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North House respectfully submitted this letter following a spring and summer of productive conversations with the Council and community. As the City Council prepared for its August 31st meeting, we wanted to convey three clear thoughts for consideration:
Dear Grand Marais City Council:
1. North House and the community have worked hard during the past several months and clearly we have made significant progress together: identifying community priorities, highlighting potential improvements to our current lease & city partnership, and finding alternatives that can move us forward. — Community members underscored their aspirations to prioritize accessibility to the harbor, secure the future of our commercial fishery, restore the historic fish house in its current location and honor the character of the harbor. — Discussions affirmed the reality that updating our current lease could yield mutual benefits. Only a few changes to the lease are needed to make this possible. — Research highlighted that the City property offers an intriguing alternative location for our needed classroom building. And importantly, doing so would make it possible to engage the multiple priorities identified by community members.
2. North House values our long-term relationship with the City of Grand Marais and is ready to work with the City to make our partnership stronger. As our initial proposal highlighted, we are willing to think creatively and negotiate purposefully to move forward. If desired, doing so in a timely fashion is essential. — The City Council’s prompt analysis of our initial purchase proposal was appreciated. With this first step completed, now is the ideal time to begin consideration of possible lease updates. For many community members, improving the existing lease is the right step forward as it can address questions and meet key needs. — North House awaits the City’s direction regarding a work session or other next steps looking forward. Recognizing upcoming elections and the urgency of the priorities we need to engage, we ask for negotiations to move forward within the next 45 days.
3. North House’s master planning efforts during the past 3-4 years have identified needs and priorities that are critical to our future. Recognizing their importance, our current plan is to prioritize initiatives located on our own property. This includes studying other short-term alternatives to generate the space we need to replace our two outdated classrooms. — North House’s current lease remains in effect until 2029 and automatically renews for 25 additional years provided we meet several performance criteria defined by the City. Our operations in 2019 effectively met these requirements, and we anticipate returning to these levels 2023 and onward. – Understanding if or how we should integrate the city-owned property into our strategic thinking may expand options for addressing key needs and community priorities. Regardless, envisioning how best to harness and utilize the property we own will be central to our efforts. – At our August board meeting, we convened a Target ‘23 work group of board and staff to map out our plans for 2023 forward. We anticipate formally defining next steps by the middle of this fall.
Our understanding is the City Council may revisit aspects of their closed-session discussion at one of their upcoming meetings. Since we are unaware of the timing for such a discussion, we wanted to convey these thoughts in writing.
North House is committed to being a strong and positive presence in Grand Marais and Cook County. We believe our year-round efforts and hands-on mission enhance our community while strengthening our economy. We are ready and willing to move forward together. If we can provide additional information please let us know.
In partnership, Greg Wright, Executive Director, North House Folk School
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