Bob Anderson is retiring after 44 years of service as a city of Ely building engineer.

C.Clark

ELY- Three of ten Ely businesses licensed to sell THC-infused cannabinoid edibles failed to pass muster last month when they sold products to an underage buyer as part of an Ely Police Department compliance check.
The Ely City Council learned about the violations of the city’s ordinance at Tuesday night’s meeting. In compliance with edible cannabinoid products ordinance passed last year, the Ely Police Department conducted compliance checks on Dec. 20. Three businesses allegedly sold edible cannabinoid products to the police department’s underage buyer: Stinky Pete’s, Ely Liquor, and Mike’s Liquor.
According to Ely’s ordinances, any licensed business that sells to an underage buyer will be fined $300, the employee that made the illegal sale will be fined an additional $500, and the business will receive a three-day suspension of its license. As part of the due process to impose the fines and suspensions, the businesses allegedly in violation of the ordinance can appear at a public hearing before the city council. The council scheduled the hearing for Jan. 21.
Anderson retires
The council honored former building engineer Bob Anderson on Tuesday, who retired on Jan. 5 after working for the city for over four decades. Anderson was given a plaque commemorating his long service to Ely at the beginning of the meeting.
Mayor Heidi Omerza spoke about Anderson’s contribution to the city.
“As I look at the dates when Bob Anderson started, we were joking earlier that he must have been two or ten, when child labor laws must have not been in existence, because he’s been a city employee for 44 years and 22 days,” Omerza said.
“I remember really relying on him, especially when we were looking at the building for the community center and trying to decide what would be our next step,” Omerza continued. “I shudder to think how many times we asked him, ‘Bob, what do we need to do? How can we make this building more efficient?’ We also relied on him at the school district. The whole community relied on his expertise for almost every single building that had a boiler system in it. He was the go-to person when it came to boilers. He helped us with the revenue building, the housing and redevelopment authority, and the schools. He was a dedicated employee and he will be truly missed.”
In other business, the council:
• Swore in Mayor Heidi Omerza for a second term and swore in Jerome Debeltz, Emily Roose, and John Lahtonen as city council members.
• Approved moving forward with the paperwork for phase two of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s program for a direct current fast-charging station of electric vehicles at the Ely Trailhead Building currently under construction on the west side of the city.
The charging hub will be capable of fully charging an EV in approximately a half hour. Ely Clerk-Treasurer Harold Langowski remarked that the city intends to charge for the service at a rate in keeping with other fast-charging stations in the region.
• Approved soliciting sealed bids for the city’s newspaper for legal announcements for 2025.
• Approved a subdivision of the properties at 143 E. Harvey St. and 15 S. Second Avenue E., which are both in a C1 commercial zoning district.
• Approved creating a tab on the city’s website for park and recreation information.
• Approved moving park and recreation board meetings to the second Wednesday of the month at 5 p.m.
• Appointed Jill Swanson to the park and recreation board as the Ely Community Resource representative.
• Approved a conditional job offer for the open police officer position to Ashlan Barthorpe, pending passing a background investigation, psychological exam, and medical exam.
• Approved the hire of Nils Deremee as a part-time police officer, pending passing a background investigation, psychological exam, and medical exam. The vote was 6-1, with John Lahtonen in opposition. Lahtonen objected because he felt Ely didn’t need three part-time officers in its roster when one of those was the police chief in Babbitt who only served a handful of shifts in 2024.
• Approved an agreement with the Ely Veterinary Clinic for animal pound services for $3,000.
• Approved the second reading of the new cannabis and cannabinoid ordinance prohibiting the use of these products in public places and on public property after conducting a public hearing. No one testified at the hearing.
• Approved Mark Zupec for a new term on the housing and redevelopment authority, which will expire on Dec. 31, 2027.
• Approved Frandsen Bank and Trust, Highland Bank, and the 4M Fund as official city depositories for 2025.