SITKA PORT AND HARBORS COMMISSION Regular Commission Meeting Minutes November 13th, 2008 Harrigan Centennial Hall I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Miller called the meeting to order at 7:20PM. II. ROLL CALL Members Present: David Malone Keith Nyitray Grant Miller Michael Slifer (via audio conference) Absent: Rich Macintyre Marc Moats Others Present: Ray Majeski Stan Eliason Chief Sheldon Schmitt Lieutenant Gary McCrary APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM THE October 16 th, 2008 MONTHLY MEETING. M/S Malone/Miller moved to approve the minutes from the October 16th, 2008 meeting. Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote. III. IV. CHANGES TO AGENDA CORRESPONDENCE V. PERSONS TO BE HEARD VI. REPORTS 1. Harbormaster Mr. Majeski briefly told the commission the following: He spoke with Lou McCall s sister and found out that he is in extremely critical condition. Mr. Majeski spoke with Lou about three weeks ago and he asked him to let everyone know that he truly enjoyed working here and misses Sitka. He was contacted by Scott Harris of Harris Air regarding the possibility of operating a commercial business from the City float facility. He contacted Dan Jones, the municipal engineer, and asked him to check and see if the float was safe enough for a commercial operation. In the meantime he is still waiting to hear back from the FAA on approval for a new facility. If the float is safe enough, the ordinance would need to be amended to allow for commercial operations. Page 1 of 5
All the harbors have been measured and the locations verified for the installation of the new safety ladders. These ladders have been sent out for bids. As of now the prices have gone down significantly, so if the bids come back at less than $25,000, a simple memorandum is sufficient for approval. If the bids come back over $25,000, the expenditure would need to be approved by the Assembly, which would take more time. VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Parking Ordinance-Fine Increase Lieutenant Gary McCrary and Chief Sheldon Schmitt came forward to discuss the proposed ordinance with the Commission. Lt. McCrary explained that the $10 parking fine was initiated in the 1980 s and hasn t increased since while other expenses have increased. The proposed ordinance would increase the parking fine from $10 to $25 and get it on the same bail schedule as the rest of the state. The purpose of this is to act as a deterrent so that people will think about where they are parking a little more before parking illegally. He explained that the Police & Fire Commission approved their support of the proposed ordinance. Chief Schmitt explained that the raise from $10 to $25 is for the purpose of consistency and to tie it to the bail schedule so that they automatically increase for second or third offenses, etc They are looking for support from the Ports & Harbors Commission. Mr. Malone expressed concern with the difficulty of summertime parking enforcement and would like to see people in the community take the parking rules more seriously. M/S Nyitray/Malone moved that the Ports and Harbors Commission recommend to the Assembly to pass the proposed parking fine increase ordinance. Motion PASSED 4-0 on a voice vote. 2. General Parking Issues-Abandoned Vehicles This issue was raised because of the ongoing problem of abandoned vehicles in Sitka, with an emphasis on the harbor parking lots. The question was raised as to whether or not the Police Department was required to find out who owns the vehicle prior to impounding it. Lt. McCrary explained that they can impound without knowing ownership, but they must find the last owner prior to crushing the vehicle. He also said that if anyone sees an abandoned vehicle that has been there awhile with flat tires, etc, to just give him a call and he will take care of it personally. 3. Crescent Harbor Parking Plan It was discussed as to whether or not to bring back the Crescent Harbor Parking Plan to the Assembly at this time. Mr. Majeski explained that he spoke with Dan Jones, Municipal Engineer, and he is going to draft a new cost estimate that he will bring back to the next meeting. The costs have surely changed from when the original proposal was written up. M/S Nyitray/Malone moved to table this item until the December meeting. Motion PASSED 4-0 on a voice vote. Page 2 of 5
4. Vision Statement The Commission reviewed the Vision Statement since the last meeting because it was discussed that it should be updated. It was recognized that the process was a community visioning process spearheaded by Lou McCall. Mr. Malone had several questions regarding updating the Vision Statement. 1. The Executive Summary states, The cities of Juneau, Ketchikan and even Wrangell have completed their visioning process, waterfront development plan, and in the case of Juneau and Ketchikan are actively engaged in the process of funds acquisition, engineering design and construction. Have they succeeded in getting funds from the State or the Feds for waterfront development? Mr. Majeski explained that they have. Ketchikan now has the ability to tie up 5 cruise ships. Juneau has done the same thing. All of that was dealing mainly with the cruise ship industry. Sitka has completely replaced Thompson Harbor, renovated Crescent Harbor, and put in a new water system in Sealing Cove Harbor. At that time all the cities were in the process of taking the docks over from the State. 2. Page 6 states the need for the establishment of a self-supporting and sustained harbor system in order to provide security for the economic stability and the future of Sitka s harbors. It states that the harbors have 1337 moorage slips, is this still accurate? Mr. Majeski stated that there are approximately 1337. 3. Page 6 also states, Maintenance of facilities by the harbor department rarely exceeded $15,000/yr until 2001 due to the maintenance budget for the harbors. Do you have an estimate on what it costs to maintain the current facilities in Sitka? Mr. Majeski responded that the Harbor Department has $205,000 allocated for maintenance each year and an additional $50,000 as unattached project money. Mr. Malone asked if he thought that amount was a reasonable amount, to which Mr. Majeski responded yes. He feels they are in pretty good shape and doesn t see a need for that to increase. Mr. Nyitray asked about the replacement/upgrade of the City Wall. Mr. Majeski explained that he thinks that the Passenger Excise Tax could be used for the City Wall as well as for security and bathrooms. 4. On Page 7 regarding development of the Sawmill Cove Industrial Park into a full service marine services center it states, Construct a high-end marina at Herring Cove. Page 3 of 5
Would it be your opinion that a high-end marina at Herring Cove is still appropriate since Silver Bay Seafoods is out there; would it be better served as a commercial fishing harbor? Mr. Majeski thinks it s too far away from the action of downtown for a high-end marina. Maybe a more commercial operation would be better, which could free up some space for the high end yachts to tie in town. Mr. Miller disagreed with that. He doesn t see many trollers using Silver Bay, so doesn t think it is a good idea to move the commercial fleet way out there. The advantage of a high-end marina at that end of town is the ability of having security and the possibilities of new businesses that would cater to the high end fleet. Mr. Majeski explained that he didn t think that our commercial fleet should be moved out there, but there are other commercial vessels that want to come in here, but there isn t room for them, so putting them out there would be an option. Mr. Nyitray explained that at that time there was a lot of heat going on in the harbors regarding soot getting on yacht boats, which is why there was the idea to separate them out. He also thought that it would be a privately owned dock. 5. On page 9 it states, Provide facilities for gear storage at Sawmill Cove Industrial Park. Is gear storage still a need in Sitka commercially? Mr. Majeski explained that the Sawmill Cove Industrial Park does occasionally get inquiries about gear storage and there is some out there now. 6. Page 12 states, Create a convenient support facility in a common location to benefit the charter fishing industry. Is that still a valid request? Mr. Slifer did not feel that it was necessary because the fleet wouldn t want to have to load and unload clients at the same place. It would also be inconvenient to have to move to a different area. He explained that the way it is currently, with the fleet spread out throughout the harbor system works well. 7. Page 12 states, Include marine-related recreational opportunities for the enjoyment of the general public. Is this still valid? Mr. Majeski explained that Sitka Maritime Heritage Society is working on getting a kayaking load/unload area on Japonski Island. 8. At the end of the Vision Statement, Lou McCall had sent a letter to Jonathan Krebs that talks about the waitlist for summer transient moorage. Is this still accurate? Do yachts have to anchor up and wait? Page 4 of 5
Mr. Eliason stated that there is now room to accommodate them. There is also talk about a waitlist established by various vessel length; 8 years, 5 years, 15 years, etc Is that still pretty accurate? Mr. Majeski explained that it is no longer accurate; the wait time is much shorter for the most part. There may still be some years, but the way stalls were assigned was changed. Some people were getting on the waitlist in order to get a reduced rate for moorage as opposed to transient vessels. Now, if you come up on the list to get a stall and you decline, you are removed from the waitlist. If you want to get back on the waitlist, you have to pay and you start back at the bottom. This has changed the types of people who are on the waitlist now. VIII. None IX. NEW BUSINESS GENERAL DISCUSSION Mr. Nyitray asked how often the fire extinguishers on the docks were checked because when the Sea Dawn caught fire, the people who first responded went for the extinguishers and they were empty. Mr. Majeski explained that they are supposed to be checked once per quarter. He said that vandals shoot off the extinguishers sometimes, so that is why they were empty. Mr. Eliason said that the last time they were checked was in June. Mr. Majeski said that they will check them and make sure they are all filled. Mr. Miller asked about the steep grade at the bottom of the ramps, to which Mr. Majeski responded that maintenance was working on it. X. CLOSING 1. Agenda New Business Revise float plane ordinance Old Business Crescent Harbor Parking Plan Vision Statement-Subcommittee 2. Next meeting date Harrigan Centennial Hall Thursday, December 18th, 2008 3. Adjournment M/S Nyitray/Malone moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:30PM. Motion PASSED unanimously on a voice vote. Prepared by: Ptarmica McConnell Contract Secretary Page 5 of 5