Grand Marais city councilors convened July 29 and heard a variety of requests and presentations.
First up was a request for a letter of support for the Gitchi Gami Bike Trail Association to the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota to seek bonding funds for construction of the trail section from Cutface to Grand Marais. Councilor Tim Kennedy, who has been involved in the project, said that section of the trail has “been on the edge” of completion for about 10 years, but it has not yet happened; consequently the city has been lacking access to the trail which runs from the west end of the county through Lake County.
Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux concurred, stating that the letter of support is probably “the best thing we can do to move the project along,” and Kennedy said he is hopeful the city will see some results this time around. Council approved the request and will send the letter. To date, an additional $1,850,000 is needed to complete the project from Grand Marais to Cutface, and an additional $1,280,000 is needed to complete the trail through the town of Tofte.
Members of the Cook County Tennis Association then appeared before council to ask the city to act as fiscal agent for an Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation grant for reconstruction of two tennis courts at the high school campus. The estimated cost of that project is $147,000 and there is a 1:1 matching grant up to $50,000 available through the Development Partnership Grant Program. Noting that there will be no cost to the city to disburse the funds, council approved the request. It is hoped the project will be shovel-ready next year.
Kristin Wharton, community health nurse, next gave a presentation and summary on the recently completed Health Impact Assessment done in conjunction with the Highway 61 Redesign Project. The assessment was done by the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and the Active Living Steering Committee to complement the Highway 61 project.
Wharton explained that the assessment is a tool designed to bring health considerations into areas where health isn’t typically considered, but is critically important and should be included in planning during transportation projects and community design. Some of the project recommendations include creation of safer pedestrian crosswalks; improvement of the streets network and pedestrian connectivity; development of a year-round maintenance plan for both pedestrians and bicyclists; regulation of vehicle speeds to achieve goals of safer and more accessible trails; and implementation of a system to monitor and measure the impact of the corridor project on community health and economy.
Councilors thanked Wharton and the committee for their work and said the findings in the summary would be used as the Highway 61 project moves forward “to make things better.”
In a related matter, Kay Costello appeared on behalf of herself and Sue Hakes and John Gorski, asking that orange safety flags be put on the corner of Highway 61 and Fifth Avenue West (North House Folk School) in an effort to improve conditions at the busy pedestrian crossing. Costello said it is a “quick and easy way” to try to make the intersection safer, as was done at the corner of Highway 61 and First Avenue West in town several years ago.
City Administrator Mike Roth said he has looked at the intersection and believes the flags may be a little confusing at first, because the pole and container on the lake side would not be directly in line with the crosswalk, but with permission from the folk school to install the pole near the yellow house, it could work. Council gave its approval and Highway Department head Len Bloomquist will take a closer look at the situation and decide exactly where to place the flags and holders.
Finally, library director Steve Harsin and library board president Audrey Stattelman presented the library’s proposed 2016 budget, which asks for operating expenses of $313,193, or a 16 percent increase ($44,129) over the current year. Because of a joint powers operating agreement between the city and Cook County, each entity is responsible for half of the library’s budget. However, if the increase is less than 5 percent and the city approves, the county is automatically obligated to match the contribution.
In this case, with the increase exceeding the 5 percent threshold for the first time in many years, Roth said the draft would go to the county board upon city council approval, and if the commissioners do not go along with the 16 percent increase, negotiations would have to be held.
Harsin said the increase is needed to address longstanding staffing problems, which have become more pressing due to the significant increase in library patronage. Other factors contributing to the increase are the management of additional space, increased maintenance, and a desire to expand outreach programs and services to better serve residents on the east and west ends of the county. “We have a responsibility to try to serve those people too,” Harsin said. “They pay taxes and support the library.”
Noting that the requested increase will translate into an approximate 2.5 percent property tax increase for city residents, councilors nevertheless approved the tentative budget as presented.
“There is no fat in this budget, and the library is used at an incredibly high level,” commented Mayor Arrowsmith DeCoux, who also sits on the library board. “This will give us impacts we can’t even imagine now.”
Both the mayor and Harsin said they believe that if the budget is approved as presented, increases for the forseeable future should be at or below the 5 percent level.
With council’s approval, the draft budget will now go before the county board.
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