For Immediate Release – June 8, 2020

Hermantown Reopens Governmental Services Center to Public

Hermantown, Minn. – Hermantown reopened the Governmental Services Center to the public Monday, June 8, for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The building closed to the public on March 18, although members of the city staff, police department and volunteer fire department have still been performing public services.

“We feel we were thoughtful and diligent in our closing of our building in March, and we feel the same about our reopening now,” said John Mulder, Hermantown’s City Administrator. “We have still been serving our community the entire time, but we feel the time and the safety guidelines are in place for us to create more access for the public.”

Hermantown’s two most recent city council meetings, held May 18 and June 1, respectively, have featured both an in-person option at Council Chambers in the Governmental Services Center and a remote meeting through the Zoom platform. This dual option is slated for the next city council meeting, scheduled for Monday, June 15.

“We are able to deliver a great deal of our city services to our residents remotely, so if there is a level of comfort steering clear of face-to-face interactions at City Hall we still can support resident needs,” Mulder said. “Those who have a level of comfort coming into City Hall during this time can make those arrangements as well.”

Hermantown’s city website can be found at hermantownmn.com.

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For more information, contact: Joe Wicklund, Communications & Community Relations Manager, City of Hermantown at [email protected] or 218.729.3614.

For Immediate Release – June 2, 2020

Hermantown’s 2021 Road Projects Move Forward

Hermantown, Minn. – The City of Hermantown moved forward with its multi-year road improvement plan Monday, June 1, as the City Council accepted a feasibility study and set a public hearing date for Swan Lake Road and Sundby Road.

As an integral portion of a large-scale financial management plan passed in March of 2019, Hermantown’s road improvement plan allows for the updating of roadways across the entire community over the next several years. The projects targeted for 2021 include not only Swan Lake Road and Sundby Road, but also Lavaque Junction.

The feasibility study noted the estimated cost of work on Swan Lake Road and Sundby Road to be $256,000. As with previous projects connected to the larger road improvement plan, property owners will receive a proposed assessment of $9,750 per lot. Swan Lake Road will also see its bridge replaced as a separate portion of this project.

Owners of the impacted lots are invited to both an informational meeting and a public hearing about the project before it is considered by the City Council. The informational meeting is set for June 24, 2020 at 6 p.m. with an in-person option for the meeting at Hermantown’s Governmental Services Building and a remote option via Zoom. The public hearing is set for July 20, 2020, in alignment with Hermantown’s regularly-scheduled 6:30 p.m. City Council meeting.

Impacted property owners will receive mailed invitations to the public information meeting.

A separate schedule of public information meetings and public hearings has yet to be set for residents on Lavaque Junction.

Current work being performed on Johnson Road, Portland Road, Alexander Road, Carlson Road, and a section of Hermantown Road are part of the initial round of road improvement efforts.

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For more information, contact: Joe Wicklund, Communications & Community Relations Manager, City of Hermantown at [email protected] or 218.729.3614.