This is a special post about one topic (added just before) the regular Ely City Council meeting held Tuesday, July 16, 2024. Please check back later at this website for our posted recording of the full meeting with highlights and time markers. In the meantime, if you live in Ely and are a Midco subscriber, you can watch a rebroadcast on Channels 89 and 11. Agendas and Council packets are posted online: https://www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings
What is this map about? Is the public supposed to figure out things on their own? Is the primary goal of Council meetings — and Council Members — to make meetings as short as possible? Or is the goal to inform the public and also for Council Members to ask questions from the perspective of residents?
All too often, committee minutes are reported to Council with a perfunctory, “The minutes are in your packet” and then saying little more. The Midco subscribers in Ely watching the live broadcast don’t have the Project Committee minutes in front of them. Certainly not the documents about removing contaminated soils, because they were not posted until Wednesday.
Not everyone has time to read and digest all the details in Council packet, much less the last minute additions to an agenda. There are a lot of awesome projects and future-oriented discussions going on in City Committee meetings. They are not boring or insignificant. You don’t have to be an entertainer to present your reports on meetings. If Council Members don’t present excitement about its City Committee meetings, then don’t be surprised if citizens aren’t excited about applying for open seats. As previously noted, we could use more of Harold Langowski’s style: his genuine enthusiasm for projects and details. The Fire Chief, Library Director and Police Chief don’t present “dry” minutes.
See July 8th minutes of the Projects Committee included in Council packet posted on City website last Friday, July 13th. Look at items f and g under V. Unfinished business. There are other interesting projects and topics listed in these minutes, but the focus of this post is on the upcoming contamination removal work at the Old Train Depot site. The redevelopment vision for this block promises to boost Ely’s economy. The amount of $437,000 in application funding from IRRR (f) is not insignificant. Just the opposite. The reason for the recent denial of DEED funding (g) is not unimportant. Just the opposite.
It would have been nice to see 1-2 clarifying comments added to both f and g, for their official record. When minutes are reported to Council, clarifying comments and questions rarely happen. For example, Item f: how much of $437K is for the hotel? How much for the Train Depot? Will any monies be used for contaminated soil removal? Is this for parking lot land exchange?
Advance public information about the Bid for Train Depot and Disposal of Contaminated Soils was apparently confined to the revised agenda and attachments (Pages A1-A5)the entrance to the Council Chambers last night. There were no attachments. Note: People usually have the option to pick up just the (revised) agenda or a revised agenda with attachments. Most people don’t pick up the one binder with all the legally required items (originally posted online documents plus any revised agenda with attachments). After the meeting was adjourned, a copy of the documents attached to the agenda (Pages A1-A7) was requested for review (and posting on this website). First response: The City only needs to provide the binder to the public (which stays). The additions would be posted the following day. After insisting, an already copied and stapled set appeared.
Upon review, it is surprising how limited the discussion was at the Council meeting about the map showing identified (yellow) hot spots of contamination (lead, arsenic, cadmium, etc.); actual excavation work; temporary storage of excavated contaminated soils; preventive measures for safe temporary storage; and safety of workers and public. Among other things, will it be safe for the public to observe excavation?
Who knows how long Council Members had time to read through and really digest the revised agenda with attachments . . . and then to formulate questions from the public perspective? Council Members should assume the public has not been following or remembers all the details from Committee and Council meetings, minutes or broadcasts.
Thuesday’s Council meeting would have been the time not only to reassure the public everything’s okay but also how much the City cares about them and the developer. A lot of time, effort and money is being spent on preparing this site before building can begin. Harold Langowski has been leading and coordinating these efforts. For those living near this site or who daily walk by . . .thank you, Harold.
Council approved posting bidding requestsread in the Ely Echo for “Train Depot Excavation and Disposal of Contaminated Soils.” (See details on pages A1-A5.) Sealed bids are due July 31st. The Ely Echo won’t publish until this coming Saturday, July 20th. Potential contractors probably won’t until the next business day (Monday, July 22nd). This means less than 2 weeks for contractors to inspect site, gather data, calculate numbers and submit a sealed bid to arrive by 3 pm on Wed, July 31st.
Also, nobody mentioned posting in any other regional newspapers for this complicated, specialized and expensive excavation and disposal of hazardous soils.
Notice that the landfill sites on Page A2 are not located within Ely limits. Should the bid request notice be published in other newspapers such as the Mesabi Tribune?
This excavation project is not the end of of testing or removal of contaminated soil. More still needs to be done. Listen to Midco rebroadcast of Tuesday’s Council meeting or check this website later for YouTube.
Reminders:
(1) Please do not assume questioning means opposition to the Ott’s vision for redeveloping the Train Depot site. If there are noise issues and residential concerns: listen to all, follow regulations and compromise as essential. If there are health and contamination issues anywhere, deal with them (issues, not people). Unfortunately, once again, those originally responsible for for generating toxins and “safe storage” reaped profits, left and legally avoided paying for damage and “repairs.”
(2) If someone says there are problems with transparency, openness, and timely sharing of information documents, etc., that does not mean there is a governmental in-group conspiracy against the public. Some administrative parts of City government are over-tasked. They are trying their best. They are humans. Being defensive sends back the wrong message and doesn’t solve the key problem.
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