Council OKs subdivision

Cloquet city councilors took care of business in only five minutes Tuesday, setting an unofficial record for the shortest meeting of the year with only three members and mayor Roger Maki present on a windy wintry evening.

Aside from approving bills, payroll and some end-of-year account transfers, there was only one current business item on the agenda: approval of a minor subdivision plat, to create three lots on a 17-acre property at the corner of Laine and Stark roads.

Landowners Andy and Sandy Elias were in the audience. They plan to build a new home on one of the lots, and could sell the other lots in the future, they said. All three lots include substantial wetlands, but Cloquet planning/zoning administrator Al Cottingham said there is space for structures and septic systems on all three lots. The area is zoned farm-residential with a minimum lot size of 5 acres, which the lots meet or exceed. With a positive recommendation from the Cloquet planning commission, the council voted unanimously to approve the plat.

Also Tuesday, the council approved a new tobacco license for Just Smoking, a new business at 611 Sunnyside Drive owned by Gregg Wait.

The council meets next at 6 p.m. April 18.