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By MaryHelen Swanson
The 23rd day of February will be a busy day in North Branch. At 10
a.m., at the fire hall, outgoing fire chief Don Brown will be receiving
an award “for chiefs who go above and beyond.”
Brown, who has accepted another job out of town, will be leaving after
many years of service to the NB community. Current Fire Chief John
McFarling, told the city council members Monday night he wasn’t
aware of all that Brown had been involved in.
The council will have to move swiftly from the award program to the
high school where the first ever economic development summit is being
held.
This countywide program will include messages from local mayors on the
status of their cities, and a presentation and discussion of the newly
created Strategic Economic Development Plan.
Everyone is welcome, from business people to school personnel and citizens.
All that is asked is that you call the Chisago County HRA-EDA office
and let them know you are coming. The summit will run from 10:30-3 p.m.
In other business at the council this week, John Pentelis, a resident
who lives near Harder Park, asked about the resolution to issues he has
about ball playing this coming summer.They include lighting, security,
tree planting, etc. He told the council he wants to “get it wrapped up”
before spring, “or I have to do some other stuff.”
He didn’t explain what that was.
The council also approved a final plat for the ESSBY Business Park 2nd
Addition. This plat, applied for by the city who owns the land, creates
two new lots and an outlot.
The council supported, by resolution, the passage of the Strategic
Entrepreneurial Economic Development (SEED) program calling upon the
state Legislature to fully fund the initiatives. Councilor Theresa
Furman opposed the resolution, saying it contained JOBZ and she doesn’t
believe in JOBZ (a state subsidy program to encourage development in
rural areas).
Recently Jim Vrchota, a local banker, resigned from the city’s economic
development authority (EDA), so the council addressed his replacement.
City EDA director Tom Willett recommended he be replaced with someone
in the banking business, a commercial lender. After accepting Vrchota’s
resignation, the council tabled an appointment because Furman brought
up an issue from a January meeting. Resident Galen Strovers had applied
for a position on the EDA but was not appointed. At the time the
council made note that he could be offered a position on another
committee if one opened, as he had mentioned he wanted to become
involved in the city.
The council wanted to check this decision before making an appointment.
The council approved application for a Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources Natural and Scenic Area Grant for the Carlson property,
agreeing to pay for an appraisal out of Park Improvement funds.
They also supported a resolution to the Legislature requesting $1
million infrastructure and for a feasibility study and $700,000 for
commuter bus service as proposed by the Rush Line Corridor Task Force.
Finally, before going into closed session to discuss the city
administrator’s review and a union discussion, the council discussed
chamber security.
In light of current news where a man entered a city council meeting and
shot and killed a number of people, Mayor Gloria Karsky opened the
discussion.
Few of the councilors felt there was any issue of danger and talk centered around the cost and need.
No action was taken.
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