There was a packed house at Monday night’s City Council meeting in Two Harbors. Many people came to witness the presentation of Commendations to Two Harbors Police officers Colin Stein and Sean Jones. Chief Hogenson and Assistant Chief Anderson were on hand to make the presentations. Officers Stein and Jones received their commendations for their life saving efforts on April 15th when they responded to the call to help an individual who was unresponsive. It turned out that the individual was overcome by an overdose of fentanyl. Officers Stein and Jones performed both CPR and administered Narcan, saving the individual’s life. In his presentation, Chief Hogenson said, “The action and effort of these two officers undoubtedly saved the life of another human being. Assistant Chief Anderson and I, on behalf of the Two Harbors Police Department and the city of Two Harbors, are honored to present the Life Saver Award to officer Colin Stein and officer Sean Jones.”
City Finance Director, Miranda Pietila, presented a feasibility study that City Council commissioned last month for the 2023 sidewalk improvement project. This is the third year of the project and the work will concentrate along the south side of the 600 and 700 blocks of Eleventh Avenue. Sidewalks will be replaced on both sides of the 800 and 900 blocks of Tenth Avenue. The City is covering the majority of the cost for this project with benefiting property owners being assessed $50 per sidewalk square adjoining their property lines. The work is slated to begin this coming August and September. Details on the project, including preliminary assessment estimates are available on the city’s web page under Council Minutes for April 24, page 173. Property owners have the right to object to the assessment. Objections must be filed in writing prior to a final assessment hearing which will be scheduled for October.
Jose Olson, of MNDOT, was on hand to answer council’s questions about moving forward with the Hwy 61 project. Most of the discussion was focused on the portion of Highway 61 at the East end of town between Park Road and 4th Street. Council will be taking information shared by Olson into consideration as they make their decisions about moving forward with the project. The funding shortfall has not been resolved as of yet, but hopefully City Administration will hear from Saint Paul in the near future.
Andrew Grice of KDV presented the results of the 2022 City Audit. The overall findings show that the City’s finances are in good shape. Grice said that the audit rating for the city is an unmodified opinion, which is the best rating available. Details of the audit are available on the city’s web page.
Jolene Brink proposed a grant application for waterfront planning. Brink lives in town and is part of a group called Citizens Institute on Rural Design (CIRD). The hope is to promote collaboration between interested citizens and CIRD on design ideas for the city’s waterfront.
Several residents appeared before the Council, requesting that the city continue the practice of providing zoom access to all city meetings. Though no action was taken on this issue, the topic will be up for further consideration and discussion by the Council. Zoom access provides a level of ease and transparency and encourages civic engagement by the residents of Two harbors.
Lee Senst was appointed to a position on the Planning Commission and the Council approved a revised summer schedule for city staff. From May 24th to September 4th, city staff will work 10 hour days from Monday through Thursday with offices being closed on Fridays.
The next City Council meeting will be held on Monday, May 8th at 6:00 PM.
