actually Okay.

I'd like to call the city uh council back to order, please. We are now action memorandum 260008 authorizing the city manager to purchase a Caterpillar 160 all-wheel drive motorgrader through the state of Alaska fleet contract bid number SCF2255 with NC machinery in the amount not to exceed $431,846 wishes of the council. Move to approve. Second. Any any conversation? Any objections to this is on a budgeted this is a budgeted item. So, do you have do we like a staff report or anything about this?

Anybody? No. All right. Madam clerk, call the role. Yes. Mayor Cooper. Yes. Council member Carrington. Yes. [laughter] Council member Graham. Yes. Council member Collins. Yes. Council member Moer. Yes. Council member Hudson, no. And Deputy Mayor Canantra, yes. It passes and is approved. Thank you. Action memorandum 6 26011 authorizing the city manager to extend the contract for professional audit services with BDO USA LLC for one additional year. Wishes of the council. Move to approve. Second.

Would you like Gina to come forward and speak to this? Um, I I'd say I do have one quick question that she Gina, please. Maybe it's in there.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Miss Davis. Um, uh, it may be in here already. I just couldn't find it quickly. Uh, 93,700. Is that a a x amount increase from the past years or what uh what do we normally pay for their their services or what have we been paying? Um Mr. Mayor and council members, that is about what we paid last year. We will have um a single audit again this year. So um it adds to the um overall cost. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions of Miss Davis? [snorts] Madam clerk, council member Graham,

yes. Council member Carrington, yes. Council member Hudson, no. Council member Moer, yes. Council member Collins, yes. Mayor Cooper, yes. And Deputy Mayor Cantra, yes. It is approved. Thank you. Action memorandum 26012 authorizing city manager to execute amendment number six additional construction administration with HDL engineing engineering consultants in the amount not to exceed $61,000 wishes of the council. Motion to approve. Second.

Would you like Jude to come forward and speak to this app, please? Uh, Mr. Mayor, council members, Jude Bilifer, public works director. This was in response to the extension on the Bogard booster station. The Bogard booster station in a nutshell was supposed to be completed the 30th of May. It was not and we incurred the additional costs of additional construction administration. HDL supervising the finishing of that project. I think we finally closed everything out in October. Um the city as you have seen in your packet is not footing [music] this bill though which is a key important piece. That bill is coming from liquidated damages, which is a a positive thing. As I said, this is a zero cost to the city because every bit of that amount is from the liquidated damages. Unfortunately, we had to go that route.

Yeah. Any other questions of Mr. Bilifer? Thank you, Madam Clerk. Mayor Cooper. Yes. Council person Carrington. Yes. Council member Hudson. No. Council member Moer. Yes. Deputy Mayor Canra. Yes. Council member Collins. Yes. Council member Graham. Yes. It is approved. Thank you. Action memorandum 26014 authorizing the city manager to purchase 20 GTA.

GTA. Thank you. bodywn worn cameras, one eight port multi-dock and accessories in the amount not to and except the amount of $20,700.72 cents. Chief, come and explain that a little bit to us, please. Bring it to the council first. You want I'm sorry. Yeah. Motion to approve. Thank you. Second. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Go ahead. Yeah.

Yes, sir. Uh this is we currently utilize the GTAC system. This will be a continuation of the original purchase. I believe it was uh made five years ago. Um so it it enables us to buy at a reduced rate to re our cameras to get with the most current models. So it replaced the old ones. So we're replacing the old ones with with with new modern technology and it's within a platform that we already utilize. So the all that system is already in place. And what what is the eight port multi-doc? It's a it's a docking station. You just drop the camera and then it uploads from there and charges and does all the manipulated change names or anything?

Any other questions of [clears throat] the chief? Madame clerk. Council member Graham. Yes. Council member Carrington. Yes. Deputy Mayor Canantra. Yes. Council member Hudson. Yes. Council [snorts] member Collins. Yes. Council member Moer. Yes. And Mayor Cooper. Yes. It is approved and unanimous. Thank you. Action member 26-015 authorizing city manager to negotiate [clears throat] and enter into an agreement with TechPro Limited to replace the SCADA software for water and wastewater monitoring in amount not to exceed $43,900. Mr. Biller

motion to approve. Please second. Thank you. You explain this a little bit to us, please. Yes, Mr. Mayor, council members, we have very outdated antiquated systems as you heard uh chief just mention as well. And that's what we're doing. We are replacing old and updating with new systems that perform and meet our needs much better. And for example, one of the things that this does is when we have a pump failure on a well or on a lift station on the sewer lines, the alerts will go directly to the phones of our operators and we can respond significantly faster. This this is a good thing. Yeah. Yes, ma'am.

Um just curious. I know that with uh previous water mane issues that have no longer held the water in u my brain forgot the words. Uh you know what [clears throat] I mean. Uh there have been some delays causing significant amounts of water to leave the system. Um this will cut down on that. Are those water monitoring stations still every everything's going to go into this and you guys will be notified a lot faster. Is that what I'm hearing? Not on the water mains like you just described. For example, this is specifically a break that we had recently out by the hospital.

So they don't detect a break. They detect when a piece of equipment no longer functions properly. So, as I mentioned, the break that was at the hospital that was so far underground and the soil composition there was perfect for absor absorbing the water that we detected the leak through a usage report. We noticed something was wrong. All of a sudden, we have this many gallons and then it then erupted out of the ground. So, no, these systems monitor equipment all across the city. Thank you. Any other questions? Yes, sir.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, Mr. Biler, um, on on page 299, it uh mentions the price of an ignition perspective of 439, which is what the resolution's for, and then it's got an additional client's price of $2,250. Are we not paying an additional client's price or do we Is this thing supposed to actually maybe be for 46,150 instead of 439? No, this is for 43. And and I apologize I do not have the full packet. Okay. So I just Yes, please. Yeah. Yeah. [clears throat]

Oh, correct. Oh, thank you. Thank you. I just said I didn't understand the So that is if we need additional pieces of equipment, which we don't right now. That's how much each additional piece and it's classified as a client. Thank Thank you. Any other questions of Mr. Biller? Madame Clerk. Council member Moer. Yes. Council member Graham. Yes. Council member Hudson. No. Council member Collins. Yes. Deputy Mayor Alcantra. Yes. Council member Carrington. Yes. And Mayor Cooper. Yes.

It is approved. Thank you. Action memorandum 26016 authorizing the city manager to enter into a professional services contract with Deep Forest Security Consulting in the amount of $105,000 to provide cyber security and information technology infrastructure services for the Palmer Police Department under the governmental and proprietary procurement section of Palmer Municipal Code 3 decimal 21 decimal 230. Wishes the council move to approve. Second. Thank you. question. Chief, please just a quick a quick uh dirty overview. So, as it states in here, so not a lot of information presented with this just because of the nature of it,

right? Um and and I do have uh the ability, we need to go to executive session to discuss it more in depth. Um but it's basically an option for cyber security that is uh will be a third party vendor that provides that. For example, today APD released a a report um talking about how they had a third party vendor who they utilized for I don't know what service it's for, but that vendor was attacked and then fortunately I think they were catching things shut down. But this is a service that would help eliminate that danger to us. So that's more or less what this would do. Yes, ma'am. Do you have a question or are you just on line?

I am so sorry. I was just ready apparently. All right. Any questions of the chief about this security system? Madame clerk. Council member Carrington. Yes. Council member Collins. Yes. Council member Moer. Yes. Council member Hudson. Yes. Deputy Mayor Alcantra. Yes. Council member Graham. Yes. And Mayor Cooper? Yes. It is approved and unanimous.

Action memorandum 26 017 authorizing the city manager to enter to in enter into a contract with Intella Choice for the procurement and implementation of E4 software suite for an amount not to exceed $155,474 under the government governmental and proprietary procurement section of the Palmer Municipal Code 31.230 wishes the council move to approve second. Chief. Yes, sir.

Can you explain this to be streamlining streaming all of our systems into one uniform system, RMS cast system, we would do the AVL, which is like the mapping vehicles and such. Council member Graham would help me with this, but just the the terminology of it. Um, it puts it all under one roof. Instead of having, you know, group A does the RMS, group B does this one, group C does this part of it, it puts it all under one roof. Um, it has a a long-term 5year savings um by moving to this this platform under one. So, the for example, the CAD license that we currently utilize is 15,000 a year. the uh arms which is provided by DPS but we get build for it starting this year um is per sworn officer user and it's I think it's 14,000 or so uh then you have the GIS mapping is 23 this would encompass all that would have the initial startup cost of the RMS side and the CA side uh but once that initial cost is is is uh procured um it would be $23,000 a year for all of it.

Um, [clears throat] so it would more than cover the expenditures of it. Thank you. Questions of the chief, Deputy Oh, she's none, please. [laughter] Deputy Mel Cantra, yes. Council member Carrington, yes. Council member Collins, yes. Council member Graham, yes. Council member Hudson, yes. Council member Moer, yes. And Mayor Cooper, yes. It is approved and unanimous.

Thank you. Action memorandum 26018 authorizing city manager to spend $83,926.70 in pass through funds from the COAP grant to Choloon Village Traditional Cal Council Nick Tribal Council and set free wishes of the council. Move to approve. Second. Thank you, Chief State. Yeah. Exercise. [laughter] Do you mind moving the microphone closer? Yes, ma'am. Thank you.

Um, this this is specifically to the CASP grant um which is for drug endangered children. Uh, it's a pass through grant. So, these funds are utilized in uh providing the monies so they can hire out the individuals that will go out. They do the outreach to the to their various uh programs that they're affiliated with. um they have a report back to us and then we do quarterly reporting as part of this grant. So, so this uh because they are unable to get this money, it comes through us and we just pass through

that. That's my understanding. It's Gina's been amazing in helping me understand this grant. Um this was come into place I think in 2022 under Chief Shelton. Uh but my understanding is that the grant had to be obtained from a law enforcement entity and then passed through to these other uh groups that utilize the funds. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you, Chief. Madame Clerk, Council Member Moer, yes. Council member Collins, yes. Council member Graham, yes. Deputy Mayor Alicantra, yes. Council member Carrington, yes. Council member Hudson, yes. And Mayor Cooper, yes.

It is approved and unanimous. Thank you. Under new business, resolution number 260006 authorizing execution and delivery of a loan agreement required by the state of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in connection with the fully forgiven loan from the Alaska Drinking Water Fund and amount not to exceed $1.5 million for the Cedar Hills Booster Station Project. Mr. bill of move mo motion to approve. Move to approve. Thank you. Second. Thank you. Thank you. Good. Explain this to me, please.

Good evening. Yes, this is a booster station project to support the residents in the Cedar Hills, Cedar Park area. There are low water pressure issues up there and they have been for for decades. This is the first part of our process to increase the pressures through there. And this, as you have already approved before, another one of the fully um forgivable loans. So, as we spend the money, they reimburse us. Deputy Mayor.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. Biller. So, uh, do we actually receive 1,492,500 or do we actually receive a million and a half and then we front 7,500 as part of the No, we we receive money based on reimbursement. So, when we submit the bills for we'll start with engineering the design, then as we submit that, then they give us the money. [snorts] When do we have to pay the 7,500? Does it come out of this? So, if they give us half a million, they take out $2,500. I don't know the answer on the timing. I'm getting a I'm getting an affirmative. So, that's good enough for me.

When when they when they disperse the money to us, they take that half a percent out. Thank you. Thank you, M. Thank you, Miss Graham. Does this booster station also support the phase two of Cedar Hills or will it while they're building it? So the phase two of Cedar Hills, which I believe you're that's Cedar Park. Yeah. Okay. They do not connect to city water, right? Okay. Thank you.

For full [snorts] disclosure, I will benefit from this [laughter] because we can only do a washing machine or a dishwasher, but not at the same time. So, I don't know if I should vote. [laughter] Conflict of interest. I'm not sure that I agree with that. That would be like me not being able to vote because Yeah. I don't, you know, unless the council wants to overrite me. I don't I don't view that as a We also have a lawyer here. I don't [laughter] I don't view that. I don't view that as a conflict of interest. [laughter] Do I get to talk? Sure.

Been uncharacteristically quiet for myself. Um it would not be a conflict of interest. No. If it was if it was only particular to you, then perhaps we'd consider it differently. But um yeah, you guys can come at the same time. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Deputy Mayor Cantra, yes. Council member Carrington, yes. [laughter] Council member Graham, yes. Council member Hudson, no. Council member Moer, yes. Council member Collins, yes. And Mayor Cooper, yes. It is approved.

Thank you. Record of items placed on the table. I have the documents from the Matsu Health Foundation, the second draft of the minutes that I gave to the council, and that's it.

Any questions of the clerk? Thank you. Moving on to audience. participation. Again, three minutes per person. Limited total time of not more than 30 minutes. Sign in, state your name, and three minutes per person. Council meetings rules protect your right to testify and be heard even if others in the room disagree with you. Council meeting rules also ensure that those attending can express their views if they do not interfere with the rights of others to see and hear the proceedings at all times. Order and decorum will be maintained in keeping with the civility and dignity of the legislative process. Please be respectful during audience participation. No disruptions to city business or threats of any kind will be allowed. Individuals who cannot follow these guidelines will be removed. Any threats against others could result in criminal prosecution. Again, please sign in, state your name, and three minutes per person. Anybody wishing to come forward?

Anna Dickerson, Palmer resident. Just two [snorts] quick comments. Um, it was stated earlier in the meeting that people weren't involved in the process and uh until kind of the last minute and I would just like to request that the city move to have all commission meetings on YouTube to allow the community the opportunity to educate themselves. It will ultimately lead to more involvement. Um, most communities stream commission meetings. It's not unusual. Um, we should desire and invite community involvement and streaming these meetings would help with this. I understand it's a contract. Um, just ask that you try to look at amending that so the information gets out there and people get [clears throat] involved. Um, the other thing just a quick request. Um, I would request that the council put together a resolution to amend code to require all city employees, council members, and commission members to complete a disclosure form annually. Clearly, there are some major concerns regarding conflicts of interests and concerns regarding ethical behavior of people in a position of leadership. It's abnormal to have a city not require disclosure forms annually. Um, leaders should desire transparency and disclosure forms are a part of that process. Thank you. Anyone else? Anyone else wishing to come forward? Seeing no one, we'll close audience participation. Bring it back to the council for council member comments. Madam Carrington. [laughter] Um, so I would just like to say that the golf course situation is um I'm glad that we're doing the contract with George.

But I would also like to say that [snorts] um in the beginning of this, I'm new to new to council. In the beginning of this was uh save the the golf course and and I honestly believe everyone up here has a heart to see the golf course remain and it's a great it's it's a great thing that we have. Um, but it seemed like somewhere in the the movement of it, it became a save the contract and and I did not agree with that. our our city manager in doing what we hired her to do looked at the contract and saw that there were some concerns that have proven to be very valid and some of the things that we're having to do at this point. I I have been a proponent for an an RFP because there hasn't been one on that contract for I think 20 years. And that keeps these kind of things where things in a contract that are not are not beneficial to the city or to the person doing the contract because it doesn't protect them either. That those things are caught sooner rather than later. And I'm glad that we're gonna have a a Palmer golf course this summer. And I want to see it next summer even better because uh because there's room for it to be better uh because it's been great. It can do more. But uh I'm a proponent of of a good contract and uh and then doing it doing our process our process with every other person group that does a contract for us. uh they have to do an RFP even if they're in that position and doing it. They have to do an RFP to get

back in and that's okay. That's how we do business and and hopefully we catch the kind of things that we're struggling with right now. But I look forward to having a good year at the course and we want the Palmer course to be here. We are we are for keeping the Palmer golf course and um uh and then also the other aspect of it is the FAA and I have a letter from FAA where basically it says that what the city manager has been telling us is accurate. There are things that we have to look for in the future that yeah we are compliance right now. They said the contract is okay where it is now, but there are things that we have to do in the future to to move in the direction they want us to go. And that um that's a whole different thing. We all want I'm not a person who likes change at all. If I'm in a good rut and I'm comfortable, man, leave me there. Don't bug me. My husband like, you know, if we can change it and mix it up, let's do it. I'm like, no. and and we want we want to be sure that this course is here forever and we want all this to happen fast. We're I'm for that. I'm for the golf course being long term, but there's process. We have a process that we have to walk through to get there from here and being patient with us in that process because that hasn't changed. We want that. But we've got to do it in a way that's ethical and the way that's legal and in a way that's that's good for both those doing our contracts and for the city. And and uh I appreciate all that George has done and I hope you know that this all moves forward quickly and I want us to see good contracts and uh and a good relationship. That's all.

Thank you, Coun Councilwoman Hudson.

[clears throat]

I am submitting my formal resignation from the Palmer City Council effective immediately after reading this document. This decision has come after sustained efforts to raise serious and legitimate concerns through appropriate channels. I have repeatedly attempted to speak directly with the mayor regarding these matters and he has chosen to continue to remain silent. I have called out concern after concern both publicly and internally only to be met with dismissal, deflection, and inaction. I refuse to continue to support staff members who lack proper training and experience required or experience required for their positions. Continuing to do so is a misuse of taxpayer dollars and a disservice to the residents we were elected to represent. I refuse to support any large projects that are rooted in corruption at its core. Public projects need to be built on integrity, honesty, and accountability, not coercion, secrecy, and political pressure. Further, I refuse to support council members who claim that asking hard question constitutes abuse or harassment of our employees. Asking questions is not abusive, and it is the very duty we were elected to perform. Silencing dissent through such accusations is itself a form of coercion. I have repeatedly asked for the formation of a committee to update our municipal code, which has been the root cause of many of the problems now facing this city. Those requests have also gone unressed. I am concerned that seats representing the city and day-to-day operations at regional and statewide events have repeatedly been left empty, signaling disengagement where leadership and repres representation were required. again a disservice to the representative or to the residents we serve. I am further concerned by repeated disclosures to council members about internal disciplinary actions involving our staff. Sharing such information violates basic human resource standards and has exposed the city to unnecessary legal risk. I have watched as significant decisions and planning processes have moved forward despite clear personal conflict of interest without so much as

a raised eyebrow or a pause for ethical consideration by this council. I have witnessed council direction be ignored, including instances where full and complete process explicitly requested by this body were not carried out. This pattern reflects a disregard for council authority and for transparent government. At this time, newer members of this body have been led to believe that unquestioned deference is appropriate and it is not. Staff works at the direction of the council, not the other way around, and no employee for this city should be above accountability. It is our elected duty to rep represent the constituents, not staff and not ourselves. When I am harassed for asking very questions this body is voted on and obligated to ask, that harassment serves only one purpose, shielding others from ownership and responsibility. This environment has fundamentally changed me and I will not continue to participate in a system that normalizes corruption, harassment, and coercion. Remaining in this role has placed me in a direct conflict with my conscience and my faith. I am being asked implicitly and explicitly to act in ways that go against the moral standards that I am committed to upholding and that I promised when I ran for this position. I refuse to be a part of this current system any longer. I owe the community a sincere apology. I am sorry for my vote to hire and retain certain individuals at this time. At the time, I trusted the representations made and believed that those advocating for their employment had the city's best interests at heart. After being provided documentation about history and conduct, I profoundly regret that vote. I ask the community for forgiveness that they must now endure what they must now endure as a result, and I take responsibility for my role in that decision. This regret extends to my realization that some of the very individuals I believe to be leaders acting in good faith were not in fact prioritizing this city or its residents. I now understand that agreeing with a political party or a political platform does not require participation and corruption at its core. My vote to retain certain leaders for this

community did exactly that in the end and it's a mistake I will never repeat. I am grateful to the residents who entrusted me with this position and I regret the circumstances that that circumstances require this step. My hope is that accountability, reform, and truth will ultimately serve this community better than silence ever could. And lastly, I will leave you with all all with this thought. When accountability is punished and obedience is rewarded, resignation becomes the only ethical act left. I refuse I refuse to help conceal this body's failures and I will not lend my name any longer. I will not lend my vote and I will not s or my silence to conduct to conduct that betrays the public's trust. Thank you Graham. Uh, so I just want to start off by saying, um, I know that was likely a very hard decision for you to make. It's been, um, a why, uh, a rough road while you've been in office from the very beginning. I mean, your your second day here was um, he who shall not be named in executive session. Um, and I just want to say that I appreciate all the work that you have personally put in um, and your representation of the residents of Palmer. Uh, additionally, I just want to say that I'm looking forward to the next set of bites out of the giant elephant involving the golf course to be bit. And I think that the next steps for that is waiting on the fair market evaluation. so that we can uh pursue the release of obligation. I think that's the next step that we have to go through as far as getting through that elephant we're trying to eat right now. Um so I'm looking forward to that. And I also just

wanted to welcome attorney Leslie Ne. Um, glad to have a an attorney back at the dis and I appreciate the priority that public safety is continuing to put on advancements in technology and keeping that technology up to date because when you've got something as important as body cams and cyber security, which as the chief had stated, literally take down cities, um, it is so important that we stay on top of that because I think we can all agree agree that what happened with the burrow, however many years ago that was, was a nightmare scenario. Um, so I really appreciate the emphasis being put on that. So, uh, beyond that, I just want to say thank you to everybody who's come out and I'm glad that we're continuing to move forward.

Counciloman Moer,

thank you. May Mr. Mayor, [snorts] uh, this evening I would like to say thank you to the airport staff for the nickel tour of the airport. I think they have the best view in the city and I got to see the beautiful golf course uh surrounding it in that particular day. It was very nice and sunny out and I could see the green so it was very beautiful to watch. Um, but really enjoyed it. The uh second thing I want to say is uh thank you to the Matnusa Electric Association for their service and keeping our power on through the month of December. That was very tough. Uh even we kicked off our generators several times and for multiple hours at a time. [snorts] Uh thank you to public works for keeping the streets clean and free of snow. And I um Palmer Police Department, sir, I love your new badge. shining bright. Thank you. [snorts] Uh and last but not least, uh second to last actually. Um Councilwoman Hudson, you I've watched you. I've watched you grow tremendously. You were given a bad deal from the very start, and I'm sorry for that. Um you shouldn't have been subjected to it. uh watching you through the last couple of years, uh you you do ask good questions and they're questions I would never have thought to ask. So, thank you. Uh and then um I know that Mayor Elentra asked about the cruise construction. I just want to say thank you to the planning and zoning commission. That was a very rough three months. It [snorts] was a decision on the planning and zoning commission that we did. Uh the commission worked very

well together uh with a lot of grace with our new uh city director of community planning and zoning [snorts] and we asked a lot of tough questions and uh one of the first questions we asked was how does this fit into the comprehensive plan? What can you bring to the city? And I think that really set the pace and it set the tone. Uh we asked for a site map. We got a site map what they plan to do. But I have to tell you that that planning and zoning commission works hard. They have quite a following in their commission and they are really they need to be respected and given a lot of grace. Uh and so uh again, thank you and happy new year. So that's all I have. Thank you, Councilwoman Colmes.

Thank you. Um, on the zoning issue, um, I think that was a difficult, well, maybe I for me it was a difficult decision here as well. Um, and I know it stinks for those who live around that area and there's just no way around that. Um, uh, I've had that happen. family members as well when the environment around property they purchased suddenly changes in a way that they never anticipated uh would happen and um it's really unsettling and um so I I um have sympathy for that. Um but some of the other things I weighed um were of course that Palmer has been trying to bring new business into the community um and the property being used um is perhaps less than ideal for residential property being right next to the airport. Um so anyway, those were some of the things I weighed. Um, and if individual community members have questions for me and I'm happy to answer those the best that I'm able, but I I did definitely see that there were pros and cons either way. Um, we went on that for various groups of people. So, um, but I appreciate everyone that participated in that process and, um, [snorts] made us aware of those pros and cons. So, um, I also want to thank uh, Council Member Hudson for her service. It's not easy. Um, this is not an easy job. I'm new to the council as many of us are. And um, I think it's one of those things no one you don't quite know what you're in for till you [laughter] get up here and start experiencing it. Um, but so I know a lot of work was put in and um,

and I know that it must have been a difficult decision for you. I do feel though like I need to say also say that that's not been my experience that I am optimistic for the city of Palmer that I feel like there's a lot of good people working doing our best to work together. I mean we all have different opinions but um working together uh to try and make keep those things that are good about Palmer here and make changes as necessary. Um, so I appreciate the work that that everyone um puts in to try and make that happen. Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, first I want to address the most shocking news and uh [clears throat] tell Council Member Hudson that I'm sorry to uh hear about this resignation. Um, you brought a tenacity, an intellect, and a willingness to work. uh that's really unparalleled and your your willingness to listen to both sides of an issue and your willingness to do the work to actually do the research and get things done. Um in my three and a half years on council, it's been the best that I've seen. So I um I'm sorry that it's come to that um situation and I do share a lot of your frustrations and one is brought out right now and I know we took a break and uh um our city manager is not here

and I apologize for not explaining that she had a flight to catch. Oh, thank you. I didn't know that. I should have done that earlier. Um thank you. And I am online here.

Fantastic. Oh, sorry. Thank you. Well, I for the city manager and for our uh directors that work for the city, um as I mentioned last night and I'll mention again, we pay people uh very well to do a job and they uh for the most part, I think do a solid job. Some of our directors uh are have an extreme willingness and uh a background that allows them to answer questions on the fly and they need to be able to do that. I mean, not every question can come uh packaged a week ahead of time. A lot of questions come up because of information you find out from testifiers, from fellow council members, and from others. So, there has to be ability to uh to think on their feet to be to be ready to roll. And I think that's uh something that um that that needs to be addressed. And I'm glad to hear uh city manager Zurkl that uh you're with us and that you're also uh catching a flight. I didn't know that ahead of time. Um, I will say the contract for the golf course in the city of Palmer has been so incredibly beneficial to the city of Palmer. And I can't pound the drum enough to say the only enterprise fund we have that delivers money to the coffers is the Palmer Golf Course, our jewel of a golf course that makes money for the city. Have we have for years have we been doing it wrong? Maybe. Have things changed because they went from alcohol beverage control to Amco and now there's boogeymen out there that are uh worried about our every step possibly and that's going to move forward. I think we're doing the best we can. It's frustrating to me as a hacker to know that what the golf course is having to go through. I know we have to uh cross all our tees and dot our eyes. It's frustrating to hear that nobody knew

until it was pointed out. um that the uh beer and wine license goes from April 15th to October 15th until the attorney that was here last night and the city manager pointed out that hey, this is a six-month license. You can't you shouldn't be selling alcohol in early April or into November and different things regardless of weather conditions or the ability to keep the course open. So, there's a lot of frustration and I'm sure it'll we'll put the toothpaste back in the tube somehow of uh having city staff or somebody be able to uh hand out beer and wine and and make the revenue flow from that because that is a uh a fair a fair percentage of revenue. It's not it's not green fees. It's not cart rentals, but it's it's something I think we have to ask, how do we get the release of obligation from the FAA? If it's happened in the past and our citizens are are demanding it, asking it, bringing it forward meeting after meeting, we need to quit saying like, oh, something like that can't exist. It does exist. It's existed in the past, and we need to figure out how do we get the release of obligation and keep our 35 year golf course since it's opened its doors, 36 years now. and counting planning time and building of the golf course. It goes back um into the early 80s. So, we need to make sure that we don't peace meal season by season, but that we have a vision that says how do we keep Palmer Golf Course around for my grandkids to be quite honest. Um so, I I hope that someone will look at that release of obligation, give us some paperwork and say here's how we make it happen or here's how it absolutely cannot happen. I look forward to that kind of documentation. Uh madam city manager if you're online and can produce that. Um thank you a new attorney. You know it's glad good to have you here and uh I'm glad it was uh not as uh you know maybe controversial as some of their

meetings have been. But uh but thank you for being here. And um uh one more thing I did want to point out. I do want to point out because it's on the documents that were handed out tonight, we're not changing the dates of our council meetings. So in March, uh if you received the agenda tonight, uh one of the things we try to do is set our, you know, 3 months out in the future so you know when we're having meetings because sometimes Christmas and Thanksgiving we switch we switch on you or switch the uh um week, but it's the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. And so it is March 10th, 2026 and March 24th, 2026. Correct. It is correct on the website.

Oh, it is okay. I was looking at this document. I changed.

Thank you for that, Benji. U and uh other than that, uh I mentioned it last night and mentioned it earlier today and as I remember to give Benji my documentation for the other council members. If you if you can go to Juno, um I know it's a big time commitment because it's leaving on a to be honest, it's leaving on a Monday nightish and uh coming back probably no earlier than uh than than Thursday afternoon. So, uh um I I hope that you can find it in your schedules to try to make it it's valuable not just for you and your learning experience, but it's valuable for the city as we go and uh kind of talk our issues with fellow AML members, but also with lawmakers up on the hill. So, other than that, everybody, happy new year. Thanks for being here tonight and uh I'm glad it's only 8:15. Thanks.

Thank you, Miss Lesie. Welcome. you know, it is a it's a welcome sight to have finally have an attorney up here. Um, I was on PNZ for a few years and uh I appreciate all the hard work that they do. It's uh it's not an easy it's not an easy job. Um, and I kind of applaud them all for sticking it with it. Councilwoman Hudson, we didn't always agree on a lot of things. Um, but I appreciate your dedication. It was unparalleled by the amount of things that you, you know, you did, the study that you did, all the hard work that you put in. Um, like I say, it was it was unparalleled and I I do appreciate it. Thank you so much. Um, and so, uh, last but not least, the code requires that the city council has to approve a resignation. So, um, what I would what I'll do is I'll just we'll take a vote. Yes or no? Um and and the actual vote would be yes. Go ahead, please call the role.

Mayor Cooper, yes. Deputy Mayor Canra, no. Council member Carrington, [snorts] yes. Council member Collins, yes. Council member Graham, yes. Council member Moer, yes. It passes. All right. Thank you. Right. With that, we're adjourned. [clears throat]