During a city council meeting on Tuesday, Ely patrol officer Courtney Olson presented an idea for a National Night Out on Aug. 5 that would offer the community the opportunity to get to know local law enforcement professionals.
Police chief Chad Houde emphasized the value of the event for building trust between residents and the police department, especially “in light of what happened down in the Twin Cities” with the recent shooting of legislators by “an individual that was pretending to be an officer.”
“We want to be out there in public. We want (officers) to be approachable,” Houde said. He also suggested using the event as an opportunity to promote openings within the police force.
Olson has already reached out to the St. Louis and Lake County sheriffs’ departments about participating, as well as the state patrol, the DNR, the border patrol and more.
Plans for the event include three inflatable bounce houses, an officer dunk tank provided by Ely Young Life, and a display of patrol vehicles and their interiors. The event will also coincide with the farmer’s market in Whiteside Park, as well as Broadway in the Park. Other possibilities include door prizes, games, a photo booth, and a “bio board” with fun facts about members of the Ely police force.
“I just wanted to mention how great of an idea this is, putting police out there as mentors for the community, especially the children,” said council member Adam Bisbee, “I love the idea of the bio and giving identity to these officers, because when we provide that identity, then they feel recognized. And I think that’s a great part of the retention strategies that we look forward to developing as we move forward in the future.”
The council also accepted a recommendation from the planning and zoning committee to advance a proposed ordinance that will change regulations on permissible uses for RV parks and tattoo shops. The ordinance will move to a first reading under the city attorney, and then the council will make further amendments before giving it their stamp of approval.
Council member Albert Forsman expressed opposition to language suggesting that RV parks would need a conditional use permit in order to extend campers’ occupancy limits beyond 14 days.
“From every RV park I’ve seen, it’s very common for people to come and want to stay in an RV park for the season. And I know that around the area, if you go to Lake Vermilion, there are people that gave big money for one spot for the entire season, and you have these people that want to spend six months up here, six months in Arizona, or something like that,” Forsman said, “(These are) members of our community that have earned their spot over the years, and I wanted to encourage them to maintain their ties with our community.”
Council member Jerome Debeltz underscored the economic value that campers — who “spend money to stay here” — bring to the community.
“They spend money in town, too, and that’s going to help the businesses,” Debeltz said.
Omerza emphasized that the council is not setting the ordinance into law at the moment, but only moving it forward to the next stage of revisions, which occur between the first and second readings.
In other business, the council:
• Heard from Omerza on her and several council members’ participation in the annual League of Minnesota Cities conference.
• Approved the council’s attendance at the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities Regional Meeting in Hibbing on July 9.
• Advanced patrol officer Charles Petersen to fulltime status, following his completion of the year-long probationary period required for new officers.
• Approved Richard Stuart for a seat on the Heritage Preservation Committee.
• Passed a motion to adopt a resolution and order of the city of Ely declaring the real property at 45 East Boundary street blight pursuant to the Ely City Code.
• Approved a resolution to allow the Ely Arts and Heritage Center to apply for a raffle permit.
• Accepted a petition from the Gardner Humanities Trust to remove the need for the district court to approve the City of Ely’s trustee appointments.
