Clint McQuatters carefully worked the controls of the Caterpillar he was operating as he and a crew from Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc. took down the Grand Marais Municipal Swimming Pool this past week. The pool was closed after the YMCA was built and offered a new place for the public to swim and work out in the water. Beams from the swimming pool were salvaged and the park will try to repurpose them.
As the Grand Marais Park Board met at Rec. Park office building demolition of the building across the road that had housed the Grand Marais Municipal Pool was almost complete.
Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc. was the only company to submit a bid to demolish the pool building. After two full days of work, the building was pretty much down by the start of the board’s December 2 meeting.
Recreation Park Manager Dave Tersteeg said he was sad to see the building come down. He was chronicling the teardown on Facebook and had collected several pieces of memorabilia he was putting in the park office.
One nice thing, said Tersteeg, was that Thoreson’s crew was trying to save the beams from the building. “Maybe we can use them to build a post and beam fish cleaning station. We also saved the walkway bridge which we can use to replace a bridge that washed out,” Tersteeg said, adding, “This has been a bittersweet time for me. I really liked our pool. I was a member long before I worked at the park.”
A last look at the inside of the Grand Marais Municipal Pool. Former members of the Grand Marais pool have been watching with some sadness as the pool goes down. Nelson Machine Products has been trucking the waste to Canyon, Minnesota because 3 percent of the glue in the building has asbestos in it and the waste must be disposed in a facility that can handle the cancer-causing agent. Nelson is using a trailer that holds 49 yards of waste.
Park Board Member Robin DuChien said she had been watching the building come down with some sadness. “I spent 20 years working there. My kids grew up there. I have collected some souvenirs from the building. It’s been hard watching it come down.”
In the spring, the park crew will seed and mulch the ground where the pool stood, said Tersteeg.
Park revenues up
At the November park board meeting Tersteeg reported revenues were up 6.6 percent this October over last October.
While revenues were up, Tersteeg noted that expenses were down 22 percent for the year, largely, he said, because the pool was closed and those operational expenses were off the park’s books.
Campground and marina rates for 2015 will rise slightly. The board voted to increase daily/ weekly RV rates by 1.5 percent; boost monthly rates by 2 percent; and increase seasonal marina rates 1.8 percent. Reservation fees will also raise $2 for 2015.
Prime lakeside RV sites will be exempted from the weekly rate. Tersteeg said they are always in high demand and those sites should be charged at a higher rate. The board agreed with him and those rates will be set before the next camping season begins.
Planning ahead for Roadtrek Motorhomes
At the December Park Board meeting, members reviewed a request sent by Gary L. Hennes asking for the park to block 50 sites in the Recreation Hall area for a proposed Roadtrek Class B motorhome rally from May 27-May 31. Hennes also requested $15 per night for “no hook-up” sites because most RVs are fully self-contained. His request also asked the park to consider waiving the nonrefundable reservation fee of $7, allowing one camper and trailer to serve as the rally headquarters at no charge; providing exclusive use at no charge to the recreation building for group gatherings and use of the parking lot for the rally headquarters for dealer and sponsor displays.
Hennes also wrote, “The date chosen corresponds with North House Folk School ‘Northern Landscapes’ annual event. A ‘kick-off pizza potluck’ at North House is in the works for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27 to provide time for a welcoming message and an overview of North House and its mission.”
The board reviewed group sales and discounts and decided to offer a special “shoulder season” promotion of 20 percent off your stay for organized groups of 20 or more in May and October. The hope is to attract more rally groups who are looking for discounts during slower times at the park. Dave will contact Hennes and let him know his group is welcome to come to the North Shore, with a discount.
Also at the December meeting, the board made a decision to keep nightly camping rates “off-peak” for September and talked about the final days of the municipal pool building. Tersteeg shared plans with the board about using the old pool parking lot as an express check-in area for folks with reservations. On busy summer days, this could relieve a lot of congestion and back-ups on the hillside around the park office. Reservations for the 2015 camping and boating season will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, January 5.
In other park business
. Late October, during winterization, a slow leak on the season water system was discovered. After about a week of digging, the maintenance staff located a water leak in the west side of the park that was costing the park about $1,000 per month, said Tersteeg.
. Two citizen park board seats will be open for appointment in January: Robin Duchien and Sally Berg’s terms are up. City Council liaison Bill Lenz’s seat will also be appointed in January. Positions will be advertised in the News- Herald on Boreal and WTIP radio and applications are available at City Hall.
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