Several of the county’s 1 percent sales and use tax projects are moving ahead, and at the April 12, 2011 county board meeting, consultant Tom Wacholz of ORB Management reviewed their progress with county commissioners.
Wacholz has been working with Tofte Supervisor Allan “DC” Olsen on an agreement for management of the improvements at Birch Grove Community Center, to include kitchen renovations, playground improvements, a new tennis court and hockey rink, and a warming house. The Township of Tofte has been able to find funding or make arrangements for some of the work to be done already, such as paving of the parking lot.
Wacholz said ORB would try to coordinate some of the projects with similar projects that might be done in Grand Marais in order to save on costs through efficiency of scale. In coming up with cost estimates, they are including contingencies for added costs such as soil remediation that they wouldn’t know about ahead of time.
Olsen said they figure the improvements will cost around $410,000. Wacholz said they would finish preparing the budget and final scope of work and bring it back to the county board. They hope to do the kitchen project in June when nobody would be using the kitchen.
With Commissioner Jim Johnson absent, the board passed a motion approving the drafting of a construction management agreement between ORB and the Township of Tofte. Olsen indicated that Tofte’s contract with ORB is related to maintaining accountability with the county, since the county has chosen ORB to consult on the projects and the county holds the purse strings.
Olsen said Tofte would be careful to follow legal procedures in the bid process as they seek contractors to do the work but they would like all the labor to be hired locally.
Community Center
Commissioner Sue Hakes, Community Center Committee chair, said they continue to solicit input from the community on what will be included in the new facility. They will consider usage projections and ongoing maintenance costs in making final decisions, she said, and hope to break ground by late summer or early fall.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja, also on the committee, said they expect that some maintenance costs would be higher if use of certain programs rises with the new building.
A question was raised regarding whether the Senior Center is interested in using the facility. Hakes said no, but the percentage of the population over 50 is growing in Cook County, and people in that age bracket who don’t use the Senior Center might be interested in using the community center. “We’re not building a health club. We’re not building a country club,” Hakes said. “We’re building a community center.”
Library expansion
The board approved a contract with ORB for ORB to act as construction manager for the library addition. The board also approved an addendum to the county’s joint powers agreement with the City of Grand Marais (which owns the building), allowing the county to temporarily act in the role of an owner so it can work directly with ORB on overseeing the project.
Commissioner Hakes said that she wanted ORB to make sure that ongoing maintenance costs were projected and considered in the final design of the building. County Attorney Tim Scannell said the board could expect this information before it approves the final design.
Superior National golf course
The board discussed ORB’s potential role in plans for Superior National at Lutsen golf course, which involve both an analysis of the course and improvements to the building and grounds.
The Cook County-Grand Marais Economic Development Agency (EDA) officially owns the golf course, but the county board has decided to hire a golf course consulting firm to analyze the physical aspects of the course and its business model and give options and recommendations on facilitating its financial success.
A committee comprised of commissioners Sue Hakes and Bruce Martinson, Cook County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers, County Attorney Tim Scannell, community members Myron Bursheim and John Lindell, and Rob Barse of ORB reviewed proposals and interviewed consulting firms on April 13.
The board passed a motion authorizing Attorney Scannell to work with ORB on drafting a contract for ORB to act as construction manager on the golf course projects. Scannell said that the county would need to enter into discussion with the EDA if ORB’s involvement went beyond overseeing the analysis of the course and involved overseeing physical improvements.
Leave a Reply