Council moves ahead with library grant, hockey lease agreements

Cloquet City Councilors got mixed news about money Tuesday night - and in some cases the bad news came on the flip side of the coin.

Take the Cloquet Public Library, for example, and the happy news that it was offered a $784,000 library expansion grant from State of Minnesota, not quite the $1 million the city asked for. On the flip side is the fact that the grant is a matching one, so the city or some other agency must fund the other part of the estimated $2 million project. The previous council had already agreed to bond for $1 million, provided the library got a $1 million grant.

City Administrator Aaron Reeves estimated the city might have to bond for $1.2 million to finance the project, which would result in an $80,000 levy increase to pay for the bond payment each year, or an almost 2.5 percent increase to the levy for 20 years.

"It's not an insignificant sum," Reeves said, adding that the city would look to other sources for funding and apply for a low-interest Department of Agriculture loan to help lower costs. The state has also said if other cities decline grant awards, Cloquet could receive more money.

Reeves recommended the council make its decision expecting to make up the difference.

He added that the decision to accept the grant doesn't lock the city into moving forward if there are unexpected costs, such as high construction bids.

Reeves and several city councilors talked about the tour of the library they took before the council meeting, and the changing ways the library is used - by teens doing homework and gathering in a safe place, adults on computers, gatherings and much more - and the fact that it is bursting at the seams.

Ward 2 Councilor Sheila Lamb wanted to know if the city could reach out to the other cities and townships whose residents use the library, making the point that an estimated 22,000 users visit the library, far more than the population of Cloquet.

Reeves said it is complicated, explaining that Carlton County makes payments to the Arrowhead Library System, which gives a number of services and programs free to the Cloquet library as a result.

"It's a pretty good agreement," he said. "But it doesn't mean we can't approach other entities about sharing [costs]."

In the end, the city administrator recommended the council move forward in the grant and bidding process. His suggestion was met with nods of agreement around the table from the councilors.

"It's a lot of money," Reeves said, referring to the grant. "But the library does need an update, and we will look at energy efficiency (including the possibility of solar) with the expansion. It will improve the existing facility, including the public space and behind the scenes."

Reeves said the city would likely use Boldt as the construction manager on the project.

Trail money

In other grant news, the city accepted a $10,000 grant from Minnesota Energy Resources Corporation to help pay for the estimated costs of constructing another 2.5 miles of mountain bike trail in Cloquet's Pine Valley Park. Krohn wrote the grant request along with another grant for $62,500 from the Lake Superior Coastal Zone, to go toward the $125,000 project. He expects to hear back on the second grant by mid-February.

The city also accepted a $200 donation to the police department's K-9 program.

Hockey arenas

The council approved user agreements with the Minnesota Wilderness, the Cloquet School District and the Cloquet Area Hockey Association, which would also be managing the city's hockey facilities at Pine Valley (the Barn) and Northwoods Credit Union Arena.

The Wilderness agreement was for two years: $35,000 for year one (2019-20) and $30,000 for year two (2020-21).

The CAHA agreement was for $70,000 the first year, $45,000 the second year and $25,000 the third year and into the future.

The Cloquet School District had already signed an agreement with CAHA. Under the terms of that agreement, the school district will pay $125,00 the first year, $129,582 the second year and $134,765 the third year.

Reeves said the agreements should cover the city's cost for utilities and general maintenance of the arenas in 2019, but noted that after the first year, the city likely would have to find or levy for funds to help pay for the operational costs.

The council also approved a payment to CAHA for $25,000 for emergency repairs to the Barn. The city agreed to pay half the cost for repairs the group made this fall that CAHA had planned to pay off with money they would receive from leasing the hockey facility, which the city will receive now.

Copies of each contract are available on the city's website with the Jan. 15 city council agenda packet.

Board, Commission Appointments

The council also approved the appointments of Philip Demers to the planning commission, Jim Langenbrunner and Bob DeCaigny to the Cloquet Area Fire District Board and reappointed Cassandra Brissett to the library board. There is still one vacancy each on the planning commission and the library board and, according to city records, a handful on the cable commission. Anyone interested in applying for these volunteer commissions and boards is asked to contact Aaron Reeves at 218-879-3347

Handgun purchase for police tabled

After questioning Cloquet Police Chief Jeff Palmer and Sgt. Adam Reed, Ward 4 Councilor Kerry Kolodge motioned to table a request from the Cloquet Police Department to purchase 26 Heckler & Koch VP9 handguns to replace the department's current Glock handguns at a cost of $687.94 per gun, or $17,277 for 26 guns and magazines.

Palmer said the decision was based on performance, and that the .40-caliber round used with the Glocks has substantial recoil when fired and can affect accuracy; the 9mm-round recoil is less. He said all the officers have passed firearms training with their current handguns.

Kolodge, who worked in law enforcement for 30 years, suggested the H&K guns are a "Cadillac" model, and asked the department to get quotes for replacement Glock pistols with trade-in values rather than the $150 for which the department had suggested it would sell its current handguns to Cloquet police officers or Dead On Arms, a local firearms dealer and indoor range. In response to a question about the estimated revenues for the existing guns not being included in the council packet, Palmer said they were going to use that money to pay for new holsters, which would be needed for the new guns. Staying with Glock handguns would allow the department to continue to use its existing holsters, he said.

Kolodge said he agreed with getting new handguns after 10 years, but wants to be fiscally responsible.

The council voted unanimously to table the request until Palmer came back with the additional information.