Keith Vandervort
ELY – Travelers entering Ely on Highway 169 this fall could be able to stop into a brand new visitor center in the shadow of a freshly-painted water tower emblazoned with the city’s new logo.
Council members Tuesday authorized soliciting construction bids for the centerpiece of a multi-million-dollar redevelopment project for the city’s west end, and gave the go ahead for the water tower repainting project despite exorbitant cost estimates.
As much as $3 million, in two separate state bonding allocations, aisallocated for what has been dubbed the “west end trailhead project.” The first phase, at $1.3 million, was completed last year and included infrastructure and road construction at the city’s west entrance.