TOWER— The council plowed through a lengthy agenda on Monday, addressing once again a number of items that the council had acted upon in previous meetings. One of the new items the council took up was a request by Dave Rose to purchase the 5.8-acre former dumpsite just off Hoodoo Point Road, to use as a buffer for his proposed RV park.

Rose’s proposal drew considerable opposition from neighbors last year, and had dropped off the council agenda in recent months as Rose worked on completing an environmental assessment for his proposal. Rose said he has made considerable progress on the assessment and noted that his proposal to purchase the former dumpsite would not change the number of RV slots in his plan. He said he still needs to complete an archeological survey, which won’t be done until the snow melts.

Rose’s proposal to purchase the city land adjacent to his proposed RV park sparked discussion of the land’s current status. While once a landfill, the property has since been remediated and certified by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. But City Clerk-Treasurer Linda Keith noted that the certification includes inaccurate coordinates, so it isn’t clear that it actually covers the site. She said she’s been working with the MPCA to try to correct the error, but it appears that neither the agency nor the city has complete records that would allow the MPCA to easily reissue the paperwork— and that could hold up any potential sale of the property, perhaps for months.

And the council is unlikely to agree to a sale to Rose without going through the city’s standard process, which would include appraisal and a public listing. “We have to offer it to everyone,” said Mayor Josh Carlson.

Based on Keith’s recommendation, the council opted to wait until the certification is resolved before moving ahead with an appraisal and possible sale.

In other business, the council agreed to amend its commercial rehabilitation loan program to allow for business start-up loans up to $25,000 in cases where a business is addressing a critical city-identified community need. The council made the change to allow the nonprofit Tower-Soudan Community Development Corporation to utilize the program to fund start-up of a new daycare facility.

The council has identified the lack of daycare options as a serious issue in the community that appears to be affecting local school enrollment as parents are forced to use daycare facilities in other towns. The Tower Economic Development Authority and the TSCDC recently conducted a community survey, which found strong interest in a local daycare from parents in the community. The TSCDC has since developed a business plan and financials showing the proposal should be financially viable. The group is looking at developing space within the existing Tower-Soudan Elementary for the center, and would need to hire a director with daycare experience to make that happen. The organization, however, currently has no source of funding to make hiring possible.

In agreeing to amend the loan guidelines, the council added that the council would need to agree unanimously on the critical need for the service the business would propose to provide to the community. The council took that action on Monday, unanimously approving a resolution designating the lack of childcare services as a critical community need.

The council shot down two other proposals that it had previously rejected, but which appeared again on their agenda on Monday. The council again rejected a request by Vermilion Housing for the city to purchase land owned by the nonprofit group near the Lakeview Cemetery. The group is seeking to sell the land to help raise matching funds for an apartment rehabilitation project, but the council is hopeful the group will find a private sector buyer.

The council also said no once again to a proposal to spend about $1,000 for a video “doorbell” at the Vermilion Country charter school building, as a security measure. The measure made it back on the council agenda at the request of a parent of a student at the school who was unhappy that the council had rejected it the first time. But the parent did not attend the meeting, leaving Councilor Kevin Fitton, who is also school administrator, to briefly outline the issue. Fitton did note that the charter school currently pays the city $78,000 a year in lease payments, well above the city’s $51,000 annual loan payment for renovations. But Carlson said the city is using the additional payments to pay down the loan more quickly and he favors continuing to do so. Other councilors concurred that it is an expense the school should shoulder.

In other business, the council:

• Heard from Tower Vision 2025 founder and harbor area developer Orlyn Kringstad that his harbor development project is now fully funded with the addition of $125,000 in loan funding from the IRRRB. Those funds will be made available to the project through TEDA. Kringstad noted that the project has attracted considerable foreign investment from Norway.

• Accepted a $40,000 Main Street improvement grant that the TSCDC had sought from the IRRRB. The money will be allotted through the city.

• Approved a proclamation on sexual assault awareness.

• Heard from Emergency Management Director Jesse Anderson that the city will be receiving $4,019 to reimburse for costs incurred during the last summer’s severe windstorm.

• Approved moving forward with roof repairs and staining at the arrival and departure building at the Tower Airport.

• Agreed to apply long-term pension funding deficiencies to the city’s enterprise funds to comply with a change in accounting rules imposed by the Legislature last year.

• Agreed to write off delinquent water and sewer accounts for Main Street building owners who lost their property through foreclosure.