TOWER— New council members Brooke Jankowski and Kevin Fitton made their presence known within minutes of their swearing in on Monday night, as they split with the three holdover members on whether to consider relocating city hall to the planned joint emergency services facility.

City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith has pushed hard for the relocation, which would shift the location of city hall from Main Street to the industrial park at the west edge of town. On Monday, Keith argued that incorporating city offices into the new facility would create efficiencies on the use of space, office equipment, and energy, ultimately saving the city money, and she asked for authorization to spend approximately $1,500 for design changes and cost estimates. She has been critical of the condition of the WPA-era building which has housed city offices for almost 80 years, noting that electrical service is limited and the windows leak a considerable amount of heat. She has advocated selling the building and consolidating city buildings.

But Mayor Josh Carlson and Councilor Lance Dougherty argued against the relocation, noting that city hall is currently accessible for walkers downtown, while the relocation would put the offices too far from the central business district. “People want to be able to walk to city hall,” said Dougherty. Keith disputed that, arguing that most people currently drive.

Dougherty also questioned the cost of adding the additional 800-1,000 square feet to the joint facility, noting that the architects have been putting construction costs at about $200 per square foot. “That would be $200,000, and the city would have to pay rent on top of that,” he said.

The city has also looked at moving city offices to the civic center complex once the fire and ambulance services are moved to the joint facility, but Keith and others, including city engineer Matt Bolf, argued that the cost of renovations and building additions there could easily exceed $200,000.

Kevin Fitton argued for taking a look at the possibility, and said once the new joint facility design is completed, it will be too late to explore city hall relocation as part of that complex. “We may find out the alternatives are too expensive,” he said.

After considerable back and forth, Dougherty made a motion to deny Keith’s request for a redesign of the joint facility. Councilor Brad Matich seconded the motion, which passed 3-2, with Fitton and Jankowski voting against.

Harbor development

Matt Bolf updated councilors on progress at the harbor, noting that he and the town home developers have agreed on the preliminary streets and utilities layout for the new project. “Once the pre-sales are at a point where everyone is comfortable, we’ll be ready to proceed,” he said.

Orlyn Kringstad, who is heading up Tower Harbor Shores, the company behind the harbor development, said he is very close to wrapping up five pre-sales, which was the agreed upon threshold to move forward with the project. He has also attracted significant investor commitments. “We’re tentatively planning a late winter or early spring groundbreaking,” said Kringstad.

Bolf said construction of a harbor boardwalk and accompanying trails connecting the harbor to the Hoodoo Point trail should get underway in May or June, weather dependent. He said the city has received final agency approval for wetland delineations related to the work, which will allow design work to proceed this winter. About $675,000 in funding for that work is coming from the Legislative and Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources, or LCCMR.

Reorganization

The council also reorganized for 2017, with few changes to the makeup of city committees. The only exception was the revamping of the Tower Economic Development Authority board, which had been comprised of the members of the city council. The council appointed members of the Tower-Soudan Community Development Corporation (TSCDC) board to TEDA, instead, given that the group has been very active in promoting Main Street redevelopment. The new TEDA board now includes Joan Broten, Steve Peterson, Victoria Meloche, Marshall Helmberger, Dick Larmouth, Marit Kringstad, and Brad Matich as the city council representative.

The council retained Dougherty as Acting Mayor, and kept Cope & Peterson as the city’s legal counsel, SEH as city engineers, and Frandsen Bank and Embarrass Vermillion Credit Union as official depositories. The Timberjay will continue to serve as official newspaper.

Regular council meetings will continue to be held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers.

In other business, the council:

• Thanked Bill Hiltunen and Joan Broten for their past service on the city council. Neither of them sought re-election in 2016.

• Discussed, but made no decisions, on proposed upgrades to the Hoodoo Point Campground.

• Reviewed a report from the Department of Natural Resources on the recently completed deer hunt. A total of 10 antlerless deer and two bucks were harvested during the hunt.

• Accepted the annual Fire and Ambulance report from Steve Altenburg.

• Approved seasonal leases at the Hoodoo Point campground.

• Accepted a $40,000 Main Street entrance and enhancement grant from the IRRRB on behalf of the TSCDC. The IRRRB’s award was $6,000 less than the CDC had sought, so the IRRRB requested a pared-down project budget. The council eliminated painting of the civic center, solar lights, bird houses, and trimmed the $14,000 budget for planters and flowers around Main Street trees by $500. The grant funding will also provide for the production and installation of a new welcome sign for the city, and traffic slowing signs, crosswalk markers, and additional signage for city amenities.

• Heard that Bud Van Deusen was no longer interested in a seven-acre, city-owned parcel along Mud Creek Road, after an appraisal came back at $4,000 per acre.

• Okayed a proposal from the Vermilion Country Charter School to add an exterior intercom system to the school building to improve school safety, but declined to pay for the system. Mayor Josh Carlson said paying down the city’s renovation debt should be the city’s top priority for the use of the lease aid that the school pays to the city.

• Approved a commercial rehabilitation loan for $50,000 to Scenic Rivers Health Services to pay a portion of the cost of a canopy over the facility’s new handicapped entrance.

• Approved a gambling permit to allow a raffle to raise funds for the annual Take a Kid Fishing event sponsored by the Lake Vermilion Guides League.

• Approved a resolution committing the city to replacement of the Pine Street bridge. St. Louis County had sought the resolution to ensure that the city was committed to the project. State bonding funds for the project were included in last year’s bonding bill, but the failure to pass the bill last session put the dollars in doubt. Carlson said he expects that the funding will come through, but if not, the city would be committed to coming up with the dollars, whether through bonding or some other source. He said the city could be responsible for as much as $400,000.

• Approved transferring the city’s airport project funding authorization to the Virginia-Eveleth airport for this year, since the city does not have a project planned for 2017.