ELY – Ely Middle School sixth-grader Kylee Zobitz is one of three winners out of nearly 300 entries in the 2022 Mayor for a Day Essay Contest sponsored by the League of Minnesota Cities.  She received a Key to the City at the Ely city council meeting Tuesday and was proclaimed honorary Mayor for a Day for Wednesday, Feb. 2, by Ely Mayor Roger Skraba.
Minnesota students from fourth, fifth, and sixth grades recently submitted their ideas for improving city services as part of the League’s ninth annual Mayor for a Day Essay Contest.
The League hosts the annual essay competition to raise awareness of city services that are part of Minnesota residents’ daily lives, and to inspire the next generation of city leaders.
Winning essays will be published in the March-April issue of Minnesota Cities magazine. In addition to publication, winners receive a plaque and a check for $100.
The Mayor for a Day Essay contest posed the question: “Cities provide a variety of services and programs that make our lives better, including parks and recreation, street maintenance, water and sewer, libraries, police, fire, and more. If you were mayor for a day, what would you do to make one of the services that your city provides even better?”
Zobitz, with her family and classmates in attendance, read her essay at the council meeting. Mayor Skraba read a proclamation honoring her and noted her idea of incorporating youth with seniors was “not only thoughtful, but very appropriate,” and expressed the appreciation of the entire Ely city council for being “an engaged member of the Ely community.”
Other business
The council dispatched with a short agenda in a brief meeting that was concluded well before the 6 p.m. deadline imposed Tuesday night for the political caucuses that were scheduled across the state. Council members took the following actions:
• City taxpayers will again be asked to pay more for legal notices published in the local newspaper this year. The Ely Echo, the only bidder, was selected as the city’s legal newspaper for 2022. With a dwindling circulation (3,170 in 2022 compared to 3,376 in 2021, according to the Minnesota Newspaper Association rate book), the local publisher will be charging taxpayers a higher bid rate of $3.75 per column inch for legal print ads in 2022, compared to $3.50 last year.
• Approved, on a recommendation from the Ely Utility Commission, to apply the Minnesota Power rebate credit toward reducing the residential and commercial fuel adjustment fees and absorb the off-peak and dual-fuel customers’ fuel adjustments.
• Agreed to contract with recently-retired waste water treatment plant operator Mick Shusta, a Class A licensed operator, to oversee the facility’s operations at a rate of $500 per month.
• Hired Joe Shusta to the new water/wastewater Operator I position.
• Hired Kurt Mattila for the internal posting position of Electric Line Worker Foreman, with the job description requirements to be met within 30 days.
• Hired Neil Lepisto and Eric Mattila as Equipment Operator trainees, and Ed Horvat at Equipment Operator II.
• Approved the recommendation from the Employee Relations Committee for the Library Director “to look into hiring” a Library Assistant.
• Agreed to advertise for sealed quotes for a partial demolition project at the former Zup’s store.
• Approved a purchase agreement between the city of Ely and Kat Albrecht and Karl Lushin for the purchase of 40 N Klondike Dr. for $27,500.
• Approved a Storefront Rehab Loan for Stony Ridge on Shagawa Lake to put new flooring in the restaurant for $10,500.
• Scheduled a public hearing for Ordinance 351 to rezone parcels 301, 303, and 305 W Sheridan St. for Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 5:15 p.m.