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Year-end revenues for the Grand Marais Rec Park exceeded the 2022 budget predictions by nine percent, announced Park Director Dave Tersteeg. That translates into about $100,000 more in revenue than was expected, Tersteeg told the park board who was meeting on Tuesday, December 6.
Those “extra” dollars can be used by the Grand Marais City Council to lower the proposed 2023 levy if they so choose to use them that way,” Tersteeg said.
“All in all, it was another good year despite the weather (cool and wet), higher fuel costs, especially at the start of the year, and post-covid vacation options opening up. Our success is entirely due to our excellent staff and support from other city departments,” noted Tersteeg.
Reservations for June 2023 opened on December 1 and Tersteeg said the phones were ringing steady in the park office all morning because there was a glitch in the online booking site. Once the problem was fixed the calls to the office settled down, he said.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been working with the park on ordering two new roll-in docks for the recently completed Parkside public water access. One of the docks is 45 feet long and will accommodate larger boats using the ramp, and the other is a standard 30-foot dock. The park is also working on getting a barrier free access dock for kayaks, said Tersteeg.
2009 Recreation Area Master Plan
It’s been 13 years since the City of Grand Marais Recreation Area Master Plan was formed and it’s time to update it, Tersteeg told the park board.
The 2009 Master Plan focused on the 300 site RV/ park/campground and set goals for future community visions and land use, but it did not include consideration or content reflecting “in-water” municipal marina operations in the northwest corner of the harbor. This time around, a revised Master Plan needs to address concerns with the marina, among other things, Tersteeg said.
Park Board member Bob Nesheim noted, “There is $17 billion in the DFL Legislature. This is a great time to have your hand way up,” when requesting funding for projects.
Nesheim also asked the board to reach out to the newly elected officials Grant Huaschild and Roger Skraba, enlisting their help to get funding for park projects. Park Board Chair Stephen Aldrich concurred with Nesheim about getting the newly elected officials up to speed with Grand Marais park projects.
Tersteeg was asked if the 2009 Master Plan could be used in an application for Legacy Funds and he replied no, because the 2009 document has six bullet points and the Legacy funding requires at least 12 bullet points. “We need to have consultants re-do our Master Plan,” he said.
With that the park board voted unanimously to send out a request for proposals (RFPs) to amend and revise the 2009 Master Plan. The RFP’s must come back by January 20, 2023, to start the process.
The Grand Marais Park Board will serve as the steering committee for the city council who will adopt the updated plan that reflects the values of the community and qualifies the property for Legacy funding from the state.
The public will be involved along the whole way, said Tersteeg, adding the process could take six months to a year to complete a revised Master Plan.
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