Grand Marais City Council’s May 13 meeting included discussions of the farmer’s market, Sunday growler sales, energy savings and vacation rentals.
Councilor and planning commission member Tim Kennedy began the proceedings with a recap of the planning commission’s May 6 meeting, during which approval was granted for a variance and conditional use permit.
The variance was granted to David and Amanda Plummer and will allow construction of an attached garage at their First Avenue East residence. The variance is needed because the garage will be situated 7 feet from the side yard lot line, 3 feet within the required 10-foot setback, and 17 feet from the rear lot line, 8 feet within the required 25-foot setback. Kennedy noted that the house is already within the setback, and the garage placement (in line with the house) is necessary because of the house’s location, but will create no further intrusion. There was no opposition from neighbors, Kennedy said, and council gave its unanimous approval.
The conditional use permit request was made by Lonnie Dupre, who wishes to build a cabin for use as a vacation rental on his West First Street property. Council granted unanimous approval, noting that resorts of up to 10 units are allowed in the Mixed Use (Commercial-Residential) zone, but vacation rentals/small family resorts are not specifically addressed in the city’s ordinances. There was some discussion about state-required inspections, public water hook-ups and possible parking problems in the area near the library, but none of the concerns was serious enough to cause denial of the project.
Carolyn Fritz of the Art Colony then appeared before council with a request for a street use permit allowing the 25th annual Grand Marais Arts Festival to be held July 11 and 12 on Wisconsin Street and Second Avenue West. Fritz said plans and set-up for the event are basically unchanged from last year, and a positive vote was made.
Also unchanged from last year are plans for the Cook County Farm and Craft Market, which will be held as usual in the city’s municipal parking lot on Broadway beginning Memorial Day weekend. While there was some concern expressed about the number of parking spaces blocked off for the weekly event, and when the barricades are placed, Tom Crosby assured councilors that the farmer’s market organizers have worked well with local business owners and responded to their complaints in the past. For instance, Crosby said the farmer’s market doesn’t use all of the allotted parking spaces if all of the vendors don’t show up, and a route for emergency vehicles and other necessary traffic is maintained. As far as blocking off the spaces too early, Crosby said organizers try to wait until 4 or 4:30 p.m. Friday so as not to interfere with the customers patronizing the adjacent businesses. Council was satisfied with the plans and the cooperation shown in the past with the local businesses, and gave its approval for the permit. The farmer’s market will run through the fall on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Next up, George Wilkes and Virginia Danfelt of the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) gave their annual update to council and explained their mission (promotion of energy efficiency) for the benefit of the new councilors. Danfelt described 2014 as a “fairly busy year” and highlighted the group’s efforts, particularly the continuing success of the REEP (Residential Energy Efficiency Program) program and ongoing monitoring and promotion of solar energy.
In response to Wilkes’ request for $2,000, Councilor Kennedy pointed out that “CCLEP has done great service to the community… it’s well-worth a $2,000 investment.” And council agreed, voting to approve the funding request. The city supported CCLEP, which began in 2008, with $2,000 donations in 2013 and 2014; it gave $1,000 in 2012.
Finally, council took care of a couple administrative matters.
At the request of Attorney Baiers Heeren, council voted to approve a correction deed describing property owned by the Cook County North Shore Hospital on Fifth Avenue West. In a memo, Heeren explained, “The request arises from a mortgage loan transaction relating to the hospital….a survey of the hospital was completed and disclosed errors in the historical legal description of the hospital property. The errors arise from references to the Gunflint Trail, which was relocated after the original acquisition of the property by the hospital.”
Council approved the quit claim deed and a new survey, allowing the loan to proceed.
And in an item not on the original agenda, council passed on first reading an amendment to the recently enacted ordinance allowing growler sales in Grand Marais. The revised language will allow off-sale of the 64-ounce containers of beer or malt liquor on Sunday in accordance with a new law approved by the state Legislature. A second reading of the city’s ordinance change will be held at council’s May 27 meeting. The amended ordinance will take effect upon approval of the second reading and its subsequent publication.
In other business:
. Councilor Tracy Benson said she would like to see more conversation take place between the city and county to build a joint garage/maintenance facility before the city proceeds with plans to build its own. Benson said a shared site would make more sense economically, and could possibly house the city’s administrative offices. Such talks have proven unfruitful in the past; preliminary estimates for a city facility came in at just under $4 million.
. During a brief discussion of a recent request from the Cook County Tennis Association for $20,000 to upgrade tennis courts at the high school campus, Councilor Tim Kennedy wondered whatever happened to the county’s Recreation Fund, which had been used to finance such projects. The county has declined to contribute to the upcoming project, and the city has yet to make a decision.
. Councilor and Economic Development Authority (EDA) board member Anton Moody gave an update on the latest meeting where housing issues were discussed, and reported that Superior National Golf Course was able to open one month earlier than last year, which should boost the financial figures for this year.
. Councilor and park board member Dave Mills said much of the winter kill at Gunflint Hills Golf Course has recovered and efforts are under way to promote use of the course. Mills also reported that the North Woods Food Project is continuing its work to come up with a composting program for disposal of food waste and said that such a project has been well-received by those businesses that have been contacted to date.
. Mayor and library board member Jay Arrowsmith DeCoux said plans to unveil a sculpture on the library lawn are set for June 5 and told councilors they can expect an increase of about 13 percent in next year’s library budget request later this summer. The increases are due to an anticipated higher level of staffing occasioned by higher library usage and expected retirements.
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