The attitude of August’s first meeting was to stay positive, with Mayor LeBlanc mentioning that the end of July had marked the 40th anniversary of Reserve Mining shutting down, leaving Silver Bay to find a new identity beyond being a company town. The town has faced many struggles over the years, with the most recent being the impending closure of its Aspirus-operated clinic. “We’re going to have to think outside the box,” LeBlanc stated regarding the event, “as a community, as a county, to ensure that we have quality healthcare,” emphasizing several times in response to questions from the public that City officials are doing all they can to keep healthcare services within Silver Bay.
Thankfully, the City had more bright spots than not during the meeting. The North Shore Roadway Network Resilience Study, also known as the Highway 61 Alternate Route Study, is an ongoing effort to improve roads and detours along Highway 61 from Two Harbors to the Canadian Border. This makes Silver Bay and the surrounding area a key place for improvements, and MnDOT Project Planner Erika Shepard and Traffic Project Manager Joe DeVore were on hand to update the City Council on how the study is going so far, share future plans, and ask for suggestions from local residents.
The presentation began with an overview from Shepard on the study’s goals: providing stronger emergency management and resiliency for Highway 61 and surrounding local roads. There are currently no official alternate routes to Highway 61, which has caused problems during recent emergencies such as the Stewart Trail Fire this past spring between Two Harbors and Silver Bay.
DeVore spoke in detail about problems highlighted during the fire, where the official suggested route given by 511 gave a safe but long detour while Google Maps provided a shorter route which cut through an area under evacuation at the time. The shortcut also used Gun Club Road, a gravel road that underwent enough increased traffic that it had to be releveled after the event. A major goal of the study will be to ensure detours during local emergencies are not only reasonably short but safe. The presenters noted that the roads around Silver Bay and Beaver Bay were overall in good condition and placement, with major detour issues being to the north and south.
The study is currently in the middle of data collection and getting a bead on local concerns and vulnerabilities in greatest need of address. They are not only collecting information on roads, but culverts as well; if a culvert gets washed out or needs to be replaced, it can lead to long closures, so they must ensure detours aren’t also washed out. Other issues on their radar are risks from landslides, wildfires, crashes, and water erosion, including from Lake Superior, as several sections of Highway 61 are within 100 feet of the Lake and will eventually be in danger of coastal erosion.
By fall, they will switch to more detailed analysis and possible alternate routes. One of the factors going into their recommendations will be seasonality, or how well a detour works through different times of the year. By winter, they are planning to be ready for concept development and creating an action plan as a culmination of their findings. They will then present their plan to all study partners in the region: Silver Bay and other cities, tribal partners, counties, townships, and the Forest Service. From there, their hope is that these partners can cite the study to gain grant funding for improvements to roads and other related projects.
The study has been speaking about the project with locals across both Lake and Cook Counties and is requesting feedback from the public to further improve their study, which, in turn, they hope will help locals. This included a booth at this year’s Bay Days event where over 100 people stopped by. Any residents who would like to share information, recommendations, or concerns can do so at MnDOT’s webpage for the project, at ‘talk.dot.state.mn.us/north-shore-roadway-network-resilience-study’.
The study team is planning to return to Silver Bay with an update early next spring once they have a draft of their plan put together.
One consent agenda item of note was the results of a lead/copper monitoring report from the Minnesota Department of Health stating that, at least at certain sites within the City, copper and lead levels were well below action levels.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments regarding an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) on the Mile Post 7 West Ridge Railroad Relocation, Dam Progressions, and Stream Mitigation Project. A copy of the EAW can be viewed at the Silver Bay Public Library, or a print copy can be requested by calling (651)259-5122. The EAW is also available on the DNR’s website at ‘mndnr.gov/Input/EnvironmentalReview/mile-post-7-tailings-basinproject.html’. Comments can be given online at ‘https://mndnr.commentinput.com/?id=kGj5DYgHi’ or by mailing comments to:
Becky Horton, EAW Project
Manager
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
500 Lafayette Road N, St. Paul,
MN 55155
Comments will be accepted until 4:30 pm on Thursday, August 27. Note that all comments, along with email or postal addresses given, will become part of public record for the environmental review.
The Council tackled a pair of resolutions concerning the proposed assessment for the Phase 1A of the City-wide Street and Utility Reconstruction Project, with City Engineer Josh Stier there to answer questions. Although the state, county, city, and other sources are paying for the vast majority of the project, the plan is to assess a portion of the project costs to property owners benefiting from the project: $608,000 of the $9,760,246 estimated total cost. The assessments will be payable in equal annual installments over 15 years, starting in 2027, at an interest rate of 6.25%. Anyone choosing to pay the assessment in full before November 16 of this year can do so and will avoid the extra cost of interest.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday, August 31st at 6:00 pm at the Multi-Modal Trailhead Center, and any affected property owners will be given a chance to speak on the proposed assessments. Note that the assessments will not gain final approval until after the public hearing.
Silver Bay will also be holding a public hearing on a proposed Facility Plan Amendment for the 2027 Sanitary Sewer Collection System Improvements on Monday, August 17th at 6:00 pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. If unable to attend in person, members of the public can send comments via email to lanaf@silverbaymn.gov or mail their comments to:
City of Silver Bay
7 Davis Drive
Silver Bay, MN 55614
After the public hearing at a later session, the Council will vote on submitting the facility plan amendment to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for review as part of the Citywide Street and Utility Improvements, Phase 1B. Stier stated the need for infrastructure improvements to Silver Bay’s sewer water system and is hopeful the city will be eligible to obtain sewer improvement grants in the near future. Stier followed with a positive update on the ongoing Citywide Street and Utility Improvements, Phase 1A project, and summed up by saying “everything’s going well.” All has been going according to plan and on schedule, with commendations to the construction crews for keeping things clean and professional. Updates on the project can be seen on Silver Bay’s website under the City Projects tab or at ‘silverbaymn.gov/city_projects/city_wide_street_improvement_project.php’.
Finally, in larger business, the Council mulled over a proposal to support Omcare’s Rural Health Innovation Study. This study is somewhat timely with the clinic’s upcoming closure; however, the Council had concerns it would directly compete with the local pharmacy and decided to have a gathering between Omcare and the pharmacy to ensure all parties are on the same page before coming to a decision. If the outcome is positive, the Council will send a letter of support for the study.
