Packed House at Monday’s Silver Bay Council Meeting

The Silver Bay City Council con­ducted a public hearing at the be­ginning of Monday night’s meeting to give area residents an opportuni­ty to weigh in on regulations per­taining to the long term parking and usage of recreational vehicles and campers within the confines of the city. The council is concerned about the prolonged use of campers, mo­torized homes and travel trailers as permanent habitation. Such vehi­cles typically lack approved san­itary facilities, and have nonstan­dard electrical and heating systems which makes them unfit for long term human habitation. Using vehi­cles that are designed for temporary habitation poses a health and safe­ty risk for both the people living in them and for the community as a whole and as the council considers ways to address this issue, it was important for the public to be able to ask questions and give input. The council did vote to adopt the reso­lution (Code Chapter 5, Nuisances and Offenses, Section 590) and res­idents were assured that the resolu­tion will not interfere with the use of recreational vehicles as tempo­rary housing for visiting guests or relatives.

There were considerable com­ments from the public on the pro­posed City Park and Amphitheater project. Most city residents are aware of this proposal and there was a strong showing of people who have questions about the viability of the project or who are concerned about the cost of such a project, given other needs that exist within the city. Readers should understand that the park and amphitheater proj­ect was on Monday night’s agenda only for the purpose of creating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the city and Rocky Wall Entertainment so that Rocky Wall can begin to explore possible sources of grant funding for the project. The MOU does not mean that the project is going to happen and it does not obligate the city to any financial commitment to the project. It is simply the next step in the process of determining if the project is viable or not. Nancy Hylden, who is a resident of Silver Bay and has served on the design team for the project, presented a powerpoint of the design concepts for the proposed park. The concept design work has been financed by donors and by Rocky Wall En­tertainment. If and when the plan for the park comes to fruition, the proposal is that it will be execut­ed in five phases. The first phase involves replacing the parking lot at city hall, the library and the fire and rescue building. The city has budgeted for the cost of this much needed parking lot improvement. Readers are encouraged to visit the city’s web page to look at the con­cept drawings and review the cost breakdown of the proposed phases of the project. Be advised that what you see is simply a concept plan and is not currently a “live” project that the city is taking on.

In other business, the council vot­ed on a resolution to submit capital bonding applications to the State legislature which identify project priorities for the city in 2026. As in past years, city officials will be going to Saint Paul to seek funding and talk with legislators about the following projects.

• Emergency Rehabilitation of Pressure Reducing Valves (PRV’s) – $1,950,000
• Emergency Water Main Lining – Transmission and Distribution – $4,150,000
• Phase 2 of City-wide Street and Utility Improvement – $6,300,000
• Rehabilitation of Mary MacDonald Business Center – $3,750,000
• City Center Park and Amphitheater – $4,000,000

City Administrator, Lanna Fra­lich, stated that public works proj­ects have priority with regard to seeking funding. The hope among council members is that support for the top priority projects will get some attention in Saint Paul. It is unlikely that all of them will get funding.

The Golf Course Housing Proj­ect was on Monday’s agenda. The council voted to have the EDA act as developers for the project. Coun­cil members were split on the issue of how many vacation rental prop­erties should be part of the develop­ment. A previous council decision on this issue would allow for four rental properties, but advocates for the Golf Course have indicated that there is a need for more rental prop­erties to help keep the course via­ble. Council members will have to clarify language on this issue prior to moving forward on agreements of vacation rental properties for the development.

There is some concern about the status of work to address the pe­rimeter ditching issue. The city is waiting on four temporary ease­ments/hold harmless responses from property owners whose prop­erty the ditch system crosses and three hold harmless agreements for residents who may be impacted by work done. It would be helpful for residents who are holding out or have not responded to talk with city officials about any concerns that they have. Holding up the project could result in additional flooding of homes in the area when the rains come. Secondary letters are being sent out and the hope is that there will be clarity on moving the proj­ect forward soon.

The next Silver Bay council meeting will be held on June 2^nd at 7:00 PM.