TOWER— Replacing the Hoodoo Point Campground’s outdated electrical system was a major topic for the city council here on Monday as electrical engineer Joe Peterson outlined the steps necessary for bringing the facility up to current code.
While the city has been working to upgrade seasonal sites to 50-amp service over the past few years, nearly two dozen seasonal sites are still limited to 30-amp service. Yet the city can’t add any additional capacity at the individual sites, said Peterson, without first upgrading the capacity of the system’s backbone, consisting of the overhead lines and transformers.
“The campground is maxed out,” said campground manager Randy Pratt.
Peterson said Lake Country Power, which serves the area, would be willing to upgrade the system, but won’t do it for free. He pegged the cost for the system upgrade, which would include new transformers and burial of new lines, at just under $50,000. But that doesn’t include some labor costs, nor some of the additional infrastructure that would be required for the upgraded system, which would push the cost to $85,000-$100,000.
Upgrading power to 50 amps at the remaining individual campsites would also cost more.
Peterson said the upgrade would improve the quality of the power at the campground, which currently replaces dozens of breakers every year. In addition, said Peterson, some sagging powerlines come close to the tops of campers and could present an electrocution hazard. At the same time, he said voltage drops along the existing system is likely causing problems with some of the electrical equipment used by campers.
Much of the infrastructure dates back to the campground’s original construction back in 1968, with many of the old-fashioned glass breakers still in use.
Despite the price tag, the council appeared open to making the investment and agreed to delve into the issue over the next few weeks in hopes of having a better handle on a timeline and source of funding for the needed upgrades.
Peterson said Lake Country Power would likely be able to honor its pricing if the city moves forward yet this year, but he said inflationary costs will likely add to the price tag the longer the city waits.
Tower apartment upgrades
In other action, the council agreed with a request from the Vermilion Housing Corporation to contribute $20,000 toward the cost of upgrading the nonprofit’s apartment buildings in Tower and Soudan. Vermilion Housing Board Chair Tim Tomsich spoke to the council about the planned upgrades, which are estimated to cost just over $9 million.
The buildings have suffered from a lack of consistent maintenance due to lack of funding. The buildings were originally built in the 1970s for senior housing and were fully occupied for a time, but Tomsich said the closure of Tower’s clinic and pharmacy prompted some seniors to move away, which limited the revenue available for repairs. Eventually, the apartments were opened to low-income residents, which Tomsich said changed the atmosphere in the buildings and prompted more seniors to leave. He said some of the apartments are too small to serve families, and some are now in too poor of a condition to rent. The planned upgrades would not only upgrade all the apartments, it would add new siding and other improvements to the buildings’ exteriors. It would also add a three-bedroom and possibly a four-bedroom option to better serve families.
Tomsich said it’s been a lengthy and bruising process to figure out how to obtain the grant funds needed for the upgrades. He said his board has been working with the Minnesota Housing Partnership, which has been advising him on the process. “They’re optimistic we’ll get there,” he said, but noted that they have stressed the importance of showing a local financial commitment.
While Tomsich’s ask was a big one given the city’s limited financial capacity, council member Joe Morin noted that the city’s economic development authority would also likely have funds to help cover some of the contribution. The funds wouldn’t be needed until 2026 or 2027, and only if the grant funds are made available.
Mayor Dave Setterberg said it would be a significant benefit to the community, noting that approximately ten percent of the city’s population lives in the apartments.
Moving city hall?
The council also agreed to explore a suggestion from the Tower-Soudan Historical Society to return city hall to its former location in what is now the old fire hall building. The TSHS has been renovating the historic building for the past several years and is looking for a long-term tenant for the space. Tower’s city government did, at one time, operate out of the building, but moved into the current city hall, built by the Works Project Administration in 1938. That building is showing its age and has proven to be expensive for the city to operate.
“It would be a very significant change,” noted clerk-treasurer Michael Schultz. While the old fire hall, built in 1895, had a reputation as costly to heat, Schultz said the renovations done on the building included a new HVAC system. Additional insulation has also improved the building’s efficiency.
Council members Morin and Kevin Norby agreed to look into the possibility and come back to the council with more information on the possibility.
In other action, the council:
• At the urging of new council member John Vandervort, held a moment of silence for former city council member and Breitung town board member Chuck Tekautz, who was gravely ill at the time. Tekautz passed away a few hours later.
• Approved paying an invoice from Lakehead Constructors totaling $923,527 for ongoing work on the new drinking water plant.
• Approved a motion to hire Adam Williamson as a firefighter on the Tower Fire Department contingent on a background check and completion of necessary certifications.
• Heard that the sprint medic pilot program, funded by a 2024 legislative allocation, is currently set to get underway in October of this year. One of the sprint medic vehicles, manned by the Virginia Fire Department, will be housed in Tower while the second vehicle will serve the Cook, Orr, and Nett Lake area.
• Heard that the city has obtained the cityoftower.gov website address to replace the cityoftower.com address that has been used for years.
• Appointed John Vandervort to serve as another council representative on the Tower-Breitung Waste Water Board.
• Approved the city’s fee schedule for 2025. Among the changes is a $100 annual fee for permits to operate a short-term rental or a cannabis dispensary.
• Approved a new cannabis sales ordinance limiting dispensaries to the C-1 or C-2 zone districts of the city. That removes an earlier restriction that prohibited sales within 1,000 feet of a school, park, or recreation area, which would have effectively eliminated the ability of anyone to open a cannabis store in the city.
• Received a letter from Julie Petrzilka from Rick’s Relic’s, asking for the change in the cannabis ordinance to allow her Main Street store to sell cannabis under the new state laws allowing such sales.
• Appointed Emily Schultz, Dan Jones, and Robert McDonough to the new Gundersen Endowment committee, which will make recommendations for dispensing funds from the former Gundersen Trust, which are now managed by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. The city will receive a total of $41,317 in investment proceeds this year from the Gundersen fund. Of that, $13,675 will be available for distribution to groups in the city for public benefit projects, with the city to retain $27,641.
• Approved the second and final reading on the city’s ATV and snowmobile-related amendment to Ordinance 8, now Ordinance 8A.