On October 18, 2011, the Cook County Commissioners accepted the recommendation of consulting firm ORB Management to site the proposed new community center on the corner of Fourth Avenue West and the New Gunflint Trail in Grand Marais, dubbed “the northwest corner.” However, at a Thursday, February 2, 2012 meeting of the Cook County Community Center Steering Committee, that group decided to revisit the idea of attaching a new community center facility to the west end of the ISD 166 building.
County Commissioner Sue Hakes said the proposal to attach the community center facility to the school building “solves a lot of obstacles, but it creates others.”
School board Jeanne Anderson related that she believed the majority of the ISD 166 school board now supports the idea of attaching the community center to the school. “There may be obstacles, but if this community worked together, they could solve them,” said Anderson.
County Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said if this proposal moves forward, he wants to see some financial commitment from the school district. Anderson agreed, but added, “If there is apprehension of how this will work, it relates to the financials. But I think the school district could help—with maintenance, with community education.”
Anderson explained that the west end of the ISD 166 building is virtually empty. To cut costs, the district office was moved into the elementary school area and the conference room there has been closed up. The west end of the school—the community education gym in particular—is in need of repair.
“This fall there was water damage to the gym. There was a huge heave on the gym floor,” said Anderson.
ISD 166 Maintenance Director Mike Groth was able to tack the boards down, but Anderson said there are still uneven floorboards. She said it was a temporary fix and that the school district is looking at a cost of approximately $70,000 to replace the floor. ISD 166 Superintendent Beth Schwarz provided a handout detailing expected costs of renovating the west wing of the school. These are costs the school would rather not incur if it is determined that the best plan is to construct a new community center attached to the school.
Schwarz, Anderson and Andra Lilienthal of Cook County Community Education shared some information on tours they had taken of other shared school/community center facilities and said they had learned a lot. Overall, they said, the facilities they toured would recommend shared space.
Schwarz said attaching the community center to the west end of the building could enable the school to move the fitness center out from the middle of the school complex to that area, relieving a security concern for some parents.
Schwarz said, “After looking at all the options, it is my opinion that the best location for the community center is physically attached to the west end of the ISD 166 building.”
“If we did attach it to the school, would the school district be willing to contribute to the demolition of the building? With a budget of just $9 million that would be very helpful,” said Booth.
School board representative Anderson said, “We just don’t know. We haven’t gotten to that point yet.” Feedback and finances
There was discussion of how the community would react to this change of plans. Sobanja said, “I’ve always had the thought that we should talk about the location, walk around it, check it out for a few months and get feedback.”
“I got feedback—pro and con,” said Sobanja.
Community Center Director Diane Booth agreed. “When the northwest corner was announced, there were concerns expressed by the outdoor ice users. If you’re going to have ice, you want it close to everything else.”
Booth detailed the work done by the recreation groups to come up with a proposal for a building near the outdoor ice and noted their frustration at once again having their plans put on hold.
Commissioner Hakes said at the last county board meeting, commissioners agreed to reduce the budget for the community center to $9 million. “But, they also said it is very important to have ice for next season and some sort of warming facility,” she said.
But Hakes also said the reduced budget was going to necessitate some changes. “It’s going to be painful. This group has to talk about what gets left out. We’ve talked about the ball field—it has to be a certain number of feet. The ice rink has to be a certain size. So reductions have to come out of the facility.
“Do we shrink everything down so no one is happy? Or do we leave some stuff out in hopes that we can build it later?” Hakes asked.
Steering Committee Member Bob Fenwick asked if some pieces could be funded by means other than the 1 percent recreation and infrastructure tax.
Booth said funding sources would not consider granting funds to the project at this point. She said there had been too much “negative press.”
Steering Committee Member Sue Prom said, “I don’t think we should concern ourselves with that now. I think we need to plan this building to serve the community and then find a way to do it. There are funding sources out there.”
Fenwick said, “I think the county is getting close. They’ve made a concrete decision with this $9 million budget. That’s firm. There are people in this community who will commit to this project if they are aware of it. At some point, you need to make the tough decision to begin fundraising.”
“It is tough,” said Hakes. “We need to decide on a location and building design—we can’t do anything until we have that.” Join the Y.M.C.A.?
One possible source of help—with funding, planning and possibly operation—is the Y.M.C.A. The idea of partnering with the Y.M.C.A. was introduced by Commissioner Sobanja in January.
There was lengthy discussion of whether or not it is feasible for the county to work with the Y.M.C.A. to develop and operate the community center. There were concerns regarding the fact that the organization is the Young Men’s Christian Association. Commissioner Hakes said the Y.M.C.A. tailors its programs to fit the community. Booth agreed, “There would be some cultural/ social issues, but it sounds like it could be worked out.”
Booth said there were “plusses and minuses” to working with the Y.M.C.A. The positives, she said, were that the Y.M.C.A. is a nationally known entity with an advertising budget. Visitors to the community would like to visit a Y.M.C.A. facility. Booth said the Y.M.C.A. would hire the director and it would ask for a 25-year lease. “That means you would be locked in,” she said.
Hakes replied, “It also shows their commitment.”
Sobanja agreed there were negatives and positives, but said, “I’m comfortable working with the ‘Y.’ It’s always done good work. Their focus is on the health and fitness of the community.”
“One thing that is positive,” said Hakes, “is that no one gets turned away from a Y.M.C.A. because they don’t have money. They work it out.”
The committee agreed to continue discussions with the Y.M.C.A.
“But whether we work with the Y.M.C.A. or not, we need to decide what kind of building we want,” said Sobanja.
The steering committee finally passed a motion to approach the ISD 166 school board to begin discussions on the feasibility of attaching the community center to the school. Commissioners Hakes and Sobanja said they would apprise their county board colleagues of the possible change.
Hakes said, “After picking the northwest corner, all sorts of concerns bubbled up—the school needs a new gym; the building needs to be near the ice…I think we needed this time to sort things out.” In other business: . The steering committee reviewed information by Director Booth on wetland mitigation of the ball fields. The initial estimate for mitigation is up to $150,000. The wetland delineation cannot be completed until spring. . Paul Sporn was nominated and elected to serve as chair of the steering committee. Diane Booth was elected to continue to serve as secretary for the committee. . The steering committee membership was reviewed. There are four vacancies— two at-large positions and two positions to be filled by someone who lives in the City of Grand Marais. Anyone interested in serving on the steering committee is asked to contact Diane Booth 218-387- 3015.
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