This past Monday’s City Council meeting began with Mayor LeBlanc, joining via Zoom, updating everyone on his visit to St. Paul for Capitol Days on March 18th and 19th to speak with state senators. One main topic discussed was the city of Silver Bay’s pressure-reducing valves, which, like much of the city’s infrastructure, are overdue to be replaced. The valves are used for relaying piped water uphill safely, as otherwise the water would be under intense pressure when used at the higher location. As Council member DeRosier put it, without the valves, the water pressure “would blow the icemakers right out of your refrigerators.” These valves are a necessity for any settlements built on a hill with their water source on lower ground, such as Silver Bay and Duluth, both of which take their water from Lake Superior. Silver Bay currently uses 14 pressure-reducing valves, the number of which could possibly be reduced if the system were updated to modern standards with current technology. For comparison, Duluth has 30 valves in use. Replacing Silver Bay’s valves will be costly work, involving opening and draining the underground tanks storing them in order to even gauge what condition the valves are in. But ignoring the condition of the valves can quickly become even more costly: if one stops functioning, the increased pressure on the others could cause a cascade of several going out of order at once. DeRosier recounted a recent incident in which one valve breaking led to five valves being put out of commission in one day, with crews rushing to outpace the damage. Mayor LeBlanc noted that updating the valves would be best done soon, before potential street replacements, as reaching the underground tanks would involve digging up streets. Proposed improvements to new valves would include moving them from underground tanks to aboveground heated sheds, making them far easier and safer to access for future maintenance and improvements. Mayor LeBlanc and Council member DeRosier expressed feeling positive about finding funding for the improvements and are hoping to see progress on potential funding sources by the end of May/beginning of June.
Consent agenda items of note approved included: two new rules added to the Silver Bay Neighborhood Revitalization Mini-Grant Application, allowing for greater final say by the City of which applicants are approved or not; a license agreement between the City and the Minnesota ATV Riders for the “Ride the Shore” event, to be held July 17-19; a Lloyd K. Johnson grant for the City to help fund the appearance of the Storybook Theatre’s Hansel and Gretel from June 21-27.
Another major issue discussed was the continued debate over the future of the Mary MacDonald Business Center: namely, whether to fix up the current building, which has major structural issues, or to tear it down and build on the land from scratch. Given the scale of infrastructure improvements needed, the cost to repair the existing building may be comparable to building new, especially given possible funding resources to mitigate said cost. Members of the Council expressed concern, however, over the expense of the resolution at hand, which would involve $13,000 for a conceptual design and cost estimation for a new building on the site of the Mary MacDonald. Mayor LeBlanc defended the resolution, stating that “our only way forward is to look at all the options, and this is one option.” After some discussion, the Council unanimously agreed to table the decision, wanting more information on possible alternatives for cost estimation and funding sources.
The last notable item on the agenda was the Mayor’s approval of the Dark Skies Proclamation. The Proclamation from Dark Sky International, which has been approved by Silver Bay in past years, declares Dark Sky Week from April 13-20. The event is a celebration of the night sky, with planned programming by Voyageurs Conservancy and the National Park Service to encourage stargazing and promote reducing light pollution. Their proclamation states in part that “Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and ever so many stars, is a resource for the wilderness, a dark sky sanctuary, and a place where many people take pride in the night sky” and asks residents to “join us not only in observing, and pondering upon this important week, but also in raising awareness and support for protecting our precious dark sky as resource.”
