The Babbitt city council held a council study session on Monday regarding the marina project by Birch Lake Beach.
The marina project had been discontinued due to public opinion and is in the process of changing focus. The proposed updated project would no longer include a marina and would focus on redoing the parking lot adjacent to the beach.
The last time the space was updated was in 1972, according to councilor Jim Lassi. The update will include making the lot ADA-compliant and adding handicapped parking spaces. Mayor Andrea Zupancich had a few points she wanted clarified by the council about the project: when to change to the name of the project to avoid confusion with the public, whether the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources can still fund the project if its scope changes, and where to place a potential black top walking trail.
City clerk Nancy Sanford stated that the marina committee can’t be disbanded yet, because the project hasn’t been 100% completed. This doesn’t mean the marina itself needs to be completed before disbandment, but rather the drawings of the proposed updates to the Birch Lake Beach area must be 100% complete first. Sanford stated that the city, “doesn’t have a packet yet for the 100% drawings.”
This brought up a point of contention between councilmember Duane Lossing and street supervisor and fire chief Tony Chamberlin: whether or not to expand the parking lot size. The council has been provided with plans for paving up to 46 additional parking spots adjacent to the beach area. Chamberlin said that, “with the upgrades to ADA, you’re gonna see an uptick in the amount of people trying to use that space.” Chamberlin believes expansion is necessary for safety and traffic.
Councilor Lossing disagreed, stating that, “even if 47 out of 67 days of the summer it’s completely packed, no one has that information,” concluding that without recording how many visitors the parking lot gets, there is no reason to expand.
Lossing is concerned that taking away greenspace from the area and putting down asphalt will create a less child-friendly play area. Councilor Jim Lassi is in support of the expansion, stating that, “if you’re gonna build, might as well build large enough for your future.”
After discussion and clarification of LCCMR’s expectations, the council will move forward with applying for a grant, despite the details of the parking lot and walking trail remaining undecided. Multiple council members and clerks remembered that with the Babbitt Campground project, the funding was not pulled when details of the plans had to be changed. The deadline to apply is this Friday, but the project itself has until June 2027 to break ground.
