Cook County News Herald

City council makes appointments, grant applications




Grand Marais city councilors began the year by making appointments to the city’s various boards and commissions and approving two requests for support of grant applications at their Jan. 11, 2012 meeting.

Ilena Berg and Kerrie Fabius of Cook County Soil & Water began the proceedings by asking for a letter of endorsement from the city that will enable them to apply for a grant to enhance their beach monitoring program. Fabius said the goal of the program is to keep the beaches safe for swimmers and boaters.

She explained that the first step to improving and controlling the water quality—high levels of E. coli have been detected on Lake Superior beaches the past few summers— is to determine what the problem is. Fabius stressed that she was asking only for a letter of support; the letter will indicate that the city is committed to the project and help Soil & Water compete for the grant.

Berg said the Pollution Control Agency grants are available in the $40,000 to $60,000 range, and it is expected Cook County will need about $40,000 to carry out its proposal. It will be about a 20-week effort, Berg said, and will focus on the beaches behind the Whole Foods Co-op and the city campground. The monitoring program will look at all factors affecting water quality, said Berg, such as weather, stormwater runoff and retention. The price tag is so high, she said, because the samples will have to be sent to Duluth for analysis.

The results of the study will not be known for two years, and at the least they will provide a baseline for future studies and help city and county officials plan corrective actions. Berg said the results may also be helpful for use in conjunction with the well monitoring program, which councilors expressed concern over at their previous meeting, saying they never see the results of any of that monitoring even though the test wells continue to be drilled.

Energy Plan update

George Wilkes, John Bottger and Virginia Danfelt, representing the Energy Planning Committee, appeared next before council to update them on the status of the energy plan. The project is being undertaken through the Cook County Local Energy Planning Project (CCLEP), which has hired a part-time coordinator (Danfelt) with $19,000 in grant funding and $1,000 each from the city and Cook County.

Wilkes said work on the energy plan has been ongoing for about a year, and the committee hopes to have a final version in late February or early March. However, Wilkes said he wanted councilors to take a look at the document thus far to determine that there are no “red flags” or things that are missing. Specifically, Wilkes wanted to know if councilors were comfortable with the nine goals that are outlined in the draft; the committee is still working on the implementation and strategy sections.

Councilors asked some questions about the cost of some of the envisioned projects and wondered if the project was getting too big. Mayor Larry Carlson said he wanted to ensure that the plan, once enacted, didn’t dictate to the city or its residents what they must do to be in compliance.

Bottger stressed that the goal of the plan was first to educate people and then help them understand what good it (the plan) will do, and ultimately make their own choices wisely. Bottger said the plan cannot make people do anything, as did City Administrator Mike Roth and Councilor Tim Kennedy, both of whom have participated in the draft plan.

Councilors said they were satisfied with the progress to date of the plan. Wilkes thanked them for their input and said he regards the plan as preparation for the next energy crisis. The city will have a plan in place and be poised to apply for grants when it happens, said Wilkes.

2012 insurance

Agent Paul Coe made his annual presentation to council to outline the city’s insurance policy through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, which began Aug. 1. Coe said there was only one small difference over the previous contract regarding the power plant building, which the Trust cannot cover due to new federal regulations governing emissions standards. However, the power plant is covered for mechanical breakdown through SMMPA, the cooperative energy agency to which the city belongs.

Overall, the city’s total premium stands at $66,742, which is about $2,700 more than the prior year. Coe said the difference is because of additional vehicles and more coverage on the improved library property.

Appointments

Council reviewed applications and made the following appointments:

. Robin DuChien and Sally
Berg were named to the
park board.
. Sally Berg was named to
the library board.
. Ed Bolstad was named to
the planning commission for
a three-year term, leaving
the commission in need of
three more members.
. Adam Harju was named
to the Public Utilities
Commission.

Council members agreed to continue serving as liaisons to the same boards and commissions as they did in 2011, and Tim Kennedy was re-elected acting mayor.

Burn pile

City Administrator Mike Roth reported that the Forest Service has informed him it is no longer interested in allowing the city to use a pit on County Road 6 that was formerly identified and agreed to as a suitable site for a burn pile because the agency wants to return the area to its natural state.

As an alternative, the Forest Service offered the city use of the Ball Club pit, which is currently shared as a brush disposal site by the county and Devil Track Homeowners Association.

Roth said he believes that arrangement will work. The city has been asked to share the cost of removal and disposal of inappropriate items dumped at the site—which is gated and staffed during open hours— which Roth said is not a problem since the city already did that anyway at the now-closed burn pile at the water tower.

A letter of agreement should be ready at council’s next meeting, according to Roth.



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