Furnace fix-its may be finished

Talk about it

In the past, Two Harbors residents could call the city if they were having trouble with their furnaces. A Monday vote by the City Council will change that, taking the city out of the furnace repair business.

“It’s costing the city a lot of money,” council member Steve Detlefsen said. He’s part of the utilities board and said many of today’s furnaces have high-tech components the city doesn’t have the expertise to fix.

The city, as the provider of gas to residents, has made fixing furnaces part of the service. The council vote to end service was 5-2 with Mayor Randy Bolen and council member John Dov-er against the proposal.

“[Let’s] wait through the winter to do it,” Bolen said.

“It’s a service we [should] deliver to residents,” Dover said.

No date was set on when servicing would stop. Notices will be sent out with utility bills.

- Steve Overom, city attorney, announced that Sam Cave has filed a petition with the Minnesota Sup-reme Court in a dispute with the city on the zoning, use and ownership of his waterfront property. The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Sept. 17 upheld a decision favoring Two Harbors.

- After the city settled four lawsuits brought by Cave, who bought the property from the DM&IR Railroad in 2002, he sued again, claiming the settlements were not valid. That motion was originally dismissed by Lake County District Court Judge Kenneth Sandvik last year.

The Supreme Court will decide if it wants to hear the case.

- Steve Blettner, the electrical superintendent for the city, said street lights for Waterfront Drive would not be delivered until December. “We will still try and get them up,” he said, unless it gets too cold. The approval process for the lights, going through the Minnesota Department of Transportation, took longer than expected.

- Council member Dan Jones, finance/personnel committee chairman, said the city still needs to cut $20,000 from its budget. It plans on hiring for another police officer and in public works.

- There is talk of installing a skateboard park at the John A. Johnson playground instead of by the medical clinic on Highway 2. Lake View Memorial Hospital has tentative plans for an assisted living facility near the clinic.

Tags: two harbors, city council, furnaces, sam cave, news