At the October 5, 2010 meeting of the Grand Marais Park Board, rec park manager Dave Tersteeg reported that five 4’x10’ solar panels would be installed in the bathhouse across from the ball field around the middle of this month. They will heat two water tanks totaling 170 gallons.
The closed-loop system will be filled with an antifreeze compound that will continue to move by a solar-powered pump through the pipes during the winter. This will help heat the uninsulated building during the cold months and will prevent wear and tear that happens with the bathhouses that aren’t heated: paint peels off, rubber gaskets crack, and metal parts rust, Tersteeg said.
The park has not been able to keep up with the demand for hot water at that bathhouse, especially on Saturday mornings when a lot of people take showers. “This bathhouse has been plagued with not enough hot water since it was built,” Tersteeg said. He hopes the solar-heated tanks will provide the extra hot water they need during busy times.
The solar panels are expected to save the park $800 a year in water heating costs. Most of the funding for the panels came from a grant pursued by the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP).
2011 park rates
At the same meeting, the board discussed options for setting 2011 park rates, which need to be established by the end of December. Tersteeg suggested one option might be to offer discounted rates to guests who stay a full five months and charge a monthly rate to those who stay any number of months fewer than five. Thissummer, people who stayed two or more months paid $100 less per month than people staying only one month.
Currently, people who keep their trailers at the park all year must pay for at least three months of occupancy and then pay storage rates the rest of the year.
The board discussed offering lower seasonal rates for sites away from the lake to encourage people who are currently reserving spaces with the best lake views to vacate those prime spots. As those spots open up, they will no longer be rented out seasonally, which will allow more campers to enjoy them and bring additional revenue to the park since daily rates bring in more money if the spaces remain full.
Tersteeg said guests have been commenting on the small size of many sites and the lack of level surfaces. Board member Paul Anderson said the city should allow the park to spend money on site upgrades since the park makes money that supports the golf course, the pool, and local businesses.
Carol Backlund suggested that while they wait to implement changes outlined in the park’s master plan, they should start making progress on park improvements that can be accomplished now. Eventually, the county will build a ball field to replace the one currently at the park. When that happens, the ball field will be converted to camping sites.
Up to 20 sites across the road from the picnic pavilion will be getting full hookups and 50-amp service by next summer. Twelve of them will be large, pull-through sites with good lake views. Road paving by the ball field cost $7,000 less than expected, leaving $17,000 for site upgrades.
Tersteeg said the new policy of charging extra for campers who brought a second vehicle did not go over well with guests. “It made a lot of money,” he said, “but it didn’t make a lot of friends at the front desk.” Some people balked at the $6 per night charge. Before this summer, campers had been charged for extra adults, not for extra vehicles.
Paul Anderson and Robin DuChien talked about staying at parks with numerous amenities in Florida and Canada and paying lower prices than what is charged at this park. A park guest at the meeting said he has found the same thing at other parks throughout the country.
Tersteeg will prepare some rate suggestions for discussion at the next park board meeting.
Successful season
Overall, the 2010 camping season was a success, with an increase in revenues of 4% over last year. “Fine weather and very excellent staff and facilities made for another fine revenue year,” said Tersteeg.
Tersteeg expressed appreciation to Buck’s Hardware for its donation of seven trees: three crab apple and four Juneberry trees.
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