BABBITT- With its existing city license set to expire in six years, the Babbitt Golf Association is seeking a new 99-year agreement to provide the long-term stability needed to pursue grants and financing for a replacement for its aging clubhouse.
Merle Vandervest presented the request to the Babbitt City Council on Tuesday, telling councilors that repairs to the existing clubhouse are no longer sustainable.
“The current clubhouse foundation is constructed on posts and beams,” Vandervest said. “The natural degradation has weakened the structure to the point of several soft spots in the floors. We feel we may have three to five years of life left in the current building.”
Councilor Jim Lassi said the clubhouse was brought to the golf course in 1963 after previously serving as a Reserve Mining mess hall. Since then, local contractors and volunteers have helped the association keep it in service.
The golf association owns the clubhouse, pumps, wells, and other course improvements, while the city owns the land. Its existing 20-year license with the city was approved in 2012 and has about six years remaining.
Vandervest said a substantially longer agreement would help the association pursue grants, donations, and possible financing for a replacement clubhouse. He also asked the city to participate in planning the building and its location so it could accommodate broader community uses.
“Babbitt Golf Association’s goal is to make this project zero cost to our taxpayers,” he said.
The proposal would add approximately five acres immediately east of the existing golf-course parcel to provide a possible location for the new building. The land is currently part of a larger city-owned parcel involved in the West Babbitt development and has not been surveyed.
Under the existing West Babbitt purchase agreement, the five acres would be surveyed during the development’s fourth phase. The city will ask the purchaser to consider amending the agreement so the survey can be completed during the first-phase closing.
The city also will need to consider the future route of the snowmobile and ATV trail through the development. Officials discussed the possibility that the new clubhouse could serve as a trailhead and agreed that the ATV club should participate in planning.
The council directed city staff to work with the golf association, city attorney, ATV club, and West Babbitt purchaser on the survey and a proposed 99-year agreement that would include the additional acreage. The completed proposal will return to the council for approval. Lassi abstained because he serves on the golf association board.
Former roadway
In other land-related business, Rich Evenstad asked the council to resume work toward resolving access over a former roadway behind Cherry Circle.
Evenstad owns approximately 27 acres behind the residential area and uses the old mine road to reach the property. He said he is particularly interested in approximately 675 feet of roadbed extending from the snowmobile-trail area to his land.
“I just wanted to start a conversation and dialogue about the city’s position on selling or conveying this roadbed that I access my property with,” Evenstad said.
The issue has been raised previously but was complicated by uncertainty over whether the former county road had been legally vacated. City officials said they have now obtained documentation confirming the vacation.
Evenstad said the road needs tree removal and other maintenance before he can move vehicles and equipment through the area and begin building on his property. He wants to resolve the matter by either purchasing the former roadbed or obtaining an easement across it.
Clerk-Treasurer Kirsten Traut said she had discussed the matter with City Attorney Joel Lewicki, who advised that selling the property would likely be the cleaner approach, although an easement remains an option. Under either arrangement, Evenstad would assume responsibility for maintaining the access.
Questions remain about access for neighboring landowners, surveying and legal costs, and continued hiking, ATV, and snowmobile use in the area.
The council directed Traut, Lewicki, and Evenstad to explore both a sale and an easement and return with more complete options. The council did not indicate a preference Tuesday.
Cleanup vendor selected
The council selected East Mesabi Sanitation to provide dumpsters and waste-removal services for a city-wide cleanup day on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Traut said several companies declined to submit proposals because they lacked capacity for additional work. East Mesabi, which provided the service last year, will staff the site and remove and return dumpsters as they fill. It also can handle tires, televisions, and mattresses.
The company’s base price is $1,180 plus tipping fees, with additional charges for repeated dumpster emptying and special-waste service.
Enforcement complaints
A discussion prompted by a complaint about a junk-vehicle warning led city officials to clarify the process residents should follow when disputing zoning enforcement.
Traut said someone objecting to an action by a city employee, contractor, or city procedure should file a formal complaint with City Hall. The complaint can then be referred to the appropriate city body.
“Whenever there’s an alleged error or a complaint about the zoning officer, then that should go to the Planning Commission,” Lassi said. “The person should file a complaint, and if you’re alleging that there has been an error, it goes to the Planning Commission, not to the council.”
Officials said the Planning Commission has the authority to review and overturn a zoning enforcement officer’s decision.
Other business
In other action, the council:
• Extended the West Babbitt project’s substantial-completion deadline from Sept. 11 to Sept. 21 because of the paving subcontractor’s schedule. The Sept. 30 final-completion deadline remains unchanged.
• Approved a $300 increase in 2027 seasonal campground rates, optional mowing and weed-trimming services for seasonal campsites on either a per-occurrence or full-season basis, and a three-year agreement with campground host Karissa LePine.
• Approved purchasing a 1,550-gallon brine storage tank for $2,240. The city will buy premixed brine rather than purchase a refurbished or new mixer, which would cost more than $10,000 or about $15,000, respectively.
• Accepted Fire Department resignations from Courtney Olson and Bradley Wills and approved hiring Jesse Fallin.
• Accepted Police Department resignations from Olson and Keith Nyman, expanded the police chief’s residency requirement to within 60 minutes or 40 miles of Babbitt to mirror the requirement for officers, and rescinded a June 16 motion establishing a four-person department as the city continues to evaluate its options.