Diversity marks new city council

Cloquet's newest city councilor, Elizabeth "Lyz" Jaakola, was sworn in Tuesday in a most unusual format, with city administrator Tim Peterson asking councilors and anyone watching the virtual meeting "to imagine" a more conventional ceremony. In reality, Jaakola was not visible as she held her hand up and repeated the oath of office as "caller 02" on the GoToMeeting screen.

Jaakola garnered the most votes for the Ward 5 council seat in November's election, beating fellow challenger Dennis Painter after incumbent Steve Langley didn't run again.

Jaakola's arrival brings the total number of women on the council to three out of six, with mayor Roger Maki as the seventh vote on the council. The Fond du Lac Band member is also the second current Native American councilor, along with Sheila Lamb.

It was only three years ago that the entire council was made up of men, until Adam Bailey stepped down in April 2018 after buying a home outside of city limits.

Jaakola said she's excited to get started.

"I'm looking forward to all of the opportunities to learn more about the community and do my best to move projects forward for better functioning and better direction for everybody," Jaakola said. "The community is doing pretty well, given all of our challenges. I feel fortunate to be able to step in and pick up where others have left off."

In a short meeting that involved a lot of housekeeping measures, including committee assignments, Jaakola hit the ground running, picking up a seat on the Cloquet Economic Development Authority, which met the following morning at 8 a.m.

Ward 4 councilor Kerry Kolodge and at-large councilor Lara Wilkinson were reelected unopposed in November.

Wilkinson was selected Tuesday as the "acting mayor" for 2021, taking over the role from Kolodge by vote of the council (and at his suggestion). The acting mayor steps in when the elected mayor is unavailable.

After interviewing five applicants for the city parks commission during an online work session held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, councilors voted unanimously to reappoint two current members - Tom Urbanski and John Badger - whose terms had expired. Kolodge made the motion, explaining that he thought their experience would be critical in the upcoming year or two as the city goes through the process of trying to get a new local option sales tax approved by the state and local voters to pay for substantial improvements at Pine Valley park and hockey shelters.

"It's not for any shortcomings of the candidates, it's more about having all hands on deck the next few years," he said.

The entire council supported his motion, but Wilkinson and Lamb both lamented the fact that there are no women on the parks commission. Wilkinson suggested the other candidates reapply when several more seats expire at the end of this year.

City administrator Tim Peterson said, in a career that has seen many open spots for city boards and commissions go unfilled, the process reversed his jaded view. To have five qualified candidates apply was exciting, and showed Cloquet has citizens who are willing to step up.

"I look forward to that continuing but this really was a great showcase of the citizens of Cloquet," he said.

Also Tuesday, the council approved the appointment of Mark Lanigan, president of Cloquet Frandsen Bank and Trust, to at-large EDA commissioner.

Current city commission and board vacancies include spots on the Cloquet Area Fire District board, which oversees the fire district, and the Citizens Advisory Board, which is made up of three appointed members who are tasked with assisting the Cloquet police department with disciplinary procedures, public complaints, and hiring procedures. The Citizen Advisory Board is also supposed to assist the police chief by providing an objective community perspective in the handling of those matters.

In other matters, the council:

• Approved the Pine Knot News as its official newspaper;

• Approved hiring Saginaw Power and Automation for electrical engineering services to design upgrades to the electrical system at Pump Station 2 on the Lake Superior Waterline - which carries water from Lake Superior to the Sappi mill - at a cost of $25,400. As Sappi is the only customer of the waterline, the mill pays all the costs for any repairs or projects to ensure reliable service. The electrical upgrades to the pump station and painting/reconditioning of the two above-ground reservoirs is expected to cost approximately $2 million. They hope to complete the projects in 2022.

• Approved changes to the city code regarding regulation and licensing of pawnbrokers, and amending the fee schedule for transaction fees. The city is changing vendors for the service, and the new vendor comes with more tools for law enforcement, but it will also cost more. So the city is proposing to limit the fee increase charged to the only pawnbroker in town, keeping the increase to about $25 a month. "As someone who's had a break-in and property recovered because of the database, I wholeheartedly support this," Lamb said, making the motion to approve. The vote was unanimous.