I have attended meetings regarding the Cook County Community Center since at least August 2005. Early on the committee was the Community Center Revitalization/Recreation Committee. Its purpose was to determine the best location for a community center and various athletic facilities in the acreage owned by the county and the school district west and north of the school.
With the funding from the 1% referendum, the committee’s work was redefined. During the early months any interested person or representative of an interest group was encouraged to participate, but the final authority remained with the county commissioners. After the 1% referendum was passed, a more formal Community Center Steering Committee was formed. I wasn’t selected as a member until March 2012. However, I continued to attend meetings as an interested citizen.
The task has been very complicated. For example, just the issue of level ground for athletic fields or location of facilities has been difficult due to bedrock. Another issue was water drainage and wetlands. These issues took time and money to make good decisions, as did determining the estimated cost of various proposals. One good thing that emerged has been the interest of the Duluth YMCA.
The end result will be a community center building adjacent to athletic facilities that will be a great asset to this community for many years. Compromises have been made and perhaps will continue to be made as efforts continue to complete the project within budget and to design a facility that can operate with less tax revenue than is currently spent by the county and city of Grand Marais for recreational programs and facilities. It is possible that we will regret some compromises in future years. We may wish that some rooms and facilities were bigger. Nevertheless, the committee is working hard to be conservative and realistic regarding construction and operating budget estimates.
There is a lot of work to be done to make this project a reality. Relationships with the school and the YMCA need to be formalized. Detailed architectural drawings still need to be created and then bids let before construction can start.
In the meantime, I want to encourage everyone to support this project. It has taken a long time to get where we are in the planning. But, things are falling into place.
Gene Glader
Community Center
Steering Committee
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