For the past 2½ weeks, Mitchell Fink's view of Lake Superior from his home near Brighton Beach has been blocked by a rail car.
"I'd really like to see those trains moved," Fink said.
His isn't the only view that's been blocked. The North Shore Scenic Railroad is storing hundreds of rail cars along Lake Superior. A resolution tonight by City Councilor Todd Fedora will ask Ken Buehler, the railroad's executive director, to move those cars, but Buehler told the council Thursday that even if it passes, those cars aren't budging.
"I answer to the Federal Railroad Administration," he said. "Your resolution would be a suggestion, at best."
Buehler will move a line of cars blocking the view of Lake Superior along Interstate 35 after a public outcry, but he said there's not space to store the other cars, and the horsepower to move them doesn't exist after engines have been housed for the winter.
The cars are being stored to bring in revenue for the Historic Union Depot, which Buehler said Thursday night will be used to assist the Depot's museums and improve the facility.
"This is a one-year inconvenience," he said. "I can't say no to this kind of revenue, especially in this down economy."
Other major items the council will take up during its last meeting of the year:
Look for the council to approve raising the property tax levy by $1.5 million to pay for increased city hiring, services and a new police headquarters. The council has previously approved setting the maximum levy and funding the police station by a 6-3 vote. If the final levy is approved Monday, the owner of an average home valued at $163,000 would see an increase of $20 a year in property taxes.
The council probably will vote on a controversial proposal to rezone a part of Park Point to make way for an apartment/condominium complex. Residents near the proposed development are fighting the zoning change, saying it would bring lower property values and quality of life; the developers said the new units will redevelop a vacant and blighted structure and bring families and young professionals to the neighborhood.
The council probably will approve contracts for the city's police, supervisory and confidential unions. Each is a one-year contract that the city has negotiated that calls for no salary increases. The city is still in negotiation with its basic union, the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees, Local 66, and its fire union. Neither the city nor the unions will comment on the talks.
The council will consider a request by the Duluth School District to vacate part of Ensign Street in Duluth Heights as part of the red plan. A previous request was rejected by the council; the school district modified the proposal to request vacating a smaller portion of the street.
