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Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall April 3, 1934 to October 1, 2025
A celebration of Jane Goodall’s life was held at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on November 12, 2025. There will be another celebration on November 22nd in Toronto, Canada. For details, go to the Jane Goodall Institute Canada Memorial Event Guide at https://janegoodall.ca/rememberingjane-guide/
The entire video is 2 hours 43 minutes. https://janegoodall.org/livestream/. The first 58 minutes are photos and music, including young voices and signing in bottom right corner.
Time markers:
1’00” – The Very Reverend Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean, Washington National Cathedral
1’02” – Anna Rathmann, Executive Director, Jane Goodall Institute, USA
1’08” – Francis Collins, MD, PhD (previous Director, National Institute of Health)
1’17” – Ave Maria, D. 838 (Franz Schubert)
1’22” – Leonardo DiCaprio
1’28” – Merlin van Lawick, grandson
1’37” – Nick van Lawick, Jane’s youngest grandchild, reading “Immortality” by Clare Harner
1’38” – All Creatures of Our God and King
1’42” – The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
1’44” – DeWayne “Dee” Crank from the Navajo Nation
1’50” – Psalm 104:1-5, 24-28
1’52” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
1’54” – For the Beauty of the Earth
1’56” – Matthew 5:3-9
1’58” – The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
2’11” – “Méditation” from Thais (Julies Massenet)
2’17” – The Lord’s Prayer
2’18” – McClellan “Mac” Hall, Cherokee Blessing
2’21” – After each petition, Hear our prayer
2’23” – Give rest, O Christ
2’25” – All Things Bright and Beautiful
2’29” – Prelude from Cello Suite No. 3, BWV 1009 (Johann Sebastian Bach)
What a way to set the tone for Ely’s Comprehensive Plan!
Tonight, Tuesday, November 4, 2025 the Mayor of Ely signaled to the citizens how valued (NOT!) their input is when it comes to the direction of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Two citizens requested to appear before Council voted on Planning & Zoning’s recommendation to create a new steering committee. Their requests to appear were submitted “too late,” the Mayor announced. They should have been submitted by Thursday noon last week to get into the Council packet posted Friday PM.
The Mayor could have easily made an exception. It’s at her discretion.
How do encourage citizen participation, whether speaking at meetings or serving on a commission?
There was no real point speaking after Council voted. Neither Council nor P&Z expressed real interest in hearing citizen comments at the end of the tonight’s meeting. Basically, we’ll let you know when we want to hear from citizens, some time later.
Note: this deadline is not posted anywhere on the 2 different request forms available. (One of the 2 forms – without protocols section at bottom – is apparently no longer available online as of today?) Tonight the Mayor said citizens should look for the submission deadline in Section 2.02 of the City Code. Hopefully it will soon be printed on all the forms as well as clearly mentioned everywhere on City webpages that mention submitting requests to appear.
Blank Request Form
Nov 4th Agenda Additions packet not posted as of 8:30 pm
Section 2.02 City Code – Somehow citizens are supposed to know they are to look here.
How can citizens submit a request to speak a day before the agenda item is posted?? This is not logical. See https://www.ely.mn.us/council-meetings Agenda Additions packets are frequently created after the Friday postings.
The Planning & Zoning agendas and packets are posted on the City Government webpage at https://www.ely.mn.us/government. This was a pro-public transparency decision to post P&Z info before the meetings. It’s a great way to encourage public discussion and attendance at their meetings. But for some reason, the agenda and packet for P&Z meeting are not available to view this evening. Agendas and packets for other meetings are available.
Snapshot 9:59 pm Nov 4th
P&Z Oct 20th agenda & packet not avail – snapshot 9:59 pm Nov 4th
Old printed out copy – Comprehensive Plan not on P&Z Oct 20th agenda
To repeat: There was no reasonable way for concerned citizens outside the inner group to know about – much less request to speak publicly before Council rubberstamped – until after the Council Packet was posted Friday, October 31st. The window to respond was closed the day before we knew. Expect this to continue in the future.
City Hall + P&Z tactic successful: Rush things through P&Z Commission and City Council to limit commissioner input, Council questions, and public awareness or ability to respond quickly. Part of this tactic is to NOT have items clearly identified or announced in the meeting packets. This seems to have intensified after January 2024. Council will not publicly protest the last minute Agenda Additions dropped too late for them to review and do followup research. The faster P&Z + City Hall push pro-developer projects and contracts through, the faster their personal reputations grow.
Here’s an unasked question: Why aren’t all the City Council members directly involved in Comprehensive Plan discussions? Why not during their regularly monthly scheduled Study Sessions? Council Members best know who’s in our community and their needs. What they don’t know, they would be eager to learn. It’s obvious they are passionate about and proud of Ely. According to the Ely City Calendar, Council didn’t hold a single Study Session so far in 2025. They held 2 and cancelled 10 in 2024. They held 3 and cancelled 9 in 2023.
In public, City Council Members seem to be afraid of challenging or revising recommendations from Harold Langowski, whether directly from him or thorough the City Planning & Zoning Administrator. Not a single Council Member questioned why 6 members total was the magic number for steering committee members. Council doesn’t really seem to care about seats and votes for citizens. During and after Council’s August 29, 2023 Study Session on Animal Licensing and Regulations lots time was spent discussing the maximum number dogs and cats a household could have. The Comprehensive Plan is less important?
Look closely at the wording used in the unapproved October 20th minutes from P&Z. Future development and funding will be based on what’s in and what’s not in the Comprehensive Plan. What are P&Z + City Hall pushing?
1) There is no mention about quality of life issues in the minutes. Planning & Zoning isn’t (primarily) focused on quality of life or social services. What is not mentioned in their minutes, is not considered important for the proposed steering committee. Guess how many quality of life professionals are currently seated on all the Ely commissions, boards and committees. Here’s the webpage: https://www.ely.mn.us/boards Click on each commission to see the list of members. Expect no quality of life professionals to be seated with voting power on the steering committee. Therefore, quality of life won’t be addressed throughout the Comprehensive Plan, because nobody will keep bringing up that issue. It was ignored in the 2015 Plan. Note: Quality of life isn’t just about sports and active recreation.
2) There is no mention about the environment and nature as being valuable in their undeveloped state or to be preserved and protected. Spaces used for active parks and recreation use and community gardens have different characteristics than “natural areas” used for quiet contemplation, healing, birding, etc. It is appears the current P&Z + City Hall push (strong, hard, fast) to switch Miner’s Drive quiet green areas into business development is working. Green space isn’t valued. Quote: “It is important for land annexation to further enhance the development opportunities with the city.” For more info about anthropocentrism, read https://elyminnesota.com/blog/reviewing-ely-city-visions-plans/
From old 2015 plan – will goals and objectives be written??
3) There’s no mention about seniors, accessibility, blight, vacant buildings, dog park, or accessibility in the October 20th minutes. Has P&Z already worked on these? What was changed? Seniors and accessibility were ignored in the 2015 plan, aside from handicap parking spaces. No mention means not important, even though 50% of the population are seniors. BTW, we no longer have a designated Ely Senior Center.
4) There’s no mention about Climate Change, the GreenTeam or sustainability issues. P&Z, City Hall and Council surprisingly made no mention of these. Has a seat with voting rights already been designated or rejected for someone who’s been actively involved in these important issues?
5) There’s no mention of neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are not important? Houses are just property?
6) There’s no mention about ATV trails. Trails keep getting build in Ely. As many in Miners Lake neighborhood know, there are empowered Good Old Boys and allies who want to make Ely an ATV mecca. If ATVs are not mentioned in the notes, you might assume a pro-ATV advocate will be seated with voting power.
7) There was no mention about reviewing other Cities’ Visions and Comprehensive Plans. The desire is craft the Comprehensive Plan the same way it was done previously. Do not expect the City to pay for a survey company or contract. Expect P&Z and City to do outreach, data collection and analysis.
Listen closely to the video to see if anyone was lobbying for citizens, local business owners or key representatives from various community organizations to be seated at the steering committee table with voting power. Assume the lobbying will be off camera. The community and local businesses have strong feelings about whether or not Ely should be a tourist town. What criteria will be used to decide selection of the 1 Council Member and 3 “at large” members? Should Council decide that or P&Z?
Here’s the “description” for the short video clipping of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. It’s not the full Council meeting.
Regular City Council meeting in Ely, MN held on November 4, 2025. Only part of the meeting was recorded to capture discussion about Planning & Zoning forming a steering committee to update the City of Ely Comprehensive Plan. The discussion and vote took 3 minutes total. Time markers 3’20”- 6’20”
During the “No Kings” and Ely Demonstration for compassion, democracy and the rule of law at Whiteside Park in Ely, MN, on Saturday, April 19, 2025, a member of a prominent and very active Ely political family was intentionally recording and/or overhearing private conversations without telling individuals involved. I discovered this when I turned around to find him standing behind me for quite a while with his phone held in front of his chest. It looked like he held a special expensive black microphone recording device in addition to his smartphone.
Intentionally overhearing and recording private conversations is rude and civically inappropriate. This was no innocent accident, especially with that black microphone.
I was told that he had being doing this for awhile, going up and down the sidewalk twice. Since he did not announce his intentions to record or overhear private conversations nor did he first ask for permission, I informed demonstrators what was going on. I told demonstrators this was their chance to voice their opinions and reasons for demonstrating today. He should record what we want to say publicly for his blog, podcast, or whatever his plans were — not our private conversations. Apparently he didn’t really want to hear why we were there, because he left shortly rather than continuing down the sidewalk.
The Ely “No Kings” demonstration today was at a public park in public. We knew we could be photographed or our words recorded when we shouted out. But private conversations should be respected. When families gather along the streets to watch 4th of July parades or go to outdoor concerts, plays and events at Whiteside, they do not expect or want strangers to intentionally come up to record or overhear private conversations. When we go to church, the movies, a restaurant or any public place, we do not expect or want strangers to intentionally stand/sit near us to record or overhear private conversations.
Was this an (un)official Ely-based MAGA response to public demonstrations?
Today we again witnessed the moral decay of adult behavior, a civil society and our democracy. It is so easy to blame addiction to social media to explain teenage behavior. He was not an immature teenager. This was/is an adult, a known member of Ely’s established and currently active political family, who felt he had the right to invade our privacy. I was told another adult member of his family was there whom I believe to be a decent man. I would hope you both have discussions about privacy, invasion of privacy, and how what happened today is a scary reflection of what many of us believe to be the intentional erosion of our constitutional freedoms by Trump, Musk, other (non)appointed individuals, and elected officials. What you do – accept, condone, praise or reject what happened – sets the example for young and old in this community, especially within your political groups.
We are peaceful demonstrators. We believe EVERYONE should be treated with respect whatever their political views. We will not engage in rude, inappropriate, disrespectful or intimidating tactics. We will NOT encourage our teenagers or adult family members to engage in rude, inappropriate, disrespectful or intimidating tactics. We know the difference between right and wrong for our own lives and our own choices. We also know the difference between right and wrong actions taken by government. We stood up for right today. We will stand up tomorrow. We have backbones.
Please do not stand up for intimidation and retaliation by anyone to anyone. “Nonpartisan” is supposed to mean something more than just 11 letters randomly scrambled together. We know what intimidation looks like. We know what retaliation looks like. We don’t want it here in Ely, in Minnesota, nor anywhere else.
Scary but honest news from a Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski from Alaska
‘We are all afraid’: Murkowski says fear of retaliation from Trump administration is ‘real’
Our elected MN State Senator Grant Hauschild and MN Senate Majority Leader Erin P. Murphy answered questions from the audience on April 15, 2025 at Minnesota North College, Vermillion Campus, Ely, MN.
Scroll to the end for the YouTube recording.
MN State Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL) represents Minnesotans in Senate District 03, the largest MN Senate District on terms of area and travel time. Senator Hauschild is the Assistant Majority Leader in the MN Senate. For info about the District he’s representing, his committees, bills he’s supporting and authored, and details about his accomplishments, go to his website https://www.senate.mn/members/member_bio.html?mem_id=1252
MN State Senator Erin P. Murphy (DFL) represents Minnesotans in Senate District 64. Senator Murphy is the DFL Majority Leader in the MN Senate. For info about the District she’s representing, her committees, bills she’s supporting and authored, and details about her accomplishments, go to her website https://www.senate.mn/members/member_bio.html?mem_id=1248
If the Library Director Rachel Heinrich doesn’t explain the cuts in more detail, the Mayor Heidi Omerza should, as she attended the meeting. Let’s see where they both stand on the Trump/Musk cuts.
Will anyone explain the Trump / Elon Musk cuts to the Public Library?
Hopefully at the Tuesday, April 15th City Council meeting, Council Members will ask for more specific details including dollar and % amounts of cutbacks due to recent federal cuts. Are these DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) cuts? Has our Library been wasting money? Where’s the proof? When did Congress vote to cut funding for public libraries?
There will also be cuts in summer programming.
The Library Board minutes do not include the documents Library Director Rachel Heinrich provided the Board. This is a systemic transparency problem with Ely City government: agendas WITH documents for all city meetings are NOT posted online, nor are the actual meetings available 24/7/365 free of charge to residents and non-residents. (Yes, also non-residents, because they can serve on Ely City government commissions, boards and committees.)
Will Council and Mayor protest cuts or just roll over and play dead?
City Council and the Mayor are supposedly nonpartisan. Maybe they voted for Trump and Congressman Pete Stauber, or not. Maybe they support Elon Musk’s chainsaw approach to funding, or not. This is the opportunity for the Mayor and Council to stand up for Ely and the surrounding community. The majority on City Council and Mayor actively opposed supporting clean water, approving a letter to oppose WICOLA’s request for support. Writing an opposing letter while saying at the same time that these WICOLA waters are not inside Ely’s boundaries. Our Ely Public Library is located inside the City limits. What’s the excuse now? What’s in the best interests of the community? Be nonpartisan on Tuesday.
BTW: Fall Lake Township increased its contribution. Was this in response to federal cuts and/or an acknowledgment of how important public libraries are to the community? The April 2nd minutes indicate this was advocacy from Fall Lake residents. What about the rest of us??
Will anyone from the public stand up Tuesday to complain about Trump/Musk cuts to libraries and/or support the outstanding community services our Public Library provides?
Whether you Request to Appear (Item #7 on agenda) or at the end of meeting (Item #14 on agenda), consider submitting your comments in writing, so your points are printed in the record in more detail. You still might have a chance to speak at the Request to Appear time slot and have your attachments included in the last minute Council additions. Email or submit in person today if possible. Otherwise, you can still sign up to speak during the Open Forum when you walk into Council Chambers this Tuesday evening.
Will the Mayor or City Administrator/Clerk Harold Langowski provide specifics about OTHER expected federal cuts in Ely and surrounding areas that will impact Ely’s economy, infrastructure and safety?
Obviously, commissioners/board members are talking AND have documents. Wouldn’t you think City Hall, the Council, and the Mayor would also be talking AND have documents that they could share with the public ?
Public Hearing – Nobody spoke- Who knew what to say or ask?
Nobody showed up to speakat the Public Hearing on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 regarding Ordinance 380. Perfunctory public notices were posted in 3 separate places on the Ely City website (separate notice on City Meetings, City Calendar with link, and Public Notices). Only the Public Hearing agenda was posted, no attachments. Unlike other public notices, there was no detail. Just one vague sentence.
This is the (Notice of) City Council meetings website. The link for Ordinance 380 brings you to the one-page vague agenda. The other Hearing gives location and purpose.
For some strange reason, these two Hearings are combined together on the Public Notices website. Not normal.
These Ordinances are NOT the same. Joint posting downplays the (re)zoning of 14 parcels that were annexed into the City or previously not zoned.
Tonight, April 1st, is the 2nd and final reading of Ordinance 380.
For some strange reason, these two Hearings are combined together on the Public Calendar website. Click the link for one Hearing and both show up. Not normal.
These Ordinances are NOT the same. Joint posting downplays the (re)zoning of 14 parcels that were annexed into the City or previously not zoned.
What is the purpose of a Public Hearing?
There were a lot of people seated in Council Chambers during the Public Hearing. Observers and witnesses. They chose not to speak for whatever reasons. What facts and details was the public provided ahead of time? What were they supposed to comment on?
The Mayor asks, “Is there anybody here to speak to us about those properties?” Silence from public, Council and City Hall.
Watch the 2 minute video. Does the Mayor get frustrated, feel awkward, because there’s no comment? So many silent people.
What would a teacher do if the whole classroom is silent? Maybe explain what “these properties” are? In this case, maybe Harold Langkowski could have talked? He usually shares his wealth of background knowledge. Not tonight at this Hearing. Hmmm.
Watch the video. Only the one-sentence agenda was projected. Copies of the agenda were on the table. No list of the 14 parcels annexed into the City or previously unzoned. What info was the audience provided to comment on?
And nobody explained the (re)zoning codes.
Many of us believe Public Hearings are supposed to be two-way conversations. The Hearing was over in 2 minutes. Observers and witnesses – and those who watched the YouTube posted below – learned the Mayor, Council and City Hall didn’t really didn’t want to inform or explain.
People in Ely are busy. Even retired people here are busy. There are sooooo many things to do with our “free time.” Common knowledge: If you want people to show up to an event, meeting or public hearing, you “advertise” or use wording that draws them in. If you don’t want people to show up, you don’t say anything. If the law requires you to post a notice even if you don’t want people to come in person, you scale down “advertising” to an absolute minimum; use vague, innocuous and boring words. And don’t provide details.
It’s hard to have a two-conversation between groups when only one group holds and doesn’t share pertinent information. City Hall and City Council know these political strategies The strategies work for them, not for the public.
Here’s the one very vague sentence in the posted Public Hearing agenda.
The ONE very vague sentence in the posted Public Hearing agenda tells you almost nothing.
Message to public = no big deal, boring meeting, perfunctory, don’t bother coming
When no details are public, there is a reason.
Per Ordinance 380: “The purpose of this chapter is to establish appropriate zoning designations for properties that were annexed into the City of Ely from St. Louis County or that currently lack zoning designations within the City of Ely.”
To find more detailed information and map for each of the parcels listed, go to the St. Louis County Parcel Tax Lookup website: https://apps.stlouiscountymn.gov/parceltaxlookup/. Enter the Parcel ID from the list. Decide which tax year you want, and then select Search.
14 parcels now on the market? — Who knows?
Follow the money? For example, the last parcel listed is City owned, 38.77 acres and valued at $306,800 per 2024 St. Louis County Parcel Tax Lookup.
Nobody asked or said anything
The Ely City Council approved Ordinance 380 (2nd reading) later that night during their regularly scheduled meeting. Nobody asked what will happen with the 14 parcels. Nobody expressed visions or priorities for development or set-aside for habitat. Nobody asked who has already initiated contact and negotiations with City Hall to purchase or develop these 14 parcels. Nobody asked what the zoning codes meant or why rezoned if rezoned.
Developers and those with money and influence probably started conceiving preliminary plans a LONG time ago, because they knew about the list.
Bruce Wheelright from non-profit Ely Dog Park spoke. The public all spoke in favor of having a dog park. The BOA approved the Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Now the City needs to work with Ely Dog Park to draw up details for the lease.
BOA recommended some conditions to be written within the lease. The City needs to present the lease to Council for approval. The CUP was approved by BOA. Council does not review or approve the CUP. Council needs to review and then approve the details of the lease.
It is obvious from the posted documents that Bruce Wheelright, his non-profit Ely Dog Park, and supporters did a lot of research, interactions with the community and the City of Ely, and also a tremendous amount of physical labor to set up the Ely Dog Park.
Watch the video and read through the application, City’s findings, and maps in the public hearing packet to find out what was decided and what still needs to be clarified when the City works out details of the lease.
Whether this is a real free-run dog park or a “dog-friendly park,” meaning dogs need to be leashed (= not free running).
Who can or cannot enter and use the park. Who meaning humans and dogs.
Who is responsible for maintenance.
Who is responsible for “enforcing” the rules.
Who is liable if there is an accident.
Cost and terms of the lease from the City of Ely.
How the non-profit Ely Dog Park raises funds and how you can support their efforts.
Required liability (cost, responsibility, amount of coverage per incident, proof).
Last regular scheduled Ely, MN City Council meeting for 2024 was held on Dec 17, 2024. Check City website at https://www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings for agenda+Council packet (181 pages) and additions posted today (15 pages). Scroll to the bottom for the YouTube video.
FM Note: The actual meeting started at 1:28 into the video clip. The camera was set to run earlier, because the Ely Police Chief had just requested FM record from the far back corner of the room rather than up front on the left side where FM had been recording for almost a year. Previously on Nov 19th, after the room cleared for closed meeting, Mayor Heidi Omerza suddenly told FM to no longer record up front on the left side (by windows). This was after Citizens for Transparency posted the previous week’s Council meeting at https://elyminnesota.com/blog/city-council-nov-12-not-welcome/ During Dec, FM still recorded the first regularly scheduled Council meeting, a Commission meeting, and 3 Public Hearings without incident or request to move from the left front side. The room was more crowded then. Tonight FM continued to record up front and was not arrested, thankfully.
12:07 Recognition of Ryan Callen. On Council for 8 years and chose not to run for re-election.
14:05 Recognition of Paul Kess. On Council for 22 years but lost bid for re-election.
Proud moments: Throughout the night, Council and City Administrator Harold Langowski mentioned their 2024 green energy efforts and successes as they went over tonight’s committee and department reports.
Interestingly, not all recommendations submitted to Council for $$ approval included estimated or actual costs on the agenda pages, even though info can be found in the minutes. Is there no standard procedure to include $$ in the recommendations that are all listed on the Council agenda? Why not? Exceptions stick out.
Citizens for Transparency would like to recognize Council Member Paul Kess for bringing up fiscal due diligence. He stood up.
Far too many purchases are made without first sincerely seeking bids from more than one source. Back on Sept 3rd, Paul Kess spoke out https://elyminnesota.com/blog/city-council-sep-3-2024-mtg/. And tonight Paul Kess spoke more strongly. Who else on Council – or the Mayor – has sincerely questioned limited or missing fiscal due diligence? Who has insisted, “We need to do required fiscal due diligence?” Tonight Paul Kess was not joined by the Mayor or Council. He stood up. Kudos to Paul Kess.
What was on the agenda? There was a single source award to Ely Customer Theaters for the “surveillance, security and access control for the Trailhead facility.” The Projects Committee did not include any $$ amount in the agenda recommendation, although the cost could be $30,000. That’s Thirty thousand dollars. The actual Projects minutes from Dec. 9th note why this project was not intentionally included in the general contractor’s bid (page 21 in Council packet). A really unusual reason that should not have prevented requests for bids. Hmmm
59:58 Fire Chief: 6 medical calls, 2 fire calls
1:00:37 Library: Lots of upcoming activities. The library is switching from monthly spices to monthly historical games.
1:04:21 Police Chief (and Harold Langowski): Snow removal on Chapman, Central and Sheridan Streets (MN DOT) for next 3 days if possible, as more snow is coming Thurs. When you remove snow from your yard, don’t dump it in neighbor’s yard without their permission or just dump it across the street. There are several City snow dump sites for contractors and homeowners. These are not posted on the City website. FM note: Listen carefully to some mentioned tonight. Contact the City at 218-365-3224 for details. If you want snow dump sites posted on City website, let the City know.
1:08:00 City Attorney: Cannabis ordinances
1:21:03 New Business “D. Advertise for Open Committee Seats that the term limits will be expiring or coming due in January 31, 2025.”No names, no committees, no details. Absolutely nothing provided to Council or public tonight. No discussion. Why didn’t someone ask for more info? Last year there was a list. Open seats for (re)appointment happen every year. How can people encourage others or even themselves to apply when there is no info?
1:24:48 Open Forum: Richard Stuart will be actively working on providing educational materials, listening sessions with community, and workshops. He did not provide the name of his cannabis business/affiliation.
Regular Park & Rec meeting scheduled on Mon., Dec. 16, 2024. Agendas & packet are not posted online. Scroll down for video of the meeting. This is a happy community group that feels comfortable serving our community and sharing their thoughts.
STAFF REPORTS AND UPDATES
City P&Z Administrator Scott Kochendorfer said Dog Park development will be sent to P&Z to handle. Brief comments about a website Sniffspot, possible fitness court, ice rinks, Trezona Trail, Hidden Valley, and public access issues after fire at local trailer park.
NEW BUSINESS
Chair Morgan Sauls is stepping down from the Board. Her seat is now open. Abby Dare was elected as the new Chair. Look at previous Citizens for Transparency recordings to see how Morgan Sauls conducted welcoming meetings, encouraged open discussions and input from all, and lead all in kind, cheery, and passionate service to the community.
January 6, 2025, is the meeting date.
Abby Dare suggested Park & Rec be actively involved in the Grand Opening of the Trailhead Center. Her goal is to “bring Ely together” by involving ALL groups. Great discussion.
Park vandalism was also discussed later on.
OLD BUSINESS
Great discussion about the “Draft of Comp Plan.” Tremendous list AND work behind it.
This is a list of short-, mid-, and long-term projects. They are not changes to the Comp Plan.
Both this list and all the discussions over 2024 reflect the idealism, passion and active involvement of this Board in the Ely community. The Comp Plan should be revised to incorporate their vision and intent. Otherwise, this isn’t officially Ely’s vision or plan.
The Park & Rec Board will continue to work on their plan. Share YOUR thoughts with them. Get involved with the Board by attending meetings and also with our local community organizations. “Bring Ely together” also means real outreach. Look at their web
With all due respect, this list and 2024 discussions seem to indicate that some voices from the community are not fully represented on the Board. Yes, any and all are truly welcome at Park & Rec meetings. Stronger advocacy voices need to voiced louder and more consistently OR officially seated (= appointed) to the Board when seats become open.
Seniors are 1/2 + of our population. What Park & Rec activities and funding involve seniors? Look at the list. Who on the Board advocates for seniors? Yes, all the Board Members care and want to be inclusive. But that is not the same as advocacy. Yes, seniors participate in many of the activities on the list. What Senior Center recreational activities are supported by Parks & Rec? What do seniors and non-active-in-traditional-sports adults want and need for recreation and health needs – inside and outside of the Senior Center?
Active sports (individual and team sports) are absolutely essential for physical, mental and social health. Add economics. But not everyone wants to or can participate in active sports activities currently supported and proposed by Park & Rec. Why isn’t accessibility a priority?
Health and Fitness need to have a louder local advocate on the Board. Why is Park & Rec and P&Z talking about some outside corporation coming in to build a Fitness Center within a park? All these outside organizations and corporations want to make money. If someone from Ely’s local health care system had a seat on the Park & Rec Board, maybe activities, projects and funding supporting health care would have been on the list, maybe even just mentioned in Ely’s Comp Plan. Get a health care advocate on the Board who continually will remind everyone about mental health, healing, building community, thinking outside the current mindsets. For example: What role and (wall and physical) space can health care professionals have at the Trailhead Center’s Grand Opening . . . and beyond?
Who on the Board advocates for the Ely Field Naturalists and other passive nature hobbyists? Obviously, Bill Teft frequently attending and speaking at Park & Rec meetings over the years hasn’t been enough for EFN to be mentioned on the list. Who’s the voice for community-wide native pollinator fields? The Garden Club and Incredible Ely have important visible roles in Ely (and their volunteerism should get more good press), but that is not the same as advocating for nature. Again. all the Board Members care about these things. But who on the Board is actively advocating for them?
It is the responsibility of Council to actively seek and appoint commissioners to reflect all the voices of the Ely community. Park & Rec Board Members are doing FOR MORE than their fair share to advocate for ALL voices.
THINKING DIFFERENTLY
(1) Earth Day/Week/Month should be more than trash pickup. BTW, shouldn’t community trash pick-ups be sponsored by the Sanitation Committee, their focus. Also, Council officially wants Sanitation to have a permanent reserved seat on the City’s Green Team, not Parks & Rec.
(2) Why is Park & Rec listing “Inner City campground development” as their responsibility in Comp Plan? That should be for Projects, EEDA, or P& to handle, not Park & Rec. Park & Rec can’t be on City’s Green Team but is involved in promoting private campground developments? Doesn’t make sense.
This is a regular scheduled City Council meeting. Notice the red items listed on the 3-page revised agenda that was given to Council shortly before the meeting started tonight. One of the major problems about adding and posting items after the recommended 3-business-day notification prior to the meeting is that neither the Council nor the public always has sufficient time to thoroughly study the additional items, research them as necessary, and ask questions of others (especially if they’re not seated in Council Chambers). It’s about having adequate time to reflect (whether sleeping overnight on something or not). It’s about making informed decisions. It’s not about doing something illegal. Citizens for Transparency has addressed this many times. Tonight is an example why giving Council sufficient time to review documents is the best option.
Page 1 revised Nov 19 agenda
Page 2 revised Nov 19 agenda
Page 3 revised Nov 19 agenda
Compare tonight’s 30-minute discussion about cannabis with another meeting when there were no discussions about “surprise” agenda items that appeared an hour or less before the meeting started. You get questions and Council catches mistakes when they have sufficient time to exam documents. Scroll down to the YouTube posted here at the bottom and observe the questions and conversations. Pull up pages 33-51 from the Council packet posted last Friday and follow along. Get documents from https://www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings The discussion starts about 20 minutes into the YouTube video: 9. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS E. City Attorney.
Watch those 30 minutes and then compare with the Oct 1st Council meeting. There was no time for thoughtful preparation on Oct 1st. This is why: (1) Additional items should not be added last minute as standard or normalized procedure. (2) All public City meetings should be streamed live and available free of charge 24/7/365 to the public, so WE can see what goes on that is not observable in the minutes alone.
Proposed Cannabis Ordinances
Listen carefully for details about the proposed cannabis ordinances. For example, can you eat edibles in public areas? Are cannabis hours different from liquor hours? Citizens for Transparency was unfortunately not able to record the Study Session on October 29th. Contact City Hall at 218-365-3224 to see if the Study Session was recorded and is being rebroadcast on Midco Cable and/or if you can order a CD. For those interested in printed details about the two proposed cannabis ordinances, read the documents from Council’s Special Study Session. The Oct 29th packet is available at https://www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings and the minutes are in the Agenda Additions Council packet (same link).
There will be a Public Hearing on these two cannabis ordinances on December 3, 2024 at 4:30 pm. Will the public see the revised ordinances with tonight’s changes or the First Reading as originally presented tonight? Check the City website for the Public Announcement to see what documents were posted. This is YOUR chance for input!
“The Minutes Are in Your Packets“
After last week’s Council meeting, we all should now have a better understanding why Council Members rarely mention anything about what transpired at Committee and Department meetings, aside from the recommendations that are to be Council motions for action. Expect even more, “The minutes are in your packet.” This is sad, because there are so many interesting topics, discussions, and activities going on in these meetings! Hearing what goes on would motivate more citizens to apply. Please recognize what volunteer citizens are doing! Breaking news? Most people do not read the minutes in Council packets.
Fee Schedules
For those interested in current and proposed fees for the City of Ely, check out the Oct 29th Study Session Packet and the minutes posted in the City Council Nov 19th Agenda Additions packet. Both sets of documents are available online at https://www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings. Those who question the fees and/or want more clarification, contact City Hall ASAP at 218-365-3224.
Wrong message to citizens about their input value
What a way to set the tone for Ely’s Comprehensive Plan!
Tonight, Tuesday, November 4, 2025 the Mayor of Ely signaled to the citizens how valued (NOT!) their input is when it comes to the direction of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Two citizens requested to appear before Council voted on Planning & Zoning’s recommendation to create a new steering committee. Their requests to appear were submitted “too late,” the Mayor announced. They should have been submitted by Thursday noon last week to get into the Council packet posted Friday PM.
The Mayor could have easily made an exception. It’s at her discretion.
How do encourage citizen participation, whether speaking at meetings or serving on a commission?
There was no real point speaking after Council voted. Neither Council nor P&Z expressed real interest in hearing citizen comments at the end of the tonight’s meeting. Basically, we’ll let you know when we want to hear from citizens, some time later.
Note: this deadline is not posted anywhere on the 2 different request forms available. (One of the 2 forms – without protocols section at bottom – is apparently no longer available online as of today?) Tonight the Mayor said citizens should look for the submission deadline in Section 2.02 of the City Code. Hopefully it will soon be printed on all the forms as well as clearly mentioned everywhere on City webpages that mention submitting requests to appear.
How can citizens submit a request to speak a day before the agenda item is posted?? This is not logical. See https://www.ely.mn.us/council-meetings Agenda Additions packets are frequently created after the Friday postings.
The Planning & Zoning agendas and packets are posted on the City Government webpage at https://www.ely.mn.us/government. This was a pro-public transparency decision to post P&Z info before the meetings. It’s a great way to encourage public discussion and attendance at their meetings. But for some reason, the agenda and packet for P&Z meeting are not available to view this evening. Agendas and packets for other meetings are available.
To repeat: There was no reasonable way for concerned citizens outside the inner group to know about – much less request to speak publicly before Council rubberstamped – until after the Council Packet was posted Friday, October 31st. The window to respond was closed the day before we knew. Expect this to continue in the future.
City Hall + P&Z tactic successful: Rush things through P&Z Commission and City Council to limit commissioner input, Council questions, and public awareness or ability to respond quickly. Part of this tactic is to NOT have items clearly identified or announced in the meeting packets. This seems to have intensified after January 2024. Council will not publicly protest the last minute Agenda Additions dropped too late for them to review and do followup research. The faster P&Z + City Hall push pro-developer projects and contracts through, the faster their personal reputations grow.
Here’s an unasked question: Why aren’t all the City Council members directly involved in Comprehensive Plan discussions? Why not during their regularly monthly scheduled Study Sessions? Council Members best know who’s in our community and their needs. What they don’t know, they would be eager to learn. It’s obvious they are passionate about and proud of Ely. According to the Ely City Calendar, Council didn’t hold a single Study Session so far in 2025. They held 2 and cancelled 10 in 2024. They held 3 and cancelled 9 in 2023.
In public, City Council Members seem to be afraid of challenging or revising recommendations from Harold Langowski, whether directly from him or thorough the City Planning & Zoning Administrator. Not a single Council Member questioned why 6 members total was the magic number for steering committee members. Council doesn’t really seem to care about seats and votes for citizens. During and after Council’s August 29, 2023 Study Session on Animal Licensing and Regulations lots time was spent discussing the maximum number dogs and cats a household could have. The Comprehensive Plan is less important?
Look closely at the wording used in the unapproved October 20th minutes from P&Z. Future development and funding will be based on what’s in and what’s not in the Comprehensive Plan. What are P&Z + City Hall pushing?
1) There is no mention about quality of life issues in the minutes. Planning & Zoning isn’t (primarily) focused on quality of life or social services. What is not mentioned in their minutes, is not considered important for the proposed steering committee. Guess how many quality of life professionals are currently seated on all the Ely commissions, boards and committees. Here’s the webpage: https://www.ely.mn.us/boards Click on each commission to see the list of members. Expect no quality of life professionals to be seated with voting power on the steering committee. Therefore, quality of life won’t be addressed throughout the Comprehensive Plan, because nobody will keep bringing up that issue. It was ignored in the 2015 Plan. Note: Quality of life isn’t just about sports and active recreation.
2) There is no mention about the environment and nature as being valuable in their undeveloped state or to be preserved and protected. Spaces used for active parks and recreation use and community gardens have different characteristics than “natural areas” used for quiet contemplation, healing, birding, etc. It is appears the current P&Z + City Hall push (strong, hard, fast) to switch Miner’s Drive quiet green areas into business development is working. Green space isn’t valued. Quote: “It is important for land annexation to further enhance the development opportunities with the city.” For more info about anthropocentrism, read https://elyminnesota.com/blog/reviewing-ely-city-visions-plans/
3) There’s no mention about seniors, accessibility, blight, vacant buildings, dog park, or accessibility in the October 20th minutes. Has P&Z already worked on these? What was changed? Seniors and accessibility were ignored in the 2015 plan, aside from handicap parking spaces. No mention means not important, even though 50% of the population are seniors. BTW, we no longer have a designated Ely Senior Center.
4) There’s no mention about Climate Change, the GreenTeam or sustainability issues. P&Z, City Hall and Council surprisingly made no mention of these. Has a seat with voting rights already been designated or rejected for someone who’s been actively involved in these important issues?
Note”. Look at Morris (MN) strategic plan https://morrismodel.org/planning/.
https://morrismodel.org/2024/01/11/revamping-morris-models-sustainability-strategy-unveiling-the-strategic-plan-2-0/
5) There’s no mention of neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are not important? Houses are just property?
6) There’s no mention about ATV trails. Trails keep getting build in Ely. As many in Miners Lake neighborhood know, there are empowered Good Old Boys and allies who want to make Ely an ATV mecca. If ATVs are not mentioned in the notes, you might assume a pro-ATV advocate will be seated with voting power.
7) There was no mention about reviewing other Cities’ Visions and Comprehensive Plans. The desire is craft the Comprehensive Plan the same way it was done previously. Do not expect the City to pay for a survey company or contract. Expect P&Z and City to do outreach, data collection and analysis.
Listen closely to the video to see if anyone was lobbying for citizens, local business owners or key representatives from various community organizations to be seated at the steering committee table with voting power. Assume the lobbying will be off camera. The community and local businesses have strong feelings about whether or not Ely should be a tourist town. What criteria will be used to decide selection of the 1 Council Member and 3 “at large” members? Should Council decide that or P&Z?
Here’s the “description” for the short video clipping of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. It’s not the full Council meeting.
Regular City Council meeting in Ely, MN held on November 4, 2025. Only part of the meeting was recorded to capture discussion about Planning & Zoning forming a steering committee to update the City of Ely Comprehensive Plan. The discussion and vote took 3 minutes total. Time markers 3’20”- 6’20”