This is the southeast view of a warming house design proposed for the new hockey rink being planned for outside the current Cook County Community Center. As envisioned, it would include storage for numerous community sports as well as locker rooms, a concession stand, and a 1,266-square-foot multi-purpose room.
Cook County Community Center Director Diane Booth, along with a group of hockey proponents, brought a design proposal to the county board on January 10, 2012 for a warming house and new outdoor hockey rink behind the current Community Center. The rink is one of the projects approved for funding from the county’s 1 Percent Recreation and Infrastructure Tax.
The county board had approved an expenditure of $5,000 to pay architect Tim Meyer of The Meyer Group of Duluth to create a design with input from representatives of hockey, curling, ice skating, baseball, and softball groups.
What they proposed was a concrete hockey rink, a $700,000 warming house with storage capacity for numerous sports, and a parking lot behind the current community center at a total cost of $1,181,700.
The building, as proposed, includes two locker rooms, restrooms, a rental office, a concession booth, a 1,266-square-foot multipurpose room, storage spaces for Little League, Parent Pitch, teeball, baseball, softball, soccer, and hockey, and a garage for things like a tractor, a snowblower, a Zamboni, and synthetic ice.
The entire building would be 4,427 square feet, 2,790 of which would be heated.
Hockey parent Gail Anderson said the group sited the building for easy access to as many user groups as possible. It would be made of cinder block (with attractive siding over it), so it would last “forever,” she said.
Diane Booth recognized the fact that this proposal would add yet another building to the numerous existing and planned recreational buildings on the county land just west of the ISD 166 school complex, namely, the current Community Center and the new one being planned. “I don’t like stand-alone buildings,” she said. “It increases the maintenance costs. It increases the staffing.” The site chosen for a new community center—at the northwest corner of the county’s property east of Fourth Avenue West and between Fifth Street and the New Gunflint Trail—would leave needs unmet for numerous outdoor recreational groups, however, she said.
“A lot of what I see going into this building is what’s going into the community center,” said Commissioner Sue Hakes. “I’m going to have a tough time supporting two new buildings.”
With the new community center project on hold pending word of the City of Grand Marais’ financial support, community member Jean Mathis said she thought a new community center was unlikely. “These hockey people have been trying to get this for years,” she said, asking what more they could do to get better facilities for the youth hockey program.
The project has not been abandoned, Commissioner Hakes said. The board is simply waiting to find out who the county’s partners are.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said he is wondering if they should really build a community center on the scale that has been proposed, since the population is so small. He said he thinks the proposed warming house is closer to what the community has actually been asking for. He said he likes this design because it satisfies the needs that have been expressed and it would not need to be staffed.
They didn’t envision a building this expensive at first, Gail Anderson said, adding, “We knew you were going to have a kitten.” She reminded the board that the hockey group had been asked to come up with a proposal. “I feel like we’ve been on a wild goose chase for the past few months,” she said, pointing out that the 1 percent revenue is intended for recreational infrastructure throughout the county.
Commissioner Hakes said the board wants a design the community can afford and expressed concern over potential duplication of spaces among the proposed warming house, the existing Community Center, and the proposed new community center.
Hockey grandparent Larry Gamer said a cement hockey slab could be used for many things in the summertime, such as rollerskating, basketball, or even weddings with a tent over it. He thought the expenditure would be worth it for the sake of the county’s youth. “Yes, it’s big, but let’s plan for 10 years, 15 years down the road,” he said. “I’m willing to bite the bullet….”
Those advocating the project mentioned the 1 percent revenue being spent on improvements to the Birch Grove Community Center. The board has approved $700,000 for that project, which will include a tennis court, a hockey rink, and a warming house.
When asked how much use the current Community Center gets, Diane Booth said the Cook County Curling Club is getting priority use of the building five months of the year, but other groups use it when they don’t need it. “It’s not really built as a community center,” she said. “It’s built as a curling club.” She indicated that the idea of building a new community center came about because not all user groups were being served or could be accommodated in the existing building. The warming house being proposed would still not meet every user group’s needs, she said.
The board talked about the possibility of getting grant funding for the project, but Commissioner Hakes said she didn’t think that would be necessary since the project fits within the scope of the 1 percent tax. She was still not sold on the building, however. “This feels too big to be a warming house and not big enough to be a community center,” she said. Commissioner Sobanja disagreed.
The board will be discussing the 1 percent projects at a work session from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 24. The meeting will be open to the public, but public comments will not be solicited.
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