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Two Harbors Council: Airport Renovations, Lead Pipe Inventory and Street Improvement for 2024 – 25

The Two Harbors City Coun­cil met on a snowy Monday night this week to consider the direction of a number of cur­rent projects.

Readers may remember that there is an ongoing need to upgrade and repair facilities at the Two Harbors Airport. The Council voted to award contracts to Parsons Electric for the replacement of the airport beacon and to National Seal­ant and Concrete for repairs to the tarmac. Both of these upgrades are necessary for the safe operation of the airport. The beacon replacement has a price tag of $78,401.00. 90% of that amount will come from the Federal Government with both State and local entities contributing 5% each. The pavement crack repair work will cost $96,755.00 with the State picking up 75% of the cost while 25% will be the City’s responsibility. The con­struction of a new Arrival and Departure building is also un­der consideration by the Pub­lic Works Committee.

Bids have come in for the 2024 – 25 street improvement project and Lake County has indicated that they are ready to award the contract for that work to Northland Construc­tors. The Council concurred with the County’s request to award that contract by a unan­imous vote. The neighborhood meeting to discuss logistics with residents impacted by the construction has been resched­uled for April 25th and will be held at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall.

The Council also authorized an engagement request from the Minnesota Department of Health for lead service line inventory grant funding. The Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Act and the State Legis­lature have dedicated signifi­cant funds for replacing lead service lines. Bolton & Menk wrote the grant application for this project and will work with the Department of Health to conduct the inventory.

City Administrator Patricia Nordean attended a meeting recently with State officials to discuss preparations for the upcoming election sea­son. Security improvements have been made for polling locations, the accurate tabula­tion of votes and poll worker safety. Nordean said that it is important for people to know how reliable the election pro­cess is in Minnesota.

There was a considerable amount of discussion about the Odegard Trail Project. Plan­ning for the project has gone through a number of iterations due to the proximity of the trail to property owned by Ca­nadian National Railroad and the fact that CN required some modifications to the initial design plan. Bolton & Menk will be providing profession­al services for continued de­sign work to bring the project to fruition. Design costs for moving the project forward will be around $30,000. The coun­cil members asked for clarifi­cation on the cost projections and after discussion, voted to accept the proposal. One Council member voted no, ex­pressing the opinion that fur­ther clarification was needed.

The Council is considering changing the time for the regu­lar City Council meeting from 6:00 to 5:30, after the Com­mittee of the Whole meeting. Stay tuned for updates on that decision.

Finally, the ground breaking ceremony for the new Liquor Store will be held on Thurs­day, April 11th at 1:00. The next City Council meeting will be held on April 8th at 6:00 at City Hall.

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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