City Council Meeting with Burn Pile Public Meeting

Mayor Hakes, Councilors Costello, Kennedy, and Sivertson were all present for today's Council Meeting with Burn Pile Public Meeting. Councilor Lenz was absent. Also present were City Administrator Mike Roth, Finance Director Kim Dunsmoor and Street Department Head Len Bloomquist.

City Council Meeting

Consent Agenda
The Consent Agenda was approved with a minor change.

Insurance Renewal
Paul Coe, Security State Insurance, presented the City's League of MN Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) renewal policy which includes the Liquor Liability renewal. Coe answered several questions after which the Council unanimously (4-0) approved this renewal premium at a cost of $67,105.

Park Board Application
Council received an application for the open seat on the Grand Marais Park Board. Council asked Mike Roth to invite the candidate to the next City Council meeting so they could meet her. The Park Board is currently a (7) member board, but has had some difficulty filling the open positions. Council anticipates further openings on this board effective January 1, 2011.

Council discussed briefly, the overall process for recruiting board members and asked Mike Roth to enhance the current application form to enable candidates to provide more detailed information to the Council.

Council & Staff Reports
Kay Costello reported that the Library Board was reviewing proposals from several architects for the Library addition and preparing to make a recommendation to the County Board.
Sue Hakes reported that the County Board agreed to begin negotiation with ORB Management for the job of Construction Manager on the Community Center project. ORB Management was recommended to the County by the Community Center Steering Committee; the County will lead these negotations.
Mike Roth shared good news that several Grand Marais businesses have made application for a Small Cities Grant effort to be led by Lake County. This funding is to be used for rehabilitation purposes.

Burn Pile Public Meeting
In recognition of both the negative effects and the popularity of the City's burn pile, the City Council invited the public to share their views and listen to those who have been affected positively or negatively by the burn pile as part of today's regularly scheduled Council Meeting. As noted in the City's September 8, 2010 press release:

The burn pile has been a topic of discussion for the Council and City staff since last October (2009). Smoke from the burning debris of a very full burn pile caused problems for both the Hospital and School. In response to the smoke complaints, the City has limited the size of the pile to what can burn in a single day. This has meant burning more often, including approximately seven times in 2010.

Many residents and contractors who use the pile have noticed the more frequent closing of the site as the City waits for optimal weather for burning. City staff consider moisture levels, current weather and forecast wind speed and direction before lighting the fire. "Even with the precautions we have taken, there is no guarantee that smoke will not cause problems with a burn pile this close to town," says City Administration Mike Roth".

Input was received from Cook County Hospital (Rory Smith) ISD 166 (Beth Schwarz) , Cook County (Fritz Sobanja and Jim Johnson), FireWise (Paul Nelson, Dick Parker) and the Forest Service (Patty Johnson). Written comments were also received from Hospital Administrator Diane Pearson, DNR Aaron Mielke and Mary Manning and an ISD 166 teacher. These groups (along with others) were specifically invited to give input at today's meeting, along with the general public.

The major problem identified from the school and hospital group was health related. Smoke from the burn pile has caused hazardous air quality conditions in both the hospital and the school causing illness to both patients and employees. The air handlers at the hospital cannot handle the smoke and it's extremely difficult to get rid of once it has infiltrated. This condition is unacceptable to both the hospital and school.

Both Aaron Mielke and Mary Manning, in their written responses, identified the problem of prohibitive materials dropped off in the burn pile. City Staff and others confirmed this as a difficult problem to police and manage. Burning prohibitive materials could result in the loss of the burn permit.

Approximately 12 members of the general public shared their views on the burn pile. Written comments from the public were also received. Overwhelmingly, the general public comments were received from individual users of the burn pile that see great benefit in this service.

After approximately 60 minutes, the meeting was closed to further public input. At this time, Council discussed the problem further and concluded the following:

1) Better signage at the site is necessary so that prohibitive materials and penalties for illegal dumping is made very clear. The City will make the change in signage.
2) Smoke from the burn pile is causing unacceptable health hazards at the hospital and school. This, combined with the fact that the burn pile area is shared with the runaway truck ramp, makes the current site for the burn pile unsuitable. Council agreed to explore relocating the burn pile in another location. Recognizing the value of the burn pile to the public, the City hopes that it could be re-located within a reasonable distance from Grand Marais. Because there is no obvious acceptable site within the City of Grand Marais, the Council will ask the County for suggested alternate sites. Mike Roth will draft a letter to the County Board which will be presented by the City at a future County Board meeting.

Mark Your Calendars
Wed, October 13 at 4:30 pm, City Council Meeting
Wed, October 27 at 4:30 pm, City Council Meeting