City Council Meeting

Mayor Hakes and Councilors Costello, Lenz and Sivertson were all present for today's City Council Meeting. Also in attendance were Mike Roth, Kim Dunsmoor and Attorney Chris Hood (via telephone). Councilor Tim Kennedy was absent.

Open Forum
No member of the public opted to speak at the Open Forum.

Consent Agenda
The Consent Agenda was approved.

Planning Commission
On March 3, 2010, the Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider an amendment regarding roof signs. No members of the public were present at the public hearing. After that hearing, the Planning Commission discussed and approved 4-0 the proposed amendment to modify the existing zoning ordinance to a) reduce the height a sign is allowed to project above the height of a building, b) limit the sign width, and c) restrict the location of the bottom of the sign. Roof Signs are currently allowed in the downtown districts by Conditional Use Permit.

Councilors Costello and Sivertson heard some concerns about Roof Signs in general. No feedback was received at City Hall.

Council voted 4-0 to support the First Reading of this Sign Ordinance Amendment.

Fund Transfers
Council approved a fund transfer of $35,000 to the Gunflint Hills Golf Course from the General Fund. Kim Dunsmoor noted that the Gunflint Hills Golf Course lost just $1500 in 2009, a marked improvement over 2008. Councilor Lenz raised the issue about whether or not the Gunflint Hills Golf Course should continue to be an Enterprise Fund; Council will revisit this during budget discussions later in 2010.

Council also approved a transfer of $56,206.31 from the 2008 Improvement Project to the General Fund. The 2008 Improvement Project came in under budget by this amount.

Council & Staff Reports

Mayor Hakes reported on several things:

1) Steve Schug of the Forest Service contacted Hakes to let the City of Grand Marais know that the USDA Forest Service and Superior National Forest will be host to the Boy Scouts of America's Order of the Arrow in June 2011. An estimated 500-600 scouts are scheduled to participate in this event. Hakes and the Council were excited to learn about this very positive coming event.

2) Hakes and Roth both attended this week's County Board meeting to learn more about the Broadband Project. It was confirmed that the County was not successful in their bid for a Federal Grant to bring Broadband to Cook County; the County was given general feedback that their business plan was lacking. The County will not be submitting an application for Phase II of the Federal Grant process. However, Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, in conjunction with Pulse Broadband, is working to apply for a grant from the Rural Utilities service. A new technology patented by Pulse Broadband uses fiber optic cable but enables the fiber infrastructure to be constructed for significantly less than what was proposed in the County's grant application. The County Board discussed supporting this effort at a level similar to what they intended to support their original project. It is unclear whether or not the County is able or willing to commit One Percent Sales Tax funds to this effort.

3) Hakes reported on her conversation this week with Stan Linnell of the DNR regarding the Joint Powers Agreement that the DNR and the City hope to enter into. A meeting of the DNR and the City is tentatively scheduled for May in Grand Marais to review the Park Master Plan, Boat Landing Project, and process for going forward. Certainly, funding for a Safe Harbor and Marina project is difficult at best.

4) Hakes updated the Council on the (2) EDA Workshop meetings attended by the City (Hakes, Kennedy, Roth), the County (Fenwick, Martinson) and the EDA (Litfin, Hall, Geretschlaeger). Much of the effort in these meetings has been spent trying to get clear about the finances of the EDA and Superior National Golf Course. It is clear that there is an immediate cash flow crisis, as well as mid-term problems (MPCA issues) and lack of a long term vision. Clearly neither the City or the County is willing to continue supporting the EDA in the long term without significant change, clear direction and accountability. All options for resolving the EDAs problems are being considered.

Bill Lenz reported that the Park Board continues to work on setting Capital Improvement priorities and a potential Community Garden.

Mark Your Calendar
Wednesday March 31 at 3:30 pm Worksession on Energy Efficiency Priorities/CCLEP
Wednesday March 31 at 4:30 pm City Council Meeting
Wednesday April 14 at 4:30 pm City Council Meeting
Wednesday April 28 at 3:30 pm Budget Worksession
Wednesday April 28 at 4:30 City Council Meeting