Council Meeting 11-24 and Christmas Tree Lighting!

Hello again Everyone!

I thought that I would put out a brief update on what happened over the Thanksgiving week. As I mentioned before, my family travels for the Thanksgiving weekend so I was not present for the meeting on the 24th, but I can give you a summary of what happened at it because there were actually some items other than the normal consent agenda items!

Also, because I was not in town for the Christmas Parade and festivities, I organized a contest to offer the honor of lighting the Grand Marais Christmas tree to a young person who could best summarize what it is about the holiday season that makes it special to them. I received a few submissions for the contest and I picked Hailey Anderson to do the honors! She is a kindergartner who wrote about time with family and friends, the happiness that comes at the holidays, and the presents and treat as well!

Congratulations to Hailey! It sounds like she did a great job lighting the tree!

Ok, on to the Council meeting:

The agenda for the meeting was set (nothing could be added to it after it was publicized) so what was on the agenda was what the Council was able to attend to. One step further, the agenda was organized with all of the items in need of approval listed under the consent agenda, so all of the business could be addressed with a single motion.

These items were:

1. Approve the Agenda-- This is strictly a formality because the agenda was already set due to the fact that this was a "special" meeting, i.e. not happening at the normal date and time)

2. Approve meeting minutes from the previous meeting

3. Approve payment of bills-- This is really the important one. If we don't approve these on a 2 week cycle then we run the risk of having to pay late fees, which isn't in anyone's best interest!

4. Fire Benefit Level Change-- This was the official acceptance of the resolution approved at the last meeting to raise the annual firefighter's benefit to $1500 from the $1250 it was previously. Our firefighters provide all of our response to these emergencies and much more. Now the benefit amount is on par with the Lutsen Fire Department and hopefully will attract some new applicants to the department.

5. DEED Grant Contract for Hospital-- Earlier in the year the Council agreed to work in conjunction with the hospital to apply for a grant to help offset some of the infrastructure upgrades required for the hospital renovation project. This grant was worth $250,000. Since we already voted to participate in this project with the hospital in the application for the grant, accepting the contract is somewhat automatic based on approval of the language in the contract. Our lawyer gave us no reason to be concerned with the language, so it was included in the consent agenda.

6. Winter Maintenance and Equipment Bids-- As per every winter we receive bids for the rental of equipment the City does not have the capital nor interest to buy for itself. This is namely front end loaders and dump trucks for the removal of massive piles of snow. These bids offer the City access to well-maintained equipment for the infrequent use that we require it for at a price that is very low compared to the purchase and operation of the equipment itself. After seeing this and seeing the prices that are in line with what was paid in the past, this was included in the consent agenda.

**Although I wasn't there, I assume that there was a motion made and passed formally accepting all of these things.

Our next meeting is December 9th at 6:30! Please attend if you would like to make a comment to the Council or just see how the meetings run!

As always, please let me know if you have any concerns and I would be glad to meet with you.