Grand Marais city councilors approved the temporary placement of yard signs, a three-day liquor license for the North House Folk School, and a rain garden permit at their Aug. 13 meeting.
Maren Webb, coordinator of the Moving Matters program, led off the proceedings with her request to put yard signs in the city boulevards and rights of way near the school campus or along those streets designated as “Safe Routes to School.” The signs are approximately the size and shape of common political signs, and bear the message “Slow Down & Smile…Kids on the Move.” They will be in place for about a month, beginning with the start of the school year, Webb said.
In particular, the signs will be placed along First Avenue West, County Road 7 and other streets with high pedestrian and bicycle traffic going to and from the schools. Webb said the initiative with Moving Matters and other local groups is designed as a community service project to promote safety and raise awareness of children and other pedestrians.
There was some discussion about the legality of allowing the signs to be placed outside of the guidelines established by state ordinance or other statute that apply to political signs. However, City Administrator Mike Roth said the city can grant exemptions for groups or organizations, and it was up to council to decide what was appropriate. “It’s not the same as with political signs,” Roth said.
Council granted Moving Matters’ request to place the signs on city property where needed, and Webb said she will contact those property owners along the routes where placement is desired on private property. “We’re not going to just put them up,” Webb said. “We will talk with the homeowners.”
Turning next to another request defined as a “gray area,” the council considered an application from the North House Folk School to operate a beer tent “Under the Big Top” during the school’s Unplugged event Sept. 11-13. The North House and its lakeside campus are situated on city property.
According to the application, terms of the temporary on-sale liquor license will be similar to those security precautions (wrist bands and ID checks) required of other organizations for similar events, such as the beer tent at the American Legion during Fisherman’s Picnic and an outdoor beer and wine tent which was allowed in Harbor Park during the Dragon Boat Festival. Organizers of those events were required by the city to place fencing around the area in addition to the use of wrist bands and other forms of ID to restrict access and ensure minors were not being served.
Mayor Larry Carlson said he had no problems with the request, but was concerned about children being allowed in and out of the tent, and wanted to be sure North House is held to the same beer tent standards as everybody else. “I see nothing about fencing in this application… and I don’t want to be arbitrary,” he said.
Councilor Tim Kennedy agreed and said that there has to be some kind of control “to keep people from wandering off with beer.”
There was nobody present from the North House to elaborate on the brief application, but Roth explained that the city has no ordinance or formal guidelines for issuance of the temporary liquor licenses. “The rules are whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said.
Council then voted unanimously to approve the liquor license on the condition that alcohol be served and consumed only in the confined area within the tent, and that appropriate ID verifications be done. Of course, the North House will also have sufficient liability insurance for the event – $2 million.
In other city business:
. The Superior Cycling Association was granted a street use permit for the annual Sawtooth Challenge Mountain Bike Race on Sept. 7. The race will begin at 10 a.m. at the bike shop on Broadway and proceed to Highway 61 to the bike trail to Third Avenue East to the Sawtooth Trail to Pincushion Mountain.
. The final cost-share agreement allowing placement of a rain garden on East Second Avenue was signed. Roth said portions of the document have been “really worked over” by the city’s attorney, but now he’s comfortable that everything is in the city’s favor. Notably, new state regulations require that the garden be properly maintained for at least 10 years, or the city is responsible for reimbursement to the state of up to 150 percent of the financial assistance received.
. Roth presented a “very preliminary” draft of the 2015 budget which projects an approximate 2 percent increase in the property tax levy. Of note, Roth said he expects that the public works facility (estimated at about $3.7 million) will comprise the biggest item on the priority list for capital expenses next year, but pointed out that one of the city’s debt services payments will be fulfilled soon and disappear from the rolls. Budget meetings with the department heads will be held prior to council’s Aug. 27 meeting in preparation for a more detailed budget conversation.
Councilor and park board member Bill Lenz reported that a recently donated memorial sculpture has been placed near the east entrance of the Rec Park and looks very nice. He also noted that the city’s golf course is doing better financially than it did last year, but not as good as the year before that.
. Roth told councilors that City Hall has a new tenant. AEOA has moved in near the EDA’s office, and the two agencies should work well together and complement each other’s mission, Roth said.
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