Kenai City Council approves consent agenda, six ordinances and three resolutions; appoints two to arbitration board

The Kenai City Council on the evening of its March 2025 regular meeting approved a consent agenda of licenses and introduced ordinances, enacted six ordinances and adopted three resolutions. The council also approved two appointments to the Personnel Arbitration Board.

Highlights

- Consent agenda: Council approved a slate of routine items read into the record, including approval of minutes from Feb. 19, 2025; numerous liquor- and marijuana-license renewals and endorsements; and introductions of several ordinances scheduled for public hearing on March 19, 2025. These consent items were approved without objection.

- Ordinances enacted (final vote outcomes as recorded in the transcript): • Ordinance 3451-2025 — Accepting and appropriating donations to the Kenai Community Library for materials, equipment, furniture and programming. Vote: 7 yes; enacted. • Ordinance 3452-2025 — Accepting and appropriating a polar-bear and brown-bear tax-and-derby donation from the Warren E. Johnson Estate for display at Kenai Municipal Airport Terminal. Vote: 7 yes; enacted. • Ordinance 3453-2025 — Amending Kenai Municipal Code Chapter 7.15 to allow insurance coverages and certain procurements to be procured by direct negotiation and to authorize other procurement exceptions subject to council approval by resolution. Vote: 7 yes; enacted. • Ordinance 3454-2025 — Amending Kenai Municipal Code 23.350.032 to set arbitration panel terms as staggered three-, two- and one-year initial terms for a 12-member board (moving from indefinite terms). Vote: 7 yes; enacted. • Ordinance 3455-2025 — Authorizing the purchase of a used Ventrac tractor and attachments from K and C Golf, an exception to procurement procedures; administration said the unit offered exceptional value and many attachments. Vote: 7 yes; enacted. • Ordinance 3456-2025 (consent introductions and scheduling) — Several property-sale and grant-acceptance ordinances were introduced for public hearing on March 19; these were part of the consent agenda and scheduled accordingly.

- Resolutions adopted: • Resolution 2025-16 — Authorizing a professional-service agreement and purchase order for the 2026 airport perimeter and security fence-line improvement project for Kenai Municipal Airport; council recorded that approximately 95% of the project will be covered by FAA grant reimbursement and the city will front a portion until reimbursement. Adopted by unanimous consent. • Resolution 2025-17 — Authorizing the city manager to renew the MOU for the Kenai Watershed Forum Kenai River Water Quality Monitoring Program. Adopted by unanimous consent; the Watershed Forum requested restoration of city lab funding to $5,000 and provided program context during public comment (see separate article). • Resolution 2025-18 — Authorizing use of the fleet replacement fund to purchase equipment to upfit three new police vehicles. Adopted by unanimous consent.

- Appointments and work plans: • Personnel Arbitration Board — Council accepted nominations and appointed Robert Malloy and Von Dosko to the Personnel Arbitration Board by unanimous consent; recorded that three vacancies remain. • Harbor Commission 2025 work plan — Council approved the Harbor Commission work plan by unanimous consent.

Council procedure and votes

Most items were approved without extended debate. Several ordinances recorded 7 yes votes on roll calls (the transcript repeatedly reports “You have 7 yes votes”), and multiple resolutions and appointments were adopted by unanimous consent following requests for objection checks.

Documentation and next steps

The council scheduled public hearings for several introduced ordinances on March 19, 2025, and administration and applicants were asked to provide follow-up materials where needed (for example, the Watershed Forum was asked to submit a concise memo with cost details ahead of budget deliberations).