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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.
Another jam-packed 2-hour meeting of the Ely Park and Recreation Board meeting. So many exciting projects and discussions – as usual. Not everything will be addressed here in this post. This is a quick draft of what happened, this draft needs to be reviewed and additional info added. Time is important, so the public can see what happened.
This Park & Rec meeting is once again proof that the agendas and documents should be posted online for the whole community to read BEFORE the meetings. And all meetings should be broadcast/streamed live and available free-of-charge 24/7/365 to the public. All of Park & Rec activities involve the community. Park & Rec wants to engage the community. They are the spirit of Ely. They are the commission that matches up with our quality of life and the reasons why we moved here. It should NOT be the task of Citizens for Transparency to post videos of meetings or the important documents. That is the responsibility of a City where truly open, transparent and welcoming government in all its glory is supposed to be actively promoted. Why do we pay taxes??
Notice the City Calendar shows the Park & Rec meetings last 1 hour. The meetings should be posted as 2 hours long. Meetings are run efficiently by the Chair Morgan Sauls, always considerate, organic and welcoming. These meetings should be observed by the Mayor and City Council some of whose members don’t seem to want questions, deep discussions, or interaction with the public. Surprise! After chastising Park & Rec at the last Nov 12th Council meeting, Mayor Omerza sat with the audience tonight. Two members had to leave early due to other obligations. The rest stayed, tired but enthusiastic in their mission. Council’s goal is to leave ASAP and rubber stamp.
Right at the beginning of the meeting, time was spent rewording some sections of the previously submitted-to-Council unapproved minutes from the last Park & Rec meeting on October 21st. At the Nov 12th Council meeting, Mayor Heidi Omerza publicly chastised Council Member Adam Bisbee and the Park & Recreation Board for some of the sentences. As Citizens for Transparency pointed out many times, there have been issues with bullying, single-source purchasing, and mistakes and concerns in other minutes from and/or meetings of other commissions that the Mayor never publicly addressed. Teachers, Mayors and Council Members should not selectively reprimand in public those they don’t like (?) and ignore those they like (?). Tactful correcting is not the same as reprimanding. That is above all the role of Mayor. See post and video from the Nov 12th City Council meeting: https://elyminnesota.com/blog/city-council-nov-12-not-welcome/. Read the unapproved minutes in the Nov 12th Council packet or the original agenda+packet sent out to Park & Rec for tonight’s meeting.
NEW BUSINESS: Extensive discussion about the dog-friendly park by the baseball fields.
36:30 minutes into the video. “Dog-friendly” means dogs are to be leashed, not running free. The designation to “dog park” will change when the organizing group has their non-profit status approved. City dog/animal licensing and regulation laws still apply. Watch the video. Read the email from Bruce Wheelwright who has been doing a lot of work preparing the field. They are still working on getting non-profit status. People are not using the designated area, because the signs are still not posted. The signs are here but they are not posted. Dog owners are still bringing their dogs to play on the baseball fields. Dog poop isn’t being picked up. Harold Langowski pointed out that the dog-friendly park has NOT yet been officially approved by Council.
STAFF REPORTS AND UPDATES and OLD BUSINESS at the beginning of tonight’s meeting:
There was discussion re: finances & fundraising, probably in response to the unapproved minutes. The City Administrator/Clerk Harold Langowski attended tonight’s meeting to explain and answer questions. He was also in attendance to answer many questions previously posed via email by the Park and Chair after their last meeting. Topics included Pickleball, new trail head, Ely Nodic Bike and Ski Club, multiple uses of courts and facilities, and proposed Park & Rec staffing. ETC. Watch video. Check the original agenda+packet sent out to Park & Rec Members https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXKMzhZRXNPnQNrFSfmftSXNfq?projector=1&messagePartId=0.2
Approximately, 56 minutes into the video, OLD BUSINESS and COMP PLAN:
Harold Langowski and Scott Kochendorfer presented a schedule of Park and Rec projects. These are specific projects that happen quarterly, usually every year. They are not “plans.” Most are not really “goals.” There is a difference. Having a schedule of projects and events is very helpful. However, “Weekly/Daily Park Maintenance” during the 3rd/4th quarter should not really be considered as something that should be listed as a City Vision or placed within the Land Use and Comprehensive Plan. Otherwise, the Comp Plan would be filled with each City employee’s job responsibilities.
There was discussion about the schedule and annual “tasks” listed in these 3 pages. These would supposedly be the Park and Recreation Board’s short-term comp plan. “Short-term plan” means for the next one year. Harold Langowski suggested considering “mid-term plans” as completion in the next 5 years and “long-term plans” as within 10 years.
Only in the last 10 minutes or so of the meeting were words such as “gardens” and “open spaces” voiced, almost as an afterthought. Everything up to those last minutes in the 2-hour meeting was basically about sports and human entertainment. It was as if if the previous discussions about pollinator gardens and open spaces didn’t happen. If was as if Park and Representatives never attended the Planning & Zoning meeting to discuss zoning, etc. to help set up goals and objectives to protect open spaces and the environment (Page 27 in the 2016 Comp Plan).
Perhaps Park and Recreation Members are confused about the difference between daily tasks and projectsversusgoals and objectives is because City Staff is confused?
Confusion is perhaps why City Staff suddenly presented a St. Louis Park (MN) de-paving initiative to Planning & Zoning at their last meeting instead of to Park & Rec? (De-pave driveways and sidewalks to put in plants.). P&Z recommended the initiative to Council instead of referring to Park & Rec. Park and Rec really shouldn’t have anything to do with city-wide pollinator gardens?
At recent previous Park & Rec meetings, Members came up with great ideas for projects, plans and visions for use of designated-to-be and current open spaces for pollinators, kids, and the public. NONE of these were mentioned on the 3 pages of “plans.” Did City Hall not listen? Citizens for Transparency sent them links to the videos. The minutes whether approved or not do not include everything discussed. Not that the minutes are to include everything, but these ideas were/are important. What happened to those ideas expressed during animated discussions?? Did the Members forget? Did the 3-page list presented by City Staff distract them? Intentionally? Why not at least list some initial steps in 2025 for mid- and long-range goals and objectives for pollinator gardens, open spaces and protecting the environment? Hopefully, when Park & Rec Member Abby Dare types up the 3-page list of daily-quarterly-annual projects for the group, she can review previous minutes and videos and cover some of those previously voiced ideas.
Last but not least, there was absolutely no mention of the Green Team sub-committee approved by City Council on Nov 12th.
The Green Team is not Green. The City Council dissed the importance, purpose and knowledge of the Park and Recreation Board Members as well as Mother Nature. Apparently, there is no Climate Change impact on plant or animal habitats, on migration, on fishing, hunting, etc. Besides, who cares? City Council and City Hall are only interested is appearances, paperwork, to get a higher ranking with GreenSteps Cities. Many of the 29 best steps are what Park and Rec can best handle. The “Good Old Boys’ Clubs” don’t want to share power. GreenSteps Cities are not about power; they are about community. See post and video of Nov 12th City Council meeting: https://elyminnesota.com/blog/city-council-nov-12-not-welcome/
2 major surprising events tonight! Both the Mayor Heidi Omerza and the whole City Council voiced/voted against Green issues and figuratively put Park and Recreation Board at the bottom of commission(er) rankings.
First of all, 30 minutes into the meeting (YouTube clip), Mayor Hedi Omerza publicly chastised Council Member Adam Bisbee and the Park and Recreation Board for the last sentences in their unapproved minutes of their October 21st meeting (unapproved = draft).
Unfortunately, minutes of many commissions meetings are submitted that are not reviewed or approved before posting in the Council packets, sometimes an hour or so before the Council meeting. Do the Chairs of those commissions even review the drafts before posted publicly as unapproved minutes or draft? There have been embarrassing mistakes in unapproved minutes, as mentioned on this website. Only approved minutes should be posted publicly. Do not blame the secretaries taking the minutes. Most are not professionally trained much less paid for typing up minutes. “Mistakes happen when people are undertrained.” Blame those who continually allow unapproved Commission minutes and drafts being posted before review.
If the Mayor, the City Clerk Administrator Harold Langowski, or the Planning & Zoning Administrator Scott Kochendorfer had issues with the unapproved October 21st minutes, they should have discussed issues privately with Council Member Adam Bisbee and/or the Park & Rec Chair BEFORE the Council meeting. If the City Clerk/Administrator Harold Langowski or the Planning & Zoning Administrator Scott Kochendorfer had issues, they should NOT have just posted the minutes. Did they not read the unapproved minutes or was this a set up? Did any of them look at a recording of Park & Rec meeting to better understand what the Park & Rec Commissioners were trying to express? Did they compare the recording with the minutes? Oh, that’s right, Park & Rec meetings are not recorded by the City for easy fee-free public access. FYI: The Mayor and others know YouTubes of Park & Rec meetings are posted on this website.
FM Note: There was is no reason for the Mayor to chastise a Council Member or a Commission publicly. The Mayor never publicly acknowledged/addressed bullying and other inappropriate behaviors by commissioners in Council Chambers or at commission meetings that I pointed out back in 2023. She never publicly chastised any other Commissioners during Council meetings before. Al Forsman and Paul Kess commented too in a kinder way, but why was there a public reprimand?
FM Note: The Mayor often reminds Council, City Hall and the public that she is a Kindergarten teacher. Council Members are to behave like good little boys and girls. I know of no teacher whose behavior would be considered acceptable if they reprimanded a student in front of the whole school. Teachers are supposed to talk to students privately about “behavior issues.” Adam Bisbee is an adult, not a Kindergartner. Adam Bisbee is worthy of respect, as an individual and as a Council Member, a team member. There should be no power plays at Council meetings, no politics. A discussion should have been conducted, not a reprimand.
The Mayor’s behavior and Council attempts for kinder follow-up comments demonstrated reasons why the public does not feel comfortable appearing before Council, serving on Commissions, or running for office. Whatever the intent, this was definitely not a “welcoming moment.” The Mayor needs to try harder being kind and understanding.
There is no Green in the Green Team
Secondly, approximately 51 minutes into the meeting, the City of Ely recommends creating a Green Team that does not include Green members. See the recommendation and email from the City Planning & Zoning Administrator. Why was Park & Rec excluded from automatic representation, a seat on the Green Team? Why wasn’t the Park & Rec Board even included in the discussions about a Green Team? Listen to the examples how Park & Rec Board could take a minor subservient role. For example, Park & Rec Members could just show up to an open public meeting of the Green Team. Park & Rec Members could apply just like any resident OR non-resident to be on the Green Team.
Not only is the Green Team a sub-committee instead of a full committee, there is nothing in writing presented to Council about its purpose or which committee is the overarching committee or group that it reports to. Meeting quarterly is basically saying the sub-committee is to have no real power or impact. It’s for show only, a political game.
from Nov 12th Council agenda
Note that being part of the GreenSteps Cities via establishing a nice-sounding Green Team should be more than just filling out paperwork. City Hall and the Mayor keep referring to paperwork, we just need to fill out more papers to get a higher rating. There are many GreenStep Cities programs that involve nature, a sustainable environment, working with community members, education, and kids. That’s whatPark & Rec is for. That’s what the Park & Rec is currently doing, the only commission doing all of these things. Why is Park & Rec excluded from the Green Team?
Meeting of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority of Ely (HRA) held at the Pioneer Apartments on November 12, 2024. The agenda and packet are not posted online. HRA meetings are broadcast/streamed. Minutes of this meeting will eventually be submitted to Ely City Council. Check for them in a Council Packet posted online at www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings.
Scroll down for the 29-minute YouTube video clip of this meeting.
Disclosure/disclaimer: Citizens for Transparency did NOT consult or conspire with any HRA Board Members or any Ely Council Members in the production of this video or in the analysis of this meeting. We are independent thinkers. Please do not displace anger against them for what is written here.
Page 1 of HRA agenda
Page 2 of HRA agenda
Page 3 of HRA agenda
Kristin Zobitz, Executive Director
At the start of meeting, Council Rep & Chair of HRA Board Angela Campbell clarified procedures about communication flow and meetings. Among other things, a kind reminder that there is an official channel for tenant complaints: contact Kristin Zobitz, Executive Director (114 North 8th Ave. East, Box 111, Ely, MN 55731).
FM note: HRA previously shared their detailed rules of conduct, conflicts of interest, etc. via the Ely City Council meeting packets. Council should consider examining them – as well as those rules for the Ely School Board – to create behavior codes for Council, Mayor, City Hall, Commissioners, and others while officially volunteering, representing, or working for the City.
www.ely.mn.us/government
As you watch the 29 minute video, it is apparent that the HRA building complexes and Executive Director cannot totally operate independently from the world. They are not like a for profit business or corporation that has the money and ability to independently act, pick and choose. Many HRA issues require figuring out what the City of Ely is responsible for in terms of costs and services — which speeds up or delays decisions and actions. This is also Ely, a rural area in NE Minnesota where contractors, City consultants, etc. are already stretched out with so many projects and appointments on their books. As you listen to the whole video, you hear that HRA strives to build good relationship with its tenants, the Ely community, its Board, the City of Ely, and its suppliers of materials and services. None of this is simple or easy.
At some point, however, maybe the Executive Director and long-serving HRA Board can sit down and talk honestly, openly and objectively about single source contracting vs. competitive bidding, not just for pricing, but also in terms of (1) Response time after call or request. (2) Reasonable expectations for turnaround times for COMPLETION of essential work and/or materials. (3) Expected quality of work and possible impacts on other appliances, structures, tenants, etc. (4) Turnaround times for COMPLETION of repairs if original work didn’t meet expectations; (5) Alternatives to purchasing of essential items that would require months of waiting time for new parts.
In this video of the November 12th HRA meeting and also the video of the October 8th HRA meeting https://elyminnesota.com/blog/hra-oct-8-2024-meeting/, it is pointed out that some of the original design work, original construction, original installation, choice of items, and improper repairs have lead to current and reoccurring problems. At some point, maybe the Executive Director and HRA Board can sit down, make a list of should-look-for preventable issues, and then make sure any new HRA housing decisions (development, construction and management) include proactive measures to reduce problems.
Time marker 8:27 into video – HRA Board Member expresses in one sentence what tenants, the newly hired Executive Director, and everyone else feels. However, it’s not enough to just say, “To me, it’s like it’s dragging out forever.” Do something systemically and proactively as a group. Don’t just do things in a reactive only manner.
Time marker 8:40 into video – Discussion of waiting lists and newly adopted rules that were designed to reduce problems with long lists and special requests of those on waiting list. The overarching problem: There is not enough housing in Ely, especially not enough affordable housing. Different lists of housing requests for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments were recently combined into one list. The new procedure, simply put: If you are at the top of the newly combined waiting list and an available one-bedroom apartment is offered to you — even though you need a two-bedroom apartment — if you say “no” to the one-bedroom apartment, you go to the bottom of the newly combined waiting list. If you don’t want to go to the bottom of the combined list, you need to say “yes” to the one-bedroom, move into the one-bedroom, and then somehow you have a better chance of transferring to a two-bedroom apartment when it becomes available. The same process would apparently apply if you were at the top of the waiting list and wanted a one-bed: Go to the bottom of the list or take the two-bedroom apartment. Before you decide on acting against this process, read the next paragraph.
City Hall and City Council have not ACTIVELY promoted or established ADEQUATE and EQUITABLE means for ALL citizens to provide direct input BEFORE decisions are made on issues that impact them.This is not HRA’s problem, it is a problem of Ely’s political culture. HRA meetings are not recorded, so the public cannot see who actually said what during the HRA meetings leading up to the combined list. Hearsay can be inaccurate. Minutes are not transcripts, nor should they be. We all make mistakes (humans, anyway). At those previous HRA meetings — and Council meetings for that matter — who asked about input from those on the waiting list? Who asked about the effects and if those effects were reasonable and fair? Humans make mistakes. Humans can refine, revise or retract decisions. Who on the HRA Board or Council will step up and speak? Government and changes in general should be about “Let’s do better now from this moment on. Let’s admit and correct our mistakes.”
Time marker 12:10 into the video: Original wait time for parts for handicapped door was 2-4 weeks. A tenant spoke about concerns at the end of today’s meeting. FM note: Door problem and wait time was mentioned at last Oct 8th HRA meeting https://elyminnesota.com/blog/hra-oct-8-2024-meeting/ What can long-serving HRA Board Members recommend to the new Executive Director, so essential repairs don’t take so long? How could delivery of parts have been sped up? Did HRA purchase expensive door(s) that are prone to long wait times for parts? What are priorities for working doors?
Regular scheduled meeting of the Ely, MN Park & Recreation Board on Monday, October 21, 2024. Scroll down for YouTube video clip. Here’s a Board processing all of the items placed on tonight’s jam-packed agenda: new project proposals, updates on old and ongoing projects, funding and staffing issues, and reviewing the Comprehensive Plan. Observe the time, care and discussions spent on agenda items.
Feel the comfortable welcoming atmosphere where sharing takes place and many questions are posed. Thanks, Morgan Sauls (Chair)!
See how the whole meeting gradually evolves into working strategies for the next meeting. Democratic processes take time to evolve. P&R is “behind schedule,” because they didn’t have quorum for several months.
A suggestion was made that the next meeting focus on the Comp Plan. Other (new) items should take backstage unless discussion and actions are essential. Members will get copies of Land Use and Comprehensive Plan before the next meeting to study ahead of time. The next Park & Recreation Board meeting is Monday, November 18th, at 5 p.m.
Tonight’s agenda (time markers might not be added later):
Requests to Appear
Kathryn Farion (Garden Club update) – Morgan Sauls read letter
Lucy Soderstrom (work & plantings on Trezona) – appeared later
Ozzie Reif (North Country Trail Memo of Understanding)
New Business
Camping in Whiteside Park by Tour of MN group
Ely Rec Center update
Old Business
Drum head tops in Whiteside
Pillow Rock plaque and possible picnic area
Comp Planning – Bill Tefft spoke from audience in Chamber
Suggestions from Citizens for Transparency:
(1) As a general plan for all future agendas: Deal with Old Business first, then bring up New Business. Exception: urgent essential items.
(2) Don’t put new ideas, projects and proposals on the agenda for discussion unless they relate to the Comprehensive Plan and/or what you have decided to be goals for Park & Rec. Reduce clutter on the agenda. Examples: Fitness Court (possible locations and funding needed to raise $200,00) and Depave St. Louis Park (pages 17-19 in tonight’s P&R packet).
(3) Reduce discussions about funding sources for newly introduced projects, etc. when you haven’t tied them into the Comprehensive Plan nor how they provide services to underrepresented and underserved members of the Ely community . . . or the natural environment.
(4) If you like an idea or project, think about how that idea or project can be carried out or offered by businesses, organizations or groups here in the community. What do you want that Ely needs per (2) above? Don’t negotiate with developer or business until P&R decides (2) above. Don’t get trapped into single source or expensive prpjects. P&R members and City staff are already overtasked. Why create more work following up when the idea or project isn’t a priority?
(5) Don’t get distracted by shiny objects, brochures and PowerPoint presentations. Don’t get distracted by what you think is cool and what your groups would like. Look at projects and activities in relationship to the whole community that P&R serves. Prioritize your time and service to ALL: “Guide the planning, maintaining, and development of the parks and recreation in Ely. ..[I]mprove the quality of life for all ages, backgrounds, and physical abilities of the residents of Ely and surrounding area.” Half+ of Ely’s population is seniors.
(6) Imagine classrooms where teachers individually or as a group decide what they want to teach, when, and to whom. Where it’s okay to leave kids behind or ignore them. The state or district says teach fractions during a certain grade level. A teacher doesn’t like fractions, so they don’t or do so inadequately. This happens. Goals and objectives for lesson plans should be aligned with district/state guidelines. Teachers should strive to reach all kids, facilitate learning for all to the best of their ability. Start with the district/state guidelines. In reference to P&R’s work on the Comp Plan: agree on visions, goals and objectives, including revisions AND additions of goals and objectives that were missed, ignored or not recognized back in 2016.
Regular scheduled P&Z meeting. 3 Commissioners were absent who tend to have different questions and comments about process, impact, and wording. Lots of major items on the agenda tonight. Huge amount of information to digest in the packet. Unfortunately, P&Z packets are not posted online for public to view and prepare citizen+ input before P&Z makes official recommendations to Council. Scroll down for YouTube video.
Please check back later for addition of documents from P&Z packet as well as time markers. We wanted video posted ASAP.
Look for blue highlighted sections for information about Miners Lake development. City Council had their first reading of Ordinance change to land stability on October 1st. Even though they didn’t have maps or specific details in front of them, Council approved the first reading. The City Attorney advised Council to approve, because “It’s the easiest way.” The City Attorney works for City Hall, not for the residents. City Hall wants to expedite development on Miners Lake. P&Z Commissioners tonight did not ask for maps nor details about planned development.
The only “info” given to Council on Oct 1st. No map, no description, no details about planned developments. Nothing in print. City Hall intentionally set up 1st Reading for ACTION (quick approval), not informed discussion.
This page is from page 376 in Master Ely City Code. It was not provided to Council on Oct 1st. Most likely it was not provided to P&Z in recent months, before they requested additional info. More info than just this page should have been in the Council packet.
Is this what P&Z Commissioners approved tonight? See if you can observe any discussion tonight about why wording like “building permit” and required certification are deleted. “Consult” and “contact” are not the same as “certify.” Look at the extremely loose and vague “if the property owner deems necessary.”
Compare this laissez-faire attitude about Miners Lake development with all the other mandatory (safety) code requirements for homes and businesses.
The original justification City Hall gave to P&Z was, “It’s too expensive to certify it’s safe to build on these areas. So let’s get rid of the whole ordinance.” You (regular person) can’t just build what and how you want on your property. You can NOT say, “I didn’t deem [required process or specs] necessary” or “It’s too expensive.”
This was in P&Z packet tonight. First time something in writing. Areas along Miners Lake are potentially unsafe for development. Look at comments 3, 4 and 6 above in Synopsis of Changes.
We should expand safety and “include properties with inactive Mine shafts” per #4.
If government or lobbyists want unlimited development and an ordinance is blocking that, they claim the ordinance is “unclear.” Council and P&Z are gullible and/or they don’t have time to process so many dense pages to ensure safe development. Do what California did: build a nuclear power plant right on an earthquake fault line.
From the P&Z packet tonight. Listen for someone to read this out loud or cite it, especially the 3rd paragraph.
In the Synopsis of Changes above, notice the “rephrasing” of DNR comments to make people believe it’s perfectly fine to remove land stabilty certification.
Look to the right, 3rd paragraph:
[Local government] can adopt a model ordinance we [MN DNR] write or they may adopt more restrictive standards.”
Ely City Hall wants NO real preventive safety measures or ordinances, so City Hall’s favored developers can build whatever and wherever they want on Miners Lake. Safety and residents be damned. Now the proposed expanded ATV/RV campground in the residential area on Miners Lake will fly through the Board of Adjustment.
Reports from Projects Committee and Scott Knochendorfer, Ely Planning & Zoning Administrator
Updates on meetings re: GreenStep Cities; Ely Climate Group; possible creation of a sub-committee Green Team
New Do-Over Public Hearing in Nov. for Church Subdivision
Tiny Homes developer (full name & address still not disclosed) looking for land
Tues, Oct 29th, 6:30 pm = Joint Study Session with Council to discuss cannabis ordinance
Project for Fire Bldg slowed down to ascertain historical status of buildings
IRRR gave hotel $200K in funding (IRRR not mentioned in Projects minutes
For New and Old Business, recommendations were made to Council. The actual wording as well as what was or was not included in the recommendations wasn’t always clear. Watch to see if anyone asked for exact re-reading before votes were taken. Did the Commissioners really understand and agree to everything they recommended? Really quick “deliberations” tonight. Example:
New Business
Procedures for vacation of right of way (2 pages in P&Z packet). Why was topic suddenly introduced tonight? Apparently no action was taken to update since 2004. Does this relate to other developments being discussed tonight? Yes. Look at the Development Agreement with the Train Depot. What fees will they pay?
Property incentives (2 pages). Very interesting, but why was this topic introduced tonight to P&Z? Should it go to Park & Rec and Tree Board first? There are many cities, states, and organizations that have plans with and without funding. Start with Visions and Comp Plan instead of spending energy reacting to random ideas and proposals. Also, why isn’t the City promoting the generation of ideas coming from the Commissioners themselves (who are involved in OUR community). Our City staff is already overtasked! After goals and objectives are agreed upon AND prioritized, then discuss $$ allocation.
Development agreement for Old Train Depot (5 pages). Many changes and planned businesses including an outdoor amphitheater. Watch the video for details about expanded development to north and south of the depot! This development project needs more space than previously mentioned? Specific details aren’t all written down, then or now. Miners’ Drive, the road itself, might be pushed northward to make room for expansion of this site. Who pays for rebuilding the road? The grant or taxpayers? Supposedly few people use the current public parking on the south side of Miners? So the Depot can have it? New public parking spaces, if necessary, would be built on green area on north side of Miners Drive. Who pays? Very few questions were asked, including, “How does the parking, road changes, and site expansion as well as the outdoor amphitheater or outdoor bar/restaurant fit in with the Veterans Memorial space?” What exactly did the Commissioners agree to and recommend to Council? Did they give approval for all the businesses planned? No questions or comments from Commissioners about increased noise spilling into residential areas. Did they also agree to everything in the 3-page Development Agreement? Is P&Z even tasked to review, agree to or recommend development agreements? FYI: Matthew Stupnik and family (instead of new LLC) are redeveloping the Ely Community Center? What else was missed or not asked?
Old Business
Second-Hand Goods License Ordinance
IUP Process Update – no documents
Land Stability Requirement (14 pages). Very few questions and comments from Commissioners. The DNR said, “Authority is passed from state level to the local level . . .They can adopt a model ordinance we write or they may adopt more restrictive standards.” Ely City Hall wants a LESS restrictive standard. Note the City wants property owner to be responsible for ensuring land is safe . . .[and] consult with geotechnical engineer if the property owner deems necessary.” Notice the City is still NOT providing specific maps. Council asked for maps. Compare with ordinance at Council’s first reading on Oct. 1st.
Next Council meeting on Oct 12th will probably approve the 2nd reading without major discussion.
Dumpster Ordinance (3 pages)
Update City Comp Plan (4 pages) – More papers. Once again, no time to discuss.
Regular scheduled City Council meeting held on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Agenda and Council packet are available on www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings. Scroll down for YouTube video.
Once again, last minute additions were posted online, not giving public or Council Members time to review and research new items. Informing the public in a timely manner is not important? There are several problems with the Projects Committee minutes, most likely because they were quickly typed up and not reviewed by Members prior to submission to Council. Many of the topics discussed at Projects are of major interest to the public, but Council Members did not comment or ask questions. Examples:
Under Unfinished Business (Projects Committee):
e. Why wasn’t the giver of the $200K grant named? Who gave $200K for hotel project? Why is this a secret or ?
f. A development agreement is being drafted for swap of City property on north side of depot project for the old Ford garage for parking at the hotel. Is this in addition to City owned property on south side of depot – public parking on north side of Miners Drive across from Veterans’ Memorial – that was to become part of depot project?
Under New Business (Projects Committee): a. What “does not appear”?? Sentence(s)missing.
b. Information about letter from the Chamber of Commerce and staffing at the trailhead facility would have been of public interest tonight. The public would have appreciated an update on planned uses for the trailhead facility. Is the goal of Council meetings to finish in less than an hour or to inform the public?
3:20 minutes – Request to Appear (Tonight’s Council agenda): Ian Lah reported on the impact of arts and culture on our community and economy. City Council Members were invited to attend the Ely for Ely Conference (Monday, November 18th) and the Ely Cultural Alliance on Tuesday, November 19th). See report details in the Council Packet.
Possible deed transfer of properties at 334 and 350 W Chapman to the City of Ely (letter from owner not included in Council packet).
Proposal for reconnaissance level survey for construction of ambulance and fire buildings for $7,866.97 (Note future of Ely ambulance services still not determined, if EBCH will house, etc.)
19:54 minutes – Fire Depart: 19 medical and 4 fire calls. Public announcements.
26:57 minutes – Library Report: Upcoming activities at library. The library will be closed Fri, Nov 15th, and Mon, Nov 18th, for installation of new carpet.
30:10 minutes – Police Chief: Public announcements. Council approved recommendation to hire Bradley Roy as sergeant.
33:23 minutes Communications: A. EBCH Northeast Regional Ambulance Initiative Next Steps meeting on Friday, Oct 18th, 2 pm, at GEL. B. 34:35 minutes – Lodging Tax Report through July. Paul Kess explained. C. Oct 28, 6 pm, public meeting about Harvey Street Reconstruction Project.
Lodging Tax Report
38:20 minutes – New Business
Application to DEED for cleanup of depot site.
Application to DEED for investigation of contamination of depot site.
Mary Groeninger-Helms appointed to Tree Board.
43:48 minutes Council Member Al Forsman requested motion to have City Attorney correct difference between cannabis and liquor sales. Passed
Regular monthly meeting of the Housing & Redevelopment Authority (HRA) held at the Pioneer Apartments on October 8, 2024. As with many city meetings, the agenda and packet are not posted online nor broadcast/streamed.
This is the Citizens for Transparency’s first recording of an HRA meeting. Note: recording did not start at beginning.
Minutes of this meeting will eventually be submitted to Ely City Council. Check for them in the Council Packet posted online at www.ely.mn.us/2024-meetings
This was the 2-page agenda handed out at the meeting:
Names of Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) members, their terms, and what HRA is supposed to do are posted on Ely website www.ely.mn.us/boards. Scroll down webpage to find HRA. To the right, you will find a copy of what was posted today, October 8th.
Park & Rec Nov 18 2024 mtg
Another jam-packed 2-hour meeting of the Ely Park and Recreation Board meeting. So many exciting projects and discussions – as usual. Not everything will be addressed here in this post. This is a quick draft of what happened, this draft needs to be reviewed and additional info added. Time is important, so the public can see what happened.
This Park & Rec meeting is once again proof that the agendas and documents should be posted online for the whole community to read BEFORE the meetings. And all meetings should be broadcast/streamed live and available free-of-charge 24/7/365 to the public. All of Park & Rec activities involve the community. Park & Rec wants to engage the community. They are the spirit of Ely. They are the commission that matches up with our quality of life and the reasons why we moved here. It should NOT be the task of Citizens for Transparency to post videos of meetings or the important documents. That is the responsibility of a City where truly open, transparent and welcoming government in all its glory is supposed to be actively promoted. Why do we pay taxes??
On the left: The red items were last minute additions to the Park & Rec agenda. This one “additions-to-agenda packet” is 26 pages long. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXKMzhZRXNPnQNrFSfmftSXNfq?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1
Notice the City Calendar shows the Park & Rec meetings last 1 hour. The meetings should be posted as 2 hours long. Meetings are run efficiently by the Chair Morgan Sauls, always considerate, organic and welcoming. These meetings should be observed by the Mayor and City Council some of whose members don’t seem to want questions, deep discussions, or interaction with the public. Surprise! After chastising Park & Rec at the last Nov 12th Council meeting, Mayor Omerza sat with the audience tonight. Two members had to leave early due to other obligations. The rest stayed, tired but enthusiastic in their mission. Council’s goal is to leave ASAP and rubber stamp.
Right at the beginning of the meeting, time was spent rewording some sections of the previously submitted-to-Council unapproved minutes from the last Park & Rec meeting on October 21st. At the Nov 12th Council meeting, Mayor Heidi Omerza publicly chastised Council Member Adam Bisbee and the Park & Recreation Board for some of the sentences. As Citizens for Transparency pointed out many times, there have been issues with bullying, single-source purchasing, and mistakes and concerns in other minutes from and/or meetings of other commissions that the Mayor never publicly addressed. Teachers, Mayors and Council Members should not selectively reprimand in public those they don’t like (?) and ignore those they like (?). Tactful correcting is not the same as reprimanding. That is above all the role of Mayor. See post and video from the Nov 12th City Council meeting: https://elyminnesota.com/blog/city-council-nov-12-not-welcome/. Read the unapproved minutes in the Nov 12th Council packet or the original agenda+packet sent out to Park & Rec for tonight’s meeting.
NEW BUSINESS: Extensive discussion about the dog-friendly park by the baseball fields.
36:30 minutes into the video. “Dog-friendly” means dogs are to be leashed, not running free. The designation to “dog park” will change when the organizing group has their non-profit status approved. City dog/animal licensing and regulation laws still apply. Watch the video. Read the email from Bruce Wheelwright who has been doing a lot of work preparing the field. They are still working on getting non-profit status. People are not using the designated area, because the signs are still not posted. The signs are here but they are not posted. Dog owners are still bringing their dogs to play on the baseball fields. Dog poop isn’t being picked up. Harold Langowski pointed out that the dog-friendly park has NOT yet been officially approved by Council.
NEW BUSINESS: There was extensive discussion about trails for mountain biking and hiking. Approximately 53 minutes into the video, the MOA (Memo of Agreement) with North Country Trails This time actual maps were shown. Check the additions-to-agenda packet for LOTS of details as you watch the video. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXKMzhZRXNPnQNrFSfmftSXNfq?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1
STAFF REPORTS AND UPDATES and OLD BUSINESS at the beginning of tonight’s meeting:
There was discussion re: finances & fundraising, probably in response to the unapproved minutes. The City Administrator/Clerk Harold Langowski attended tonight’s meeting to explain and answer questions. He was also in attendance to answer many questions previously posed via email by the Park and Chair after their last meeting. Topics included Pickleball, new trail head, Ely Nodic Bike and Ski Club, multiple uses of courts and facilities, and proposed Park & Rec staffing. ETC. Watch video. Check the original agenda+packet sent out to Park & Rec Members https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXKMzhZRXNPnQNrFSfmftSXNfq?projector=1&messagePartId=0.2
Approximately, 56 minutes into the video, OLD BUSINESS and COMP PLAN:
Harold Langowski and Scott Kochendorfer presented a schedule of Park and Rec projects. These are specific projects that happen quarterly, usually every year. They are not “plans.” Most are not really “goals.” There is a difference. Having a schedule of projects and events is very helpful. However, “Weekly/Daily Park Maintenance” during the 3rd/4th quarter should not really be considered as something that should be listed as a City Vision or placed within the Land Use and Comprehensive Plan. Otherwise, the Comp Plan would be filled with each City employee’s job responsibilities.
There was discussion about the schedule and annual “tasks” listed in these 3 pages. These would supposedly be the Park and Recreation Board’s short-term comp plan. “Short-term plan” means for the next one year. Harold Langowski suggested considering “mid-term plans” as completion in the next 5 years and “long-term plans” as within 10 years.
Only in the last 10 minutes or so of the meeting were words such as “gardens” and “open spaces” voiced, almost as an afterthought. Everything up to those last minutes in the 2-hour meeting was basically about sports and human entertainment. It was as if if the previous discussions about pollinator gardens and open spaces didn’t happen. If was as if Park and Representatives never attended the Planning & Zoning meeting to discuss zoning, etc. to help set up goals and objectives to protect open spaces and the environment (Page 27 in the 2016 Comp Plan).
Perhaps Park and Recreation Members are confused about the difference between daily tasks and projects versus goals and objectives is because City Staff is confused?
Confusion is perhaps why City Staff suddenly presented a St. Louis Park (MN) de-paving initiative to Planning & Zoning at their last meeting instead of to Park & Rec? (De-pave driveways and sidewalks to put in plants.). P&Z recommended the initiative to Council instead of referring to Park & Rec. Park and Rec really shouldn’t have anything to do with city-wide pollinator gardens?
At recent previous Park & Rec meetings, Members came up with great ideas for projects, plans and visions for use of designated-to-be and current open spaces for pollinators, kids, and the public. NONE of these were mentioned on the 3 pages of “plans.” Did City Hall not listen? Citizens for Transparency sent them links to the videos. The minutes whether approved or not do not include everything discussed. Not that the minutes are to include everything, but these ideas were/are important. What happened to those ideas expressed during animated discussions?? Did the Members forget? Did the 3-page list presented by City Staff distract them? Intentionally? Why not at least list some initial steps in 2025 for mid- and long-range goals and objectives for pollinator gardens, open spaces and protecting the environment? Hopefully, when Park & Rec Member Abby Dare types up the 3-page list of daily-quarterly-annual projects for the group, she can review previous minutes and videos and cover some of those previously voiced ideas.
Last but not least, there was absolutely no mention of the Green Team sub-committee approved by City Council on Nov 12th.
The Green Team is not Green. The City Council dissed the importance, purpose and knowledge of the Park and Recreation Board Members as well as Mother Nature. Apparently, there is no Climate Change impact on plant or animal habitats, on migration, on fishing, hunting, etc. Besides, who cares? City Council and City Hall are only interested is appearances, paperwork, to get a higher ranking with GreenSteps Cities. Many of the 29 best steps are what Park and Rec can best handle. The “Good Old Boys’ Clubs” don’t want to share power. GreenSteps Cities are not about power; they are about community. See post and video of Nov 12th City Council meeting: https://elyminnesota.com/blog/city-council-nov-12-not-welcome/