Phil Arnold, of the Two Harbors HRA, was on hand at last week’s Lake County Board meeting to talk with the Commissioners about the transfer of tax forfeited county land, to the Two Harbors HRA. The HRA is asking for what amounts to five parcels of land in Segog that will be used for construction of affordable, single-family homes. Additionally, Arnold spoke about a proposed apartment complex on adjacent land that hopefully, could have up to 48 affordable units.
When completed, these proposed projects will go a long way toward addressing the need for affordable housing in Two Harbors and will have the added benefit of getting the properties back on the tax rolls. While all the Commissioners support the HRA in their efforts to work toward solutions to the housing issue, several expressed a desire to have a better understanding of how the Lake County and Two Harbors HRAs can work together. Members of both the local HRAs acknowledge the importance of streamlining processes and working relationships and are working toward that end. The fact that these processes are not in place perhaps speaks to the fact that housing has been something of a neglected issue for the last 20 years. The desire to see a clear process of collaboration among all the stakeholders is reasonable.
The Commissioners agreed to transfer the five parcels to the Two Harbors HRA. Some legal documents will need to be drafted and certain issues around needed infrastructure and funding will have to be clarified, but the Board’s decision helps keep the ball moving forward on affordable housing in the city.
Leo Babeu and Bruce Holmen of Community Radio Station KTWH spoke with the Board about an Emergency Alert System upgrade package that they are required by the FCC to have in place in the near future. There are a number of components to this upgraded system that will help KTWH better be able to inform and update area residents of any number of emergency situations including weather, fire and amber alerts. On behalf of the station, Babeu and Holmen requested $1,510 from the county to help acquire the needed equipment. The Board agreed to the request. Readers may remember that the staff at KTWH were recently hoping to transition to a full power station. Unfortunately, that plan has had to be shelved for the time being, but KTWH continues to strive to serve the needs of their listening and online audience. KTWH can be found at 99.5 on the FM dial and can be heard online at ktwh.org.
The next Lake County Board meeting will be held on December 12th at 2:00 p.m.
