Agreements between the county and the city of Grand Marais, Cook County Schools, and the YMCA regarding the new community center are moving forward. On October 30, the county board approved a purchase agreement for the west wing of the school complex.
A joint powers agreement with the city called for both entities to share the cost of demolishing the Grand Marais Municipal Pool and settling with Burbach Aquatics, which the city had a pool contract with previously.
The joint powers agreement also called for each entity to put $10,000 a year into a capital improvement fund. The board spent some time discussing the wording of this part of the contract so that the fund would be used for repairs to the basic elements of the building such as the roof, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems but not for cosmetic maintenance such as new carpeting or paint.
Under the joint powers agreement, the city would initially pay the county half of the annual operating loss up to a total of $100,000. If the loss went over $200,000 in a year (with each entity paying half of that), the city’s contribution could increase 5 percent a year or a percentage equal to the Consumer Price Index for the preceding year, whichever was lower. Increases greater than that would need to be approved by the city.
City residents will not be taxed by both the city and the county for community center operating losses. For the loss that is paid in equal amounts by both the city and the county, the city will levy residents within the city for its half and the county will levy residents outside the city for its half. If the county needs to pay more than the city in a given year, all county property owners will share that cost.
The city met the next day and City Administrator Mike Roth presented the agreement with a few changes suggested by the city’s attorney, Chris Hood. The city made some changes to be sent back to the county again for final review. The city added clarification on which consumer price index will be used, namely the Midwest Urban Nonmetropolitan CPI. The city also changed language regarding the amount to be paid to Burbach Aquatics, from $37,500 to half the settlement total. Roth said that the actual total of the Burbach settlement was $79,000, so half of the settlement would be $39,500. The city also requested a change to the length of the contract from 49 years to 25.
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