North House Folk School Executive Director Greg Wright
Greg Wright, executive director of the North House Folk School, visited Grand Marais city councilors Feb. 9 to present his annual report. After all, he said, the activities are taking place on city-owned land leased by the school, so it’s only right that council knows what’s going on.
And, said the director, there are a lot of things going on.
Topping the list is the 10th annual Unplugged celebration, which this year will be held Sept. 15-18. Wright said joining the celebration will be Mountain Stage, which has established itself as one of the premier shows on National Public Radio. Never before have they produced a program in the Midwest, said Wright, and he and the staff are working hard on the details and special arrangements.
Before September gets here, however, Wright said it will be a busy summer. Plans call for the new blacksmith shop building to be dedicated in June. The structure, which was previously an open timber frame that was moved in August to new permanent footings, is still under construction as part of the school’s “Raise the Roof ” campaign. When completed, the shop will accommodate year-round blacksmithing and metalworking classes.
And fall will see a host of “dramatic” changes to the lakeside campus as well, said Wright, in the form of parking lot improvements that call for the removal of the asphalt and the addition of greenery and other landscaping elements designed to give the campus’s entrance more of a “pedestrian feeling.” It is hoped that construction on that project can get started in the fall, because transformation of the entrance must be finished by May 2012 or the funding—a $90,000 grant— will have to be returned to the state. So naturally, said Wright, North House administrators don’t want to wait until spring of 2012 to begin work.
While the work on the campus’s entrance is in progress, visitors to the North House will need to find another way to get there, and Wright said talks are already under way with Grand Marais Rec Park staff to use its entrance and possibly parking space, only on a temporary basis. The goal is to have a plan in place by the end of this year, and Wright said he doesn’t expect any conflicts because the park’s busy season will be winding down by then. The school’s average number of students per course at that time of year is just 25, Wright pointed out, so there shouldn’t be a big impact on traffic volume or congestion in the campground, or any conflicts with park users.
North House staff and board members are also working on another potential phase of their campus improvement campaign— the addition of a student community center. But, said Wright, that’s at least “several years away.”
Looking at the numbers, Wright said he is encouraged both by last year’s participation and the trends for 2011. For instance, in 2010 there were 1,468 students enrolled in North House courses, which makes that the “best year ever programmatically.” Wright said he would not have predicted such would be the case after a low enrollment the prior year of 1,268 (due mainly to the bad economy), but the upward tic just goes to illustrate the widespread support North House enjoys from its constituents and donors. “It’s a fantastic trend to have for a little school in troubled times. It really shows that people are keeping up their interest in us,” he commented.
In other business:
On the advice of City Attorney
Chris Hood, council voted to send a letter to Burbach Aquatics apprising it of the city’s decision to drop out of the local community center project, thereby removing the city as a target of legal action that had been threatened by Burbach had the city chosen to participate.
Council reviewed the park board’s
2011 capital improvement plan. Councilor and park board member Bill Lenz said the board’s top priority is the upgrade of 10-20 campground sites, and expressed concern that the surveying and preparation work is not moving fast enough for completion by the start of this summer’s camping season. Other items on the list include plan and design of a “Community Connection” or pedestrian entrance at the northeast corner of the park; safe harbor/marina concept plan; new park office; public access boat ramp upgrade; and playground improvements.
Mayor Bear Carlson said he attended the firefighters’ annual membership dinner and thanked the members for their dedication and service to the community.
Councilor and planning commission member Tim Kennedy reported that the commission’s recent meeting was spent discussing the city’s extra-territorial authority over properties outside the city limits, but which are inside the two-mile radius in which city zoning is in effect and is often in conflict with Cook County regulations. Kennedy said meetings have been held with county officials in an effort to resolve the situation. However, he said, “It will take some time until we can fully solve this problem.”
The dilemma arose last year when the county received an application for a Planned Unit Development to convert a resort property on Croftville Road, that is within the two-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city. After a preliminary review, the county determined it did not have the authority to grant a PUD in the two-mile area because a PUD is a subdivision of land; in the twomile area, zoning is controlled by the county’s ordinance, but subdivisions are controlled by the city’s ordinance. That means that in the two-mile area, neither the city’s nor county’s PUD regulations could grant such a request.
Councilor and library board member
Jan Sivertson reported that drawings for the library building addition are under review, and renovation plans are “moving along nicely.” Sivertson said the latest diagrams show a smaller addition than originally planned, but one that is “more workable, practical, and do-able.” The addition will increase the library to about 7,000 square feet, she said.
Councilor and EDA board member
Bob Spry said the big concern for the board is finding a new director once the position is vacated in March. “There’s just not enough money to hire someone who’s qualified,” said Spry. Spry also talked about some of the other alternatives, such as not having a director or combining the position with that of the golf course administrator, but said neither of those options is preferred.
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