TOWER—The city council is taking action to address the blight and public safety concerns at the former city marina, now known as the Standing Bear Marina.

In a compliance order approved by the council during a marathon meeting on Monday, the city is giving Ralph and Ellen Hilla, the owners of the property, 30 days to address a laundry list of issues at the property, including dilapidated docks and dock canopies, unpermitted structures, and large amounts of debris, garbage, and junk vehicles.

Councilors appeared shocked in some cases as they reviewed photographs recently taken at the property. “They’re in violation of multiple city ordinances,” said Mayor Josh Carlson.

The action comes as a major town home project and mixed commercial development at the nearby harbor looks almost certain to move forward, and that is increasing the city’s interest in improving conditions along the riverfront.

The order, to be sent by certified mail, requires the Hillas to remove a metal boat repair building, or obtain a permit for the structure, as well as a house that was recently moved to the site and is currently elevated on cribbing. The order also requires replacement or demolition of all dockage that is currently in an unsafe condition, and dock canopies that have collapsed, and repair of damaged and unsightly buildings.

Failure to comply with the order could lead to fines and prompt the city to take steps to address the problems at the site, which would be billed or assessed to the property owners.

In other business, the council forwarded a proposal from Ambulance Director Steve Altenburg to convert the ambulance service to a paid on-call system that would have two emergency medical responders or technicians on-call 24 hours a day, Monday-Friday.

Altenburg said the system would improve response time, particularly at night, and would likely net the ambulance service additional revenue because the on-call staff would be available to handle hospital transfers, which provide substantial revenue to the service— at least when staff are available to do the runs. “If these two crews do a minimum of 156 transfers a year, or three a week, all the expenses would be paid for,” said Altenburg. “If we could do four a week, we would be making money.” Altenburg said the service had to decline 37 transfers in just the past three months due to lack of available staff.

The new system would also create four new,permanent jobs in the community, said Altenburg.

Councilors appeared supportive of the proposal, but asked for more time to resolve questions, so they forwarded it to the council’s April 24 meeting for a final decision.

In other public safety action, the council rejected a police protection proposal from Breitung Township that called for the city to pay 50 percent of cost increases to the department beginning in 2018, when a new contract would take effect. Currently, the city pays 40 percent of those increases, according to City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith, so the change proposed by Breitung would represent a substantial increase. Instead, the council agreed to pay 45 percent of the cost increases, a position they’ll take to the Breitung Police Commission when they meet next week. At the same time, the council opposes paying $950 of the increase in the township’s unemployment costs, since the bill covers all of Breitung’s employees, not just the police.

Keith said Breitung officials have argued that the city should pay more since the police spend at least half their time in Tower, but Keith noted that the city has no input into the decisions of the department. She also said that the department is likely to spend significantly more time within the township once the new state park campground opens.

In other action, the council:

• Heard from harbor town home developer Orlyn Kringstad, who gave a presentation on his project just prior to the council meeting. Kringstad said he has at least ten letters of intent from prospective buyers of town homes and that the project is now fully funded and ready to move forward later this summer, based on final permitting. “We’re getting very close,” he said.

• Considered, then tabled, a request from Vermilion Lake Township for the city’s support in their effort to stop a proposed hostile annexation of the township into the Cook-Orr Healthcare District. Carlson said the council hadn’t seen the request before the meeting and had an obligation to research it more thoroughly before taking action. The request is likely to reappear on the April 24 agenda.

• Approved the purchase of two new docks from Docks on Wheels for installation in the harbor. The council agreed to pay $5,000 each, to include metal ramps that tie each dock to the shore. The docks should be installed by the fishing opener.

• Delayed the purchase of new docks for the Hoodoo Point campground. The issue is expected to be back on the agenda on April 24.

• Heard an update on the sewer project at Hoodoo Point and later approved a letter indicating the city’s intent to bond for improvements at Hoodoo Point.

• Approved changes in the city’s commercial rehabilitation loan program to allow the funds to be lent for start-up of businesses that meet a significant community need. Approval of loans under the provision would require a 5-0 vote of the council. Organizers of the planned childcare center had initiated the change, although it now appears that grant funds will be available to finance the start-up costs of the center. Even so, Carlson said he thought the change was a sensible one and should be made even if it isn’t necessary for the childcare center. The council unanimously agreed.

• Approved a motion to obtain an appraisal for the former city dump site prior to listing it for sale. The city did locate the official remediation certification for the site, which was in the hands of St. Louis County, clearing the way for a possible sale. The council also requested that Keith obtain a copy of the remediation report, since it will list whatever restrictions are in place for future redevelopment at the site.

• Declined to approve a non-disclosure agreement with Tower Vision 2025 for the business planning information it was providing to the city related to the harbor project. Keith said the city’s legal counsel had recommended against it because such agreements tend to conflict with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. In the alternative, Kringstad said he won’t leave such materials at city hall.

• Approved economic development loan criteria for the $125,000 in IRRRB funds recently allocated to TEDA. The criteria were based on similar criteria established by the city of Hibbing, with a few modifications.

• Approved fund transfers recommended by Keith to help pay down debt in certain city accounts.

• Terminated a cabin lease for the Erickson family due to payment delinquency.

• Rehired Matt Skubic as summer help for the city maintenance staff.

• Approved payment on the second-to-last invoice for work on the airport hangar aprons.