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After withdrawing the request to the City of Grand Marais for a variance, North House put its campus plans on pause to host a month of listening sessions. This included hosting six public meetings, engaging in many other conversations, and receiving several letters and phone messages. While several conversations are still underway, North House is pleased to share with the community what was heard to date from in-depth conversations with well over 50 community members as well as shorter conversations with numerous other individuals.
“We are so appreciative of everyone who took the time to connect with us and share their thoughts. We have a lot to consider in the days ahead,” said Executive Director Greg Wright, “There are two key points I want to underscore. First, right now all of our plans are on hold, including any decision to move the historic fish house. Second, the listening sessions have helped expand our thinking about how we might move forward. I’m not sure we’re going to be able to come up with a plan that everyone believes is perfect, but we hope that in the next phase people can point at the plans and say, ‘I was heard, this is a clear step in the right direction.’”
High level themes that emerged in these conversations included: the potential impact of the proposed building on the character of the harbor and campus, impact on the views from the deck at Fisherman’s Daughter, the building’s proximity to the water and how to ensure public accessibility to the lakeshore, and wanting more clarity about the future of the fishing operations off of the dock that North House owns. There were also many comments affirming North House’s stewardship of and improvements on the harbor. Many individuals encouraged North House to pursue alternative locations for the classroom building – some focusing specifically on the city property and others pondering options across the street in the green building or on the newly acquired parcel.
According to Wright, over the course of the public listening sessions it became clear that many of the individuals wanted to discuss the future of the historic Scott Fish House. One participant noted that, “While you may have heard from folks ‘don’t mess with my fishermen,’ and ‘don’t mess with my fish and chips’, I think what they really meant was ‘don’t mess with our fishing heritage’”. Another shared, “The fish house tells an authentic and important story of the Grand Marais harbor. Relocating the building would harm its historic integrity.” Others underscored the building’s unique connection to indigenous history on the harbor. North House has heard this feedback clearly and is reconsidering plans to relocate the fish house. North House also understands that providing a greater level of detail in plans for the future stewardship of this structure will help the community agree on how best to move forward. Wright said, “We’re invested in working with our community to define a future for the fish house, this effort will take several months of additional planning. In the next few weeks North House will provide more clarity about how this process will work – we know this aspect is important.”
During the listening sessions, community members also shared that they were very appreciative of North House’s approach to the challenging situation, recognizing that it was not something required for a private landowner. Many also expressed their understanding that North House needed additional classroom space, and that they were in favor of North House finding a plan that can work for everyone, including the local businesses that need access behind the Dockside building. Community members said that they liked plans to incorporate solar panels to align with the city’s climate change goals and that the water capture plans would likely improve water quality in Lake Superior over the current state of the parcel.
“I have been so fortunate to see folks have life changing experiences at North House, and I want more community members to have the opportunity to be on campus and have those experiences,” Development Director Tom Morse shared, “North House needs classrooms to make that possible, and North House needs the community to feel invested if we’re going to be successful. There is not a simple solution, but we are working hard to get this right.”
A more detailed version of this report has been shared with North House’s Board of Directors, and they will meet in the coming weeks to discuss next steps. At this time there are no additional listening sessions scheduled. North House will continue sharing updates on plans for campus evolution through WTIP, the Cook County News Herald, Boreal.org, and community Facebook groups. If you would like more information, or want to add your thoughts to the conversation contact Greg Wright – gwright@northhouse.org or call 218-387-9762
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