Ely council members agreed to buy a new floor scrubber on Tuesday night, but only after a divided vote and how it should be paid for.
The council voted 4-3 to approve the $8,045 expenditure, as recommended by the city’s budget committee, with council members Emily Roose, Angela Campbell and Adam Bisbee all opposed.
At issue was the source of the funding, with the city planning to use money from its economic development authority to pay for the device - which would help to clean floors in city buildings.
“I’m not in support of using EEDA funds,” said Roose. “I do think these funds should be directed toward supporting our local businesses.”
Funds generated by lease agreements for city buildings are funneled through the EEDA, and the city recently gained additional revenue via agreements with the U.S. Forest Service for use of the city-owned “Sato Building” for wildfire response headquarters.
Harold Langowski, the city’s clerk-treasurer, said the budget committee can look further at the purchase but noted the city gained additional revenues from the fire incident to offset costs.
Roose added, “I can support a different fund other than the EEDA - we can do equipment replacement.”
Council member John Lahtonen formed a 4-3 majority with mayor Heidi Omerza, and council members Jerome Debeltz and Al Forsman.
He also took issue with the opposition, adding, “Not all this money was generated from (the Sato Building). This was from down at the softball fields. It had nothing to do with the EEDA.”
Debeltz addressed the purchase as a whole, noting, “I used to manage people at the hospital, and this will make their job a lot easier. You can get the floor cleaned a lot easier than going up and down with just a mop.”
In a related move, the council also put $2,400 into the city budget for payment to WELY radio.
The city will pay $200 a month to be a “Power the Tower” sponsor, and WELY will provide public announcements on behalf of the city and provide airtime to the mayor or council members after regular meetings.
It’s an agreement similar to what the city had with the radio station, prior to it going out of business in 2023.
WELY was recently revived and is under new ownership.
“We did this a long time ago,” said Debeltz.
Forsman said he was grateful that WELY has returned to the air and praised the station’s work during the wildfires.
“It’s important for us to have this partnership with the local radio station,” said Forsman. “It was dearly missed.”
Police Chief Chad Houde addressed the council Tuesday and reiterated that motorists should be cautious given the start of the school year.
Houde also reported on a law change affecting motorists and school vehicles.
“There was a change in law that as soon as the red lights are flashing you need to be stopped,” said Houde. “Please be aware.”
He added, “At the end of the school day and the beginning of the school day, if you see a school bus, be aware that it’s going to be stopping at some point.”
Langowski told the council that work is continuing on numerous city infrastructure projects, with bids going out on some components of the Burntside water supply and pump house improvements project, an initiative that brings together funding from numerous sources, including the federal government.
“We’re hoping to get that bid and get construction work yet this year,” said Langowski.
The design for the major portion of the project “is nearly complete,” according to Langowski, and permitting is in place. Bids for that phase are expected within the next few months.
In other business, the council:
• Referred an ordinance to “unlawful parking and storage - storage and shipping containers,” back to planning and zoning for more discussion related to the definition of shed/storage containers, their appearance, and potential setbacks and determining if they’ll be allowed on certain lot sizes.
• Approved various energy rebates.
• Accepted Megan Olson’s resignation from the Gardner Trust Board.
• Approved a Sunday liquor license for the Historic State Theater, pending state review.
