With the city of Grand Marais now free of any contractual obligations to Burbach Aquatics regarding its participation in new pool projects, Mayor Bear Carlson and city councilors Tim Kennedy, Bill Lenz, and Jan Sivertson met with the county board and the ISD 166 school board on August 23 to talk about the community center project. “We would like to officially welcome the city of Grand Marais back to our project,” said Commissioner Sue Hakes.
Moving forward is a little like the game of chicken, however, with the city and the school not making any commitments until they have more information but the county taking risks in moving forward without those commitments.
Grand Marais Mayor Larry “Bear” Carlson said he thinks the city will mainly be deciding how much it is willing to spend to help support the new community center on an ongoing basis.
School Board Member Terry Collins said part of what motivated the school’s interest in siting the new community center where the west wing of the school currently sits was the fact that local levy dollars would have been required to fund needed rehabilitation of that portion of the building, whereas funding for the new facility will come from sales tax dollars, much of which comes from people who live outside the county.
“We’re in a tough spot at the county because we’re spending money,” said Commissioner Sue Hakes. “We’re spending money to get answers. …We’re spending a lot of money.” Ownership of the land
Still unknown is whether the county will purchase the land under the west wing of the school or seek a long-term lease.
Fire code would require a costly firewall between the county-owned community center building and the existing school building if the county owned the land underneath the community center. The reason for this, said architect Dan Miller of JLG Architects, is an assumption that if the school owned all the land, it could and would control the safety measures built into the structures on its property. He said they could pay the state to do a “code study” to determine what the building’s specifications would need to be if the county owns the property underneath the new community center.
An appraisal of the property, including the parking lot outside, was to be completed by August 31.
At a regular county board meeting on August 28, Miller recommended an expenditure of up to $21,000 to hire an engineering firm to assess what electrical, mechanical, and HVAC infrastructure currently in the west wing of the school could service the new community center as well. Consultant Wade Cole of ORB Management said JLG had figured all new infrastructure in its original cost estimate, but using equipment already there could save a lot of money overall.
The building’s existing boilers are fairly new, said Commissioner Hakes. The county board approved the assessment subject to written documentation from JLG Architects. She and Commissioner Jim Johnson indicated they believe this will be a good use of money.
Commissioner Jan Hall, however, said she keeps hearing people say that every time they turn around there’s a new cost involved in this project. “Somewhere we have to get to the end of that,” she said.
Consultant Cole told the News-Herald that JLG would need to outline why this expenditure was added to its original design fee.
“We’re just spending, spending, spending,” said Commissioner Hall. The county is taking all the risk, she said.
“We have to go on faith,” said Commissioner Johnson. “If it all falls apart, it falls apart.”
“We are standing on some pretty thin ice, waiting,” said Hall.
“Sure we are,” agreed Johnson.
Commissioner Hall said she was uncomfortable continuing to spend money without commitment from the other entities. Commissioners Johnson and Hakes said they are uncomfortable, too. Work starting
Even without ownership agreements worked out, the school will be removing the asbestos underneath the old gym floor and a fuel tank under the ground outside the building because it has money designated for these safety measures.
Bids have already been received on various aspects of the project. Local contractors have been contacted throughout the development of the project, Wade Cole said. Bids are legally required to be open to all bidders, whether they are local or not.
The county board approved a low bid of $126,124 by Crawford Excavating for site demolition and excavation. One other bid of $134,963 came from Edwin E. Thoreson Inc.
The board also approved a low bid of $132,341 from Beck Arena Products for hockey rink dasher boards. The new rink will be constructed where the old rink has been.
A single bid of $150,000 from S&C Concrete and Masonry for the hockey rink slab was not accepted because it was over the budgeted amount. That portion of the project will be re-bid.
The new slab will have basketball striping on it for use in the summertime. At the August 23 joint meeting, Architect Dan Miller of JLG Architects said the rink may be “some bird-bathing” in it in the summertime because they are designing the rink to need as little water as possible to create the ice surface. To facilitate water runoff, some of the dasher boards could be removed in warm weather seasons.
At the August 28 county board meeting, Commissioner Bruce Martinson described a different design for the hockey rink being laid at Birch Grove Community Center. The concrete hockey pad will be raised in the middle to facilitate good drainage, he said. The concrete sides will be raised so water from the rink will not come in contact with the dasher boards. Moving forward
Despite the fact that written agreements still need to be made, Wade Cole said they anticipate starting the community center work this September and finishing by September of next year.
One issue to be worked out is the type of surface the gym floor will have. Superintendent Beth Schwarz said her teachers and coaches favor a wood floor. Members of the Cook County Tennis Association such as Gene Glader, on the Community Center Steering Committee, are advocating for a multi-purpose floor.
Commissioner Hakes said she would recommend whatever would be best for the most users. People on both sides have said they “will take their blocks and go home” if they don’t get the gym floor they want, she said.
Commissioner Hakes said the project requires them all to work together and have some trust with each other as they proceed. She said she believes they all have the public’s interests in mind, pointing out that she and Commissioner Sobanja both live in Grand Marais, and she used to be the mayor, so she wants the end result to be fair to everyone.
“We’re all in this together – the Y, the city, the county, and the school,” said Commissioner Fritz Sobanja. “We want this partnership to bring about a vital community.”
School Superintendent Beth Schwarz said, “A complex spider web is a beautiful thing.”
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