Grand Marais City Council convened for a brief meeting Nov. 24 to pay the bills and approve a couple resolutions, a process which took less than five minutes. Councilor Dave Mills presided over the meeting, which was attended by councilors Anton Moody and Tracy Benson; Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux and Councilor Tim Kennedy were absent. Items on the consent agenda... READ MORE >
With an eye toward reducing the city’s proposed 2016 tax levy, Grand Marais city councilors met Nov. 13 to make some adjustments in next year’s budget, with the result being a drop from a 12.2 percent maximum increase to a lower figure of a 6.87 percent increase. The new draft budget sets the property tax levy at $880,746–down from the... READ MORE >
Following a series of discussions at city council meetings, planning commission meetings and even a joint council-planning commission meeting, city councilors finally took action Oct. 28 to put an end to illegally operating vacation rentals in Grand Marais’s residential zones. Council authorized City Administrator Mike Roth to send letters to the three known violators, who will be given 60 days... READ MORE >
Grand Marais city councilors lent their support to a request from Sawtooth Mountain Clinic to reapply for funding to continue the Moving Matters program and its association with the city for another two years. Maren Webb, Moving Matters assistant coordinator, appeared before council Oct. 14 to talk about the request and the clinic’s role in the process to partner with... READ MORE >
Grand Marais city councilors approved a purchase agreement Sept. 30 for property at 1800 W. Highway 61 for possible relocation of the Public Utilities Commission’s storage facilities from the Recreation Park lakefront. The agreement states that the city will pay $250,000 for the 6-plusacre parcel, which was the owner’s counter-offer; negotiations started at $210,000. City Administrator Mike Roth said it... READ MORE >
Grand Marais city residents can expect to see an increase in their tax levies of up to 12 percent next year following city council’s decision to pass a preliminary levy of $924,767.76 at their Sept. 9 meeting. The unanimous 3-0 vote – Mayor Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux and Councilor Anton Moody were absent – means the proposed levy cannot increase, but... READ MORE >
Bev Green of Arrowhead Animal Rescue spoke with Grand Marais city councilors Aug. 26, seeking their support for inclusion of a new shelter facility if and when the city comes up with a plan to remove the existing structure along with other city-owned buildings from the Grand Marais Recreational Park waterfront area. The move is necessary to accommodate a state... READ MORE >
The nettlesome question of whether to allow vacation rentals in residential districts was again before Grand Marais city councilors Aug. 12. Two citizens spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting, both of whom supported a change in the ordinance, which dates to 1971 and prohibits such use. Although the ordinance has been revised at various times over the... READ MORE >
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... READ MORE >
Grand Marais city councilors approved on first reading an amendment that will allow accessory residential use in portions of the Cedar Grove Business Park, but the unanimous vote did not come without a thorough discussion of the matter. Council’s July 8 vote came at the recommendation of the planning commission, which voted a week earlier to allow owner residential occupancy... READ MORE >
