Does anyone know how the votes are reported to the public in this town? Are there announcements on the radio? … on line? Does anyone sponsor a “Campaign Central” where everyone can meet and listen to the results?

Documents send in by Trustees of Alaska

TA- Final City Complaint PDF (70.5kb)>

TA- City of Seward Exhibit A PDF (279kb)>

Visit the Web sites of KTUU or Alaska Report to read more about the Trustees of Alaska, Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance & Alaska Community Action on Toxics lawsuit. Details to follow.

By Denali Foldager for SewardCityNews.com

After being warned for the hundredth time by Coach Marshall, a/k/a Steve Prefontaine, that the Regional cross country race was going to start out fast we were all a little worried about what was going to happen with our races. I on the other hand was whole lot worried.

Coming back as the Regional and State champ last year was really putting the pressure on me. The fact is I wasn’t having the best season of my life. Rubye was doing excellent, trying really hard to keep the State-winning pattern alive. Everyone was looking good, relaxed and ready to run. My insides were turning, but there was no way my team would
know about this.

At 6:00 a.m. the morning of Regionals a sleepy cross-country team loaded onto a bus. To tired to be excited for the regional races, everyone crashed until about halfway through
the trip.
“I fell asleep on all the boy’s bags,” explained front-runner Rubye Foldager, “it was quite cozy, but then a strange ray of sunshine woke me up.” Read More>

The Seward Flotilla, USCG Auxiliary will meet Friday, 6 October at 6:30 PM at Miller’s Landing, Lowell Point. The evening will start with a potluck and the business meeting will include Staff Officer Reports, plans for the Festival of Trees, Safety Fair and training outline for the winter will be discussed. New member River Sheldon will be sworn in.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the civilian, uniformed volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard, as well as the lead volunteer force in the Department of Homeland Security. Founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the US Coast Guard Reserves and re-designated the Auxiliary in 1941. The 31,000 volunteer members (men and women) donate thousands of hours in support of the Coast Guard and Maritime Domain Awareness missions, such as Search & Rescue, Public Education, and Marine Environmental Protection.

For additional information on the many benefits of an auxiliary membership or to learn about other public boating programs available call Sue Lang at 224-8237 or visit the flotilla website at http://a1700205.uscgaux.info/.

The Seward Community Library Association is once again sponsoring Adam Miller, autoharpist, guitarist and singer for two sessions. He will be at Preschool Story Hour, 10:30 am at the library. He will be entertaining in the middle school at 1:20 pm as well. Public is invited to attend and admission is free.

The biography of one of Alaska’s most beloved and famous vessels, the steamship Dora, will be the subject of an illustrated lecture by noted ALaska author J. Pennelope Goforth at 1:30 pm at the Seward Community Library on Saturday, October 7. The program is hosted by the Resurrection Bay Historical Society and the Seward Community Library.

The presentation will cover the adventurous career of the Dora from the 1880’s as a freighter flying the Alaska Commercial Company flag, through the many seasons as a mail boat, passenger ship and rescuer of hundreds of beleaguered mariners. Politicians, teachers, preachers, bishops, gold seekers, sea otter hunters, adventurers, tourists and commuters all trod her well known decks. Old familiar stories of her expoits, rediscovered tales of her hardships and the very personal histories of the people who depended on her fashion this biography of the Dora, which for many years was home ported at Seward. For many Alaskans she represented the only consistent connection to the rest of Alaska and the world.

Pennelope Goforth has traveled the Alaskan coast from Adak to Nome and Kotzebue in the Far North to Ketchikan in Southeast as a photographer, journalist, writer and editor. Her photographs and writing have been published in many books, journals, newspapers and magazines. She is the author of Sailing the Mail in Alaska: The Maritime Years of Alaska Photographer John Thwaites, 1905-1912. Thwaites was the mail clerk on the Dora.

Goforth will have CDs of her presentation for sale at $10 each and is donating half of the proceeds to the Library/Museum building fund.

Questions: Lee Poleske at 224-5525 or 224-3902

Sent in by Vanta Shafer

Monday night, the Seward City Council and Administration had a discussion about the budget for 2007. As gas, fuel and electrical prices have greatly increased with the price of oil, the City Council has been searching for ways to help our community financially through the winter. One of the proposals for the 2007 budget is to either eliminate or greatly reduce the sales tax from October to March, and then increase the tax through the summer months. Since sales tax is always a sensitive subject, it would be great to have community input on this. Also, budget worksessions are being held every night Oct. 16 through the 20th, and will be televised on Channel 9. We would like to have public input on all aspects of the budget, so we hope you will either come to the worksessions or watch on TV and then let us know what you think.

Vanta Shafer, Mayor, City of Seward

Ordinance 2006-10, Amending The Land Use Plan And Rezoning Of Lot 7a, Block 17, Federal Addition Clark-Tougas Preliminary Replat From Single Family Residential (R1) To Auto Commercial (Ac) And Lot 9a, Block 17, Federal Addition Clark-Tougas Preliminary Replat From Single Family Residential (R1) To Two Family Residential (R2).

The following resolution was postponed until October 23, 2006:

Resolution 2006-95, Opposing The Alaska Railroad’s Permit Request To The Alaska Department Of Environmental Conservation To Spray An Herbicide Mixture Along The Railroad Right-Of-Way Inside Seward City Limits.

The following ordinance was introduced and set for public hearing October 9, 2006:

Ordinance 2006-11, amending the Land Use Plan and Rezoning Forest Acres Tract A, Seward Long Term Care Facility Subdivision (Preliminary Plat) from Rural Residential (RR) and Resource Management (RM) to Institutional (INS).

The following resolutions were approved:

Resolution 2006-97, authorizing the city manager to purchase an elliptical cross trainer, upright bike, recumbent bike, stair climber and a treadmill, plus a $300 delivery set up fee, for a total of $15,675.

Resolution 2006-99, authorizing the payoff of the Seward General Hospital unfunded Public Employees Retirement System liability in the amount $1,708,125.74, and authorizing inter fund loans in the same amount.

Read More>

Week 2 winner is . . . Cory Harris!

With 55 ballots in the pot, it looked like it was going to be a tough win to decipher. We had 9 folks with 12 correct picks and 5 folks with 13! Then, out of nowhere, came Cory, who crushed the competition with 14 correct picks, to stand alone at the top! Way to pick ‘em,

Read More>

Read the agenda packet from the 09-25-2006 city council meeting>

Notice: very large file size, 5.6 MB; may open slowly.

Girls and boys Seahawk harriers are on their way to the State Championships next Saturday in Skyview.

Seward boys agonized through a tense moment during the awards ceremony when the Valdez boys team were handed the Seahawks’ third place birth to the State Finals. Read More>

“… thought Alice, and she went on. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where –” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“– so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
-cheshire grin-

On Saturday 9/23/06 on the Nikiski Cross Country Trail the Seward Seahawks Cross Country team will be running their Regional Race. Jr.Varsity teams will be competing in their last race of the season. JV runners senior Erin Moore (racing her last high school race) and Junior Koal Backlund are potential for a top finishers spot. They are both the Varsity Team Alternates. The Varsity Boys and Girls are both looking very fast this last week they will be burning up the trail trying to post their fastest race. The first 15 runners and top three teams will all be invited to run in the State Meet which will be run on the Skyview Course in Soldotna. Top runners are Rubye and Denali Foldager for the girls and Travis Price and Matt Nyholm for the boys. Race starts at 11:00 for the Varsity Girls, boys approx. 12:30. JV races will follow. The Cross Country Teams are coached by Dan Marshall and Assistant Coaches Patti and Flip Foldager

Greetings

Most of you should have received a Post Card by now in your mailbox. Yes, I’m the culprit – however, there’s some confusion on reading into it. There is no comment or statement anywhere on the card that states the picture with the Red X over the names - that these are all incumbents! What the card does state: Come October 3^rd, let’s vote out all incumbents. Period. Reading into it – is your choice. The picture - stands on its own. Read More>

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Seward Historic Preservation Commission will meet in a special meeting on Wednesday September 27, 2006, beginning at 6:30 pm, for the purpose of:

A Resolution recommending Seward City Council apply for the 5010 (CLG) 2007 Historic Preservation Fund Grant Program for Hoben Park Fountain Replacement

The meeting will be conducted in City Council Chambers, City Hall, 410 Adams Street, Seward. All interested persons are invited to attend.

JEAN LEWIS

CITY CLERK

POSTED: 09/22/06 at 2:00 p.m.

By Iris Darling

I do oppose this vacation because it just doesn't make sense to waste

taxpayer dollars to build a building in a street which will add hundreds of

thousands of dollars to the project in relocating utilities, etc.  It also

doesn't make sense to destroy the plat of one of Alaska's oldest historic

towns. It will eliminate the oversize vehicle parking which is vital to the

downtown, it will block a main traffic corrider for both autos and

pedestrians, put a dead end street in the center of town and is just

basically a bad plan.

 Read More>

By Russell Stigall, SewardCityNews.com

Dale Lindsey doesn’t see where there is a problem with the Alaska Railroad spraying weed control in Seward.

During the citizen comments period of the Sept. 11 city council meeting Lindsey commented on Resolution 2006-95. The resolution called for the city to oppose “the Alaska Railroad’s permit request to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to spray an herbicide mixture along the railroad right-of-way inside Seward city limits,” according to the council agenda.

Read More>

By Russell Stigall - SewardCityNews.com

The city of Seward will need aggressive marketing and the support of locals to make successful the proposed Mary Lowell Center conference facility.

“Success will require providing a very high quality conference experience,” said Chris Beck of Agnew Beck Consultants, the group that carried out the feasibility study on the city-owned conference facility. Beck presented his findings at the Sept. 11 city council meeting.

The city’s conference center is slated to co-habitate with the National Park Service and the National Forest Service in the controversial Mary Lowell Center. The conference center would accommodate up to 300 visitors and would be subsidized by the city to help bring added revenue to Seward’s businesses. Both summer and winter.

Read More>

Sent in by Debra Hafemeister:

I sent these questions to the candidates for city council and requested a reply by 8/18. So far all responded except Iris.

1. For Willard Dunham, Betsy Keller and John French: You all have strong ties to the Alaska SeaLife Center - financial, family, volunteer etc… Often times, there are disagreements between the City and ASLC. While sitting on Council, your duty is to serve the best interest of the city. If those interests conflict with those of the ASLC, how would you address your conflict of interest?
Willard-I do indeed have strong ties to the center and believe it was one of the greatest gifts a group of Alaskans could give to our town. I receive NO form of compensation from the center and have on some occasions not voted on ASLC board items which might come before the council. I also asked for a ruling from the chair on items covering center matters. I believe that our codes are coverage, and that plus state rules are sufficient on this subject. In our small town it is very hard not to be involved with the city if your are a business owner or are involved in community projects and activities. A person would have to be uninvolved and non-contributing to avoid conflicts completely.

Read More>

Monday, September 25, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

3. ROLL CALL

4. SPECIAL ORDERS, PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS

A. Proclamations and Awards

1. October is Fire Prevention Month

2. Lost Lake Run Proclamation for Marsha Vincent

3. Unveiling of Hoben Park Interpretive Panel to Council

B. Borough Assembly Report

C. City Manager’s Report

D. Report on PERS by Finance Director Kris Erchinger

E. City Attorney Report

F. Chamber of Commerce Report

G. Planning and Zoning Commission Report

H. Other Reports, Announcements and Presentations

1. Mile 0-8 update by DOT Project Engineer Allen Drake.

Read More>

See Ron Wille’s response to Rhonda Hubbard Here.

Send in by Scott Lemley, Head Coach, Alaska Women’s Swimming UAF

I attended the IMS presentation at the Aug 8th work session with interest. I agree that updating and expansion of the UAF Institute of Marine Science facility, including replacement of the aging Alpha Helix is long overdue; however I do not agree that expending tax dollars to construct a dedicated moorage basin at the present facility is in IMS’s or the communities best interest, nor does it provide the best “bang for the buck” so to speak. Home porting of a new research vessel in Seward is dependant on having safe, adequate moorage, to quote the presenter, “no dock, no ship” The conceptual plan is just that, a concept, no formal studies or plans exist, starting from scratch and having a dock and basin completed in 4 years is not realistic; hence, at the Seward Marine Industrial Center the basin already exist, 400′ of dock is already in place, the USACE has already completed a reconnaissance study and a project # has been assigned; this basin and moorage facilities could truly be complete and functional prior to delivery of the new research vessel. Estimated cost to complete the facility at SMIC is millions less and the facility would be a true multi-use public facility that truly benefits the entire community. Space dedicated in the IMS concept to maintenance shop, welding, carpentry, electrical and electronic shops could, and should, be used for expansion of scientific laboratories and classrooms; let alone the millions saved on infrastructure could be spent on education - is not that the mission of UAF/IMS ? Remember, these are YOUR tax dollars (federal) we are asking for. Read More>

SewardCityNews is now the place to go to advertise or buy old spinning reels, 10-speed bicycles, or brand new three-bedroom apartments. Buisness ventures can describe goods and services and employers can find employees or vice versa. For now and maybe forever classifieds are free of charge and user defined. Click on Classifieds at the top of the SCN Home Page, register at the SCN Classifieds page and post your goods and services.

SewardCityNews

Celebrate Artrain USA with “Just Desserts”

Join us at the opening reception for Artrain USA on Wednesday, Sept. 20th at the Lindsey Terminal. Festivities begin at 6:30 with the Qutekcak Native Youth Dancers performing at 7 PM.

Nancy Steeves, Events Coordinator

Seward Chamber of Commerce

events@seward.net

907-224-8051