The Grand Marais City Council gave its support for the proposed expansion of the Grand Marais Library. The shaded area in the drawing above depicts the proposed addition.
Grand Marais City Council has given its backing to a proposed library improvement project.
Linda Chappell, director of the Grand Marais Public Library, appeared before council November 18 to present the plan, which will be funded through a 1 percent sales tax that was recently approved by voters. Chappell said she and the board are anxious to move forward with the project, and asked for a letter of support from the city before the request is made to the Cook County commissioners.
“We’re here to ask: do you want your building added on to, and can we use the lawn out front?” Chappell said. The director was joined by library board members David Quick and Carol Miller.
The library representatives outlined the two-year-plus planning process that considered not only adding on to the library building off Second Avenue West, but including a library as part of a new Community Center near the school campus, or building a new facility elsewhere in town. In the end, the expansion project was chosen because of its lower cost and the popularity of the present location.
Expansion of the library is necessary because of increased usage that has resulted in a space crunch, especially in the staff office.Theproposed addition will increase the size of the library from 4,300 square feet to 7,000 square feet. The new space will allow a larger children’s area, additional seating throughout the library, more shelving and storage, and increased space for technology. Also included are two handicap parking spaces and plans to beautify the area surrounding the building with trees, shrubs, a patio and walkways.
Chappell presented a drawing that shows the new addition on the eastern end of the building, jutting out in an L shape toward the highway. She said the design keeps the library in its pedestrian-friendly location with only minor drawbacks. “The only thing we’re not gaining is off-street parking, but that’s a problem for all downtown businesses,” she said. The two handicap spaces will be incorporated into the city’s lot just west of the library’s entrance.
Miller said she is also happy with the design. “I’m satisfied with where we are, and I don’t see any circumstance where we’d want to change. We’re pretty convinced the best location for the library is where it is,” she said.
Mayor Sue Hakes said she loves the library in its present locale, and would support the library board’s proposal. Councilor Jan Sivertson said the plan was a good one, and observed that, despite some citizen concerns, “cutting into the green space may even give the library a stronger presence.”
Councilor and library board member Kay Costello pointed out that once the preliminary plan wins approval, it will need more finetuning in the form of architectural expertise. “How do we pay for that?” she wondered.
Quick said the library board already has funds to use for that. “But we were unwilling to go ahead and do that without first getting the city’s and county’s backing,” he said.
Upon approval of the city council, the library representatives will now make their request to proceed to the county board, which shares the cost of the library’s operation with the city. Estimated cost of the project is $700,000.
In other news:
» Council passed a resolution providing for the issuance and sale of
$1,675,000 in general obligation bonds to support financing of the Cedar Grove Business Park. Northland Securities of Minneapolis submitted the bid with the lower interest rate (4.2419 percent). “It feels good to get this taken care of,” Hakes said after the vote. “There’s not much else we can do.”
The bonds are necessary because sale of the lots has not met expectations; under the agreement with the Economic Development Authority, $60,000 of each lot sold is to be turned over to the city as reimbursement for the cost of developing the business park’s infrastructure. However, only three of the 37 lots have been sold, and the city has requested a marketing plan for selling the remaining lots.
The city’s payments will average about $120,000 per year over the next
20 years.
» Council approved a Storefront Loan application for $12,500 submitted
by the Grand Marais Hotel Co. for purchase and installation of a new illuminated sign at the trafficlight in town. The new sign will stand about 18 feet tall–about half the size of the current sign–and use the existing steel posts. It will direct visitors to the Shoreline Inn and Cobblestone Cove.
Chamber of Commerce Director Bev Wolke said there was some discussion among the Chamber board, which administers the Storefront Loan program, because the sign, strictly speaking, isn’t a “storefront,” or even on the applicant’s property. However, council agreed with the Chamber
board that the “off-site improvement” would benefit the city and was a
legitimate use of the fund.
» No members of the public showed up for an advertised review of the
noise ordinance that council adopted earlier this year. Hakes said Sheriff Mark Falk told her there were no complaints about outdoor music all summer, and he regarded the process as a success. But, councilors
agreed, this past summer was a hard one to judge due to the unseasonably
cool weather and therefore, lack of outdoor music.
» A contract between the city and Southern Minnesota Municipal Power
Agency to provide electricity to Grand Marais was extended for 20 years, and will now run through 2050. City Administrator Mike Roth said the reasons for the extension are complicated, but basically it is needed to allow the agency to continue its long-range planning and pursue future purchasing contracts. “This is a hard thing to grasp,” commented Councilor Costello. “We’ll all be dead by then.”
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