The Two Harbors City Council held a public hearing on Monday night to discuss the adoption of a joint powers agreement between the City and County HRAs. Concern had been raised over the initial draft of the agreement because the city HRA was not a part of the drafting of the original document. The revised agreement, which clarifies the parameters that both entities will operate under, was reached earlier this month when the two leadership boards met to define their working relationship. Deb Scott, Executive Director of the Two Harbors HRA, reiterated that the City HRA wanted to make sure that their board members had time to review projects that were being brought forth by the Lake County HRA prior to the city and county signing off on those projects. The agreement between the two HRAs stipulates that both HRAs, the city of Two Harbors and the County Board have 30 days to review proposed county projects and to make sure that all stakeholders have a voice in the decision making process. There is bound to be some overlap in the work that both HRAs do as they develop plans to address housing needs within the city and clearly defining the role of each entity will enhance their ability to work collaboratively.
Lake County HRA Director, Matthew Johnson, stated that he fully understands the need for the county HRA to seek permission for any projects within the city’s jurisdiction. He acknowledged that the 30 day agreement will, in some cases, need to be more of a “handshake agreement” than a hard rule because some decisions will need more time for all officials to study and get public feedback on. Johnson and members of the LC HRA had been concerned that slowing the decision making process by creating a government bureaucracy (City Council, County Board and both HRAs) would impede negotiations with contractors and thus discourage developers from wanting to be involved. It seems that the revised agreement alleviates those concerns. Mayor Lew Conner, who has been involved in efforts to provide housing in the city, said that he wanted to see the agreement passed by the Council. “I think we have a good document that we can move forward with”, he said. The Council voted to approve the revised joint powers agreement.
In other business, the Council voted to certify the results of the April 8th special primary election for Councilor at Large. Donna Heil received 38% of the votes cast and Laura Osbakken Goutermont received 24.5% of the votes. Barbara Omarzu and Miles Woodruff were the other primary candidates. Heil and Osbakken Goutermont will face off in an election that will be held on August 12th. City Council positions are non-partisan positions. Residents are encouraged to get out and vote on August 12th.
City Administrator, Patty Nordean stated that she had been contacted by the DNR regarding the Agate Bay waterfront property to be transferred from the DNR to the city. The inquiry from the DNR was related to the city’s willingness to accept a DNR stipulation that the land was required to only be used for outdoor recreational activity. The City Council has had some past discussions about the possible potential for some commercial development in that area. Nordean asked if the DNR was open to the idea of some commercial development and received a positive response. She indicated that the Council would have to decide what portion of the property might be open for development and that if any development is to happen, it can not be directly on the bay side of the depot but must be on a portion of the land toward the west side, near Lighthouse Point Road. Council members will be considering options for possible commercial development.
The next Two Harbors Council meeting will be held on April 28th at 5:30.
