City Council - Regular Meeting

Yes, Mr. Mayor, everyone is present this evening. We have seven members of council. No one is absent.

Excellent. Okay, so we are good to go. Public appearances, we have Kim O'Dell from Alderwood Mobile Home Park that will Come up there and speak for us. You go ahead and hit that little red button, or button right there, turn red. There you go.

Hi, guys. I am Kim with Alderwood Mobile Home Park. And Nate has asked me to come speak a little bit. I have been actively working on the mobile home replacement program that Nate gave us the thumbs up for towards the beginning of the year. I've just had time to actively focus on it recently. And so I started making phone calls since we took over the park about six years ago, a little over six years ago, and wanting to upgrade the park. Getting mobile homes has been a hurdle. And with this mobile home replacement program, we can build stick-built homes and move it forward. However, our little parcel of land, if you don't know, the DNR holds the title, the DOT maintains the land, and FAA land rules are in the mix of it. And so as I was making calls to all of these different entities, I decided that I was going to put a cover letter together and go straight to the governor's office with a packet. And so I started, I had a meeting with Nate and Kate and Mike about a week and a half ago. I've talked to the superintendent, Jason Weber, and just trying to get letters of support from the community to put into this packet to show a real face of what's going on, not just, can you sell me the land, but I want, this is what's needed. We have 48 spaces available in Alderwood right now. And I think it's become a much bigger, there's a lot bigger need of just Alderwood, but that's where I started with it. And so Nate asked me to come in when I called him to say, can you write me a letter of support if I could come in and introduce myself and say, hey, can I get a resolution of support from you all as well to add to the packet to send? I don't even know what they can do. In my cover letter, I said, can you sell it to me? If not, do you know where I can go in hopes that I can get something moving so that we can build these homes and get some affordable housing in town? So anyway, anything you guys can do would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. OK. We'll move on to public business from the floor. Is there anybody from the public that would like to speak on a non-agenda item? Please step up.

Good evening. I'm Lynette Oliver, executive director for the Valdez Adventure Alliance. I want to make the council members aware of the reason for some delay of some of the work on the Chute Bay Trail sections. And I'll be back on September 15 to give a real presentation about Worthington in more detail on the Chute Bay Trail. And right now, I'm talking only specifically about the build out for the boardwalk. So on June 23, we were notified, and this is quote, Our application to the RTP has been selected for funding, and that the program staff will begin preparing a memorandum of agreement. But because of the federal review and authorization process, it may take several months before the grant agreement is ready for execution. Project work should not begin, and project costs incurred prior to execution of the MOA and receipt of all required approvals may not be eligible for reimbursement. So as I put in my March report, I WENT TO BARB THAT THIS DELAY IS DUE MOSTLY TO THE TRANSITION FROM THE PROGRAM BEING UNDER DNR TO IT BEING MOVED UNDER DOT. BUT IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT WE DON'T START THIS WORK BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GET THE REIMBURSEMENTS BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE FUNDS THAT THEN FRONT THE NEXT PART OF THE PIECES THAT THEY HELP MATCH WHAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES AND FUND THE NEXT PIECES. SO IT HASN'T STOPPED US FROM DOING OTHER WORK, ONLY JUST THAT ONE LITTLE PART. SO WE'VE BEEN DOING MAINTENANCE AND PREP WORK AND IF YOU'VE BEEN WALKING IT, YOU'VE SEEN IT MORE OUT TOWARDS THE GOLD CREEK, BUT WE'RE WORKING OUR WAY IN THIS WAY KIND OF. and also any of the prep that has to be done physically and also all the permits and all of that stuff and everything so that the instant that we have the contract, we can move. I've been in contact with South Central Hardware and things for materials. And I'll be back on September 15th for more information on the trail and also on Worthington. And hopefully, we'll have the contract in hand by then. So notice the several months and that that was on June 23. So hopefully we'll have it by then.

Thank you. Okay, moving on to a consent agenda. We have two items on the consent agenda of proclamation, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and approval of beverage dispensary tourism license renewal for Toteman Inc. Motion to consent to all items.

Second.

MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER DEVINS, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER VLALE, TO APPROVE ALL ITEMS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

CALL FOR THE VOTE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.

AYE.

ALL THOSE OPPOSED? OLIVIA?

SORRY, I SAID AYE.

I'M SORRY, OLIVIA. SEVEN YEARS, MOTION CARRIES.

AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO READ THE PROCLAMATION. Whereas September is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Month and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day, this is a time when millions of people around the world join their voices to raise awareness for suicide prevention, treatment, and recovery. And whereas this is a time that is dedicated to bringing visibility to the role everyone in the community can play in preventing suicide and to encourage all community members to know the signs, find the words, and reach out to someone they are concerned about. And whereas the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide continues its work against suicide prevention efforts by discouraging our friends, family, and neighbors at risk for suicide from seeking life-saving assistance and further traumatize survivors of suicide. And whereas education about the warning signs of suicide, the value of prevent, Preventative measures and the best methods to support those in need is essential to our community whereas suicidal thoughts much like mental health conditions can affect anyone regarding of age gender race orientation income level religion or background and whereas according to the American foundation of suicide prevention suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals of between ages 10 and 34, with more than 48,000 people dying by suicide annually in the United States. And whereas every member of our community should understand that throughout life's struggles, we all need the occasional reminder that we are all silently fighting our own battles, and whereas the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free, confidential 24-7 support to anyone experiencing mental health-related distress or a suicidal crisis, reminding us that no one has to face life's challenges alone. We can all help prevent suicide. if you or someone you know needs support now call or text the suicide crisis lifeline at 988 across chat at 988 lifeline.org or dial 9-1-1 now therefore i dennis fleming mayor of the city of valdez do here by proclaim the month of september as suicide prevention awareness month encourage all citizens to take the time It requires as to the well-being of our family, friends, and neighbors and to genuinely convey their appreciation for their existence and by the gestures they deem appropriate. Is there anybody here to accept that? Yeah.

Yeah.

I just wanted to add how important it is for our community and the people that We love to know that the 988 is confidential. It's there. Even if you just have a question, you just want to know what you can do, you can call them and they answer it 24-7. It's available. Please use it. We've all been touching this side in our lives. And sometimes the best we can do is keep someone safe for now and utilize that resource. And I just wanted to think, just reiterate,

Thank you. Thank you. Okay, we'll go to new business then. We've got three items on new business. Approval of a contract from Frontier Electric Services for Old Town Museum lighting upgrade in the amount of $82,475. Move to approve. Second.

Moved by Councilmember Lally, seconded by Councilmember Green, to approve a contract with Frontier Electric Services for Old Town Museum lighting upgrade in the amount of $82,475. Any council discussion on this? Go ahead.

I just wanted to say I'm in full support. I think this is a great thing. I know I've been in there, and it's pretty dark. And I was so discouraged when I read about how people are using the light on their phones to be able to read inside there. So it has to be done, I think. Thanks.

Any other council members? OK, seeing none, any public discussion? Seeing none, let's call for a vote.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed? 7 yeas. Motion carries.

Second item on new business is approval of the FY 2027 community jail contract with the state of Alaska. Move to approve. Second.

It's moved by Council Member Green, second by Council Member Seitz to approve the FY 2027 community jail contract with the state of Alaska.

Council discussion.

Go ahead. I guess I was just looking for some clarification. It's just a really big from 2026 to 2027 from almost doubled. And so I was just looking for a little more information.

I don't have an exact answer, but the last go-around, there was some frustration amongst other community jails about not receiving adequate funding, and so their response was to close their jail. My only best guess is that some other jail closed and their money was available. On a percentage basis, ours was the lowest percent funded jail of the community jails. We weren't necessarily the lowest recipient of dollars, but I think that's the case. And following the state budget last year, the corrections budget was very much a topic of conversation. And they ask us for an estimate of what it costs to operate our community jail. And it's in the million dollar range every year. And so this brings us much closer to what it actually costs to operate.

Thank you.

Any other council discussion? Olivia.

Thank you. I just wanted to say that I'm really excited to hear that we're getting this increase in money. So I don't know if it was going to Juneau. I know that there's been a lot of work done in the past with the corrections department of the state of Alaska. So I'm just really grateful to see this money coming to our community. Thank you, state of Alaska.

Any public discussion? OK, let's go ahead and call for the vote.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed? We have seven yeas. Motion carries.

OK, the third item from New Business on the Floor is approval of write-offs of various city fees and forwarding to collection agencies. Move to approve.

Second. Moved by Council Member Green. Second by Council Member Councilmember Joy? Oh, Lord. I don't know. Second by Councilmember Winnie to approve write-offs of various city fees and forwarding write-offs to collections agency.

Any council discussion? Seeing none, any public discussion? All right. Seeing none, call for the vote.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed? We have seven yeas. Motion carries.

We have a resolution, number 2639, amending the 2026 city budget by accepting $392,926 in unbudgeted revenue from the state of Alaska Department of Education for complete water piping replacement projects and appropriating the same to project planning reserve account for future projects.

Motion to approve. Second.

Move by Councilmember Devin, second by Councilmember Lally, to approve resolution number 2639.

Any council questions on this? Any public comments? Okay, seeing none, call for a vote.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed? We have seven yeas. Motion carries.

Unless you're not trying to do that. OKAY, WE HAVE REPORTS. WE HAVE FINAL REPORT FOR SCRAMP BARCH 2026. AND IF WE COULD HAVE THE BARC COME UP.

3,105. A LITTLE EARLY.

A LITTLE EARLY.

OKAY. GOOD EVENING. I'VE TALKED WITH YOU A COUPLE OF TIMES LEADING UP TO THIS, AND SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, AND AGAIN, THIS IS STONE IN THIS PROGRAM. I WANT TO HAVE SOMETHING VERY BAKED INTO OUR OPERATIONS HERE AS OPPOSED TO A PROJECT. SO WE'RE REPORTING ON THE SCRAP ARCH PROJECT RIGHT NOW AS program and so again thank you to you and previous councils that have identified the need and made it a priority there's thanks to many departments are involved in this and there's also thanks to plenty of entities and their list so I'll stand for questions at the end but again I think she did a very well thank you sir

3,105 tons. That's how much scrap metal left Felde's on this year's scrap metal barge. It's a pretty impressive number, but the real story started long before the barge ever arrived. For years, old vehicles, appliances, and scrap metal accumulated around town with few practical disposal options. The city's vehicle abatement program started in 2019 and subsequent scrap metal drop-off program in 2025 changed that, giving residents and businesses a free, responsible way to clear out unwanted metal while keeping Bellevue's clean and beautiful.

I think it's also important to note that one of the goals of this program was to, again, be sustainable. And in doing so, it involves training city staff to process vehicles. It provides a framework for how to store vehicles and prepare for future purchases.

Getting all that metal from the staging area onto the barge was a massive effort. Not only did it take years to plan, it took over 47 continuous hours of crews working day and night with five to six trucks hauling material non-stop, moving an average of 69 tons every hour. 19 Alaska scrap employees, including four local drivers, worked alongside city staff from Public Works, Code Enforcement, and Parts and Harbor to make it happen safely and efficiently.

I think one of the things I'm most proud of is that it was a multi-department effort and it involved the community, it involved multiple councils being committed to the process.

But this program is about more than just recycling. It reduces abandoned vehicles, protects valuable landfill space, and improves neighborhoods while preserving one of Valdez's greatest assets, our natural beauty.

Valdez is in a fortunate place where we have the funding and the commitment from local government to allow this program to take place.

And the best part is, this isn't the finish line. There is still enough material in Valdez for future shipments. And each cleanup helps build a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming community.

Video said it all, but I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any.

Any questions for Bart?

Who was that talented voice actor that we heard on there?

What's that?

The owl. The owl always gets a hoot.

Just a quick comment there.

Hey, Bart.

No, no, just a quick comment there. I really like your idea about, you know, it's time for this to move from a project to a program, you know, and sustain it and finish this work. I mean, this, you know, it's like you and I talked, there's a lot of benefits to this. You know, beautification for our town, our community, taking proper care of, you know, things that are no longer needed or used. And I'd like, you know, things seem to be working really well here. It seems like, you know, community support and support for this effort and activity is growing. I would like to see a that growth and continue as a program. And then is it the next large schedule for 2028? Is that what I caught on your video?

So, and I'll let the city manager comment on that a little bit. So there's not one scheduled yet, but that is a reasonable objective. Actually, that is very doable, to be honest. 27 is possible and aggressive, and that's a little dependent upon some other intangibles out there that There's no shortage of material to be had.

Very good. Thank you very much.

What's the final resting place of the material? Where does it go?

Yeah, so thank you. It went to Tacoma, Washington.

Do we know, will these shipments of scrap metal out of Valdez significantly extend the use of our landfill?

Yeah, and that was actually something I was going to comment on at a later date. And by years and so you can and those are those are not today's dollars But those are dollars in future years that we're saving so it's it's I'll try and capture some of that when we have the exact yardage and stuff of everything that we've moved and try and put in some sort of formula to Portray that but that was one of the many benefits that the council member was referring to probably

And I did have one follow-up to that, and this is a little more out there esoteric, so if you don't have an answer, don't worry about it. But I know some communities are actually digging back into old landfills for materials that used to not be recyclable, but now may be because of improvements in technology. Is there any possibility that we have scrap metal in our landfill currently that could be recycled in future years?

The short answer is yes. There's certainly some scrap metal in the landfill. The longer answer is there's not a quantity sufficient to justify getting in there. Our crews have done a really good job of diverting metals and whatnot from the landfill. So that's part of where we had a pretty good starting point of the pile. So again, the short version is there's likely some, but we don't have near the quantity. And like I said, the crews have done so we don't have to do that into the future.

All right, thank you. I will add one thing to that, and I don't want to belabor the point, but as City Manager DeVault mentioned, the crew does a good job in separating the metals. In fact, they do too good of a job. So if you go out to the baler and it says metals only, I mean, they're very strict about it just being metal. Well, essentially, the program is built in to where it has a 20% ratio built in of others. So there's a lot of things that up to now we haven't captured that from this point forward.

As we talk about what a scrap metal program, recycling program looks like, it is one of the comp plan goals to focus a little more on recycling in town and we have the Baylor replacement project that's out there for design and what could have been a couple million dollar piece of equipment and machinery being replaced in the same building. We're kind of reimagining that project as something different to make some significant in and out of the Baylor and traffic flow, but also as it looks at what does it mean to segregate and process these waste streams differently and kind of a more sustainable from both the financial side, but also from the kind of recycling and material side of things. So you may see some design and or construction costs that you say, well, that's way more than I thought, but I think on the long term, the investment in some of that's going to make Huge savings in the long run. At some point, if you have any questions, you're welcome to stop by Director Walker's office and kind of chat with him about any of that stuff. We'll bring it forward for you all to contemplate. Thanks, Bart.

We have two more reports the council wishes to hear. Just please let me know at the end. Quarterly Financial Summary Report, January 30, 2026, and Monthly Treasury Report, July 2026. Seeing none, we'll move on to City Manager, City Clerk, City Attorney, and Mayor's Report. And we'll start with City Manager.

All right. Thank you, Mayor. I guess just real quick, we have a couple members of our Citizens Academy here in the audience. Christina, Tony, Jessica, and Chandler. We just wanted to kind of... I guess there's nothing better to do on a Tuesday night, so we want to come check it out. But we'll certainly formally... bring the whole group, the graduating class, if you will, the inaugural graduating class, to be recognized at a future council meeting. But I certainly want to recognize them and thank them for taking the time to come to all of our presentations and to learn more about the city. They're certainly, I hope, I think they're great advocates for the community, but also for what we do as an organization. They've been great to work with the last nine or so weeks. So I want to recognize them. Thank you. Thank you. Changing gears a little bit, I did want to point out one thing on the financial report. I know health insurance is certainly a topic of conversation we get to have as budget season is coming up. If you look at that page, page 14 and 21, there's some pretty, I don't know if we want to call them savings, but the budget to actual is on the right side of the ledger for sure in a lot of ways. The school district is not having as great of a year when it comes to some of that, so our Our stop loss coverage is likely to go up because that's the piece of the insurance that's combined. However, on the whole, that's just a small percentage of what the total insurance burden is. And on the whole, our current trajectory with insurance is looking very good, below projections, potentially a reduction or a nominal increase as it looks for the renewal for next year, including that stop loss, which incorporates the school. So I just want to point that out a little bit. A COUPLE OTHER THINGS. MS. KIM WAS HERE. I GUESS IS THERE ANY OBJECTION FROM COUNCIL TO HAVING A RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT FOR THE PURCHASE OF THAT LAND FROM DOT ON BEHALF OF THE COUNCIL?

I was curious if we could get some information from the legal department when Ms. Odell was here talking about the purchase. She said she wasn't sure what the process is. I seem to remember this exact topic coming up maybe a little over a decade ago. And they found that it was more complicated than they anticipated. So if it would be possible for us to get an opinion from the attorney before we submit an opinion to the governor's office as to whether that's even possible. Because I know sometimes with the dispersal of state properties, it has to go through all kinds of clearing of land or returning to natural condition or public auction or any kind of thing like that. I would like to know for a fact whether that's a requirement before we, you know, put our foot in our mouth and write a letter that doesn't mean anything.

I guess I just want to be real clear that the resolution is not for the city. It's for Alderwood to purchase the land and go through all of that process and go through those hurdles, not the cities involved, just supporting them in that effort.

Yeah, we're giving support for their purchase, but I just want to know that they can purchase it before we, you know, put our names behind it.

I, for one, don't have a problem with giving a letter of support.

I'm in support of a letter instead of going through the attorney. I think we're just saying that we are supportive. Instead of spending money on having the attorney look into it and take time, just writing a letter of support, I think, costs very little compared. So I just would be okay with a letter of support. Council Member Foster has her hand raised online.

Olivia.

Thank you. City Manager Duvall, can you clarify for me, is this land that she would like support around, is it currently being leased by Alderwood from the state?

Yes.

Okay. All right. Thank you. And I would be in support of writing a letter as well.

We'll get something. It likely will not be the next council meeting, but the one after that. I think, do you all want a resolution approved by all of you, or do you want a letter signed by the mayor? I guess that's the other question.

Which has more weight, I guess.

The reason I had asked her to come to requests of the entire body of council is that if the whole council is in support In my opinion, it might carry a little more weight. However, if it's a simpler, faster process, if you all just say head nods, yeah, Mayor, go ahead and sign a letter. That's at your discretion.

I would be okay with a resolution if that is going to actually give more weight.

Yeah, me too.

Okay. Another one, there was a request for a work session on child care. I've had some conversations with Chugachmute and a couple of others, and I'll extend the invitations once we nail down a date, but I would like to offer up October 6th before the council meeting, maybe a little bit earlier, start 530, or October 7th as alternatives. The first budget meeting is on the 8th, and we kind of start the budget process thereafter, and so I want to be mindful of y'all's time and whatnot, but... Those dates seem to work with the Chugachmute. And again, I've brought up some of the desires of councilors as far as what child care, before school, after school care, all that stuff, what it looks like. And they've got kind of put together called a proposal, if you will, or some answers to some of those questions. And then we can certainly invite some of the other, if the school or the hospital, some of these other entities to participate. My initial thoughts was that I don't know that an hour and a half before the meeting is going to be enough time to have the conversation you want, but I also... Is there any preference of before the meeting on the 6th or an off night on the 7th?

6th works good for me.

I like the 6th. We're already going to be here.

Anybody else?

6th is good.

Okay, Olivia?

Yeah, the 6 will work for me at 5.30. Thank you.

And then if we do run into any continuation like you're saying, then we can use the 7 for a potential timeframe if we have to extend it for any reason whatsoever.

I will let them know that. I guess a couple other points. The website, every couple of years, There's a refresh on the various technology and widgets that are on the website, but that's all been updated. So if you go onto the website and things are in different locations than they used to be, keep cruising around, you'll find those eventually. The hope is that it's a little bit more intuitive, I guess, would be the way to say it. So it used to have stuff about departments. That's not a tab anymore. It's more based on what are you looking for. stuff so it's just slightly different it's all for the most part the same content I'm not gonna pretend to be able to speak IT lingo but it had to be done and so this was the process that Sarah kind of guided the group through to get it up to speed and the warm contemporary with current programming and what have you

So believe it or not, I did get a question about the website, and there was a little bit, yeah, there was a, somebody didn't like it because the agendas were not present to where they can just click on the council agendas and see them. Okay.

Well, the good thing is the agendas are on the left, and that will show up on every single page you click on. Okay, good.

Good, I can report back.

and use that bill, it will change the orientation based on the type of screen you're on, but it should show up on every single screen you go to, so you can always get to the agendas in minutes.

I think this person just didn't like change.

That is very possible. And another thing to note for council is municipal code now has a nice, pretty little link right there, right front and center, so it's easier to get to the municipal code.

Excellent. So go ahead, check it out, cruise around. Help us advocate and be ambassadors for the change that has occurred. Again, going back to childcare, I've had some conversations with Head Start. I put Head Start in communication with the college here locally to talk about some programs and opportunities they have. If you want to work for Chugachmute, they have scholarship money. They will pay for any training you have. The college happens to offer classes that can receive that money and give you that training. So it's kind of a good partnership. Anybody interested in looking into childcare or workforce development in that regard, feel free to reach out to those individuals. They're planning on, while they're in town, perhaps hosting an info session at the college, perhaps the night before or after their meeting with you all to give, hey, here's how you get into the world of child care. Here are the options and opportunities available for you from scholarships to employment to apprenticeships. So I'm trying to help put those pieces together to help coordinate some of that to get the workforce pipeline flowing a little bit better than perhaps it is right now. I'd signed a contract for the reconstruction services for the child care facility at the old district office, so that project is underway. You'll be working on finalizing design, value engineering, and getting that guaranteed maximum price cost. You all will see a contract for that contract at some point here later this fall. Unfortunately, we're going to miss this season's window, and it'll drag into next spring, certainly, for some of the outdoor stuff. overall we do have fun the final funding clearance and all those pieces are in play to start rocking and rolling on the daycare center we're still working out the the final exemption application process that's why you don't see a new ordinance on the agenda tonight it'll be after everybody gets back from various vacations, huntings, and whatnot to get you all to approve the new ordinance for taxes and tax exemptions. Everybody I've spoken with is pretty stoked about it. And they do request a simple and efficient process. And so we're hoping to work on some of that administrative behind the scenes while we're working through some things. What else do we have? We've had some pretty interesting interactions with the Coast Guard here recently. good and productive. I have another meeting with them later next week. I went up to AML and Fairbanks, listened to the two candidates who were at the presentation for Governor, Jonathan Christ-Thompkins and Mayor Bronson. So I was able to listen to them and get some gauge as to how their policies and decision-making might affect things in Valdez. I suspect as the election season ramps up, we'll likely see one or two of the candidates come into town, and if they have any meetings, we'll certainly take them to kind of give what's going on in the city and what we're concerned about, what our legislative priorities are, so they have an awareness as to what that may be. There's a couple of things coming up in the somewhat immediate future. We've got the STEAM Fest at the high school. At the same time as that, there will be an open house for the high school renovation project. So I'd encourage anyone within the community who's got an invested interest in the high school to go attend that on September 9th and 10th, or 10th and 11th, September 10th and 11th at the high school. Ooh, I have done a whole lot of talk. If you have any questions about what else is on the report, feel free to let me know. But those were the highlights that I wanted to touch on so that you all had visibility.

Any questions for the city? Go ahead.

The only question I had was, how are we doing on our road projects?

The concrete crew is going to be in town the second week of September to get curbs and sidewalks started. And then that should take A WEEK TO TEN DAYS, AND THEN ASPHALT SHOULD BE SHORTLY THEREAFTER. AS OF CURRENT PROJECTION, EVERYTHING IS ON TRACK FOR THE FIRST PART OF OCTOBER TO BE PAVED OUT. LIGHT FIXTURES ARE APPARENTLY BEING HANDCRAFTED IN SOME PLACE SPECIAL, SO THEY WON'T BE HERE UNTIL JANUARY. WE DO HAVE ENOUGH FIXTURES FROM THE HOLES THAT WE TOOK DOWN THAT WE'LL MAKE SURE THERE'S ENOUGH TEMPORARY LIGHTING ON THE ROADWAY FOR SAFE TRANSIT OF THE FINAL Final official lighting will be done sometime this winter in time for a potential reimbursement bond in the early spring. We did sit down and talk about bonding today. We'll come forward to you all with a plan for what that looks like. I think it's probably most practical to have a special election. But we'll see how mad the clerks get.

budget okay we'll go ahead and move on to city clerk speaking of which right um so what i have this evening is um you know to again recognize our family that has attended our um citizens academy and um We wrapped that up, as Nate said. Our last session was last Thursday. And we did a facility tour with our group. And so the people who were able to attend that kind of whole day session, we visited the baler and water and sewer out the road. And we toured police department, fire department. We had a good day. And I think it was interesting. for those that attended and had a lot of good questions. I even learned things when we were out at Water and Sewer and the Baylor. It was really interesting to me as well. And that had been here for 37 years. So next meeting, our next meeting, we will be graduating all of our students from Citizen Academy and giving out our certificates. So hopefully everybody can attend and That would be fun to do that. So that's Citizens Academy. We're looking, Nate and I are talking about, we're going to do a survey of everybody that attended. We've got some questions about a few things. And then we've been talking about starting our next academy maybe in February, early February, and going a little bit into March. And so people are not quite as busy, I think, during those months. So whatever we learn from our group this time, we'll just use to make our next one better. We do have a vacancy on the museum board still. It's a partial term. So if anybody's interested in serving on the museum board, we do have a vacancy there. We encourage you to apply. our destination Valdez group met last week and they appointed their bylaw committee. So they have a bylaw committee now and they'll be working through, people are going to be gone in September. So we're starting first week in October, starting to meet and we hope to have the bylaws in place the board devoted them by the end of october so that's that's our goal with them so so i'm moving forward with the destination about these board and that's all i have any questions for sure okay going to city attorney report jake okay thank you mayor fleming and good evening everybody

First, I apologize for not being able to be down there in person today. Are you guys able to hear me okay?

Yes, we can.

Okay, great. Sorry, I couldn't be down there today. Unfortunately, I have some deadlines that are unavoidable. To make it worse, my in-laws are down there and they've been catching silvers all week in the sunshine. So it's especially painful. Just a few items for... For update this evening, I'll start with the TAPS related matters and biggest fish close to the boat, 2026 TAPS assessment. We had very productive meetings with our expert witnesses two weeks ago in Houston. And we think we have our expert team pretty much solidified at this point. We've identified roles for everybody and they're beginning their work on their expert reports. for the Superior Court trial. It's a big undertaking. They're preparing a full replacement cost new study. And we have, of course, experts on the depreciation side as well. So a lot of work going in to that case. We had a scheduling conference. It was initially scheduled to the 11th. The cases have been consolidated before Judge Jack McKenna So we'll have our first opportunity to speak with him on the 11th. And after that, we'll have a better idea of when trial is going to be scheduled for and we'll work through some of the procedural issues. Moving on to escape property, I'll start with the Zeman appeal. That's tax years 2019 through 2023. We're working on completing the record on appeal and the briefing schedule has been stayed until we get it complete. So actively working with the Department of Revenue and taxpayers to finalize the record. Then we'll file our briefs and then eventually oral argument will be scheduled. And after that case will be ripe for appeal. On a related note, there's attorney's fees issues with all of these cases for the most part. And our standing policy is to try to stay to decision on appeal. So we don't spend work arguing about something that doesn't come to fruition in the end as far as it goes with prevailing parties and the like. So we've stayed the attorney's fees issues and the Zeman appeal. Tax years 97 through 2016, that's the Judge Rankin order where she granted summary judgment in favor of taxpayers We filed our opening brief. We have the taxpayer's brief and we will file our reply brief on September 24th. So after that, again, oral argument will be scheduled. It'll be ripe for appeal. A lot of moving parts with the TAPS related issues. I'll just stop there and be happy to take any questions if council has any about TAPS related matters. Seeing none. Go ahead, Jake. OK. Some news on redistricting. We're nearing the finish line with redistricting finally, which is good news. We have a date for oral argument for the Supreme Court on the attorney sees issue. It's October 8th. So after that, that case will finally be finished. The issue there is really we're challenging a very narrow reading of what it means to be a prevailing constitutional claimant that Superior Court Judge Matthews issued. And it's a critical decision going forward whether the city, when it advances a constitutional claim, can collect fees for things that are required to advance all claims. So, for example, reviewing discovery, attending a procedural conference, in our view, those things be recoverable if you prevail on a claim you had to do that work to advance any claim the superior court took a much more narrow view and basically said if you don't call out the specific constitutional claim in a billing entry then it's not recoverable so it has big implications we'll look forward to a decision on that one after we argue about it Moving on, BP Hill Corp access to information. Another longstanding issue that's been up and down. It's one that we've been carrying for most of the time without billing the city. Went up to the Supreme Court, was remanded back to the Superior Court. STATING THAT AT LEAST SOME OF THAT FINANCIAL INFORMATION SHOULD BE AVAILABLE, THE INFORMATION RELATED TO HILL CORP. THE WHOLE UNDERLYING ISSUE WAS SHOULD THE PUBLIC HAVE ACCESS TO FINANCIAL INFORMATION TO SHOW THAT THE TAPS OWNER IS ABLE TO CARRY THEIR BURDEN IN THE CASE OF A BIG ACCIDENT OR A SPILL. AND SO WE HAVE AN ORDER FROM THE SPEAR COURT. IT NOW GOES BACK DOWN TO THE REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ALASKA FOR ACTION. on that. And finally, the C Plan. We're still waiting on an order from the Commissioner on the issues that went for a judicatory hearing. That should be issued in early October, I believe. In the meantime, Alyeska has performed one of the hydro tests in containment cell four. And I understand that the agency ADC has received a presentation on that data and that RCAC is awaiting receipt of that data and the presentation from Alieska on it. We haven't seen the results yet. We'll share what we learn as soon as we do receive it. They're also working on tests for cells six and seven this fall. It should happen in the next couple of weeks is their plan. The valves are closed in those cells, and they're pumping water to supplement the rain catchment that they've gotten so far. So those tests are anticipated to happen soon, and we'll look forward to those results. That's all I had for you this evening. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have, though.

Any questions?

Thank you.

all right sorry for being long-winded with you thank you no problem okay we'll go to uh i'll move mine to the last and we'll go to council business from the floor and we'll start with chanel i don't really have anything right now okay

I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY AGAIN TO THANK OUR CITIZENS ACADEMY MEMBERS, NOT JUST THE ONES CURRENTLY IN ATTENDANCE, BUT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED. IT'S BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM SO FAR, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THEIR GRADUATION AND HEARING THEIR QUESTIONS AT THE END.

I just want to give a shout out to the fire department. They went out to Valdez Glacial Lake and had a deployment and rescue of kayakers and everyone was safe and sound. Amazing work. So great job to our fire department. Great to see lots of business traffic in town this weekend for fishing season. So that's awesome. EVERYONE WITH THE CITIZENS ACADEMY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING. YOU GUYS GOT AN OPPORTUNITY. I DID NOT. I NEVER HAD A TOUR OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. SO THAT'S AWESOME.

I WANT TO JUST THANK CALUM AND TA REAL ESTATE FOR THE PFD, ANNUAL PFD PRESENTATIONS THAT THEY PROVIDED. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK THERE. Thanks to Bart and everyone involved in the scrap barge program. Great job there. And keep that program going. And thanks for the Citizens Academy people here tonight that hung with us all night. And we'll see you at graduation in a couple of weeks.

Ditto there. I definitely appreciate the update on our permanent fund there. and the continuity and success that we've seen for, you know, decades there. Also, good work on the scrap barge program, past, present, and future. And congratulations to you folks at Citizens Academy. Well done. Thank you. Olivia?

Thank you. Ditto on all of that. I just want to extend my gratitude to Assistant City Manager Nelson and Casey Deschac for coordinating the efforts, as well as City Manager Duvall. It was a good meeting that we had for the committee today, and I appreciated the clarity that they provided additionally tonight. And I hope that that fund continues to exceed our expectations and serve the future generations of Valdez. Congratulations to everyone else. Thank you. And City Manager Duvall, thank you so much for coordinating that meeting and getting a workforce or a work session together to address our child care issues. Appreciate it.

All right, and again, ditto with everybody else. Appreciate the citizens meeting that we had here, the group, and really appreciate that. And then just one big shout out. I know the scrap metal barge takes a lot of people and a lot of things to get things done right, but the true champion of the whole process has been Bart through the whole thing. I mean, he's literally dedicated time, pushed against council at times, wanting to make things clear. So I just want a big shout out to Bart for all the work that was done on the barge and the scrap metal stuff. Something that'll stick with the city for a long time, I think. So thank you very much. And that's all I got. Adjourned.

SO IF WE DID A WORK SESSION AT 5, WOULD THAT BE A PROBLEM FOR ANYBODY, FOR THAT CHILDCARE THING?