Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Director, Matthew Johnson spoke with the Two Harbors City Council on Monday night about possibilities for rehabilitating some of the properties along the 600 block of 2nd Avenue. Johnson did not come to the meeting with a specific plan for the properties, but he did advocate for collaborative discussions between City and County stakeholders so that a plan could be formulated. There are government grants available to help fund such projects and Johnson indicated that he has heard from two developers who are interested in being involved. City officials will take the lead on what redevelopment will ultimately look like. Some buildings will need rehabilitation and some may need to be demolished, but the possibility of breathing new life into a section of the city that is under used is something that Council members are eager to tackle.
Johnson has been serving as the Lake County HRA Director for the past eight months and has worked with local officials to solidify plans to address the need for housing across Lake County. He has been instrumental in securing funding to finish rehabilitating the Lakeview Apartments and has helped bring plans for SilverPoint II in Silver Bay to fruition. Lake County officials have been working to support development and have transferred $2 million into a Housing Trust Fund. It has been said that the issue of affordable housing has been neglected for the past 20 years. It’s nice to see forward movement toward addressing this critical need.
Todd Hagen, of Ehlers Inc. was on hand to discuss the general obligation bonds for the 2024 – 25 Street Improvement Project and the Capital Equipment Fund. The City has a AA- credit rating and the current interest rates for public bonds are around 3.75%. The Council agreed to provide for the sale of a $4,605,000 bond for the street project and a $1,265,000 bond for the equipment fund. The Capital Equipment Fund will allow for the purchase of a new fire truck and other heavy equipment needs.
In other business, the Council voted to approve a plan for reconstruction of the taxiway at the airport. The work will repair cracks in the tarmac and address water retention problems by improving drainage of the pavement around the hangers. The cost of the project is $476,000, 90% of which will be covered by funds from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The start of construction on the new Municipal Liquor Store has been pushed back to April 15th due to the weather and the Council accepted the appointment of Randy Hedin to the position of Water / Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent.
The next Two Harbors Council meeting is scheduled for April 22nd at 6:00.
