Anyone who has ever served as an elected official in a government position, be it at the local, state, or national level, will likely say that making decisions as a representative of the people is a challenging, frustrating, and sometimes thankless job. The old adage that “You can’t please all of the people all of the time” surely weighs on the minds of local elected officials. That being said, it was appropriate for the Council to give time at last week’s council meeting for reviewing the work that has been done over the past year to solve problems, fix infrastructure and find funding for needed improvements in Silver Bay. As someone who has observed and reported on the City Council for over a year, I think this review is worth a read.
Like all small towns in Minnesota, Silver Bay has aging infrastructure that either needs to be upgraded or replaced. A short list of projects that are underway or are in the planning stage include the Water Treatment Facility Upgrade, the Stormwater Management Plan, the Citywide Street Improvement Program, the Library Addition and Roofing Project, and the work done to upgrade the Outdoor Rink and Recreation Park.
Tourism is a vital part of the local economy. Projects that are ongoing and are designed to enhance and grow the tourist industry include the East Lakeview Drive project which will improve access to Black Beach and the Multi-Modal Trailhead Center, which will improve access to the Gitchi Gami and Lake Superior Trails for both residents and tourists.
The Master Sign Plan and the Downtown Vision Plan, as they are implemented, will bring needed upgrades and revitalization to the Silver Bay business district and there are several ongoing projects to address housing needs in town as the City continues to work on the development of the Penn Boulevard and Silverpoint II projects.
With regard to managing finances, the City Administration received yet another clean end-of-year audit. There are 23 full-time city employees and a number of part-time and temporary employees who work for Silver Bay. Much of the work mentioned above was done outside of city staff’s typical everyday tasks.
In other business, the Council voted to renew the contracts for Economic Development Director David Drown and Fire Administrator Michael Rowlee and approved the hiring of Tracy Thun as the new Library Clerk Technician.
Finally, Storybook Theater will be staging a production of Repunzel this coming August. Storybook Theater is picking up the mantle of Prairie Fire Theater which ceased operations due to the Covid epidemic. Stay tuned for more information on community theater.
A public hearing has been scheduled for February 25th at 7:00 p.m. to consider the Vacation of Library Easement. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 2nd at 7:00.
