Several of the projects to be funded by the Cook County 1 percent recreation and infrastructure sales tax are in full swing, and a couple are nearly complete.
Consultant Wade Cole of
ORB Management reported to the county board on September 25, 2012 that he would soon be scheduling an 11-month warranty walk-through at the Grand Marais Library.
Of the $1,490,000 the board authorized the library to use for its expansion project, $63,119.14 remains unspent. Commissioner Fritz Sobanja, the county board’s liaison to the library board, said the library board is under the understanding that they have until December to use the balance. He said they figured they would get a better sense of what furnishings would be needed after the new space got some use.
The library re-opened last November in its expanded space.
Projects on the Birch Grove
Community Center grounds are nearing completion, with a grand opening celebration scheduled for September 29.
Arrowhead Electric
Cooperative Inc. has crews installing fiber optic broadband lines throughout the county.
One percent tax revenue is funding the next phase of inquiry into a potential biomass fueled heating plant for government and commercial buildings in Grand Marais.
Of the $3.1 million authorized for upgrades to Superior National Golf Course at Lutsen, $390,932.34 has been spent.
Yet uncommitted of the $20 million that can be collected with this tax (along with extra costs related to bonding) is $601,886.36.
Sale of school property
Commissioners Sue Hakes and Fritz Sobanja had been negotiating with school board members Jeanne Anderson and Leonard Sobanja regarding the sale of the west wing of the ISD 166 complex for use as a community center.
The west wing and the property it is on were appraised at $160,000. The county offered $100,000 for the building with a free lease on the land under it. The school counter-offered $160,000 with a land lease of $10,000 a year for 25 years, payable upfront, plus $500 a year after that up to year 99.
The board discussed its responsibility to make the best use of the 1 percent money by being careful how much they paid the school for the west wing and decided to offer up to a total of $160,000 for some combination of both building and land lease.
Time for bids
ORB Project Manager Mark Kragenbring said he would plan weekly meetings to discuss budget, quality, and schedule. He said they would be on the lookout for ways they can save money without compromising quality.
After a first bid for the concrete work on the new hockey rink outside the current Community Center brought in only one bid, a second round brought in two bids, and the county board accepted the lower—$117,590 from K Johnson Construction out of Sauk Rapids.
Kragenbring said they had documents ready to advertise for bids on selected demolition of the west wing of the school complex and the foundation of the addition to that area. Current Community Center Director Diane Booth said she is pursuing an Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board grant that could help pay for demolition.
Help with costs
The consultants are working with Cook County Emergency Management Director Jim Wiinanen on the possibility of creating a safe room for protection in weather emergencies inside the new facility that would be paid for by federal funding the state needs to use up.
The board authorized paying community center design engineers JLG Architects an additional $6,300 to design this so a benefit/ cost analysis needed for the funding can be done. They were looking at extending exercise studio space to accommodate this use.
The board authorized paying JLG Architects an additional $8,210 to study whether or not a costly firewall would be necessary if the school retained ownership of the property underneath the new community center. Wade Cole said having the state do this would cost over $23,000.
In other county news:
. The board approved an interim use permit for Ulland Brothers to crush and stockpile gravel on the Lutsen Ski Hill Road for use on 1.6 miles of Gitchee Gami Bike Trail that is being built along Highway 61 in that area.
. The board approved a match of $25,000 for a $914,120 state Legacy Grant the Superior Cycling Association is submitting. It would enable the creation of 23¼ miles of mountain bike trail at Britton Peak in Tofte and 7¼ miles of mountain bike trail at Pincushion in Grand Marais, with up to 1½ miles of handicapaccessible trail.
The city of Grand Marais and Lutsen Township have each committed matches of $10,000, and West End businesses have promised $7,000.
. Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers reported that Dave and Jo Ann Johnson donated $200 to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Mark Falk reported that the money will be used toward the cost of a cell phone booster that will allow cell phones to work inside the Law Enforcement Center.
. All but one property owner on Tower Road have signed or said they would be signing an easement allowing Arrowhead Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI) to install power lines through their properties leading to the communication tower in Hovland. One resident wanted to check with her attorney before signing the document.
Some of the residents had refused the easement originally either because they did not want to have light pollution in their neighborhood or because they did not trust the ambiguous language in the easement AECI had sent them, which gave the company broad leeway in how wide the easement would be.
. The person to whom the county had offered the assessor/ land commissioner job turned the job down when the county refused his requests for certain conditions, which included starting with more vacation time than is customary and working four 10-hour days. The county has offered the job to another person.
Leave a Reply