The Two Harbors City Council conducted business in an efficient manner at last Monday night’s meeting. Of the agenda items being considered, seal coating of recently resurfaced streets and a call for mindful environmental stewardship were central to the meeting.
For those who are unfamiliar with seal coating, it is a process of applying a protective coating to asphalt-based pavements and provides a layer of protection over the road’s surface. This process protects the road from degradation by the elements, ultraviolet light, water, and oil. Seal coating helps preserve the existing pavement for 5 to 7 years and can be done several times before it becomes necessary to resurface a street, which is a much more costly endeavor. The streets identified for seal coating include streets that have been resurfaced since 2017. There will be a map indicating specifically where the work will take place on the city’s website. The cost for this project will be $289,000, and there is no assessment for property owners who are having their streets seal coated. Funding to cover the project is in the city’s 2025 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) budget. The Council voted to move forward with the project
The Council adopted a resolution ordering the preparation for the proposed assessment for the 2023 Sidewalk Improvement Project. The parameters of the project include corridors along the South side of 11th Avenue, from 6th Street to 8th Street and both sides of 10th Avenue, from 8th Street to 10th Street. A public hearing on the assessment has been scheduled for November 12th.
The Council also accepted a proposal from Carlson McCain Consulting, for phase 1 environmental investigation work along Agate Bay in the vicinity of where the Edna G is berthed and including both the site of the proposed hotel / event center and the area where the roundhouse used to be located.
Area resident Kim Leon spoke to the Council in the spirit of Indigenous Persons Day to encourage the Council to create an effective stewardship and sustainability resolution as plans are made for revitalizing the city’s waterfront. Leon reminded the Council that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided a long-standing description of environmental stewardship as the responsibility for environmental quality shared by the actions of all citizens. She encouraged that, as we move forward with waterfront revitalization, we must be mindful of the broad impacts of the decisions we make as a community so that we can ensure that good stewardship practices are reflected in the work to revitalize the waterfront. In our Western world view, we tend to think of ourselves as masters of the environment. Leon invoked the viewpoint of Indigenous culture which recognizes that humanity is an integral part of many living beings on this planet. When we care for the air, water, land and animals we are actually among family members and caring for the gifts of the earth that we all depend on for survival. Mayor Lew Conner closed out the Council meeting by acknowledging the importance of Indigenous history, communities and culture.
I think it is appropriate for all of us to remember that we are all connected despite apparent differences. As I left the meeting, I was reminded that it is wise to acknowledge the original stewards of the land where we live and walk and the words of singer, songwriter Bruce Cockburn came to mind.
“If you’re like me you’d like to think we’ve learned from our mistakes. Enough to know we can’t play God with other’s lives at stake. So now we’ve all discovered the world wasn’t only made for whites. What steps are you gonna take to try and set things right?”
Let us be mindful as we move forward together. The next Two Harbors Council meeting is scheduled for October 28th at 5:30 PM.
