The Two Harbors City Council held a fast-paced meeting on Monday night. The Council approved the receival of a final layout plan for the Highway 61 reconstruction project. Though the overall plan has been made public in the past, there are a few refinements that will be made public at a hearing on November 13th during the regular Council meeting. Interested residents are encouraged to attend.
The Council has been asked to address the issue of poor stormwater drainage along the alley north of 2nd Avenue, between 3rd and 4th street. Water tends to pool in the alley due to the contours of the area and residents owning property there have asked the city to remedy the issue. Bolton & Menk sought bids to do the necessary work but received only one response due to the fact that bidding requests came during the height of a busy construction season. The cost for the mitigation work was estimated at $30,000. Unfortunately, the bid that was received was for more than twice that amount. The Council voted to refer this issue back to the Public Works Commission to see if a temporary solution can be found. The plan moving forward will be to seek bids for a permanent fix when contractors are actively seeking work for the Spring construction season.
A public hearing on the 2024 – 25 Street project is scheduled for October 23rd. Joe Rhein, of Bolton & Menk reported that re-seeding work along 5th Avenue should start this week. As was reported in last week’s addition of this paper, the contract that the city holds for this work will remain open so that any additional remediation work that needs to be done can be completed in the Spring.
A MNDOT grant was approved for the much-needed pavement maintenance and replacement at the Airport. Additionally, the Council approved the lease of a loader with a snow blower attachment for use at the Airport. The equipment will be used to keep the runways clear of snow this winter.
Finally, the Council approved a Conditional Use Permit for the property at 402 1st Avenue for a Meeting Hall and Artisanal Industrial Workshop. The Planning Commission had given a green light for the conditional use plan which meets all city zoning and code specifications. The workshop space will be used for the production of artisanal candles.
The next Two Harbors City Council meeting is scheduled for October 23rd at 6:00.
