Valdez City Council Regular Meeting - September 16, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Valdez City Council Regular Meeting - September 16, 2025
The Valdez City Council met on September 16, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor Fleming was absent and excused; Councilmember Ali participated online. The meeting included public presentations on suicide prevention and a community race, consent agenda approvals, adoption of one ordinance and two resolutions, and reports from city staff and council members.
Consent Calendar
- Appointment to Economic Diversification Commission: Applicant Colleen Stephens.
- Appointment to City Permanent Fund Investment Committee: Applicant Mike Wells.
- Acceptance of Resignation of Library Board Member: Kent Runion.
- Approval of New Tourism Liquor License: Alaska Backcountry Guides LLC #60308.
- Approval of Renewal Marijuana Cultivation Facility License: DKW Farms, LLC.
All consent items were approved unanimously (6-0, one absent).
Public Appearances
- Providence Valdez Counseling Center: Edmord Mangener (Manager), Glenn Deputy (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), and Carolyn (new counselor) presented survey results from the health symposium. Of 30 respondents (representing approximately 0.857% of Valdez’s estimated 3,500 population): 29 knew someone with suicidal behavior; 83% had helped someone with suicidal thoughts; 57% had personally experienced suicidal thoughts; and 10% reported having no one to talk to if they had suicidal thoughts. Two suicides have occurred in Valdez this year. The center has provided over 50 hours of direct suicide intervention since January. The team emphasized the need for community-wide training and partnership, announced a remembrance walk on Friday, September 19 at 5 PM at the Kelsey Dock, and offered 24/7 availability. Council thanked them.
- Valdez Adventure Alliance – Odyssey Off Trail Race: Lanette Oliver (Executive Director) reported on the Labor Day weekend race, funded with $6,996 from the city. The event had 9 participants and 10 spectators, with age categories 12–49 and 50+. Participants suggested lowering the 50+ category. Expenditures closely matched projections. Council noted the success and marketing potential.
- Copper Valley Electric Association (CVEA) Liaison Transition: Sharon Scheit (retiring after 19 years as liaison) introduced Morgan Melton as the new Chief Communications Officer and future liaison. She thanked the council for past cooperation. Council wished Ms. Scheit well and welcomed Ms. Melton.
Public Business from the Floor
No members of the public spoke.
Ordinances
- Ordinance #25-11 (Second Reading): Authorizing a zoning map amendment for Lot 2, A.S.L.S. 78-139, Plat 98-2 to General Commercial. Adopted unanimously (6-0).
Resolutions
- Resolution #25-41: Adopting revisions to the Permanent Fund Investment Policy Statement and rescinding Resolution #22-50. Adopted unanimously (6-0). Assistant City Manager noted updates to the executive summary and alignment with charter and code.
- Resolution #25-42: Amending the 2025 city budget by transferring $134,444 from Budget Variance Reserve to Community Development Department contractual services. Adopted unanimously (6-0). Council clarified that one contract ($60,477 with Harris Sand & Gravel for asphalt and sidewalk repair) and the cooperative resource management agreement (for Mineral Creek Trail surveys, required by DNR) were included.
Reports
- Code Enforcement Update: Chief King reported 2025 statistics: calls, inspections, and life-safety checks. Notable: the metal pile now totals 2,000 tons; 95 vehicles are being processed (drained, cubed, and shipped via barge). The next meeting will include first reading of nuisance ordinance amendments to improve abatement efficiency.
- Procurement Reports:
- Professional services agreement with HDR Engineering, Inc. for Balefill & C&D Landfill survey.
- Service agreement with Harris Sand & Gravel, Inc. for 2025 Asphalt & Sidewalk Repair ($60,477.00).
- Change order with Harris Sand & Gravel for SBH H-K Major Reconstruction ($28,496.01).
- Contract amendment extending the 2025 Emergency Generator Annual Inspection contract through 2026.
- Temporary Land Use Permit 25-10 for Valdez Convention and Visitors Bureau (October Fest on Galena Drive properties). All reports were noted without question.
- City Manager Report: Assistant City Manager outlined upcoming budget work sessions: October 2 (first session with slides), October 9 (CSO workshop), and four sessions in late October. A CSO working group recommendation on sponsored events will be presented in October.
- City Clerk Report: Clerk provided a budget work session schedule, noted the October 27 meeting will be at the Civic Center due to school board use, and announced the Alaska Municipal League Conference (December 8–12, 75th anniversary). Council members were asked to confirm attendance by September 26. Several board vacancies were highlighted.
- City Attorney Report: Jack Wakeland updated on litigation: Valdez was the only party to move for reconsideration on portions of Judge Zieman’s order; responses were filed and a reply submitted. Final decision and subsequent appeals to the Alaska Supreme Court are expected.
- Mayor/Mayor Pro Tem Report: Mayor Pro Tem Austin reported on the grand opening of the new park on September 11, thanking council and City Manager Nate Duval. Council members shared additional reports on the employee appreciation picnic, the 9-11 ceremony, the cruise line visit, and suicide prevention awareness.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar items approved unanimously.
- Ordinance #25-11 (zoning map amendment) adopted unanimously.
- Resolution #25-41 (Permanent Fund Investment Policy) adopted unanimously.
- Resolution #25-42 (budget transfer of $134,444) adopted unanimously.
- Council encouraged community participation in suicide prevention training and the remembrance walk (September 19).
- Council confirmed attendance deadlines for the AML conference (by September 26) and will receive electronic voting software training at the October 2 work session.
- The next regular meeting will include first reading of nuisance ordinance amendments.
Meeting Transcript
I don't think we need an interview. All right. Like to call this meeting in the Valley City Council to order. You could all rise for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it's one nation under God indivisible. All right, Madam City Clerk, if we could get a roll call, please. All members are present this evening, um, except for count um Mayor Fleming, who's absent and excused, and Council member uh Ali is joining us. Ali is joining us online. All right, thank you. All right, next up we have approval of minutes. We have number one approval of minutes for special meeting August twentieth, twenty twenty-five, and then we have approval of minutes for regular council meeting of September second, twenty twenty-five. Are there any corrections to the minutes as presented? All right, hearing none, the minutes will be approved as presented. All right. Next up we have public appearances. I think we have three public appearances, and uh the first one is public appearance from the private Providence Valdies Counseling Center. So please come up to the mic and state your name and red is on for the mic. There you go. My name is Edmord Mangener. And I am the manager of the Providence Valorities Counseling Center. Um but what we are working on as um the Valteus Counseling Center Providence Valentine Center is not just having this as a program, but we want to make sure that it is a lifestyle that our whole community um can actually participate in. We we did a little bit of a research survey on Saturday at the health um symposium. And we asked a few people about thirty people who were um consented on to answer our questions. And the 30 people that we interviewed really is just 0.008, 57% of the population. You can extrapolate it the way you want, but I think it's quite a bit. This year alone, we have about two people who have died by suicide. And I think that's two too many. Um our community having far less than that number of suicides in a year because it's preventable, and that's where the whole community comes in. The second question that we asked was has anyone you know had suicide behavior? And again, it looks like only one person had no one that they knew that they were uh connected with, but 29 people had some way in some way or shape or form a connection with somebody who had suicide behavior. Either they were acquaintances or they were family members or they were close friends or and so on and so forth. And then the other question that we asked have you ever been a helper to someone who um with suicide with with suicide thoughts, and 83% at least had helped somebody with um thoughts of suicide, and 16% had never done so. This is where we we come in as the counseling center. We want to be able to help everybody. Our goal is to be able to, if we could get the funds and if we could get all the time that we need under heaven, we could be able to train the whole community on how to intervene when somebody has thoughts of suicide, or even just how to approach somebody who looks like they are not their true self and help them in a way that will prevent suicide if suicide was part of their thinking patterns. Um have you ever had thoughts of suicide? So these were the people that were asked if they have ever had thought of suicide themselves, and I have about 56, 57 percent of those who were asked have had thoughts of suicide themselves. Only 43 percent did not have any thoughts of suicide. So, suicide is not something that we can put off and say it's somebody else's problem, it's our problem as a community. And then the next question if you had prior suicide behavior, and um so this one is a little bit scarier. Um, no, about 63 percent and uh 23, 33, and another percentage there, I think about two or three percent have said yes, but no wish to die, yes, though uncertain about death, and yes, with a clear wish to suicide. So people are always thinking about suicide. Sometimes we think asking people puts thoughts into them, puts ideas into them, asking people actually helps them to talk about it, and all we need as a community is to be able to talk about suicide and talk about it in healthy ways so that uh we can prevent it from happening. And then the last question that we asked was who would you tell if you had um any thoughts of suicide? This is a very good one because a lot of people have somebody to talk to when they have thoughts of suicide. What bothers me is that other 10% there that says no one that's a lot. If you if you were to say 10% of the population, let's say it's 3500 in parties, that's 350 people who have no one to talk to when they have thoughts of suicide, and that's a lot of people, and those are the people who will die by suicide if we do nothing as a community. So, this is not a problem just for the hospital or the counseling center. This is the problem for the community, and we need to hold together and work together, learn how we can actually be able to prevent suicide.
openpublica.com