Last week was, surprisingly, very busy for the City of Tower
MONDAY, JULY 15, 2018 — Last week was a very busy week for the City of Tower. The city conducted its regular meeting on Monday and a Tower Area Economic Development Association (TEDA) meeting on Thursday. The city was also expecting that Daryl Lamppa would sign a lease on Thursday green-lighting construction on a new manufacturing facility to expand the family’s stove works on city owned land along State Highway 135 at the southwest corner of the city. Apparently Lamppa Manufacturing wanted to fine-tune the lease and the city reports that they have now agreed to terms with Lamppa Manufacturing and it is expected that the TEDA and the City will conduct special meetings on Thursday, July 19, to resolve any remaining issues and set the project underway.
Finally, Gundersen Trust Trustees, the Tower City Council, and Minnesota Attorney General were served papers notifying them that the the City was seeking a hearing at 9:30 in the morning, August 15, 2018, at the St. Louis County courthouse in Virginia. The petition is to allow the trust to amend the terms of the trust. Although City Alderman Lance Dougherty, chairman of the Board of Trustees, approved the petition for the hearing some of the trustees were surprised at the legal service. It does seem surprising since the last time the Gundersen Trust was mentioned on the agenda of a open City of Tower meeting was on April 16, of last year, when the city council removed an item concerning the trust off its agenda. It is understood that any of the upcoming changes were precipitated by the 2017 city audit, and might be required by Minnesota statute, however one would expect that the city business be conducted in the light of day and all the Gundersen Trust trustees would be aware of potential legal actions before being served with the legal paperwork.
On Monday, July 9, at its regular meeting, Tower City Council:
• Learned about the St. Louis County Commissioner candidacy of Paul Kess. A most interesting part of Kess’s presentation was when he reported that the County Commissioner District 4, supplies the county with 25 percent of the county’s property tax income and only 5 percent of the county spending on its labor force is for employees working in the district.
• Denied a request from Breitung township to contribute towards its intent to build another baseball diamond in Soudan. The city council agreed, unanimously, that while it has $10,000 in its budget to build a new ball field, it wants to assure that there is a ball field in Tower, first
• Approved publishing the Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the proposed Dave Rose campground on the East Two River and a “negative declaration of need for an environmental impact statement”
• Approved the $1,591,000 Lenci Enterprises, Inc., Virginia, bid to build a new manufacturing facility in the city to house Lamppa Manufacturing and potentially another light-industrial business. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) is set to provide the city with these funds as a non-recourse loan which the city will pay back from the lease payments made by Lamppa Manufacturing. Because of the IRRRB non-recourse loan the city will not be liable for payments beyond its ability to raise the money from the lease of the building
• Approved the acceptance of IRRRB commercial demolition grant funding on behalf of the Lake Vermilion Cultural Center.
• Appointed Linda Keith, head election judge, Terri Joki-Martin, Deputy head election judge, Margie Johnson, lead election judge, Mandy Northrup, lead election judge, Carol Pratt, Robin Majerle, Sheldon Majerle and Jeff Mattson, election judges
• Approved a change order for gravel to complete a Hoodoo Point campsite road at a cost of $5,275.50.
• Approved an airport hangar lease transfer to the Molinaro Family Limited Partnership, LLP from John Burgess
• Received the monthly Breitung Police Department report; Fire Chief Report; Ambulance Director Report, SEH engineers report, and TEDA minutes
• Approved the minutes of its regular June 11, 2018 meeting
• Approved paying all of the bills before the city council.