There has been a lot of discussion about what the 1% sales tax can and cannot be used for. Myth # 1: The sales tax cannot fund a stand alone pool.
This is false. Myth # 2: The sales tax cannot be used to repair, upgrade or add on to an existing building.
This is false. Myth # 3: The people voted for an $11 million community center.
This is false.
There were several projects that could be considered for the tax revenue. No project was written in stone as long as it was for recreation.
As concerned residents and taxpayers in the city of Grand Marais we would like to offer our opinions for your consideration.
We all feel the pool is a valuable asset to the city of Grand Marais at its current location in the Recreation Park, and that it serves the whole of Cook County residents as well. We feel that to remove the pool from the campground would cause a huge deficit in revenues to the city.
In these precarious economic times our suggestions would be to improve the existing pool, or if that is not a feasible option, to build a new pool in the rec area. Either option could afford a small addition for a community center, although the current community center could be brought up to current energy standards and possibly, if needed, a small addition could be added.
Our concern with turning the community center over to the curling club is that they will not be able to fully fund the operations and at such time the taxpayers will be responsible.
Lastly, for the past 30 years the City of Grand Marais has supported the maintenance of the current swimming pool. The schools and Cook County have reneged on their obligation to fund their fair share of one-third, as was agreed upon at the time the pool was built. Now we feel that the city should not share in any maintenance costs any more than the rest of the county. After all, residents of the city pay Cook County taxes and school taxes along with city taxes.
Ron Lund
Hal Greenwood
Irene Thompson
Evelyn Larsen
Marc Breitsprecher
Garry Gamble
Diane Parker
Cook County Citizens for Responsible
Government
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