Duluth City Council Agenda Session and Personnel Interview – July 9, 2026
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Duluth City Council Agenda Session and Personnel Interview - July 9, 2026
The Duluth City Council held an agenda session on July 9, 2026, which included a personnel interview with Scott Soterberg for a seat on the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) board and discussion of multiple resolutions. No final votes were taken; appointments will be voted on at the next council meeting on Monday. The meeting began with the interview of Scott Soterberg, followed by a review of consent and regular agenda items.
Personnel Interview
- Scott Soterberg interviewed for a seat on the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) board. He outlined his background as a lifelong Duluth resident, 31 years at Upper Lakes Foods, and eight years at Hartel’s disposal, giving him direct experience with waste hauling and WLSSD operations. He expressed interest in helping the public understand rising costs due to hauling waste to the Iron Range, and in improving efficiency from the hauler perspective. He noted his community involvement (Rotary, robotics judging) and desire to act as a liaison between haulers and the city. In response to council questions, he discussed the potential for concentrated neighborhood haulers to reduce road wear and costs, and acknowledged employment challenges. When asked about PFAS and water treatment, he stated support for cleaning up contaminants and noted the importance of Lake Superior water quality, referencing his gratitude for past cleanups that made fish safe to eat. The appointment will be voted on Monday.
Discussion Items
- Finance: Resolution 594 – confirming Carla Calhayne as city administrator with an employment contract. No questions.
- Personnel: Resolution 639 (Lynn Williams, Spirit Mountain Recreation Area Authority) and Resolution 640 (Scott Soterberg, WLSSD) were pulled from the consent agenda because interviews had not yet occurred (Williams interview scheduled for July 13). These will be tabled.
- Purchasing and Licensing: Resolution 638 – approving various liquor licenses. No questions.
- Planning and Economic Development:
- Resolution 621 – accepting a $465,830 MnDOT grant for community liaison, workforce recruitment, and engagement for the Blatnik Bridge Replacement Project. Councilor DeSitel asked about past success; Director Fauche explained the prior grant reached over 800 individuals, with community liaisons working to connect underrepresented groups to construction careers via field trips, mentoring, and training programs.
- Resolution 624 – development agreement for Harbor Highlands First Division (20 homes, including 10 community land trust homes and 5 affordable to 115% AMI). Councilor Klana inquired about a previous planning commission no-vote; it was related to connectivity concerns. Jeff Corey (One Roof Community Housing) noted the project is the capstone of the Hope VI redevelopment. Councilor DeSitel raised connectivity issues with Lake Avenue; Director Van Tessel agreed that connecting neighborhoods is important and alternatives exist. The project may break ground this fall if funding aligns.
- Public Works and Utility:
- Resolution 616 – settlement of $18,443.83 for property damage claims (May Kim Kim). No questions.
- Resolution 627 – award contract for 2026 CIPP sanitary sewer lining ($1,376,662.99). No questions.
- Resolution 628 – award contract for Norton Road culvert replacement ($224,212). No questions.
- Resolution 629 – application for drinking water revolving fund loan for water tower reconditioning. No questions.
- Resolution 630 – amendment with MSA Professional Services for Lakewood Water Treatment Plant standby power ($259,200 increase). No questions.
- Recreation, Libraries, and Authorities:
- Resolution 623 – agreement with Arrowhead Youth Soccer Association (soccer fields). No questions.
- Resolution 641 – Legacy Grant application to Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission. No questions.
- Resolution 631 – contract for Park Point Beach House siding and window replacement ($241,000). No questions.
- Ordinances:
- Ordinance 23 – repealing certain sections of city code. No questions.
- Ordinance 25 – dedicating real property as park property for Downer Park. No questions.
- Ordinance 21 – authorizing issuance of tax anticipation revenue notes ($7,701,228) for water utility improvements. No questions.
- Ordinance 22 – amending official zoning map. No questions.
Key Outcomes
- Resolutions 639 and 640 (appointments of Lynn Williams and Scott Soterberg) were pulled from consent and will be tabled until interviews are completed; Williams’ interview is on July 13.
- The remaining consent and regular agenda items will be voted on at the next meeting (Monday), including the confirmation of Scott Soterberg’s WLSSD appointment.
- No public comments were heard.
- The council discussed connectivity concerns for the Harbor Highlands development and committed to exploring future connections to Lake Avenue.
- The city administrator appointment (Carla Calhayne) and other resolutions moved forward without opposition.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Um we have a personnel interview this evening, and um are you Mr. Sterterberg? You are can you come on up and sit at the table? You can grab whatever mic you want. That's the one you would like. Just fine, I'm assuming, yes. All right, well, welcome. Thank you. Um you are interviewing for a seat on the WL Assist D board, it looks like correct. Um we're gonna go through uh a series of four questions, and I'm going to open it up to counselors to ask questions of you. Um we do all as well have your application and your in front of us. Um so the first new name. We knew oh, yeah, it's renew. It says yeah, it says Sanitary Sewer Board or Western Lake Superior Sanitary District is what they have on here. But I think it might be renew. Okay. First question, please give us a brief outline of your education and experience as it relates to this appointment. And how would your background be benefit in relation to this specific body? Okay, well, I've uh born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, graduated from UMD many, many years ago, and uh worked for Upper Lakes Foods for 31 years, and in the food service distribution business for 35, but then after that I went to work for Nordic Waste for two and then Hartel's disposal for eight. So kind of direct contact with uh with WLSSD and uh trash hauling. Got it, thank you. Um tell us more about why you're interested in serving in this role. You know, I I I'm just curious. I know it's really an interesting time for WLSSD and what's happened with uh the costs going up and having to haul them all the way up to the range versus Marcus and Mike. So it's something that uh you know, coming from that business and in the sales end of it, you have to explain to the customers why it's going up so high, and it's a fact of life. And loaded or empty, you don't get good mileage on garbage trucks, you know. It's just uh just a fact of life. So it does increase that uh load, and I think the more people get to realize there is a reason for it and it makes sense, then they'll settle down a little bit and and and come to accept that it's not easy anytime prices go up, and especially at that level. So I can you know, and there's there's ways that you can uh maybe be more efficient in in how you take care of that, you know, from the from the trash haulers end. So certainly happy to work with them on that too. Okay. What do you consider to be the personal strengths or unique perspectives you would bring to this role? Well, um I've been active in the community in a lot of different ways. I'm uh finish line announcer for several events for the inline marathon for the Lake Superior Dragon Boat Festival for a lot of rotary things I'm involved in rotary uh robotics, been involved. This will be my fifth year as a judge at the robotics competition. So the nice thing about that is you get in touch with a lot of different people in the city of Duluth, and again, being here all my life. Uh I think that is uh a benefit. There's a lot of people who I've gotten to know. So is there anything else you would like to add in relation to your qualifications or your interest in this appointment? You know, other than I've got friends in the in the hauling industry, uh that is something I think that uh you know I like those people, they're hard working, and I'd like to be able to you know be a liaison or whatever if I can help them with that and the city itself. You know, we're we're facing challenges like everybody else, and so if we can take care of things on this end, if I can be part of that, I'd be very excited to do that. So thank you. Thank you for coming for the interview, and uh thank you for your responses. So I know who's talking. Uh it it's more of a question, it's more of a comment. Um some communities have uh concentrated their haulers into neighborhoods so that you don't have five coming through at the same time. And I was thinking about that and wondering if you have any perspective or thoughts on that as far as costs to the community as we deal with um taking trucks a lot farther. You know, actually that was part of what I discussed with people and say that you know the other the other thing that you have to consider is the wear and tear on the roads. Right.
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