Students from Kaleidoscope School of Arts and Science filled the Kenai City Council chambers Wednesday night with a message for the city, “keep the streams clean.”
Third and fourth grade students presented a slideshow with a song to the city council about their findings after taking a walking tour on Shqit Tsatnu Creek Trail with Dan Pascucci with the Kenai Watershed Forum.
The students asked permission to spray paint with stencils on the storm drains the message, “Keep it clean by the stream.”
Third grader Victor Santana said the three classes involved wanted to share the message and to get the word out to city residents.
Kaleidoscope teacher Kelli Stroh said the students are involved in a social action project and wanted to make a difference in their community.
Kenai City Manager Rick Koch thanked the students for bringing this to their attention. He said the city would be happy to let them paint the message on storm drains and would need to coordinate when and where so they could block traffic so the students remain safe painting on the streets.
After the presentation, the council unanimously passed two ordinances. The first was to appropriate $36,535 from the general fund in acquiring five parcels on Peninsula Avenue that will be retained as a staging site for the bluff erosion project.
The estimated cost includes the payment of delinquent property taxes, relocation assistance for three renters who currently reside on the property and removal of the structures.
Koch said the three tenants had been contacted and have been given until Nov. 30 to vacate. He said the city will assist the tenants in finding new housing, will receive $1,000 moving allowance and would not be charged rent in the meantime.
The council passed an ordinance to appropriate $1,000 in the general fund to purchase ice cleats for all city employees.
The city also received a letter from the Kenai Senior Center and Council on Aging to express concerns for improvement priorities to consider when the city addresses it legislative capital improvement priorities.
Vice Mayor Ryan Marquis, the council of aging liaison, said one priority the senior center has is a warm place to keep their vans so drivers don’t have to go out into the cold to warm the eight vans the center uses.
“In the past they haven’t had space for the vans,” Marquis said. “Now that the city has a new shop, they’re inquiring about available space.”
Other priorities include fixing a leak in the solarium, install upgraded stalls and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance toilets and perform a study to evaluate present and future needs at the senior center. Marquis said people have been appreciative of the new heated sidewalks and boiler replacement that the city has done for the senior center this year.
Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com
