In the hope of attracting more visitors, this summer the Cook County Historical Society (CCHS) will put up a sign announcing the historic fishing vessel NeeGee and Fishing Museum display that are located in the Grand Marais Recreational Park. The CCHS hopes to put up similar signs on its other displays throughout the community.
The Grand Marais Park Board welcomed new board member, Jennifer Stoltz, to the board at their February 2 meeting.
Stoltz is the general manager of the Cook County Whole Foods Co-op. She has served on various boards in the past, including the Cook County Chamber of Commerce and North Superior Ski and Run Club.
History on the waterfront
Carrie McHugh, director of the Cook County Historical Society, came with a request to put a 4-foot by 6-foot sign by the fishing boat Nee Gee (boat) and the fish house mockup would help draw people to the displays.
The sign would be made of pressed laminate and mounts for it might be made at Bally’s Blacksmith Shop, she said.
“We are going to try to put similar signs by the Bally Blacksmith Shop, the Chippewa City Church, the museum. … by all of our buildings and displays,” said McHugh “trying to tie them all together. Each sign will have a little bit of interpretation on it,” she said.
“I really like the idea of tying them in with all of the other sites in town,” said Stoltz.
The Nee Gee and fish house display is a big draw for the park, said Park Manager Dave Tersteeg, adding that a sign will increase visitation to the site.
The board gave McHugh the go ahead, and McHugh said the goal is to have the sign put up sometime in May.
Contractors sought for renovations
Planned renovations of the park office building are going slowly, said Tersteeg. “We’ve had two visits from contractors capable of renovating the exterior of the office building, but both have yet to offer pricing estimates, and timing of the project for spring completion may be difficult,” said Tersteeg. “The old paint did test positive for lead, so we need a contractor capable of mitigating this hazard. We are also seeking improvements to the interiors of bathhouses 1-3. They primarily need tiling for the baseboards, shower walls and floors.”
After some discussion, the board told Tersteeg he might have to start advertising for help in Duluth if no one locally would bid on the projects, which he agreed to do in light of little interest shown so far by local carpenters, painters, and tillers.
Tersteeg said the park’s facilities manager had improved the road around the primitive loop last month with five truckloads of Class 1 gravel.
In other business
At the January meeting the board asked Tersteeg to bring back a revision of the policy on the volunteer campground host position, which he presented to the board at this meeting. He advised them to take it home and look at it and vote on it at their March meeting, which the board agreed to do.
Last but not least, Tersteeg said he was working on a Greater Regional Parks and Trails Application, which needs to be in by the end of June 2016. The application calls for a lot of information and detail, he said, but if it the application is graded high enough, it will put the park in line to receive grants for projects that involve recreation on parkland or on the harbor.
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