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While the rest of the country starts receiving its $600 economic stimulus checks from Uncle Sam, Kenai city workers may be in line for a $500 check as well.

The Kenai City Council this evening is slated to consider a resolution passing employee health insurance savings along to its 93 employees.

Last year, according to City Manager Rick Koch, the medical care deductible rose from $200 to $1,000, the difference being self-insured by the city.

The $800 per employee was placed into an account amounting to $173,000. By year end, Koch said $87,000 remained in the account and now city administration wants to split the money with its employees.

If approved by the council, each employee will receive $500, whether or not he or she made any medical claim during last year.

An ordinance restricting the use of Conex-type structures in the central commercial and residential zones, which the council moved to adopt in March before postponing action, is up for consideration again tonight.

Ordinance 2287-2008 would require accessory structures be painted or sided to match the primary building on the lot.

City administration has maintained its opposition to the ordinance, saying the proposal asks the city to act as a community architectural committee, according to Koch.

On Tuesday, he said he would prefer the council votes down the ordinance and comes back with something more specifically targeting small residential conexes.

The council also is scheduled to consider donating five foreclosed city-owned lots in the Mommsen Subdivision to the Amundsen Educational Center for the construction of housing.

The center teaches construction trade skills primarily to rural Alaskans as they build residences which are sold upon completion to help finance the non-profit organization.

The city proposes to donate the lots to Amundsen as long as the organization pays Kenai Peninsula Borough property taxes as well as Kenai assessments owed. The city would allow Amundsen to pay the back taxes at the time the finished houses are sold.

Koch said a similar offer was made to Habitat for Humanity, which also is seeking donated property on which to build houses, but Habitat declined the offer.

A number of ordinances are to be introduced on first reading at tonight's meeting including one that would transfer $71,000 for replacing the heating system at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center.

The city received about $71,000 from a claims settlement after in-floor heat tubing failed and a class action suit was brought. Koch said Kenai is attempting to move up in class as a claimant, which could result in the city receiving a $400,000 settlement.

Regardless, the building's heat system will need to be replaced next winter. Construction is scheduled to begin in December and would be completed the following March, Koch said.

Another ordinance slated for introduction would increase the minimum distance between oil and gas drill sites and residential and commercial buildings from 200 feet to 600 feet.

Koch said the issue came up during contract negotiations with Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and Wal-Mart representatives who feared an oil company might want to drill a hole in their parking lot to extract oil or gas from beneath the stores going up in Kenai.

Oil production companies would need a permit and would need permission from property owners before drilling any holes, Koch said.

The council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Phil Hermanek can be reached at phillip.hermanek@peninsulaclarion.com.