Two Ely area residents recently reported high arsenic levels in their wells.
Beth Chapman and O’Niell Tedrow tested their newly-built well last March and received results showing 57.6 micrograms of arsenic per liter from their kitchen tap. This clocks in at nearly six times the maximum contaminant level set by the EPA, which is 10 micrograms per liter.
“The safe level is zero,” said Tedrow, who is a chemistry instructor at Minnesota North College’s Vermilion campus and works with the Burntside Lake Association on their water quality monitoring program. After the previous well went dry at their home near the east end of Shagawa Lake, they hired a contractor to build a deeper well.
“They came to drill and they did not hit water, so they drilled as deep as they could with the drill truck that they had, which was 325 feet,” said Chapman, “They hit a small amount of water, but not enough to sustain a residence. Then they had to hydrofrack it.”
“The old well was what’s called a dug well. Basically, it’s a hole in the ground that’s about 20 or 25 feet deep,” said Tedrow.
A dug well relies on surface water for filling, so available water levels are highly sensitive to the amount of precipitation each City officials have long identified the new building as a potential visitor center, but questions remained over how it would be staffed and by whom.
The Chamber of Commerce has been housed at its current log cabin home, on the east end of town, since 1978. That building is owned by the city and the Chamber is a lease tenant.
With that lease coming to an end, and the new building set to open, city and Chamber officials held informal talks this year about a possible move and those talks were formalized with Tuesday’s negotiating meeting at City Hall.
Chamber officials have shown interest in moving west and became more intrigued after touring the facility this spring.
“The concept, everybody seems supportive, but it’s the nitty gritty that needs to be worked out,” said Langowski.
That occurred with seemingly little difficulty this week, as the Chamber shared data related to the organization’s current expenses at its existing facility.
Net cost was just over $8,000 a year, but some building-related expenses will now be taken on by the city - and city officials pressed for a flat all-inclusive monthly payment, “When it comes to operation and maintenance of that building, it is critical and how we set that up today is important,” said Langowski.
The building will be energy efficient and include a security system, and city officials envisioned that it would be open while the building is staffed, and perhaps for two additional hours into the evening.
The city is taking responsibility for maintenance including the building, groundskeeping, cleaning and maintaining the bathrooms and keeping the parking lot clear of snow.
About 7,000 to 8,000 visitors pass through the Chamber’s east end building each year and Sebesta said she expects that number to grow at a new facility. Should the Chamber move forward and take occupancy there, the organization may hire a summer intern to help deal with more traffic.
Construction on the building is nearing completion and plans call for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late-August.
Discussion Tuesday centered around the Chamber moving in and occupying the facility by October.
In turn, the city will look at marketing the existing Chamber building, which has long been eyed for possible redevelopment.
“The thought has always been that it would be a key piece of that redevelopment on that end of town,” said Langowski. “What could that be? I don’t know. We’ve had some inquiries, some interest. Who knows, but it’s got some value to it.” The trailhead and west end project has been identified as the top economic development priority by the city of Ely, combining several components, ranging from economic development and recreation, to perhaps new housing at some point in the future.
Several years ago, the city first acquired $1.3 million in state bonding funds for the project, and a second infusion from the state provided another $1.5 million.
The project was stymied, however by cost overruns attributed in part to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the city later acquired a federal grant of $1.5 million to fill the gap.
