Valdez City Council Regular Meeting - July 15, 2025
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Valdez City Council Regular Meeting - July 15, 2025
The Valdez City Council met on July 15, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included public appearances, adoption of consent agenda items, acceptance of a council member resignation, discussion of department operations, approval of a truck purchase, adoption of several ordinances and resolutions, and reports from committees and city staff. The mayor read proclamations recognizing Coast Guard Day and National Parks and Recreation Month.
Consent Calendar
- Proclamation: Coast Guard Day – Recognizing August 4, 2025 as Coast Guard Day in Valdez.
- Proclamation: July 2025 as National Parks and Recreation Month.
- Appointment to Beautification Commission – Kathy Nielsen appointed.
- All items approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Lynette Oliver (Valdez Adventure Alliance) – Provided an update on trail work using Community Service Organization (CSO) grants. Reported using 172 rolls of toilet paper between June 12–30 at Worthington, handling approximately 2,000 recorded buses and 1,000 self-reporting visitors. Expressed need for funding to bridge a gap across the meadow; working on a ConocoPhillips grant after a Rasmuson grant was denied.
- Faith Ravel (Valdez Museum Educator) – Thanked the council for 14 years of support; announced she is leaving Valdez for Vermont.
- Mike Delena McKay (Concerned Resident) – Expressed concerns about unregulated camping (boondocking) in areas like Old Town, Valdez Glacier Lake, and the pipeyard. Cited environmental degradation, lost revenue to local RV parks (estimated $60,000 per season based on 10 illegal campers/day at $50/night), and requested enforcement, signage, and education.
Discussion Items
- Resignation of Council Member Dom Lumba – Accepted. The council agreed to solicit letters of interest to fill the seat until the next regular election. City clerk will advertise the vacancy.
- Department Operations Reports – Council members identified topics for future work sessions or reports, including comprehensive plan refresh, cost drivers, snow removal triggers, law enforcement code enforcement, waterfront master plan revision, and utility rate discussions. City manager will coordinate.
- Memorandum of Understanding with Valdez Avalanche Center – Postponed to the next meeting after council requested more detail on weather data parameters, location suitability, and potential costs.
- Purchase of 2025 Ford F550 Mini Rear Load Truck – Approved in the amount of $181,459.10.
Ordinances
- #25-07 – Code of Ethics Amendment – Second reading, adopted.
- #25-08 – Recreational Vehicle Parks and Tent Camping Code Repeal and Replacement – Second reading, adopted after public comment.
- #25-09 – Oil and Gas Property Tax Amendment – Second reading, adopted. Mayor recused himself; vote passed with majority.
- #25-10 – Zoning Map Amendment to Neighborhood Mixed Use for Lot 2, Tract 3 – First reading, public hearing held, adopted. Council discussed snow storage lease on the property and coordination with the applicant during future subdivision.
Resolutions
- #25-31 – Release Public Access Easement in Sleepy Hollow – Adopted.
- #25-32 – Rasmuson Foundation Grant Application for Wayfinding Project – Adopted.
- #25-33 – Opposing Proposed Changes to Definition of Local Contributions – Adopted after discussion with school superintendent Jason Weber, who noted potential negative impacts on school funding, sports, homeschool programs, and in-kind services. Public comment period ends July 25, 2025; state school board vote expected October 8, 2025.
Reports
- Auction Report: 2011 Bobcat S100 Skid Steer – Noted.
- 2025 Valdez Visitor Report & Business Climate Survey – Acknowledged as useful for policy.
- Community Service Organization Committee Report – Council discussed the target funding percentage (currently 75% of program budget). A proposal to reduce to 50% did not achieve committee consensus; council opinion was divided. The committee will also begin reviewing city-sponsored event applications to provide oversight.
- Capital Facilities Monthly Update – Projects included: Meals Hill trail (80% complete, opening by late August), Pioneer Drive pavement management (40% complete), civic center green room remodel (contractor mid-August), library window replacement (July 28 – August 31), child care center remodel bid ~$2 million to be awarded August 5, and others. The Kelsey Dock dolphin replacement is awaiting a state permit.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved unanimously.
- Council Member Lumba's resignation accepted; vacancy to be filled by appointment after public notice.
- MOU with Avalanche Center postponed to next regular meeting.
- Truck purchase approved.
- All four ordinances and three resolutions adopted.
- CSO committee will continue with 75% target and expand review to city-sponsored events.
- The council expressed appreciation for community members and staff contributions during the meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we'll go ahead and call this meeting to order. Everybody please stand with me and Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Mayor, we have um all council members present this evening, except for Councilmember Foster and Councilmember Lumba. Um approval of minutes. Are there any uh corrections to the meeting minutes as presented? Hearing none, the minutes will stand as approved. And then we will go into uh public appearances. Uh Lynette Oliver with Valdez Adventure Alliance. Good evening, I'm Lynette Oliver. I'm with the Valdece Adventure Alliance. Sorry, my allergies are bothering me. I hope I can I think I can get all the way through this. So um, I just wanted to give you a little update about our work at Worthington and on the trail using the um the CSO grant. So ninety-five hundred was to go toward um working work at Worthington, fifty-six two fifty toward the Gold Beach Gold Creek Trails. The first mile and then the little sec the last two and a half miles. May twenty-fourth, and their first trip was June the fourth, and then we had a whole bunch of other buses right around that same time frame, June the fourth. We couldn't get up to the up top part until June the thirteenth. So we did a bunch of work down at the bottom there for them. Um so this is numbers from June the twelfth to June the thirtieth at Worthington. Um rejust the recorded buses at roughly two thousand, the people who actually report themselves at about a thousand. And then the non-recorded estimate seems kind of high, except that we know about at least the number that do report also do not report. But this year between six between June the 12th and June the 30th, we used 172 rolls of toilet paper. So that that's up for that time period. So I'm I think the estimates are probably about on the days that I have been there since then. I'm typically there on all day Wednesday and all day Saturday, and then short times in between. Because I have a lot of crap going on right now. Excuse me, is somebody has their mic on. That's okay. Am I good? Oh please. Um okay, so this is the funds, how the funds have been spent to date, the just the CSO funds because of course BAA is paying a bunch of other stuff. So and you will, of course, in October get a full detailed one through the finance, but it's huge, so pages long. So this is kind of just a summary of where we are so far. Um okay, so this is this happened just uh a week and a half ago. So we're currently not being able to get income at Worthington unless I'm actually there in person because uh they've been drilling through this, and and then they stole the back part. So we have a very nice gentleman in town, Paul working on replacing uh the pieces and trying to put a this is the second time they've done this, but he thinks he can put a neck on there that will keep them from being able to get their grinder in the lock. So that'd be great. Oh uh, so on the work we've been doing on the trail. Uh we did do some in May as soon as it was we could access into it, but then we had of course our National Trails Day on June the 7th, but it rained the whole time. It seems like it's has to rain on National Trails Day and National Public Lands Day. I don't know why. It's a requirement. So we want to thank our volunteers who did come out and work in the rain. And uh some photos of okay. I have to say, Mr. Love, your kids could do awful lot of work in a short amount of time. I was really surprised.
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