The Duluth City Council met on Monday, August 10, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting covered a wide range of business including financial resolutions, public comments on surveillance technology and the Lester Park initiative, a committee-of-the-whole discussion on the Fourth Street reconstruction project, and votes on several ordinances and appointments. The council approved the consent agenda unanimously, passed multiple ordinances, and tabled several personnel appointments pending further review.
All consent items were approved unanimously by voice vote (9-0).
Committee of the Whole – Fourth Street Reconstruction Project: Senior Engineer Alex Pop presented the proposed reconstruction of Fourth Street from Mesaba Avenue to Sixth Avenue East. The road was last resurfaced in 2017 and last reconstructed in 1977. The proposed layout includes two 10-foot travel lanes, a 9-foot parking zone on the uphill side, a shared-use path (8 feet wide) on the downhill side, wider boulevards for trees and snow storage, and 5-foot sidewalks. This requires removing parking from one side (net loss of approximately 100 spaces). The design is based on community input, including a ranking at a Juneteenth event, and aligns with the city’s bike plan. Parking utilization studies showed available capacity on adjacent streets. The project is scheduled for design through 2027 with construction in 2028-2029, split at Lake Avenue, using federal funding. Councilors raised concerns about snow removal, accessibility for people with disabilities, impacts on residents and businesses, and pedestrian safety. Councilor Randorf noted 30% of households in the corridor lack vehicles. Councilor Forsman asked for additional parking utilization data on Third Street. Councilor Desotelle suggested coordinated snow removal and safer pedestrian crossings. The project will come back for formal resolutions and ordinances at the next meeting.
Personnel Appointments (Tabled):
Resolution 26-0714R: Authorizing removal of a national emergency use provision encumbering certain city property managed by the Duluth Airport Authority. Passed 8-0-1 (Councilor Forsman abstained due to his employment with Minnesota Power).
Tabled Resolution 26-0681R (Lester Park Initiative): Remained on the table. Councilor Durrwachter explained the council had previously passed a resolution opposing the initiative, and this item was tabled pending a judge’s ruling expected before August 11, 2026. The judge’s decision could affect whether the initiative goes on the November 3, 2026 special election ballot.
All right, we will get our personnel uh meeting going. Um we have an interview, and you are Brianna Gunderson. Yes. Hi, Ms. Gunderson, and you're interviewing for a position on the deck. Yes. All right. Um so to start off, could you please give me a brief outline of your education and experience as it relates to this appointment? Absolutely. So my education background is I'm a proud UMD graduate. Um I actually have a background in elementary special education, so that is my degree, which is a little unique for the role that I'm in now. I will say what I've learned a lot is how to work with all types of people. So I will say my background in some ways I say helps me with management on the day-to-day because I just have so much experience working with all different types of individuals. I started out in hospitality when I came up here for school, and I continued to grow um within that field, and so I've been in the hospitality industry for over 10, almost 15 years in different roles and capacities. Currently, right now I am the general manager for the holiday in and suites in downtown Duluth, which is the largest hotel in Duluth. We have 338 guest rooms. In addition to just being a hotel, we also have a large banquet operations ourselves. We have um LRC two restaurants as well as tenant spaces in the holiday center. So I have a unique um experience that is very similar to the deck in some regards and working with both union and non-union employees, working with tenant agreements, working with um banquet operations and the different challenges with food costs and different things like that. So I think I bring an interesting lens because I can understand some of the facility challenges as well as understanding um the importance of convention sales and getting groups to come to Duluth and help fill the hotels and fill the restaurants and help support our local economy in that way. Alright. Um tell us why you're interested in serving in this role. Yeah, I'm excited um to help support the deck in any way that I can. I think we're at a really pivotal time in our tourism industry. Um the horizon is scary. Um I think that where we typically would see really busy convention months, we're not seeing that business right now, and so I think that there's a lot of opportunity ahead, and I want to help be part of that. I want to help provide support where I can, innovative ideas where I can, and help to kind of relook at how we are currently doing things and are there opportunities to improve there. I think we really need a strong deck to continue to be a strong tourism industry here in Duluth, and so um to help be part of that change or be part of that voice would be really um impactful, I think. Uh what do you consider to be your personal strengths or unique perspectives that you would bring to this role? I'm a firm believer in before you decide to relocate anywhere to um move a business to relocate your family, you're first a tourist here. And so I have a deep connection to the tourism industry. I think it's vital um for all the things we're trying to do in in Duluth to help be a a thriving city. And so I have just a strong um background and a strong belief that tourism is what helps our community thrive. And I think that I can continue to bring that forward on the deck board. I think also being part of the industry and having that frontline experience to um what are our meeting planners saying when they come? What are the visitors saying when they come? What is their experience like? How are they able to um coordinate between the visit Duluth, the hotels, the deck, what does that look like and being able to bring that experience in and have an industry voice at the table, I think is really powerful that can help kind of navigate some of those nuances that you don't typically see unless you're part of the industry and can kind of understand some of those challenges and opportunities. Your interest in this appointment. I don't think so. All right, I'm gonna open it up to counselor questions. Counselor Timonic. Thank you, President Nephew. Um thank you for interviewing. Say when I was reading through your applications, then I believe there was a question about your familiarity with the bylaws and procedures. Yes. And it said that you weren't very familiar with them. No, I am not familiar with the exact bylaws. I know that it is a state authority. Um, I have a general understanding from the time I served on the Visit Duluth board, and we were doing some exploring at different synergies that there could be.