Even before the annual conference for the League of Minnesota Cities officially kicks off at 3:15 p.m. today, Duluth officials will show off their handiwork on the topics of low-income housing and the environment during some special early sessions.
"The city of Duluth is taking the opportunity to showcase some of the things they're doing regarding sustainability," said Kevin Frazell, one of the conference's organizers.
The steps include cutting down on use of fossil fuels and other natural resources in short supply.
More than 600 public officials and city leaders from across the state will be in Duluth until Friday, learning about everything from dealing with the media when a controversial decision hits to handling lawsuits and not wasting taxpayer money.
Capping the conference will be Duluthian John Stetson, discussing his Global Warming 101 expedition to Baffin Island.
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This morning, Duluth officials are scheduled to give a tour of the New San Marco apartments and other housing developments to show what's being done to help the poor while simultaneously spurring economic development.
"Place housing for low-income people much closer to employment," Jeff Papas cited as one method of spurring economic development with affordable housing. He helped organize the sessions on Duluth.
"Civic sustainability and environmental sustainability are some large themes running through the conference," Frazell said.
Held in Duluth every three years, the conference is geared toward getting public officials and city staff members to share their experiences. Often the same problems spring up in lots of communities, just at different times, said Marvin Johnson, mayor of Independence, Minn., and outgoing league president.
The conference aims to teach ways to improve the average person's opinion of local government, one of the league's top goals on its five-year strategic plan.
"They honestly just don't think a lot about what types of services, and what types of infrastructure cities provide," Frazell said.
Frazell said government officials at all levels are seeing the value in really listening to the public and getting people involved early in decision-making, Frazell said.
Employee issues are shared by everyone and will be the topic of several sessions. Over the next few years a large percentage of local government officials will retire. But most college-educated workers 40 or younger with college degrees have rejected the notion of working in local government.
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"There has been a dearth of people in the pipeline," Frazell said. "We're going to be in keen competitions with the private sector," he said.
