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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Tower looks to pare down 10 percent increase in levy

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 8/12/15

TOWER— The city will ask taxpayers for ten percent more money next year, if a preliminary levy increase, approved Monday by the city council, is finalized in December.

But members of the council …

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Tower looks to pare down 10 percent increase in levy

Posted

TOWER— The city will ask taxpayers for ten percent more money next year, if a preliminary levy increase, approved Monday by the city council, is finalized in December.

But members of the council said they plan to go through the budget line-by-line at a meeting next month in an effort to pare down the proposed levy increase. Tower City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith said the budget she is preparing includes no levy increase. “But if you want any additional projects, it would require more money,” she said. Keith said she didn’t think that a levy increase would be justified to pay for higher salaries for city workers, or for equipment, but could be used, instead, to cover the cost of city improvements that would benefit the public as a whole.

She cited several street projects, mostly along Pine Street and South Second as high priorities for repairs. While the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board has often provided funding for such projects in the past, Keith said the city is already seeking IRRRB help for a water tower project as well as the joint emergency services building currently in the planning phase. The Tower-Soudan Historical Society is also seeking money from the agency, she said.

Lance Dougherty, who made the motion for a ten- percent levy increase said he favored looking for cuts in order to cover as many additional project costs as possible. Mayor Josh Carlson noted that the preliminary increase set this week is the maximum that the city will be able to assess next year. Typically, the city trims the increase before setting the final levy. Last year, the council ultimately froze the city’s levy.

In other business, Matt Bolf, of SEH, reported that work at the harbor was complete, with the exception of grass seeding. Bolf said he plans to close out the contract with Marine Tech soon, given that the city is out of harbor funds for now. “We’ll do any new work under a new contract,” he said.

At the same time, Bolf reported that the Cobblestone Hotel project developers had, to date, had little success finding local investors, which was putting prospects for the project up in the air.

The situation has prompted the harbor committee to agree to pursue a mixed retail and condominium project on a parallel track to see which project can move forward first. A recent market study projected high demand for condominiums as well as approximately 7,000 square feet of retail space around the harbor.

Mayor Carlson reported on progress on the joint Tower-Breitung EMS building. He said the documents merging the two fire departments are ready for final signatures following a couple minor revisions. Once approved by both the council and the Breitung board, the two departments will be officially merged, said Carlson.

The new department will be known as North Range Fire and Rescue.

The council also heard a brief report from Marshall Helmberger, who explained the errors in a recent Tower News story regarding the Vermilion Country School. The story stated that students there had “bombed” in state MCA testing, but Helmberger noted that the testing had actually shown across-the-board increases in student achievement that surpassed most other schools in the area. He noted, as well, that the Tower News had only reported the students’ math score, and failed to report the reading scores, which had jumped by an even greater amount. Helmberger noted that scores were quite low in the school’s first year, but that those results were a reflection of the prior schools where students had attended. He said the job of the charter school is to take those students who have struggled in the past and give them the means to achieve academic success. “These results show that’s exactly what’s happening. These are positive numbers,” he said.

In other action, the council:

‰ Approved a Saturday, Aug. 22 street closure on Spruce Street for the annual block party sponsored by the Immanuel Lutheran and St. James Presbyterian churches. The party will begin at 6 p.m.

‰ Accepted with regret the resignation of Erik Thorpe from the Tower Ambulance Service. Thorpe has taken employment out of the area.

‰ Accepted an IRRRB grant on behalf of Scenic Rivers Health Services for handicapped accessibility to the Tower clinic.

‰ Approved a street closure for Birch Street for an upcoming customer appreciation event, including live music, for D’erick’s. The exact date wasn’t set, but D’erick’s will be required to wrap up the live music by 10 p.m. and have the street reopened by 11 p.m.

‰ Approved a motion to notify seasonal campers at Hoodoo Point Campground that they need to remove any boat lifts currently in use at the campground, with one exception.

‰ Heard from Fire Chief Steve Altenburg about a $5,700 donation from the Mdewankaton Sioux community for turnout gear for female firefighters.

‰ Approved sending a letter of condolence to the family of state Rep. David Dill, who died last week. Carlson said Dill had fought hard for the city over the years and was instrumental in obtaining funds for the harbor project.

‰ Requested more information on a request from D’Erick’s to expand an outdoor patio at the front of the business.