2009 Mayor's Recap

I'm pleased to report on the major accomplishments of the Grand Marais City Council in 2009. I also want to take this opportunity to publicly thank the City Staff and City Employees for doing the hard work.

2009 Grand Marais City Accomplishments
(in no particular order)

• Established Council Goals & Objectives for 2009-2010
• Purchased and installed Finger Piers in the Municipal Marina
• Successfully completed Creechville annexation
• Obtained DNR commitment to create and present draft Joint Powers Agreement for Marina/Harbor based on Resolution 2007-05
• Approved and installed Aqua Climbing Wall in the City Pool
• Seamlessly re-organized City Attorney responsibilities
• Passed Rec Park Master Plan with Goals & Policies
• Worked earnestly to pass the County One Percent Sales Tax
• Passed City Noise Ordinance
• Improved Pedestrian Safety with addition of Highway 61 crosswalk
• Worked with Mn DOT to slow traffic on Highway 61 through Grand Marais by purchasing "Event Congestion" signs and planning for purchase and installation of "Your Speed Is" sign
• Passed annual audit; maintained "A" bond rating.
• Asked for and received commitment from County to support the swimming pool up to $75,000 in 2009 and 2010
• Executed plan to re-finance the $1.63M EDA Temporary Bonds for the Business Park
• Minimized tax levy increase in spite of significant Local Government Aid cuts
• Worked with IRRB to obtain $140K to help offset costs for Business Park infrastructure
• Partnered with Grand Marais business community and the Cook County Events and Visitors Bureau with $5K cost-share commitment to decorate downtown for "A North Shore Holiday"

On a personal note, it's been my absolute pleasure to serve as the Mayor of Grand Marais. I'm grateful for the growing cooperative spirit within our community and look forward to a productive 2010.

Happy New Year to All!

Sue Hakes

Last City Council Meeting of 2009

Mayor Hakes and Councilors Kay Costello, Tim Kennedy, Bill Lenz and Jan Sivertson were all present for the last City Council Meeting of 2009. Also present was Finance Director Kim Dunsmoor. City Administrator Mike Roth was absent. City Attorney Chris Hood was not present for this meeting at Council request.

City Council Meeting

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

Consent Agenda
The consent agenda was approved with one minor change to the Dec. 9, 2009 City of Grand Marais Minutes.

2008 Improvement Project Final Pay Estimate
Council approved the Final Payment of $115,596.53 for the 2008 Street and Utility Reconstruction Project. Per a memo received from City Engineer Jamison Mehle, the project has been completed and quantities have been agreed to by all parties. The project may now be closed, less the one-year warranty period.

Council & Staff Reports
Jan Sivertson gave a progress report on the EDA. A Public Hearing was held regarding the sale of a Cedar Grove Business Park lot to Pete Grescyk for $45,000 plus $20,000 Special Assessment (pending approval of the City Council). The Baptist Church has also expressed possible interest in purchasing an additional Business Park lot. The University of MN Crookston has begun their Cost Benefit Analysis of the EDA to be completed by July 2010. Jan also discussed overall budget concerns and said the EDA will have a balanced budget in 2010. The EDA Board is exploring all options to deal with current debt, lot sales, other issues. Jan expects the EDA to repay the City the $100,000 loan in January 2010.

Mayor Hakes shared a written summary of the 2009 Grand Marais City Accomplishments and expressed her gratitude for the way in which the Council worked together in 2009. Hakes, and the other Councilors, also acknowledged the work of the City Staff and City Employees during 2009.

Mark Your Calendars
Wednesday January 13 at 4:30 PM Initial City Council Annual Meeting at City Hall
Wednesday January 27 at 4;30 PM City Council Meeting at City Hall

Building Relationships (Better Together)

I had the good fortune to participate in two extremely informative and very pleasant meetings this week with the shared goal of relationship building.

Minnesota Land Trust
On December 15, Dave Tersteeg, Park Manager, and I had a very information and productive meeting with Francis "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Northern Region Conservation Director) and Anne Murphy (Conservation Stewardship Director) of the Minnesota Land Trust.

This very friendly and informal meeting gave us the opportunity to get to know one another, and to better understand how the Land Trust and the Grand Marais Land Trust easement work. We were also able to give a general review of the recently adopted Park Master Plan and work being done with the DNR for a Marina/Safe Harbor.

After our meeting, Tersteeg gave Fitzgerald and Murphy a tour of the Rec Park and Harbor Park.

We all concluded that it is important to work closely together for our mutual benefit and agreed to do so.

U.S. Border Patrol
Mike Roth, City Administrator, and I were invited by Richard Fortunato (Supervisory Border Patrol Agent) to tour the Border Patrol Office on Artist's Point and visit with Fortunato about issues of mutual concern between the City of Grand Marais and the U.S. Border Patrol.

On December 17, Roth and I met with Fortunato and Mariano Arguedas (Lead Border Patrol Agent) for 90 minutes or so. This time was extremely well spent as Fortunato and Arguedas gave us a very useful overview of the U.S. Border Patrol, their mission, and their facility.

We also spent valuable time discussing the desire of the Border Patrol to build a positive relationship with elected officials, law enforcement and the Public. The Border Patrol intends to hold an Open House for the Public at their local facility. They are also involved with community service through the Boy Scouts and their Gunflint Trail Outreach programs.

Fortunato encouraged us to contact him with any concerns, and we promised to do so.