The Cook County Historical Society is applying for a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society that would allow it to purchase the Bally Blacksmith Shop in Grand Marais. The grant would require the county to own the property, although it could eventually turn its ownership over to the historical society. The building, built in 1911, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The society hopes to eventually open the building to tours.
The county’s support for the Cook County Historical Society’s application for a grant to purchase the Bally Blacksmith Shop in downtown Grand Marais almost stalled out on February 26 over the possibility of testing for environmental contaminants on the historic property.
A small crowd of historical society members sat behind Museum Director Carrie McHugh and President Gene Erickson as they presented the opportunity to the county board.
The heirs of the late Bill Bally’s wife Karen’s estate have offered to sell the property to the Cook County Historical Society for $130,000, below the appraised value of $148,000 and the taxable value of $143,200. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Minnesota Historical Society is considering special grant requests in order to utilize funds left over in this biennium from the state Legacy Amendment Historical and Cultural Grants Program. A document from the Cook County Historical Society states, “The Minnesota Historical Society is offering a special round of grant availability from their Arts and Cultural Heritage (Legacy) Fund. This round will be less competitive, which is important for this project because few grants are ever given for the purchase of historic properties.”
The grant application is due March 15, and in a letter to the board, Erickson wrote, “We are told that this project is highly regarded and has a good possibility of being funded.”
The grant request is for $170,000, which would cover additional funds to “stabilize” the property, according to Erickson. The Minnesota Historical Society has recommended that the Cook County Historical Society partner with the county because they usually do not fund grants that are more than 20 percent of the grant recipient’s annual budget, and $170,000 is double the historical society’s annual budget, Erickson said. The county has been in partnership with the historical society since 1966 when the historical society began managing the county’s Lighthouse Keeper’s Residence Museum property.
Cook County would own the Bally Blacksmith Shop property and the Cook County Historical Society would maintain and manage it.
“The Bally’s Blacksmith Shop is a wonderful and unique property,” Erickson wrote, “being one of only two original shops in Minnesota. …The Cook County Historical Society has done much to preserve the history of our county and will act as responsible stewards of this significant site.”
While the county board was willing to partner with the historical society and would own the property, the board spent considerable time discussing concerns over whether the ground around the building had contaminants that would need remediation. Erickson said he is not aware of any possible contaminants that could have been left on the property since the building was built in 1911 other than coal, coal ash and horse urine. Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson said since the building would be preserved in its current state, testing for things like asbestos and lead paint would not be necessary.
Erickson said the historical society would be willing to take financial responsibility for cleaning up any ground contamination, but County Attorney Tim Scannell said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency could still hold the county—because of its “deeper pockets”—or even former owners responsible for cleanup. When asked if the risk of environmental contamination could be compared to former gas station properties, he said, “It’s definitely apples and oranges. …Clearly, it is not like the gas station scenario.” Nelson agreed.
Erickson said he was concerned that the historical society would lose out on the grant opportunity if the county’s partnership were contingent on successful investigation into and resolution of any contaminants in the ground since the money was available now and the applications were due soon.
The board passed a motion to form a partnership with the Cook County Historical Society to facilitate the purchase of the property and the buildings on it and passed another motion to enter a purchase agreement with the historical society and the sellers, contingent on an analysis of the soil around the building, the existence of a marketable title, review by the county attorney’s office, $2,000 in earnest money being paid by the Cook County Historical Society, a purchase timeframe of at least 15 months, and receipt of grant funding.
After the meeting, Planning & Zoning Director Nelson found a consultant who agreed to do the soil analysis for $2,000, an amount the board had said it would be willing to pay.
The county could turn the property over to the historical society after a minimum partnership duration of five years required by the grant.
In other county news:
After a brief public hearing, the county board passed a motion making the Cook County ATV Ordinance permanent. The original ordinance will sunset in July.
One change in the new ordinance will be that ATVs will now be allowed on, shoulder of the Gunflint Trail from where it begins on Highway 61 up to County Road 60 (just before Hedstrom Lumber Company). Previously, ATVs could only ride alongside the Gunflint Trail up to County Road 8 (Devil Track Road at the golf course).
A memo from Cook County Highway Engineer David Betts recommended the change for two reasons, saying, “First, we have reviewed the width of the driving lanes and shoulders and have determined that allowing ATV traffic along this section of CSAH 12 does not pose a safety hazard. Second, we feel that this change would actually enhance rider safety by eliminating three County Road 55 crossings for riders traveling this part of the county.”
The Highway Department will be going out for bids on rehabilitation of the westernmost 5.9 miles of County State Aid Highway 7 (CSAH 7) from CSAH 6 to where it meets Highway 61 on the west end.
Assistant Highway Engineer Sam Muntean said the asphalt on the road now ranges from 2 to 11 inches thick. The new surface will be 4½ inches thick.
The work is expected to begin in June and be done by August 3.
The board agreed to act as the fiscal agent for the Superior Cycling Association in an application for a $46,050 grant from the Federal Recreational Trail Program, administered through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
The grant funding would be used to add 1.8 miles to the 6.5 miles of mountain bike trails already built at Pincushion in Grand Marais and 2.2 miles to the 5 miles already built at Britton Peak in Tofte.
If the grant is awarded, matching funds of $15,350 will cover 25 percent of the total cost of the project, budgeted at $61,400.
Information Systems Director Danna MacKenzie updated the board on the progress of implementing the state’s Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) radio system throughout Cook County. It will allow different governmental and public service entities to communicate as needed and will increase the availability of radio coverage throughout the county.
MacKenzie said at least 41 user groups would be using the ARMER system in Cook County.
Highway Engineer David Betts said his department’s new equipment is working well.
MacKenzie said small towers might be installed at the Cook County Law Enforcement Center and at the courthouse to allow ARMER radios to work inside the buildings.
A grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may cover some of the equipment costs the county planned to cover through bonds it took out last fall.
Commissioner Sue Hakes said Lake County was able to cover the cost of migrating to the ARMER system completely through grants. Sheriff Mark Falk said that was because they took one deputy off patrol and had him do nothing but apply for grants. Information Systems Director MacKenzie said grants have paid for 70 radios in Cook County so far.
The purpose of the ARMER system is to facilitate communication among public service agencies during emergencies.
Leave a Reply