Groundbreaking planned Sept. 26 for new VNP headquarters

International Falls City Council Tuesday heard that agreement has been reached between the city and National Park Service that will allow the city to construct and maintain a building that will serve as the headquarters for Voyageurs National Park.

Falls Mayor Shawn Mason said the U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar contacted the city about the park service’s agreement that will see a 20-year lease by the park service for about 40,000 square feet of a building that the city will own and construct. The lease payments will fund escrowed maintenance and improvements to the building.

“This is really a red letter day, a phenomenal day,” said Mason. “We are thrilled.”

The announcement received applause from the audience at the meeting. Plans call for a groundbreaking ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 26 at the Pat Roche Memorial Access.

Details of the lease will be revealed after the city signs the agreement, said Mason.

“This project is really the cornerstone of our waterfront development,” Mason said of property between Rainy River and Highway 11 East. Trails, water access and an amphitheater are expected to be included in the plans for the property at the VNP headquarters. The city eventually plans to develop a Voyageurs Heritage Center at the site, which will serve as an interpretive center for the North American voyageur.

Other plans involved in the privately owned parts of the waterfront area include a Border Patrol station and a destination resort.

Mason said the deal with the park service helps to retain the park’s 53-full time equivalent positions in International Falls and will spur development in the waterfront area.

She also said the deal is symbolic of the cultural evolution of the gateway community of International Falls and the park. She credited the leadership of VNP Superintendent Mike Ward and former Superintendent Kate Miller, as well as Falls Councilor Tim “Chopper” McBride and Koochiching County Wade Pavleck for paving way for the improved relationship between the community and park.

Mason also said that Oberstar’s involvement was key in reaching a deal, and she credited several city staff for their actions.

In words she repeated during discussions on several issues Tuesday, Mason said the council’s characteristic of leading with integrity and honesty, tenacity and inclusion in communication paid off in this opportunity and can help in other issues.

Ward attended Tuesday’s council meeting and was congratulated for his effort by Mason. Ward said many people were involved in bringing the plans to fruition

The groundbreaking will coincide with the park’s christening of its new 49-passenger Rainy Lake tour boat, planned for 9 a.m. Sept. 26. Ward noted that beginning at 1 p.m. that day, and for the following three days, the public will be offered free rides on the boat, which will be put into service in June.

Annexation

In other action, the council agreed to oppose the orderly annexation plan as adopted by the Ranier City Council and Koochiching County Board because it includes property owned by the city.

Councilors said Tuesday they intentionally stayed out of discussions about the Ranier proposal because it included French and Jameson additions and did not want to indirectly influence the outcome of the proposal.

However, they said they were never notified that a portion of City Beach, all of a foreign trade zone owned jointly by the city and county and all of the property necessary to establish a road to the FTZ was included in the proposal.

Mason said she was “flabergasted” that city property was included in the proposal and no one told any city officials.

City Attorney Joe Boyle said state law requires that an annexing municipality be capable of providing fundamental government services to the property it proposes to annex.

The council agreed to prepare documents to submit to an administrative law judge at a preliminary hearing Sept. 11 that will outline information about how services — water, fire protection and recreation — are now and would be provided to property within the annexation proposal.

FTZ

The council also Tuesday agreed to send a letter to the Koochiching County Board asking that it join with the city in seeking federal money through Oberstar, who serves as the House transportation committee chairman, to construct a road to the foreign trade center.

After the county seeks federal money for the FTZ road with the city, Boyle said the consequences of a proposal by the state to “turnback” the portion of Minnesota Highway 332 between U.S. Highway 53 and Highway 11 East can be discussed. The state proposal comes with $3.5 million.

McBride said he would support the turnback proposal if discussions included routing the turnback road to the FTZ.

In related business, Joe Mershon, a member of the Voyageurs National Park Gateway Corridor Task Force and of the area Convention and Visitor Bureau, urged the council to consider establishing an umbrella task force to oversee the number of projects under development in the community. He noted that the model used by the task force worked well to move forward.

He also asked the council to consider providing a portion of the $3.5 million that may become available in the community through the road turnback proposal by the state to the task force to carry out some of the recommendations in its corridor plan.

International Falls City Council News Notes
• The International Falls City Council Tuesday agreed to set the proposed 2010 levy at $2.047 million, which represents a 17.3 percent increase over 2010.

Councilors noted that the increase helps make up a gap in funding opened when Gov. Tim Pawlenty used his executive power to “unallot” state funding promised earlier to city governments.

Councilors also noted that the 2010 levy is 1.1 percent less than the 2008 levy.

The council said it will continue to review the 2010 budget, which is expected to be $500,000 less than this year’s budget, until it must submit the final levy and budget to the state in December.

The proposed levy may be decreased until that time, but not increased.

• The council agreed to pay $10,724 in dues to the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities for 2009-10 dues. The organization provides advocacy and research on city issues.

• The council agreed to increase the salary of the assistant building official, a position held by Kelly Meyers, by $6,000 bringing the salary to $48,230.

The council reported that the salary adjustment was spurred by certification Meyers recently received.

That certification, explained city Administrator Rod Otterness, will save the city money in the long run because the city will no longer have to contract for outside services that Meyers will now be able to perform.