With council member Joe White participating via Zoom from Alaska, the first regular meeting of the year took place on Tuesday evening.
Police department issues took up a good part of the meeting. The city is still short staffed which has increased the cost of providing coverage.
City clerk Nancy Sanford told the council the city has not had any applications for the police department openings. The city is looking into joining the East Range Police Department. Zupancich said the city is paying time and a half wages for three officers currently.
Interim police chief Todd Heikkila provided information on replacing the engine in a squad car (up to $16,000) versus purchasing a new one (starting at $40,000). Council memberJohnFitzpatrickasked that a sedan be purchased for summer use. Heikkila said there are still areas that need the higher clearance of an SUV.
“We’re fully covered again in January except for one shift that we took on call, other than that we were at full coverage again,” said Heikkila.
Ambulance coverage in Babbitt was also part of the discussion. The council was again faced with reinstating employee Matt Littler.
Sanford said the city is struggling on coverage “we are down below 40 percent” in advocating to reinstate Matt Littler to the ambulance department. “We need as many people on our department as we can get,” said Sanford.
Ambulance supervisor Emily Jaeger said Littler has the experience and is willing to contribute hours.
“Howmanymembersareyou going to lose if you hire Matt?” asked Fitzpatrick.
Jaeger said three employees said they would be unhappy with the situation.
A motion to approve reinstating Littler passed unanimously.
The council also approved sending up to four members to the Arrowhead EMS Conference in Duluth.
Two hour meeting to start 2026
Lassi said the Planning Commission discussed the land dispute with city property to be sold to private individuals. The issue involves access to property.
In other business the council:
• Designated the New Babbitt Weekly News as the city’s official newspaper.
• Appointed Duane Lossing as the acting mayor.
• Set the regular meeting dates on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 5 p.m. The first meeting in February was changed to Monday, Feb. 2.
• Appointed council members to various committees and commissions.
• Designated Zupancich as the city’s representative to the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools.
• Re-appointed Norma Cersine and Kathleen Graber to the Library Board.
• Appointed Curt Koivisto and David Laine to the Planning Commission as returning members. Lassi said the first Planning Commission was in 1971 and that he was on it at that time as he had already been on the council for four years. The commission has gone from nine to seven to five members. Lassi recommended going from five members to seven. Stephani Teslow had also applied and this would allow her to be appointed with an increaseinthenumberofmembers.
• Had two ambulance department members apply for the Public Safety Committee. Clerk Nancy Sanford said she received legal advice that there is a conflict of interest to appoint an employee. Andy Gerlovich and Mike Rhein had applied.
• Re-appointed Richard Huovinen to the Public Utilities Commission.
• Appointed Les Parsons to the Economic Steering Committee.
• Set prices for lots in the West Development housing project with 12 listed at $49,000 and six lots at $69,000. There is a minimum house size of 1,400 square feet and a maximum garage size of 1,600 square feet. Construction must begin within one year and completion within 18 months of purchase.
• To pay for West Babbitt, the council is looking at borrowing $790,000 over 20 years with the ability to pay it down after eight years. This would be the city’s part of the $4.6 million project including $2 million in state funding and $1.9 million from IRRRB. A yearly tax levy of $60,230 would be required to pay for the bond. This would cost taxpayers $28.20 per year for a $100,000 house, $52.80 for a $150,000 and $77.41 for a $200,000 house. A $250,000 commercial property would pay $191.88.
• Heard there are some problems with the arena project with an unanticipated $10,000 expense involving propane regulators.
• Appointed fire department officers with Tony Chamberlin as chief, Andrew Gerlovich as assistant chief and Sheri Freire, Austin Erickson and Jen Backe as captains.
• Will hold interviews for the ambulance department officers.
• Discussed being able to ticket people who have a chicken coop without a permit. Fines could be $200 while a permit fee is $20. “There better be about 20 chicken permits coming through fast,” said Zupancich.
• Approved various fees charged by the city.
• Heard from Jason Chopp of SEH about an interactive online map where residents can put in information on drainage issues on their property as part of a stormwater resiliency project. Residents can even include a photo.
• Approved hiring Jake Eckman and Marty Vogel to the ambulance department and Michael Sanford to the street department as casual labor.
• Approved spending up to $45,950 with Walker, Giroux and Hahne for the 2025 audit. “Hopefully this goes a lot easier for them,” said Zupancich. Also approved was
(Continued on Page 4) up to 10 hours of support time with Banyon Programming for city financial records.
• Discussed restricting the sale or possession of Keaton-70H products in Babbitt. Zupancich said it is known as “gas station heroin” and can cause serious health effects. The U.S. FDA has already taken action against companies selling these substances. In June, the FDA issued warning letters to seven companies for illegally distributing products containing 7-OH, including tablets, gummies, drink mixes and shots. The FDA issued a letter to health care professionals and warning consumers about the risks associated with 7-OH products.
• Approved sending Sanford to a clerk’s conference in March and Kirsten Traut and Sara Powell to a clerks institute in May. Sanford said she only plans to work for the city for seven years and this would give the city two trained clerks.
• Adjourned the meeting after two hours.
