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1988-06-01 Special MeetingA special meeting of the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly was held June 1, 1988, in the Assembly Chambers of the Kodiak Island Borough Building, 710 Mill Bay Road. The meeting was called to order at 7:31 p.m. (A verbatim record is on file in the Clerk's office) There were present: Lorne White, Presiding Ann Barker Jack McFarland Wayne Stevens comprising a quorum of the assembly; and Jerome Selby, Borough Mayor Gaye Vaughan, Borough Clerk PUBLIC BEARING KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH Special Assembly Meeting June 1, 1988 Alan Austerman Ken Gregg Tom Merriman (7:42 p.m.) A. Ordinance No. 88 -13-0 Levying Taxes On All Taxable Real And Personal Property Within The Borough For The Expenses And Liabilities Of The Borough For The Fiscal Year Commencing On The First Day Of July, 1988 And Ending On The Thirtieth Day Of June 1989. AUSTERMAN, seconded by GREGG move to adopt Ordinance No. 88 -13 -0. BARKER, seconded by GREGG VOTE ON MOTION TO AMEND MOTION CARRIED Unanimous The presiding officer called for public testimony. move to amend by substitution. Marion Johnson stated she worked for the Kodiak Historical Society, a non - profit organization which operates the Baranof Museum. She said $9,000 in funding had been requested and proceeded to_pointed out the number of visitors to the museum last year, the museum pieces purchased and donated, and the staff including volunteers needed to operate the museum. She outlined future plans for the museum and pointed out their only major financial support came from the city and borough of Kodiak. Gail Holman, representing the Coast Guard Officer's Wives Club, explained their organization sponsored "Santa to the Villages." She said this program involved 400 children, ages zero up to high school seniors, in the villages. She explained that gifts of fruit and mittens are obtained from various sources, and these gifts are wrapped and labeled with the children's names. A Coast Guard helicopter with a member of the Coast Guard dressed as Santa Claus goes to each village to distribute the gifts, she said. She asked the request for 51,000 be approved, so this program could continue to make Christmas a special time for village children. Donna Schmidt, representing the Kodiak Council on Alcoholism, testified that KCA was doing some very important work in the community. Ms. Schmidt explained that KCA had three treatment areas in which they work: the new Wings program for adolescent people with drug and alcohol problems, the inpatient treatment program at Hope House, and the outpatient program. She said a 52,800 increase in funding had been requested this year to cover the added programs. She reported on the results of a community survey conducted by KCA. June 1, 1988. KIBS103696 SPECIAL MEETING ROLL CALL PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE NO. 88 -13 -0 Page 80 Kodiak Island Borough Special Assembly Meeting Rae Jean Blaschke, president of the Kodiak Council on Alcoholism Council, explained the need for borough funding to maintain a portion of existing KCA projects and the two special projects with wings and Hope House. She explained the need for improve- ments to Hope House and the request for $3,000 for transportation for village youth to access the Wings program. She noted that a dollar spent on the prevention and treatment of substance abuse saved many dollars later spent on dealing with the resulting problems. She thanked the assembly for their support. Ginny Shank, representing Kodiak College Advisory Council, stated that all non - credit classes, workshops, and activities depended on grant funds. She said financial assistance from the borough helped to support the Adult Basic Education program and community service programs for the college in Kodiak, Coast Guard base and villages. She noted that Kodiak College offered approximately 25 non - credit classes which were designed to be inexpensive personal enrichment activities covering a wide variety of topics. She added the support of the assembly was appreciated. Gene Erwin, representing the Senior Citizens, explained the senior program: i.e., hot meals served five days a week., home delivered hot meals to those who are confined, access service to transport seniors to and from meals as well as to medical appointments, shopping, etc. He said the number of seniors citizens using the services had increased along with the cost for providing these services while funding remained the same. He pointed out the center would not be eligible for full Title 3 funding without matching borough funds and urged the assembly to support their programs. Trish Robb, Director of Kodiak Womens' Resource Center, distributed to the assembly a packet on services provided by the Womens' Resource Center and explained several of these services. She said their request this year contained a five percent increase in funding due to an increased demand for their services. She asked the assembly to consider their request favorably. Bob Johnson, President of the Kodiak Arts Council, traced the history of the Arts Council since 1963 and listed the member groups associated with the Arts Council. Since September, he said the Arts Council's use of the auditorium represented 85 percent of the community use. The user fees paid by the Council contributed to the maintenance of the facility, he noted. He added that the borough funding of the Arts Council had contributed to the success of the council. Steve Rennell, KMXT, stated KMXT had been a non - profit organization in Kodiak since 1974 with broadcasts commencing in 1976. He mentioned the borough assembly meetings had been broadcast since 1976 and added that, depending on the issues, the assembly meetings were an audience builder for the station. He thanked the assembly for providing such popular programming. He explained KMXT programming and services. He thanked the assembly for their support in the past and hoped would continue. Paul Grandquist, KMXT Board of Director's member and volunteer announcer, felt it was very important to keep KMXT on the air because KMXT provided services to the community which were Aiffinr,lt to Annlinata in an 0".r n way Na said KMXT v n n air eighteen hours a day at cost said approximately fifty the an hour. He said it cost a lot of money to keep the station broadcasting even though most of the announcers on weekends and evenings'were volunteers. He said it was important that KMXT obtain the requested funding to keep the station on the air. KIBS103697 PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE NO. 88 -13 -0 (continued) June 1, 1988. Page 81 Kodiak Island Borough Special Assembly Meeting Jackie Downs, Alaska Legal Services, pointed out that Alaska PUBLIC HEARING Legal Services was a private non - profit corporation which provided civil legal assistance to low income people, and it was ORDINANCE not a government agency nor an arm of any government entity. She NO. 88 -13 -0 said formerly their office had been responsible for providing (continued) services to the residents of the Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian chain, and Pribilof Islands as well as Kodiak Island. Beginning this year they will be devoting all their time to serving only the residents of the borough. She outlined the services provided by her office and said local funding was absolutely necessary to maintain the level of services which they provide. Elizabeth Odell, president of Chiniak Library Association, thanked the assembly for assisting in providing a meaningful service to the Chiniak community. She said the library was the only public meeting facility in Chiniak, and she reported on library sponsored programs. She added that the library was maintained through voluntary labor. Millie Sugita, Kodiak Health Center, said the center was again requesting money to pay for local telephone service, office supplies, and office equipment upgrades. She reported that after fifteen months, the center had a full staff and could do home visits again. She added the center was the only agency in town to provide immunizations to children. She said most of the audience used the center's services in one way or another. She said the continuation of the funding would be appreciated. Barbara Rudio, City of Kodiak Public Library, reported surveys of library patrons have shown residents of the city of Kodiak and borough residents use the library facilities and services on an almost equal basis. She said the money contributed by the borough to the library amounted to fourteen percent of the library budget while usage by borough residents represented approximately half. She requested the assembly to increase their contribution to the Library. Joe Floyd, Summer Basketball Program, explained the program was run under the auspices of the Little Dribblers and involved approximately 500 children in a five month program covering every school in the Kodiak Area. He said the program was run by families and friends who want to spend time with kids, however, he added, the group lacked experience in teaching basketball fundamentals. He said the school district had a new basketball coach who was willing to assist with the summer program. Participants in this program needed to be taught more basketball fundamentals than parents could teach, and this was an opportunity to utilize the services of a tremendous clinician in his opinion.- He urged the assembly to support the program. Blayne Hunter - Rennell, representing Small World, a non - profit child care center, thanked the assembly for their support throughout the years. She said 150 families were serviced by the center, and the funds requested would provide food and operating expenses so fees could be kept reasonable. fl Monroe, Director of Small world, added Small World kept a bare bones budget and their board worked very hard on fund raising efforts to balance the budget. She said the center had seventeen employees who receive extremely low starting wages. She said it wn9 ,i anal of Yhn hnarA ♦n e_ T - th wage. i order to attract quality care givers for the children. Margery Kelly, Respite Care /ARC, stated there had been a 35 percent increase in usage during the past year. She explained the program provided respite care for families who had develop- mental disabled or handicapped members. She said the borough contribution aided those families who did not qualify for state funding. She told how the group had acted to get 65 percent of their state funding restored when it was cut and noted the program was a good investment toward assisting families handle stress. June 1, 1988' KIBS103698 Page 82 Kodiak Island Borough Special Assembly Meeting Pat Szabo, Chamber of Commerce Litter Committee, said it was borough support which started this committee three years ago. She reported 3,100 bags of Litter had been collected so far this year by volunteers, court - appointed community service workers, and the hiring of teens and non - profit organizations. She mentioned the committee sponsored the annual Litterthon. This year the committee had stressed more public education aimed at preventing litter, she added. She referred to the borough's junk removal program and the stand on enforcing the litter ordinances along with the funding of the litter committee as having made a difference in Kodiak's appearance. Ginny Volker, Director of the Kodiak Baptist Mission, reviewed the history of the mission and said it was the oldest continuous child care institution in Alaska. She said the mission started as an orphanage but now cared for hard core problem teenagers. She explained that a third residence was opened in January as a residence for the Wings Program which treated teenagers with alcohol and drug problems. She said they appreciated the help received in the past and looked forward to working together in the future. David Nease, Kodiak Island Sportsman's Association, said there were 583 members in the association and the requested funding would be used to support the junior program. He explained the junior program had over 20 boys and girls, ages 10 to 17 years, involved in learning firearm safety and competing in matches with other communities. The funds would be used for ammunition and range fees, he added. lazy Byers, KISA instructor for the junior rifle program, explained the program had twenty members who were involved in indoor small bore shooting in winter and silhouette shooting in the summer. He explained the emphases was on safe handling of weapons. The funds requested would be spent on ammunition, range fees, targets, rating badges, awards and miscellaneous items. Ted Nelson, Kodiak Island Sportsman's Association, gave a quick overview of the junior program and noted that the three instruc- tors for the junior program were from the Coast Guard base. He thought a shooting program at the high school level could be an active competitive sport through the postal match program whereby the firing was done in Kodiak, and the scores were sent to Anchorage for judging. He thanked the assembly for their past support. Ted Nelson, also serving as president of Crimestoppers, said Crimestoppers was a borough -wide program. He said there was a Zenith telephone number available so villagers can call directly to the Crimestoppers coordinator at the police station. He stressed that Crimestoppers was a three prong tool which involved the citizens of the community, police department, and the media. Crimestoppers has an all volunteer staff with no salaries and the only costs involved are for advertising and rewards, he added. He noted statistics over the past five years of operation. He said Crimestoppers was an popular and cost effective program and to keep it going, they needed assembly support. Dr. Mike Neilson, Crimestoppers Board of Directors, reiterated Mr. Nelson's comments and added that he was extremely impressed how effective the program was and the level of support received from the community. He said one problem was Crimestoppers had become so successful that the demand on rewards had exceeded donations. Joan Minks, Red Cross and Kodiak Area Native Association, reported the Red Cross office was manned nine hours a week by a paid secretary to coordinate volunteers. These volunteers conduct first aid classes and water safety classes, and also aid families who are victims of small disasters, she noted. June 1, 1988 Page 83 PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE NO. 88 -13 -0 (continued) KIBS103699 Kodiak Island Borough Special Assembly Meeting Joan Minks, also with the Kodiak Area Native Association, stated KANA was a non - profit organization which provided services to the villages and Kodiak area. The funds requested would be used for operational support of the KANA medical and dental clinics, she said. She explained the services provided by the clinics and said any support given would be appreciated. Tom Watson, Kodiak Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, stated the basic goal of the bureau was the importation of money into the Kodiak economy through visitors. He reviewed the significant accomplishments of the past year. Bill Oliver, member of the Kodiak Island School Board, inquired about school district funding to which Mayor Selby responded. Suzanne Hancock, Chairman of the Kodiak Island School Board, noted that over the past two years the assembly and the school board had endeavored to achieve a good working relationship, so she felt the assembly knew the district's budget and needs as well as the board did. She pointed out that the budget would enable the district to add 8.6 teachers. She said the board appreciated all the cooperation they received working with the assembly and looked forward to working with them next year. Horace Simmons, Chairman Fire Protection #1, asked where funding for the paving at Bayside Fire Station was located in the budget. He noted the paving was a capital improvement project on borough property; and although the fire district was self supporting through area taxation, it would not be appropriate to ask the area taxpayers to pay for the paving. He said the district had a proposal from a local contractor to pave the area in front and adjunct to the station which would provide a training area for the volunteers. He said that since there was a great deal of borough property which was not subject to taxation in the fire district, the board did not feel it was inappropriate to ask for the assembly's support in getting this capital improvement. Mayor Selby explained that the paving was in the budget under the 044 Capital Projects account. J.T. Grogan pointed out one statistic given during budget testi- mony stuck in his mind and it was the fact that although half the circulation of the library goes to people outside the city limits, the borough only funded fourteen percent of the library's budget. He spoke in favor of a substantial increase in borough funding for the Kodiak Public Library because it provided a valuable service to the community. The presiding officer closed the public testimony and reconvened the assembly. The presiding officer called for a ten minute recess. The presiding officer reconvened the assembly. Mayor Selby read the budget letter of transmittal which accompanied the FY'89 budget. The proposed budget and the projected revenues allowed the borough to hold the line on property taxes at an effective mill levy of 4.50 mills, the same as the current year, he noted. Assemblyman Austerman expressed concern over the draw down on the fund balance and possibly being caught short if oil prices fall again. Mayor Selby responded to Assemblyman Austerman's concerns and explained the fund balance process. He said $300,000 of the fund balance was used to balance the budget going in; however, since the borough routinely recognized more revenues than projected, the fund balance was not drawn down by the end of the fiscal year. He said with this conservative practice that he felt the fund balance was comfortable. He pointed out there was $750,000 as a contingency emergency fund. June 1, 1988 KIBS103700 PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCE NO. 88 -13 -0 (continued) Page 84 Kodiak Island Borough Special Assembly Meeting Assemblyman Austerman commended the mayor for holding the line as PUBLIC HEARING far as taxes were concerned and for being able to produce the additional income to balance the budget. ORDINANCE NO. 88 -13-0 (continued) VOTE ON MOTION TO ADOPT AS AMENDED Ayes: Noes: MOTION CARRIED ADJOURNMENT ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the assembly, the meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m. ATTEST: Gregg, McFarland, Merriman, Stevens, Austerman Barker, White None Unanimous Presiding Offic KIBS103701 June 1, 1988 Page 85