Homework on Wednesday: Meeting Updates

This past Wednesday turned out to be a busy day!  I was able to attend three great meetings around town and gather a great deal of useful information for looking to the future.  I will use this post to explain a little about these meetings and the information given at each.  As you can see from the photo, I have a great deal of reading and homework to do to absorb all of the information!

1. Assisted Living in Grand Marais
2. City Council Meeting
3. Violence Prevention Center Meeting

1. The first meeting happened at the hospital...
I was invited to this meeting on Tuesday and was very glad that I attended.  Also at this meeting were the Directors of Community Development and Business Recruitment from the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), the directors of the Senior Center here in Grand Marais, the directors of the hospital and care center here in town, the director of Hill Haven Assisted Housing, representatives of the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, board members from Sawtooth Ridges Apartments, Care Partners, North Shore Health Care Foundation, and the Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA).

And then I was there too... Representing the newly elected city council.

Needless to say, it was a pretty experience heavy meeting, regardless of if I was counted or not!

The meeting was called to discuss the possibility of bringing a permanent, Medicare and Medicaid certified Assisted Living facility to Grand Marais.

Over the past several years as our residents have aged and transitioned to different seasons of their lives, their living situations have needed to change too.  Some move to the independent living apartments around town, some move in with family, and some leave town altogether.  This final option is not ideal considering that many of these people are the people who helped to build Grand Marais from rock and timber and who would like to live out their days in this community.  Also, it was acknowledged that there is a "care gap" in our community where some not-so-critical patients have a hard time receiving just the care that they need.

These factors caused a few community members to contact representatives of Spectrum Health Services to come and present information about the possibilities of bringing Assisted Living services to Grand Marais.  There was some great conversation had, concerns raised, relief expressed, and at the end of the almost two hour meeting we came up with an action plan for moving forward:
1. Get a market study done to see if Assisted Living IS NEEDED and COULD SURVIVE in our community.  This study will show how many beds of Asssisted Living our Cook County Community could sustain.  It will take into consideration the services that are already being offered so that the presence of Assisted Living would not cause hardship to already existing services and locations as well.  *This study will be owned by the City of Grand Marais (pending the approval of the City Council to proceed), paid for through a grant from the North Shore Health Care Foundation (pending application and acceptance of the grant), and will give us the information necessary to make an educated decision to move forward or not.
2. IF the market study shows that there IS a need for these services and they will compliment (not compete with) care structures already in place in the county, then we proceed to investigate locations and companies that could offer these services.  As a part of this step, the City of Grand Marais would be in conversation with the IRRRB who voiced their feeling that most, if not all of the infrastructure necessary to build an Assisted Living location would be paid for through Community Development money from the IRRRB.

RESULT:  A top of the line, cutting edge Assisted Living facility in our city that cost the City very little to no money and will bring in high rates of property tax.  The benefits of this arrangement look really good on paper, it will be the job of the new city council under advisement of our health care providers in the county to make sure that these benefits translate from paper into real life.
*There are not many details available as to what the Assisted Living facility would look like, but it would be en suite rooms with 24 hour nurse care available, three hot meals a day, and potentially memory care services as well.

2. City Council Meeting.  All of the City Council members were present for the Wednesday meeting included the newly elected members of the council, David Mills and Anton Moody... (I was there as well, but I don't like referring to myself in the third person...).  Although it was a short meeting, some very important items crossed the desk.
A. The City received a $50,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation to continue the process of bidding, securing customer agreements, and finalizing financing for the construction and operation of a district biomass heat plant here in Grand Marais.  Although most of you have probably heard about this project, the idea is to build a heat plant on the edge of town that would provide hot water heat at a stable price to all of the city and county buildings as well as some of the larger business buildings along the Hwy 61 corridor.  The price of this heat would be stable because the fuel for the heat plant would be slash from logging operations in the National Forest.  This grant will allow the continuing research into if and how this would work for the interested parties.
B. Kimber Wralstad from the North Shore Hospital and Care Center requested that the Council sign a letter of support so that they can receive the funding grant for the renovation of the health care campus.  The board voted unanimously to do so!
C. The Council viewed and held a brief discussion regarding the many boards and committees around the city that are going to have vacancies after this year.  There are several ways to get involved.  If you have any interest in getting involved, let me know and I will get you a list of what is available.  I may even put up another post with opportunities after this one!
D. After the meeting, the other newly elected councilors and I received a handsome bundle of minutes for all of the City Council and city department board meetings that we are to review and ask questions about to get ourselves up to speed on what has been happening around town.  I assure you all that we will study this information and will be ready to hit the ground running in January when we are sworn in.

3. Violence Prevention Center Meeting.  After the City Council meeting adjourned, I went to a meeting at the Violence Prevention Center to gather some more information regarding the services that this organization offers to our community.  Coming off of their annual fundraiser/awareness night, Lunafest, there was a lot of good energy in the air.  The VPC offers advocacy resources to anyone who sees themselves as a victim of violence, whether that be domestic violence or sexual violence.  They can help you figure out what is available to you, they will just listen if you just need to tell someone something, or they will listen if you are concerned for someone else's safety.  I was surprised to learn that the VPC handles several hundred instances a year and relieved that they exist in our town.  Their hotline, which is an anonymous way to access their services, is available 24 hours a day and does not cost anything.  It will not get you or anyone else in trouble with the law; it is meant purely as a support mechanism.  Their number is 218-387-1237.

So, as you can see, it was a busy day!  Now, a few days later, after I have finished sorting through all of this information, I am ready for next week and the information that will come to me then as well!

*As always, if you would like to meet with me or share your feelings on a topic, please do so at jay.a.decoux@gmail.com

Thank you!