Worksession and City Council Meeting

Mayor Hakes and Councilors Costello, Kennedy, Lenz and Sivertson were all present for today's Council Worksession and regularly scheduled City Council Meeting. Also present were Mike Roth and Kim Dunsmoor. Ben Silence and Mike Flack were present for a portion of the Council Meeting and Dave Tersteeg attended the Worksession.

Council Worksession

Grant Awards Made
Council was delighted to hear that (2) proposals that were submitted to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Program (EECBG) by the City and the Cook County Energy Project (CCLEP) were awarded. Mayor Hakes thanked CCLEP on behalf of the Council for their work in bringing these opportunities to the City and for their contribution in winning these awards.

The first project funded is for $10,000 (plus ~$10K cost-share) to retrofit existing lighting in City-owned buildings (City Hall, Park Office, bath houses, water and wastewater treatment plants).

The second project awarded is for the City and County to fund a consultant to work with the City and County to identify and prioritize energy efficiency goals for residential, commercial and government buildings. The City and County had applied individually for $30K each. The award will be made to the City and County jointly for $50,000. The City's portion of the matching funds will be provided through City Staff support and CCLEP volunteer time.

Setting Priorities
As agreed to at the February 24, 2010 Council Meeting, the Council held a Worksession to begin to prioritize the City's energy efficiency goals and projects, as well as identify energy efficiency goals shared with CCLEP. The City and CCLEP intend to jointly pursue grant funding to move shared energy efficiency goals forward. Several members of the CCLEP organization were present to participate in the discussion.

The Council clearly agrees that improving energy efficiency for the City overall is important, and agreed unanimously to create and accept a Value Statement reflecting this. Hakes and Roth will prepare a statement for Council review at the next Council Meeting.

The City uses a lot of energy for street lights, water treatment, sewage treatment and buildings. Improving energy efficiency in these areas would be beneficial to the City; projects that can show a financial payback and reduction in energy usage would be of priority interest to the Council. Council would like to focus grant applications in these areas above others.

Biomass Energy
George Wilkes reported that CCLEP is regrouping around Biomass Energy and the CCLEP Biomass team intends to collaborate with MNTCSI and the University of Minnesota to submit a proposal to the LCCMR to fund a feasbility study for using Biomass Energy in Cook County.

City Council Meeting

Open Forum
On behalf of the Lions Club, Mark Sandbo reported that there have been (3) meetings held to discuss the need for additional public restrooms in downtown Grand Marais. Consideration by the Committee is being given to expanding the existing public restrooms, building new bathrooms in conjunction with the potential Library Expansion, building an entirely new facility, or renovating a portion of the building behind Threads. A request for funding will be forthcoming to the Council. Council will consider the need for additional public restrooms in their Capital Improvement Planning and Prioritization.

Grand Marais Fire Chief Ben Silence and Assistant Fire Chief Mike Flack informed the Council that the Grand Marais Volunteer Fire Department (GMVFD) and Mesabi Range Community College will be conducting a house burn training at 406 First Avenue East on April 10, 2010. Flack will be giving notice to neighbors on the block and neighboring blocks. This will be an all day event. Questions should be directed to City Hall at 387-1848.

Senior Center Director Bev Green expressed concerns regarding the difficulty in getting the Arrowhead Transit bus in and out of the City Parking Lot. Green and Roth will work to find a solution for parking the bus and consider the benefits of creating a bus only parking space on Broadway in front of the Senior Center.

Consent Agenda
The Consent Agenda was approved with no changes.

Peddler Permit
Council unanimously approved a Peddler Permit for Dan Anderson, Scenic Airplane Rides, to give scenic airplane rides fom the Grand Marais Harbor and East Bay for the months of June-October.

Farmer's Market Expansion
Council unanimously approved the request from the Cook County Farm and Craft Market to expand the Farmer's Market space into the City Parking Lot. The Farmer's Market is held during the Summer on Saturday mornings from about 7:30 am to 1 pm.

CCLEP
Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) requested Council support and cost-share for the submission of an Iron Range Resources (IRR) Renewable Energy Grant. The deadline for this grant is tomorrow April 1, 2010. The proposed project is for installation of a 10.56 kw pole mounted photovoltaic system at Gunflint Hills Golf course or other suitable location on City-owned property. The basic idea of this project is to convert light into electricity to be fed back into the power grid.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be $107,000 with cost share from the City of $8,000 cash and $5,000 site preparation. The City would also be responsible for any maintenance or repair of the system which has a projected useful life of 20-30 years. The anticipated energy cost savings for this project is $1600/year for the City of Grand Marais.

Council approved submitting the proposal 4-1 with Mayor Hakes voting against. Hakes opposed the project based on a) the lack of payback (30 years x $1600 = $48,000), b) the lack of time for Mike Roth and Kim Dunsmoor to examine and validate the project costs, and c) the deviation from the agreement by the City and CCLEP to identify priorities and submit proposals based on those priorities. Hakes also expressed concern that City's discretionary funds will be limited or eliminated in 2010 due to further cuts to Local Government Aid.

Lake and Cook County Joint Housing Initiative 2009 Annual Report
Housing Coordinator Nancy Grabko presented the 2009 Annual Report for the Lake/Cook County Joint Housing Initiative for EDA. Highlights of the report showed that total funds awarded in 2009 were $671,576 with (9) households in Cook County and (13) households in Lake County benefitting from rehabilitation projects. Seven households in the Creechville benefitted from Water/Sewer Assessment Abatement.

$130,067 in funding has been secured for (4) household rehabilitation projects in Cook County for 2010. The focus will be on households outide of the City.

Planning Commission Report
The Second Reading of Ordinance 2010-01 Roof Signs was read.

Earth Day Anniversary
Mayor Hakes reported that Jim Shinners is leading an effort to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2010. In recognition of this birthday, several local organizations are participating in an Earth Day Harbor Clean-Up: City of Grand Marais, US Border Patrol, WTIP Community Radio, North House Folk School, Harbor Friends, Grand Marais Chamber of Commerce, US Forest Service, Cook County News Herald, Grand Marais Business Council. Local schools, churches and other groups are encouraged to participate and will be contacted.

Our theme for Earth Day this year will be "What are you doing for Earth Day"? Goals for Earth Day include a) recognizing and honoring Earth Day, b) cleaning up the Grand Marais Harbor area, and 3) demonstrating that various organizations can come together cooperatively to achieve worthwhile goals.

To learn more about how you can participate, please contact Jim Shinners at 387-1191 at the Harbor Inn.

Council & Staff Reports
Bill Lenz reported that County Commissioner Bob Fenwick attended the most recent Community Center meeting. The Community Center Working Group has completed a User's Matrix based on information provided by various users of the proposed Community Center.
Tim Kennedy reported that the EDA closed on a lot sale to Pete Greszyk and the City of Grand Marais has been paid $60,000 for the assessment due.
Jan Sivertson shared that she has had difficulty attending North Shore Management Board Meetings and encouraged interested Councilors to consider supporting this board.
Sue Hakes acknowledged the MPCA recognition of the Wastewater/Water Treatment for outstanding operation, maintenance and management of the Grand Marais Wastewater Treatment System. Council expressed appreciation for the consistent excellent work by Tom Nelson and his crew.

And, saving the best for last, Mike Roth reported that David Dill worked on behalf of the City of Grand Marais to get $100,000 in State funding for water/sewer infrastructure improvement; the bill has been signed by the Governor. This money will likely be used to upgrade 4" water mains and/or replace fire hydrants.

Mark Your Calendars
Wednesday, April 14 at 4:30 City Council Meeting
Wednesday, April 28 at 3:30 Worksession-Budget
Wednesday, April 28 at 4:30 City Council Meeting