Grand Marais City Council’s March 11 meeting began with a visit from newly-elected Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen.
Eliasen explained that his department’s current contract with the city to provide law enforcement services states the sheriff should meet with city council at least once a year. However, Eliasen said he wants himself and his deputies to be as accessible as possible, and encouraged councilors to contact him if there are any concerns, or of his presence is requested at a meeting.
Eliasen said the city’s response area encompasses the west end of County Road 7 east to the Linnell Road, and up to Hedstrom Mill. The area was established when the city-county contract was forged in 1998, and is loosely based on the fire department’s call boundaries.
The sheriff said there are two deputies mainly responsible for patrolling the city’s response area, but somebody is always available should a need arise. For the year to date, Eliasen said there have been 327 calls in the city’s designated area, a number which may seem high but which includes everything from barking dogs to cars in the ditch to “high-level crimes” such as the recent home invasion on County Road 6. “It’s anything that requires a response,” he said.
Eliasen estimated that residents in the city account for about 30-40 percent of all the department’s calls for assistance, and he said he has no problems or concerns with the way the system is set up. However, beginning next summer, the sheriff said he will budget for an extra deputy to help in the city during the busy summer months; the budget was already set for this summer when he took office.
Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux said he believes the sheriff ’s department is doing a good job and the city-county agreement is working well, but it may still be a good idea to take a look at the contract with an eye toward any revisions. It may also be possible to implement some new programs such as the “Safe Cities” initiative, which are devised to dissuade crime, said the mayor. “It’s a definite possibility,” he said. “Maybe we can work it out.”
Councilor Tim Kennedy also lauded the department for its work, commenting that “the relationship with the sheriff ’s office has always been good.”
Moving on with the agenda, North House Folk School Director Greg Wright appeared before council to present his annual report, as called for in the school’s lease agreement with the city. He was accompanied by North House Board President Mary Anderson.
Wright used words such as “vibrant,” “thriving,” and “exceedingly strong” to describe North House’s “state of affairs.” In fact, Wright said the lakeside campus has now become a year-round school due to its climbing enrollment and themed weekends designed to attract students to the school and Grand Marais even during the off-peak times of the year.
Wright and Anderson said the school and its supporters are working to find meaningful ways to engage its neighbors and local residents, and the community in general. For instance, Wright said, recent timber framing classes have resulted in the construction of a footbridge leading from the school to the Rec Park, and even small housing units which have remained on the North Shore. “We like to build things that stay here,” Wright said.
Finally, the director suggested that the school’s board of directors and city councilors meet to discuss future leases and how the partnership will evolve. Wright said it is probably better to have such a discussion soon – in year 11 of the 25-year lease – rather than waiting until closer to the end of the agreement. Wright said the possibilities include extending or revising the lease, or even the city selling the property to North House.
Of the latter option, however, Wright said as long as things are going so well, he believes it makes more sense to continue with the lease arrangement and re-investment of proceeds in the school through facility and equipment upgrades rather than to purchase the real estate it sits on. And, he pointed out, the improvements benefit the city because it is, after all, the city’s property. “The relationship is working well,” he said.
Councilors agreed that another conversation would be appropriate in order to allow both entities to better plan for the future and take a look at the lease.
In other business:
. Councilor David Mills gave an update of the recent park board meeting, in particular concerns about street lights that don’t work and pose safety and visibility concerns, especially in the area of Second Avenue and Highway 61. Mills also reported on the Northwoods Food Project meeting, during which there was discussion of the city becoming involved or sponsoring a composting program for food waste.
. Mills and Arrowsmith DeCoux spoke of the possibility of Grand Marais pursuing a designation as a “Dark Sky” city, a name which is bestowed on cities that have very low light pollution and thus allow better-than-average viewing of the nighttime heavens. Arrowsmith DeCoux said he believes the city already meets many of the requirements of the International Dark Sky Association and is about three-quarters of the way there. But City Administrator Mike Roth said he disagreed and noted that there is no street light policy in town, and only those newly-installed lights in the downtown district are designed to direct their light downward. More research will be done on the topic.
. Council voted to send Arrowsmith DeCoux to Minnesota Mayor’s Association training April 25-26 in the Twin Cities.
. Councilor Anton Moody briefed council on the EDA’s housing study and ongoing effort to bring more affordable housing to the county. He also said planning was under way for an “energy fair” to showcase pellet stoves and other alternate fuel forms, an initiative spearheaded by CCLEP.
. Arrowsmith DeCoux said he attended the library board’s strategic planning meeting, at which a list of a half-dozen goals and action items was created; the Cook County Ministerium meeting to discuss a partnership with the city for emergency planning; and the downtown retail group, which had a lot of questions about the process used to issue permits for vendors and participants in special events.
. Councilor Tim Kennedy said the PUC heard an update on the downtown biomass heating project at its last meeting, and efforts are ongoing to provide information to prospective customers and develop contracts. There have also been a number of frozen water lines around town in recent days, Kennedy said, “but that’s the nature of the season.”
. Finally, the mayor issued his first official proclamation, recognizing March 8-14 as Girl Scout Week. “If you know any Girl Scouts or leaders, please thank them for their service,” Arrowsmith DeCoux said.
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