The Two Harbors City Council approved two measures on Monday night that will help move the work of the City’s Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) forward. The Council voted to approve a request by Mayor Lew Conner to authorize the transfer of $45,000 ($40,000 for the School Project, and $5,000 for insurance and attorney’s fees) to the HRA. Readers will likely recall that the School Project refers to an agreement between the HRA and the School District to have Industrial Art students work under the direction of teaching staff and construction professionals, to build frames that will be used to construct walls for project homes. The $40,000 is earmarked for materials for that purpose and work on that part of the project will start in January. The frames, when constructed, will, for the time being, be stored at the high school.
This is a one-time deal between the City and the HRA and though the $40,000 has been previously budgeted for use by the HRA, there has been some delay in allocating those funds because certain details needed to be worked out so that there is clarity between the Council and the HRA in terms of use of funds, reimbursement of a portion of the money to the city and next steps for how financing will take place in the future. The financial plan moving forward will be that the HRA will use money from the sale of the first home to help finance their next project.
The second measure approved by the Council is to ask Lake County to transfer certain tax-forfeited lots in the Segog area to the City HRA. In the event that housing projects slated for construction on these lots do not move forward, the lots will revert back to the City or County after 5 years.
The unanimous approval of these resolutions will start the process of making a dent in needed housing in the city and will give high students an important role in helping address this crucial need for the community.
The Council approved a resolution re-affirming the ordering of improvement on the following streets:
4th Avenue from 3rd Street to 6th Street.
5th Avenue from 5th Street to 6th Street.
6th Avenue from 4th Street to 7th Street
5th Street from 4th Avenue to 7th Avenue
In other news, the remodeling of restrooms at the Two Harbors Library has been completed and both facilities are now ADA compliant. City Administrator Patricia Nordean noted that the Library will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, November 20 and 21, so that the new Circulation Desk and public workstations can be installed. Library staff will be offering curbside service on Monday and Tuesday for any patrons who have materials to pick up. Councilmen and Library Board member Uriah Hefter mentioned that the Library has themed memory kits that are available for checkout. The themes are related to different decades and area residents who have family members who suffer from memory issues can use the kits to help engage their loved ones in conversation.
Finally, the Council authorized a request to have Bolton & Menk look into the engineering required to remove the Edna G from Agate Bay and have it placed on land. There will be one regular Two Harbors Council meeting scheduled for Monday, December 11th. The next Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 27th at 6:00.
