ELY – State lawmakers and other political officials will gather here next month with Ely area leaders for a legislative roundtable session hosted by the Community Economic Development Joint Powers Board.
The annual gathering will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 20 at the Grand Ely Lodge. The public is invited to attend.
The annual late-year gathering was canceled last year because of coronavirus public health protocols. With those restrictions mostly lifted, local Joint Powers board members met last week to discuss the agenda for this year’s meeting that gives Ely area officials an opportunity to address particular projects and issues relevant to the North Country.
The Joint Powers Board consists of dues- paying members, city of Ely, city of Winton, Morse Township, Fall Lake Township, and ISD 696. Non-voting members include Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital, Vermilion Community College and the Ely Chamber of Commerce.
Invited lawmakers include State Sen. Tom Bakk, State Rep. Rob Ecklund, representatives from U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation, and the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners.
Other groups invited include the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools, Ely Wolf Center, Veterans on the Lake Resort, Ely Tourism Board, U.S. Forest Service, Twin Metals Minnesota and representatives from various recreational trail organizations.
Joint Powers Board members last week identified several items to be put on the Dec. 20 agenda for discussion:
• The daycare/childcare shortage in the region and its impact on economic development.
• Ely’s wastewater treatment plant mercury mitigation project.
• Broadband and high-speed internet service in the Ely area.
• Fall Lake Township’s request to be annexed into ISD 696 in Ely.
• The city of Ely trailhead project on the west end of town and regional recreational trail expansion.
• Non-ferrous mining projects in northeast Minnesota.
• Expansion of the Ely Ambulance Service facility.
Sen. Bakk and Rep. Ecklund are committed to attending the meeting. Other officials will be contacted and invited to attend.
“The last time this body met for this session, the table got really big,” said Ely Mayor Roger Skraba. “This shows the legislators that there is an active group of people here.”