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Sunday, October 6, 2024
HomeBusinessLibrary Project and Silverpoint II Top Silver Bay Council Agenda

Library Project and Silverpoint II Top Silver Bay Council Agenda

The Silver Bay City Council passed resolutions on Monday night that move both the Library Building Project and the Silver­point II Development forward. The projected cost for the reno­vation and addition to the library is $1,217,306. Library staff have secured $1.1 million from various grants for the project and in the interest of helping get the project under way, the Council voted to authorize the transfer of money from the city’s general fund to the library fund to make up the shortfall. Reimbursement will be made to the general fund via a levy of $35,000 from the library fund starting in 2025. Nor-Son Con­struction has been awarded the contract for the Library Building Project.

Several resolutions concerning the Silverpoint II Project were on the docket, including a variance request to subdivide the parcel of land that Silverpoint II will be lo­cated on into two parcels. In ad­dition, the Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Authority requested a variance that will al­low Silverpoint II to have a peak height of 42 feet. The LCHRA also sought a conditional use permit to develop a multi-fam­ily commercial building on the site. The Council unanimously voted to pass these resolutions and agreed that the city would submit an application to act as a le­gal sponsor for the Silverpoint II Workforce Housing Project. All of this is evidence of the effort that the City Council and officials from Lake County have made to address some of the affordable housing needs in Silver Bay.

In other business, the Council voted to refurbish, rather than re­place the City’s fire engine. The cost of a new engine would have been over $500,000 and the ex­isting engine can be refurbished for $237,000. Council members commented that the refurbish­ment would include every part of the fire truck except the engine and the chassis. Custom Fire Ap­paratus built the engine and will do the reconditioning work.

Police Chief Cole Ernest spoke with the Council about replacing the department’s existing body and squad cameras with a sys­tem designed by Lenslock Law Enforcement Technology. The Lenslock system is more cost effective than what the depart­ment is currently using and will provide the department with cut­ting-edge technological improve­ments. Lake County is consid­ering Lenslock for the Sheriff’s Department and Two Harbors has installed Lenslock systems in their squad cars. The Council voted to approve the resolution.

City Administrator Lana Fralich will be going to St. Paul to meet with Senator Grant Hauschild and other legislators to talk about funding for the city-wide Street Improvement Project. Though it is not clear how much funding the city may receive, Fralich and Hauschild are hoping to secure $6.5 million. Stay tuned for further developments.

The Silver Bay Liquor Store will be closed at 5:00 on Tuesday, April 23rd for employee training.

The next Silver Bay Council meeting will be held on May 6th at 7:00.

Rick Evans
Rick Evans
My wife, Marsha Kinzer (a proud DEHS Greyhound, class of ‘77) introduced me to the North Shore on vacation in 2012. It became our regular escape when the stress of our careers in education became overwhelming, and it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the breathtaking scenery, the nice people, and “salad” containing Jell-o and marshmallows. So you can either blame or thank my loving wife for my being here, because when we needed to choose a retirement hometown, Marsha advocated hard for her beloved Duluth, and here we are, six months later. Yes, this will be my first northern Minnesota winter. Yes, I welcome thoughts and prayers. Government, public policy, and social justice weighed heavily in the curriculums I taught at the high school level over a thirty-eight year career. In addition, we were a laboratory school focused on critical thinking in conjunction with technical and scientific writing. So when I found myself adrift on the great ocean of retirement and spied a raft, I jumped at the chance to take up what I’d left behind…minus the bad teachers’ lounge coffee. My position at the NSJ allows me to combine my passions for government and writing, and it’s helping me to feel less out of touch in new surroundings. When I’m not being “Cubby” (Marsha’s favorite new nickname for this green reporter) I enjoy pointing at eagles and saying, “Look, honey. There’s an eagle.” I’ve had an active side hustle as a professional musician for almost as many years as Charlie Parr. As a guitarist/singer/songwriter, I graced the stages of clubs and festivals around southern Wisconsin, including an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion. Should I even mention A Prairie Home Companion, or am I the only one here old enough to remember what that is? Look! An eagle!
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