Boaters who use the Grand Marais harbor will soon have an improved dock and launch, thanks to an agreement with the state Department of Natural Resources approved Feb. 27 by the city council.
City Administrator Mike Roth explained that the new agreement, which has been reviewed and sent back and forth between the city’s and DNR’s attorneys during the last few months, will replace the existing agreement with the state that governs the boat launch on the east side of the harbor near the Coast Guard building. The new agreement takes effect upon approval by both city council and the DNR; Roth said the DNR has expressed its satisfaction with the revised document.
“Chris [City Attorney Chris Hood] made some changes, and they rejected most of them and accepted a few,” said Roth. “They [DNR] said it’s okay now.”
Roth said the new agreement runs for 35 years and is very similar to the one in place for the boat launch on Artist Point. Plans call for the state to construct a boat launch and parking area in the vicinity of the boat ramp at the bottom of Eighth Avenue West in the Rec Park. The improvements are based on a concept plan which has been reviewed and approved by the city’s park board, and is consistent with the park’s master plan.
The new launch is needed, Roth said, because the Artist Point parking lot is often crowded and difficult for boaters to use, and the ramp itself is not very “friendly” for users with large boats. However, it is currently the only access available in Grand Marais.
The new ramp will extend farther out into Lake Superior and thus provide access to deeper water.
Councilor and park board member Bill Lenz said the Minnesota Land Trust, which oversees a land conservation easement on the site, may have some comments on the project when they see the final plan. He also asked about the fate of the existing boat ramp. “Would it behoove us to barricade it? Is there any liability if something happens?”
Roth said the city will have no obligation to do anything with the old launch, and the maintenance done now is minimal. There are no concerns about liability, either, he said – it will be the same as it is now.
The city will, however, have to make some adjustments to accommodate the new facility. Lenz said the city’s dog pound will “certainly be affected” and will have to be relocated; the city is already in the process of planning for a new storage facility that will allow removal of its PUC garages and equipment from the Rec Park area.
In other business:
. Council was asked to send a representative to the county’s Water Management Plan advisory committee’s March 18 meeting regarding revision of the stormwater plan. Of particular interest to the city is a scheduled discussion of management and maintenance of the Village Ditch along the northern side of County Road 7.
. Roth announced that Standard & Poor’s has reviewed the city’s credit rating, and has upgraded it from an A to an A+. Roth said the firm really liked the city’s performance over the past four years, particularly its management of a healthy fund balance and capital spending.
. Delivery of the city’s new tanker truck was expected March 1, as was shipment to Florida of the fire department’s old vehicle, which was sold on e-Bay. The new fire truck was partially funded through a FEMA grant.
. Councilor Lenz said he was disappointed by a county board decision that left no money for a ball field or tennis court in the Cook County Family YMCA project, as was originally promised. Lenz said that as far as he’s concerned, when the ball field at the city’s Rec Park is needed for camp sites, it will be converted and used for such. “The county board made its decision, and they will have to live with it,” Lenz said.
The original plans for a new community center on the high school campus called for construction of the athletic facilities in question, at which time the city’s ball field was to be abandoned and used for camp sites.
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