The short meeting this past week began with Mayor LeBlanc recounting the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Multi-Modal Trailhead Center. The event “went well” and was attended by a goodsized crowd of 66 people, including special guests such as State Senator Grant Hauschild, State Representative Roger Skraba, Lake County Commissioner Joe Baltich, IRRR (Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation) Commissioner Ida Rukavina, and representatives from the offices of Congressman Pete Stauber and Senator Amy Klobuchar.
The Trailhead Center project came in under budget, with City Administrator Lana Fralich estimating an amount of just over $100,000 left over, plus money from grants, adding up to around $150,000 to be put towards further improvements for the Center. Current plans include signage for the area and security cameras at the top of the list. Landscaping, a new playground, and benches around the lower portion of the facility are also being discussed.
In other local affairs, the recently revived local Garden Club has already been spotted installing plantings around town, including decorating important landmarks such as the Welcome sign at the entrance to Silver Bay and at City Hall. Several community members also put together a series of ‘thank yous’ for the addition of the Silver Bay Public Library’s Saturday hours. The library has received a lot of positive feedback for the change.
Consent agenda items approved included the closing of City Hall on July 10th to allow the Bay Days Committee to set up and run the Bay Days event; and Special Budget Workshop meetings set for August 3rd, August 17th, September 8th, and September 21st, if needed, all at 4 pm.
The Council was asked to choose how to handle an amendment to the City of Silver Bay’s Special Assessment Policy, specifically updating language for deferring special assessment costs and what counts as financial hardship for the purposes of this policy. The policy’s definition of hardship, importantly, determines who can apply for deferments of special assessment costs. After some deliberation, the Council took City Administrator Fralich’s recommendation to base the definition of hardship on the annual gross income of the applicant being under the 50 percent income limits for the County the previous year, plus a total special assessment of over $1,000, asking to be deferred, as a rough summary.
The final matter of the meeting concerned changes attached to the upcoming renewal of Silver Bay’s Garbage contract with D&D Services, which is currently set to expire at the end of June. Some of the changes to the contract would include no longer accepting brush and yard waste disposal at the 15 Golf Course Road site, recycling picked up twice a month rather than weekly, and cardboard broken down and stacked with all other recycling in closed containers. There would also be fee changes for the City, and a $49,000 performance bond would no longer be in effect. The Council is waiting on further information to take action, with immediate concerns such as how residents can take care of brush and yard waste. The matter will be discussed in further meetings, with the Council open to the possibility of holding a special meeting to ensure all issues are resolved before the end of the month. Residents will be informed of any changes before they take effect.
