TOWER— The city council, minus Mayor Josh Carlson and Councilor Lance Dougherty, took just 17 minutes on Monday to work through its regular monthly agenda. The three councilors quickly approved a number of resignations from the ambulance service, including Nick Levens as training officer and Karel Winkelaar as an EMT. The council also terminated Cory Kovatovich from the service, since he has left the area.

The council also hired Matt Tuchel to replace Levens as the ambulance training officer.

In other business, the council:

 Approved a minor change in the charter school lease per the recommendation of the Minnesota Department of Education.

 Rejected the only bid for the Lake Vermilion Cultural Center renovation. The sole bid was $481,000— well above the $263,000 in funding approved for the project. The project will likely be revised to bring the costs down.

 Approved an FAA grant for the airport totaling $85,563.

 Received a letter from the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training noting that Breitung Police Chief Dan Nylund had passed a compliance review conducted last month.

Approved final loan papers for the new TEDA building. The council also approved the first payment on the project construction, totaling $110,000.

 Approved a resolution to decertify an inactive TIF district that had been in place for the former Powerain building, which is now the Vermilion Country School.