Agate Bay Waterfront Project Grant, Two Harbors Dog Park, North Shore Flats Groundbreaking, Speed Limit Signs in Alleyways, Love Life Memorial Garden, Drought Warning Response Phase, Liquor Store Buyer Proposals, UMD Neutrinos Project
The first of the two-part Two Harbors City Council meetings began with City Administrator Patty Nordean arranging for a surprise appearance from Kjersti Duval of Duval Companies, giving an update on planning for the Agate Bay Waterfront Project. Duval had great news in store for Two Harbors, as they are moving ahead with an LCCMR (Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources) grant for a grand total of $1,479,000. Before the grant is finalized, however, they must submit a work plan giving an overview of how the grant money will be used. The intention of the grant is to use it to pay for professional services such as design and engineering work; Duval confirmed that at this stage, a high-level plan rather than full details was expected, with the acknowledgement that plans such as this almost assuredly change over time as they progress.
Two short updates from City Departments: first from Finance Director Miranda Pietila, whose team is currently working on the city budget for 2027 with work progressing smoothly; second from City Engineer Andy Brotzler confirming city work on 15th Street is complete, and that upcoming County work in that area will likely not result in significant full closures of 15th Street.
For public eyes, this was a fairly truncated meeting, with well over half of the total proceedings being a closed session to consider real estate transactions for two parcels for future industrial development. No immediate decisions appear to have been made from the consideration. The remaining public portion featured a number of changes and additions to the agenda, beginning with an update from the Housing Committee from Mayor Lew Conner, where they discussed annual budget planning with Two Harbors HRA (Housing and Redevelopment Authority) and the recent groundbreaking for the apartment complex North Shore Flats.
Consent agenda items of note included: appointment of a new patrol officer; a quote to replace underground wiring; temporary onsale liquor license for Two Harbors Moose Lodge #1463’s annual Pour on the Shore event; annual renewal of the All One Health employee assistance program; payments for recent street projects; transfer of a tax-forfeited property to the City for a new dog park, to be zoned as city park, and to transfer ownership of the existing soccer field and parking lot to the City; and added to the agenda was acknowledging a request sent via email to install speed limit signs in alleyways and referring the matter to the Public Safety Committee.
Communications to the Council included local suicide-prevention organization Love Life requesting space to create a memorial garden along the Two Harbors walking trail by the lake, which Councilor Robin Glaser pushed to have referred to Trees & Trails for consideration. Another communication added was from the Minnesota Department of Health notifying Two Harbors of a current Drought Warning Response Phase for Western Lake Superior. While in a Drought Warning Phase, public water suppliers must implement water conservation measures. Residents are highly encouraged to be conservative with their own water use, with one big help being to water the lawn less often or to switch to a more efficient watering system. The current state of drought in Minnesota can be seen on their website at www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/drought/index.html.
Larger items on the agenda began with an approved 2nd reading of an ordinance amending City Code Chapter 3, which handles matters regarding municipal and public utilities. City Planner Sarah Swedburg encouraged passage of a Parks Master Plan from Bolton & Menk, which was approved. City staff will also continue to request buyer proposals for both the old liquor store and the house next door on 7th Avenue, excluding the proposals from the three previously interested parties, which were heard by the Council in their previous July session. A final addition to the agenda was a letter of support for UMD’s neutrinos project, which is currently renting space at the Water Treatment Facility for their research on neutrinos passing underwater through Lake Superior. The Council and Mayor expressed warm regard for their efforts so far and appeared happy to help the researchers pursue grant funding for their continued operations. Mayor Conner, who recently spent time on the group’s research vessel the Blue Heron, noted the group will likely be using another vessel soon: The US Navy’s RV (Research Vessel) Neil Armstrong will be used to bring the neutronic system needed for tracking neutrinos out into Lake Superior this Fall, with details to be decided.
