Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Meeting Roundup topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kenai Peninsula Borough committee reviews military leave, election MOA, HUD housing agreement and several ordinance changes
Summary
At a Policies and Procedures Committee meeting, members discussed a revised military leave policy, termination of an election MOA to adapt to new election dates, a HUD-linked cooperative agreement for two Kenai housing projects, updates to indemnification and public-notice rules, and a proposal to allow volunteer firefighters on a service-area board; no formal votes are recorded in the transcript.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Policies and Procedures Committee reviewed three resolutions and four ordinances and considered several board appointments during its meeting. Committee members discussed expanding military leave, terminating an intergovernmental elections memorandum of agreement, and a cooperative agreement tied to HUD funding for two housing projects in Kenai.
Justin, a borough staff member, presented Resolution 2025-044, which would revise the borough's military leave policy to increase paid coverage for service-member training and related requirements. Justin said the updated language raises the leave covered from “16.5 days” to “21.5 days” to give service members “more coverage and help.” Committee members did not record a vote on the resolution in the transcript.
Assembly President Tunseth introduced Resolution 2025-045 to terminate the 2024 memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Kenai Peninsula Borough and the cities of Homer, Kenai, Seldovia, Seward and Slovatna. Tunseth said changes in election dates require the municipalities to renegotiate an MOA that fits the new election schedule and administration needs; the motion as discussed would terminate the current MOA to allow the cities time to work with the borough on a replacement.
The committee also reviewed a cooperative agreement (Resolution 2025-047) required under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) for tribal designated housing entities (TDHEs) to access HUD funding. Mr. Kelly explained the HUD-related requirement and described how a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILT)-style cap would be applied under the agreement: “the maximum is basically greater of a $150 per dwelling unit or 10% of the difference between the shelter rent and the utility cost per dwelling unit,” he said. Mr. Kelly identified two project locations in Kenai as Readout Avenue and Edies Way and noted the properties were purchased from private owners and therefore do not automatically qualify for tribal tax exemptions. Members asked whether PILT would cover property or sales taxes and how other exemptions (including tribal or ANCSA-related exemptions) would be handled; Mr. Kelly and the clerk said exemption questions could be addressed later and that the cooperative agreement is limited to construction-phase matters and HUD compliance.
The committee considered several ordinance changes. Mr. Kelly described Ordinance 2025-025, which would shift initial defense/indemnification requests to the borough attorney’s office rather than the risk manager and clarify that employees will be covered even if they are unaware of an administrative requirement to submit a written request. Ordinance 2025-026 would allow advisory planning commission members the option to request to remain in their seat to help maintain quorum and stability during member turnover.
Ordinance 2025-027 would revise the borough’s definition of a “newspaper of general circulation” so that, when Title 29 or state statute does not require publication in a newspaper of general circulation, the borough could rely on specified posting locations and online notice methods. The clerk said the clerk’s office already mails public-hearing notices and posters to community offices and post offices and agreed to email assembly members a list of the current physical posting locations; the clerk and the mayor also noted a plan to add a legal-notices page to the borough website.
Assembly member Dunn presented Ordinance 2025-028 to allow a volunteer firefighter or EMS provider to serve on a local emergency service area board where currently they may be barred by conflict-of-interest provisions. Dunn said the change grew from difficulty filling seats and a willing applicant for the service area board; Mayor Michicky cautioned that the existing code is intended to avoid conflicts when a firefighter reports to a chief whose decisions the board may influence, saying “I think the code’s there for a reason.” The transcript records discussion but does not show the committee taking a formal vote on the ordinance.
The mayor recommended support for multiple confirmations to advisory planning and service-area boards (including appointments listed on the agenda for Nikiski and other service areas). Members discussed applicants’ affiliations during the confirmations — for example, that one applicant for a service-area board is employed by South Peninsula Hospital and another is a Homer Fire Department staff member — and noted some boards still lacked full membership.
The committee ended without a recorded vote on the items in the supplied transcript and adjourned at 04:25; the legislative committee was scheduled to convene at 04:45.
Next steps noted during discussion included further work on tax-exemption language related to the cooperative agreement, follow-up on clarifications for the indemnification process, the clerk emailing assembly members physical public-notice locations, and adding a legal-notices page to the borough website. The transcript does not record formal actions or vote tallies for the items discussed.
