TO: Ron Long, Assembly President
Members, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly
THRU: John J. Williams, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor
FROM: Craig Chapman, Finance Director
Shane Horan, Director of Assessing
Colette Thompson, Borough Attorney
DATE: October 12, 2006
SUBJECT: Ordinance 2006-38, exempting the City of Seward from Kenai Peninsula Borough Code provisions governing special assessments for purposes of creating the proposed Elhard Electrical Improvement District
In 1993 the City of Seward established a utility special assessment district in the Bear Lake area, which is outside the city limits of Seward but within the Seward electric certificated area for providing electrical service. Alaska Statutes authorize a city in a borough to exercise extra-territorial jurisdiction to provide such a service if the service is not regulated by the borough.
After the 1993 Bear Lake electrical improvement district was created, the borough assembly enacted Ordinance 94-26, which amended numerous provisions of Chapter 5.35, Special Assessment—Public Utilities. As a part of that ordinance, the assembly amended the code to exercise borough jurisdiction to establish special assessment districts for financing the extension of service lines of city-owned utilities to areas outside the boundaries of the cities. This eliminated the cities’ authority to create special assessment districts outside of their boundaries without borough approval.
City of Seward personnel were not aware that the borough had expanded its authority to exercise jurisdiction in this area; instead, it was believed that the city had the same authority to establish an electrical improvement district that it had in 1993. As soon as city personnel learned of the borough code change, Clark Corbridge, City Manager, sent a request to John J. Williams, Borough Mayor, asking the borough to exempt it from the borough special assessment requirements solely for the purpose of establishing this electrical improvement district. Eight lots are included in this proposed assessment district.
The borough has two options: (1) require that the assessment district be created following the borough code; or (2) exempt the city from borough ordinances. If the borough requires that the assessment district be formed following the borough code, then the borough would need to follow the procedures it has followed in the past for creating utility special assessment districts for natural gas lines. This includes filing a petition by the neighbors, certification of the petition by the clerk, adopting a resolution of necessity and then a resolution to proceed, enacting an ordinance appropriating the funds and an ordinance of assessment, recording a notice of assessment, and then administering and enforcing the assessments. Additionally, as the city is the utility provider, the borough would enter an agreement with the city to pay the city the costs of installing the electrical lines.
Although the borough would be in a position to earn some funds through the financing of this special assessment district and to recover administrative costs, the administration supports allowing this particular project to proceed as it has already begun, it appears to be a small project, and requiring the petitioners to follow borough procedures would delay the project.
Your support of this ordinance would be appreciated.