Link to Sand Blowing meeting, thank you to neighbor Larry M for capturing this video

Drifting Sand on Park Point: City Proposal

The City of Duluth is hosting a public meeting to present plans for dealing with blowing and drifting sand on Park Point between the Lift Bridge and 12th Street.  City Staff will provide information on a mitigation strategy and on permitting.  Feedback from residents is being sought before these plans are put in place.

When:  7:30 – 8:30 Monday, April 22, 2024

Where:  Lafayette Community Center

Who:  The public is welcome; the meeting is primarily intended for residents in the affected area.  Park Point residents living between the Lift Bridge and 12th Street are encouraged to attend because this is your opportunity to provide input on the City Plans before work begins.

For information contact Duluth Natural Resources Coordinator, 218.580.9150; fliers on this meeting were delivered to residents from the bridge to the S curve.

Here are a few photos and a movie clip, link here.

Update from Parks and Recreation, 5/13/2024

Councilors and Concerned Residents,

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your concerns about the City’s response to the problem of windblown sand accumulation on the north end, lake side, of Minnesota Point, from the Lift Bridge to the 12^th Street beach access.

Beach restoration projects on the north end of Minnesota Point completed in 2021 at the behest of beachfront residents have inadvertently contributed to the accumulation of windblown sand on adjoining public and private properties.

Beachfront property owners between the Life Bridge and 12th have asked the City to give them a place to dump the sand that has accumulated thus far and help them to prevent further accumulation in the future. In lieu of City action to date, some adjoining property owners have placed sand fencing on the City-owned beach, and/or moved significant volumes of sand onto the City-owned beach, without required permits.

Staff met with impacted property owners on April 22 to present our plan and solicit feedback. Revised on the basis of public input, the current plan has several elements:

1. City to provide beachfront residents with a place on the City owned beach to dump sand. The City is working with DNR to secure permission for beachfront property owners to place sand on that portion of the City beach within 10-to-15-feet of the recently surveyed and staked public/private property boundary. Beachfront property owners will receive a letter within the next two weeks notifying them of when and where they may place sand under this initial authorization. Later in the summer, the City hopes to acquire another DNR permit that would allow beachfront property owners to place sand on the beach closer to the lake (further from the public/private property boundary). The City will send beachfront property owners a separate letter when this opportunity is available. DNR regulations prohibit removal, damage, or alteration of beach or dune grasses in the course of moving sand.
2. City to obtain after-the-fact authorization for recent sand movement projects undertaken by private property owners without permits between the Lift Bridge and the 12th St beach access between March 1^st 2023 and March 1^st 2024. Fines for this activity have been waived by the DNR. The City will secure a single after-the-fact permit and pay the associated fee. Property owners who moved sand onto that portion of the beach closer to the lake for which DNR has regulatory responsibility will be expected to provide information about the unpermitted work they performed. With this cooperation, beachfront property owners who performed unpermitted work on City property will not incur DNR permit fees. Impacted beachfront property owners will be notified via letter in about a month when the after-the-fact permit has been secured.
3. City installation of sand fence on the beach from the Lift Bridge to the 12^th Street beach access.  After the City secures the necessary DNR permit, the City will work with the Park Point Community Club, beachfront property owners, and DNR to plan and implement a system of sand fencing designed to reduce the transport of windblown sand onto adjoining private properties and the sidewalk and street beyond and to contribute to the restoration of protective beach dunes. The City will hold a meeting with impacted property owners before commencing installation. The meeting is expected to take place within the next one-to-two months.
4. City restoration of the 8^th and 12^th Street beach accesses. The City has completed restoration of the 12^th Street access where windblown sand had rendered that designated wheelchair-accessible access effectively inaccessible to many. The City is permitted to cause incidental damage to the dunes and dune grass in the course of maintaining the 12^th Street access. Some residents have raised important concerns about the magnitude of the damage to the dunes and dune grass. The City’s task at 12^th Street is to balance the tension between our legal responsibility to maintain wheelchair access to the beach and our legal responsibility to minimize harm to dunes and dune grass. Different arms of DNR are charged with overseeing our compliance with each mandate. City staff have initiated consultation with DNR to solicit their input on how they would like us to strike that balance at beach accesses in the future. Restoration of the more primitive – not wheelchair-accessible – 8^th Street beach access is expected to be undertaken within the next one to two months, after the City obtains the necessary permits.
5. Spring 2025: Planting of new beach grasses. One year after sand fencing installation, new dunes will have been created by windblown sand and we will plant new beach grass plugs to solidify dunes and help to limit windblown sand onto public and private property.

Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns that I can help to address.

Sincerely Yours,

Jim Filby Williams

Property, Parks, and Libraries Department Director

City of Duluth

PPCC meeting 4/16/2024, 645pm catch up with neighbors, 7pm meeting starts, link to agenda notes.

City of Duluth Project to mitigate blowing sand on the north end of Park Point: Presentation on Monday, April 22nd at 730pm, Lafayette upstairs.

City staff members Jim Shoberg and Cliff Knettle will provide information on the mitigation strategy (fence) and on permitting. DNR Hydrologist is also invited. See you there and please share this with neighbors on the north end of Park Point.

Property Tax Presentation at Lafayette, Wednesday, 4/24, 6 pm

April 24th, 6pm, Lafayette, Meet with the St. Louis County Assessor, send questions in advance to parkpointcc@gmail.com. Here are the slides.

PPCC Elections in May. If you are interested in a position, speak with any Exec. Bod member and get your name on the slate of candidates for the May election! Per the bylaws, the slate of candidates will be shared at the April meeting; nominations may be taken from the floor for any seat on the Board at the May election.

April 2024 Breeze

Smelt Parade Workshops in lower Lafayette

Saturdays : May 11, 18 & 25  3-6pm

Wednesdays : May 15 & 22  6-8pm

Fridays : May 17 & 24  6 – 8pm

Jim Ouray  #218-370-8980 Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe

See you at Lafayette; meeting starts at 7pm but come a bit earlier to check in with your neighbors and meet our new neighbors! Better yet, maybe invite your new neighbor to join you?

The March Breeze is here.

Link to agenda and notes

From the PPCC Youth Program Committee:

Hello Families,

Registration is live! Click here to begin. Please reach out if you have any questions or notice any issues with registration. 

We have a new liaison-in-training and Caleb will be immersing himself in all things PPSYP registration over the next few days. Please give 2-4 days for the expected confirmation email before you send payment. 

Looking forward to a wonderful 2024 season!

The Camp Lafayette Team

Here are dates:

Welcome to the Park Point Summer Youth Program (affectionately known as “Camp Lafayette”). This experiential education summer program is designed to give youth from 5-12 years of age exposure to new friendships, learning, and leadership.  Housed in the historic Lafayette building on Park Point, the program has differentiated learning and teaming activities for three grade levels.  Three counselors engage the campers as they grow gardens, play on the beach, travel and tour museums in Duluth, read at the library, sail, hike on the Superior Hiking Trail, stand-up paddle board, build lego structures, do weekly community service projects, play board games, play court games, play kickball, experience varied field trips, and plan for an end of camp celebration. The camp runs Monday-Thursday 8:00-4:00pm for nine weeks starting June 10 to August 8 (excluding July 4th).

Link to agenda.

Link to speeding car video from 2/2/2024. Please call 911 and note description of vehicle and license plate if you can do this safely.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to Rinkfest on 2/4! A few Photos are here.

RinkFEST 2024 was held on Sunday, Feb. 4 from noon to 3pm in lower Lafayette. We grilled and ate 100 hotdogs complete with Coney sauce and chopped onions! The fire was lovely!

• Skating or water skiing, bonfires, hot dogs, hot beverages and delicious delights from the Lafayette Community Edible gardeners! Everyone is welcome! Come to socialize even if skating isn’t happening due to the warm temperatures!

We are grateful for the efforts of Rinkleader Mark Elden & team in making skating a possibility this winter!
Nancy Olson cleaned up lower Lafayette and got everything ready for the gathering. The treats were fabulous! Thank you to everyone who contributed to a memorable gathering this weird & remarkable winter!

Photos and videos from Lafayette skating fun!

The February Breeze is here!

6:30pm set up, 6:45pm PIZZA and 7pm First Meeting of 2024! The January Breeze is here.

Link to agenda and referenced documents

2024 PPCC Membership Form is Here

The December Breeze is here.

Best wishes for super start to 2024!

Lafayette Community Edible Garden Holiday Party Photos from 12/11 are here.

Read the details here in The November Breeze

Meeting reminder: PPCC 11/21 7pm ; hoping to see you there!645 check in w neighbors.

This portion is canceled: Our guest:Sarah Johnson , Minnesota GreenCorps member serving at Western Lake Superior Sanitary District will join us!“For my work plan this year, I am working to reduce food waste and divert food scraps to be made into compost at WLSSD. Food scraps make up 15-20% of waste going to the landfill. When landfilled, these food scraps produce methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas. I would love to connect to your community club at this month’s November meeting. If there is sufficient interest, I’d like to schedule a future workshop where I can empower your community with the tools and knowledge needed to divert their own household scraps.”

Committee Reports, Art Fair updates, Youth Program 2023 Wrap Up & 2024 program proposals and timelines

You Are Invited to a Creative Hands Meeting     Our November meeting falls two days after Thanksgiving this year. If you are in town and don’t have a houseful of company or maybe you do and want a two hour break, please consider coming to the Saturday, November 25 Creative Hands meeting. We will meet at our usual time and place: St. Andrew’s, from 9:30-11:30. Coffee and tea will be available.     Please let me know if you plan to attend by Wednesday, November 22. I don’t want to be knitting all by myself for two hours.A blessed Thanksgiving to you.Sandy–
Sandy Carlson 
St. Andrew’s by the Lake Episcopal ChurchInstant Church Directory, Lector & Chalice Schedule, Creative Hands Organizersandy@standrewsbythelake.org

Meeting agenda notes & communications

Agenda

Fray on the Bay photos from 9/9

The Breeze of October

Hope to see you at the meeting; stop by at 645pm to check in with your neighbors.

On the agenda:

Our guest will be Jim Filby Williams from the City of Duluth with updates on flooding and erosion issues and collaborations with PPCC MP50

County seeking to simplify property tax plat numbering system by consolidating parcels; stay tuned for details on upcoming presentation

Boardwalk and Internet upgrades at Lafayette- status report

Cutting trees on the Public Row-on the Watch Committee report

Skating at Lafayette this winter- for this to happen volunteers will be needed!

1. BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS 10/1

St. Andrew’s by the Lake Episcopal Church

October 1, 2023, 9:45 AM

Please join us with your pet(s) as we gather in a big circle in the Mission Hall.

We worship this Sunday with all the creatures we love. We join the Psalmists and rejoice with all living things. We sing with all the birds and animals that make our lives richer because of their presence.

Treats for the pets and their human companions will be served after the service. 

2. Charlie Parr Concert Fundraiser for Wildwoods 10/6

Park Pointer Laura N. is on the Wildwoods Board. Wildwoods helps injured, sick, and orphaned wildlife in the community. You might remember the PP fox mange fundraiser a few years ago. Link to event here .

Join us on October 6 from 6:30pm-9:00pm for an intimate concert at The St. Louis County Depot in Duluth (506 W Michigan St.)

We are honored to share with you that Minnesota’s own Charlie Parrwill be performing a fundraising concert for Wildwoods supporters!

Charlie Parr is an incorruptible outsider who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us. He hasn’t moved to LA or Nashville; he’s stayed in the cold grey north of Minnesota, because that’s his home.

You may know Charlie as the socially conscious musician who freely shares his talents at public events, so it is a very big deal that he is helping to fundraise for Wildwoods. Tickets are $50, and the proceeds will go to support our work with orphaned and injured wildlife.

We have 265 tickets available. All tickets are general admission (seating is first come, first served).

Reserved seating is available for wheelchair, visual, auditory, and any accommodation. Please send accommodation requests to jessica@wildwoodsrehab.org.

September 2023 Breeze

Friday September 22, 7-9pm, Lafayette, 

Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng: Together we are gathering around the fire; our guest speakers will be:

Evan Larson, Professor of Environmental Sciences & Society, University of Wisconsin-Platteville                

Melonee Montano, Graduate Fellow, Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Presentation Summary

The old pine forest on Minnesota Point is loved by many. Rooted in sand shaped by the waves of Lake Superior, the trees of this forest carry stories of ecological and cultural change that span centuries. In this presentation, Evan Larson and Melonee Montano will share the work and results of Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng, a two year project funded by the Wisconsin Sea Grant program that is helping to tell a more complete, accurate, and truthful history of people on Zhaagawaamikong neyaashi, the places also known as Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point. Fire history information derived from scars within the rings of long-dead red pine trees indicate the important role of fire in shaping the forests on Minnesota and Wisconsin Points; Indigenous Knowledge describing traditional Anishinaabe practices of using fire to promote blueberries and many other plants and medicines highlights the reciprocal relationship between people and land, moderated by fire, expressed in these tree-ring records. Dramatic and ongoing changes in the structure and composition of the forests coupled with increased fuel loads and fire risk on both points are expressions of settler-colonialism disrupting these long-standing relationships between people and place. Weaving together Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science vividly illustrates these changes and the processes driving them – the purpose of this presentation is to share these results and to help create space for conversations of what to do next as our collective understanding of the world around us changes and grows.

Hosted by Park Point Community Club, Friday, September 22, 2023, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Lafayette Community Center (3016 Minnesota Ave., Duluth, Minnesota)

Fire, Blueberries and Treaty Rights

Sept. 19 Mayoral Candidates Forum

The PPCC Meeting is on Tues. Sept 19 and 7pm with 6:45pm the start of pre-meeting check in with neighbors. Mayor Emily Larson and Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert will join us for a forum and q & a. They are also invited to stay afterwards from 8-830pm to meet and visit with neighbors.

Questions sent in advance to the candidates; each candidate will have up to three minutes to answer during this portion of the forum. During q and a, residents will have up to 30 seconds to ask and the candidates will have up to two minutes to answer. The candidates may stay until 830pm to connect with neighbors. A timer will be used to monitor progress of the answers.

Park Point Community Club’s Signature Civility Cookies will be served.

Next PPCC meeting is Tues. August 15, 7pm with time for checking in with neighbors at 645pm. We will have an update on the new Sky Harbor Airport terminal at this meeting: construction schedule for both the terminal and the snow removal equipment garage project. Updates from:

Kaci Nowicki
Principal, Sr. Airport Planner
(She/Her/Hers)
Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®)
651.894.2508 mobile | 651.490.2000 main

• Thursday, August 24, 10am-2pm at Lafayette, includes burgers and brats! USACE with updates on the Section 111 study & Using NOAA Tools to Understand Erosion and Flooding on Minnesota Point & a lot more! Poster sessions from 12-2 in the lower level. John Swenson, Andy Breckenridge, Harry Jol, Melonee Montano and college students from Fond du Lac will be presenting research results and tools. Everyone is welcome!
• Friday September 22, 7-9pm, Lafayette,  Ojibwe Use of Fire on Minnesota Point Workshop with Evan Larson and Melonee Montano

The Breeze of August

The PPCC Exec. Board supported this plan last month, link here to draft.

Meeting notes.

Events earlier this month!

Scoops at St. Andrews By the Lake: Do you love ice cream and learning new things?  If so you will want to be at St Andrew’s By the Lake Church on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 for the first installment of Scoops @ St Andrew’s.  Love Creamery ice cream (and a vegan alternative) will be served starting at 6:30pm outside on the Crossing.  Mingle with your Park Point neighbors until 7:00pm when our speaker for the evening, Michael Cochran will share with us the history of rowing on Park Point.  Michael is an entertaining speaker, with a rich knowledge of rowing in Duluth.  He is also the author of “Invincible: History of the Duluth Boat Club, Established 1886

Found Toyota Highlander Remote Key July 8 at 23rd & MN Ave. Email parkpointcc@gmail.com if you have lost a remote for your vehicle.

Park Point 5 Miler: Thursday, July 13, at 6:30 PM

Murder on Park Point, Friday July 14, Upper Lafayette 4-5:30pm PPCC with Lake Superior Writers Group and author Jeffrey M. Sauve,https://northstareditions.com/product/murder-at-minnesota-point/

63rd annual Duluth International Rowing Regatta: Saturday, July 15, all day

The Breeze of Park Point ~ July 2023

645pm: Arrive a little early and say hi to your neighbors

Guests: Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj

Meeting notes.

Looking ahead to July: Airport Planner Kaci Nowicki on the new terminal at Sky Harbor Airport with updates; bidding starts in June.

The June Breeze is here.

51st Park Point Art Fair is on 24, 25 June! To volunteer, call Diane G. 218-727-4067

Park Point Art Fair

Park Point Recreation Area     

June 24 & 25, 2023     

10am – 5pm