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Kenai council postpones ordinance on municipal officers bidding on city land after lengthy debate
Summary
After extended debate over perceived conflicts of interest and enforcement, the Kenai City Council voted unanimously to postpone Ordinance 34‑69 (amending the municipal conflicts-of-interest rule) to May 21, 2025 so sponsors and staff can draft amendments.
The Kenai City Council on May 7 postponed consideration of Ordinance 34‑69‑2025, a revision to Kenai Municipal Code 1.85.0.060 governing conflicts of interest, after more than two hours of discussion about appearance, enforcement and who should be allowed to participate in publicly advertised city land sales.
Council member Douthat, who introduced the measure, said the ordinance was intended to allow municipal employees and some municipal officers to bid on city land and other real property offered through a public, arm’s‑length process. “This allows them to do that,” Douthat said while describing the proposal’s purpose: enabling people who work for the city to develop property within Kenai.
The ordinance would keep the current prohibition on bidding in the city’s surplus equipment auctions but would permit purchases of real property when the sale is publicly advertised and the municipal officer or employee “has no information regarding the property or sales process that is not available to the general public.” City Attorney Scott Bloom told council that the change would not allow negotiated or nonpublic sales to be acquired by officers or employees and that, depending on their role, some staff would still be barred. “Certain people that are almost always going to be prohibited from purchasing property,” Bloom said, naming positions such as the city manager and city planner as examples of roles likely to have privileged information.
Several council members expressed concern that allowing elected officials or other municipal officers to bid on city land would create the appearance of impropriety even if the transaction met the ordinance’s legal tests. “I’m a no vote on this,” Mayor Gabriel said, citing optics and the city’s public reputation. Council member Casena said enforcement and “insider access” would be difficult to police; Casena also noted elected officials’ regular exposure to land‑use decisions that could affect what property is marked for sale.
Other council members supported narrowing changes to benefit nonpaid volunteers and commission members who are not compensated and who the sponsor said are closely tied to the community. Council member Sonar asked whether the borough permits this practice; other council members said Kenai Peninsula Borough practice was a model cited in support.
After debate about possible amendments that would remove “municipal officers” from the list of beneficiaries (leaving employees and unpaid commissioners as candidates), Council member Douthat moved to postpone the ordinance to the council’s May 21 meeting so sponsors and the city attorney could draft a written amendment. The motion to postpone carried on a roll call vote with seven yes votes and no recorded dissent; the clerk announced, “Ordinance number 34‑69‑2025 is postponed to 05/21/2025.”
Council members asked staff to prepare written amendment options before the May 21 meeting and invited any other proposed changes in writing so they could be considered together. The council did not adopt any change to the code on May 7 and took no formal action that would alter current standards until the item returns.
