The Two Harbors City Council received updates on a number of important efforts currently underway to bring needed improvements to the city.
Paul Peltier, of the Range Association of Municipalities And Schools (RAMS), made a brief presentation at Monday night’s meeting to update the Council on work the organization engages in to support rural cities in the Iron Range. Readers may remember that RAMS has been working since 1939 to advocate for the communities and schools in this region. They carry out this work by coordinating with local community leaders across the region to discuss community needs and to collectively work with legislative officials in St. Paul to secure funding and other resources for the area. RAMS is, in effect, one of our voices in the State capital that helps North Shore communities compete for State and Federal funding for needed infrastructure projects and other local improvements. Some of the current priorities for RAMS are economic development, housing and the expansion of broadband to underserved areas in our part of the state.
Executive Director of the Lake County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Matthew Johnson, was on hand at Monday’s meeting to update the Council on current work underway to address a number of housing needs in the area. The LCHRA has been working with local contractors to develop a design for single family homes that could be used throughout the county. The design plans are, at this point, concept designs, but would allow for various iterations of affordable, market rate housing that could accommodate three to five bedroom homes. Johnson emphasized that the LCHRA will be working with local contractors and material providers so that the benefits of development stay local. Johnson spoke about the downtown development project that is beginning to take shape for 2nd Avenue. He stated that the Council will be in charge of what the project will eventually become and the LCHRA will help facilitate the Council’s vision. Additionally, there are two development projects that LCHRA is working on to develop tax forfeited land within the city. One project is in the Segog area and could encompass land that can be used for development of workforce housing and also offers the possibility for some commercial development. This would be a phased project that would be developed over a number of years with collaboration between the LCHRA and the City. The LCHRA has also acquired some tax forfeited land on 17th Avenue and can be used for a couple of single family homes. LCHRA will work to sell that property so that it can be developed according to the Council’s specifications.
Jolene Brink, who, along with other community members, has been working with the Citizens Institute On Rural Design (CIRD) was joined by Dan Yudchitz, of Leo A Daly Architects. They presented an update on design ideas for the planned development of Van Hoven Park. There have been hundreds of hours of work put into development of the Park by local volunteers and there are some really exciting ideas that, when implemented, will make the waterfront a showpiece for the City. Eventually, the space will include the Veterans Memorial, space for the Edna G, and enhancements to the area between Waterfront Street and Lighthouse Point Road. Area residents were surveyed about what they would like to see developed in the area and their ideas include a versatile building that could be used for weddings, craft fairs and other community events, enhanced trail access that is ADA accessible, restrooms and shade structures, a fishing pier, structures along Agate Bay with a elevated viewing area so that visitors can view the waterfront and the shipping activity, and updated signage so that visitors can learn about the historic nature of the area. The eventual development of the park will be phased over a number of years and can be broken down into “bite sized” pieces as grant funding becomes available. What was presented at Monday night’s Council meeting are concept design ideas that will be developed further as the CIRD group continues to develop their plans.
The next Two Harbors Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 9th at 5:30 PM.
