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In the wake of a tragic incident near the Twin Cities - one that took the lives of two police officers and an emergency responder - Ely council members took note of the situation and observed a moment of silence Tuesday night.
Mayor Heidi Omerza spoke briefly about the events in Burnsville, where police responded to a domestic incident that resulted in gunfire.
According to authorities, a man inside the home shot and killed two Burnsville police officers, along with an EMT who also responded to the call. A fourth person was shot and wounded.
Omerza opened Tuesday’s council session by talking about “a very sad incident that happened... (and) I think it’s important we take a moment to realize how fortunate we are to be living in Ely.”
She asked council members and those at the meeting that “if you have a moment and see a firefighter, a police officer, and EMS, thank them for what they do.”
“Sometimes you meet them in the most unfortunate circumstances,” said Omerza. “A lot of times they are meeting us in very unfortunate moments in our lives, very stressful moments.”
Omerza also broadened her remarks to include other public servants.
“We have a lot of people in a lot of different departments who put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe,” said Omerza. “Not just police and fire and EMTs, but other departments especially when it comes to storms. I was thinking about that after Sunday’s incident. We are very fortunate to have the people who work for the city of Ely. They don’t hesitate.”
Following Omerza’s lead, the council observed a moment of silence to remember those killed in Burnsville and their grieving family members.
Fire Chief Dave Marshall echoed Omerza’s remarks and said “I appreciate what you said.”
“Every time our pager goes off or we get a call, it’s assumed you will be coming back to your family,” said Marshall. “What happened early Sunday morning is a reminder that sometimes things don’t work out that way.”
The remarks came during an exceptionally brief, less than 30-minute meeting that had barely a quorum.
Council members Al Forsman, Paul Kess and Ryan Callen were absent, leaving Omerza to run the meeting with council members Adam Bisbee, Jerome Debeltz and Angela Campbell.
O merza also noted that Ely’s municipal airport was named “Airport of the Month” by a state aviation publication.
“I think people sometimes forget we have an area airport and that it’s an economic driver,” she said.
In other business, the council:
• Noted the postponement or cancellation of various meetings, including the Feb. 27 economic development authority meeting, which will be scrapped because of precinct caucuses. The regular council meeting of March 5 will be moved to March 12 because of the presidential primary election.
• Heard from clerk/treasurer and operations director Harold Langowski that the city skating rink remains open despite the mild weather. He credited rink staff for their work but noted that further warm temperatures, including possible 50-degree readings, might soon bring an end to the skating season.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with city employee groups related to a switch in health insurance providers from Health Partners to Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
• Got a brief report from Langowski on a recent projects committee meeting where the group discussed potential future development agreements related to the expansion at Voyageur North Outfitters, the renovation of the Community Center to a boutique hotel, and a potential project at the old Wilderness Outfitters building.
“These will be coming in the next month or so,” said Langowski.
• Heard from librarian Rachel Heinrich about a series of upcoming events at the library, including a book salvage program including information about how one can salvage water damaged books, as well as the March 2 Hogwarts championship and the March 11 monthly book club meeting.
