Duluth council reviews $1.4 million transfer to 1200 Fund; questions raised about Clayton Jackson McGee Memorial eligibility

The City of Duluth city council reviewed a proposal to transfer $1,400,000 to the Duluth 1200 Fund, Inc. to establish and administer a historic program fund, and councilors debated whether the Clayton Jackson McGee Memorial—an historic, nonbuilding site affected by adjacent blight—would be eligible under the fund’s guidelines.

Councilor Kennedy raised questions about the fund’s eligibility language and asked that the item be pulled for further discussion. “It talks about buildings, but we also had discussed the Clayton Jackson McGee Memorial, which is not a building,” Kennedy said, asking whether the memorial could access the funds. Kennedy said language in the paperwork alternates between “buildings” and “historic projects,” and expressed a desire to ensure equitable access for the memorial.

Tricia Hobbs, the city’s economic development director, said the $1.4 million transfer reflected a settlement agreement approved by the council in January and that the allocation was focused on buildings and areas within the First Street corridor. Hobbs said the program guidelines reflect that focus. She also said the city intends to engage the Clayton Jackson McGee Memorial organization as an “engaged partner” in redevelopment discussions but that the historic fund’s guidelines are approved by the 1200 Fund board, not by the city council.

Hobbs told councilors that modifications to the historic fund guidelines would need to be initiated and completed by the 1200 Fund board of directors; the council’s action before them would only approve the transfer of funds. Kennedy said she wanted the item pulled to allow staff and the 1200 Fund committee to consult about possible parallel compensation or an amendment to the guidelines so the memorial could be considered for support if appropriate.

Councilor Swenson and other councilors offered to join follow-up conversations with Kennedy and staff. No formal vote or final action on the transfer was recorded in the transcript excerpt; Kennedy asked that the matter be held for further conversation so the fund and the memorial could be considered together.

Why it matters: The transfer would direct a significant one-time appropriation toward historic preservation and redevelopment in the First Street corridor. Councilors’ questions focused on how the fund’s written eligibility criteria would treat nonbuilding historic resources and whether the 1200 Fund board or the council (by transferring funds) would need to take additional steps to ensure equitable outcomes for affected historic sites such as the Clayton Jackson McGee Memorial.

The council’s next steps, as stated in the meeting, were to hold further conversations with the 1200 Fund committee and staff and to consider whether the transfer or the fund’s guidelines should be adjusted; no final modification or vote was recorded in the provided transcript.