The walls are up and good progress is being made on the $5 million public works facility that is being built on the old Tomteboda Motel site on Highway 61 one mile west of Grand Marais. McGough Construction, which is headquartered in St. Paul, was hired by the City of Grand Marais to oversee the operation. The goal is to finish the building by the end of October and by mid-November the city will start moving its equipment to the site from the Grand Marais Recreation Park, where it is now kept.
Good news, said Eric Johnson to the Grand Marais City Council at its July 12 meeting. Despite the continuous outpouring of rain through June and now into July, work is right on schedule for the city’s new maintenance building.
Johnson is the project manager for McGough Construction Company LLC who was hired by the city to oversee the (approximately) $5 million building.
In his July 12 report to the city council Johnson said the footings and foundation were complete, the precast walls are up, joints were caulked, an acid wash on the whole building was done and water lines were being put in place.
“The bar-joists and metal decking are scheduled to be delivered July 19,” he added, and then the roof would be installed soon after.
“There were some onsite challenges with the earth work because of the rain, you can’t control the rain, but things are going good. Everything is on schedule,” Johnson said.
McGough received three bids for painting, with Steinbrecher Painting Company from Princeton, Minnesota by far the lowest bidder at $26,300. The budget for painting was $55,000.
After receiving and analyzing the bids, “We are recommending Steinbrecher. The specifications call for three coats. I questioned them, but they assured me they included that. I feel confident that they can do the work,” Johnson said.
Councilor Tracy Benson said she is uneasy about a bid that came in that low, but added, “Why am I worried about good news?” Councilor Tim Kennedy laughed and said, “Because it (low bids) aren’t always good news.”
“I feel confident that they have the scope covered,” said Johnson, who said he spent quite a bit of time talking to them by phone about their bid, adding, “and I made sure they were comfortable with it too.”
Council voted unanimously to accept the painting bid by Steinbrecher.
Next Johnson brought forth the lone bid received for the cold storage building and if the previous bid was low, this one was higher than budget for.
Lester Buildings from Superior, Wisconsin submitted a bid of $63,197 for the steel building, which was budgeted at $45,000.
After much discussion the council decided to go with the bid from Lester. All of the metal building companies in the area are busy at this time of the year, said Johnson, and that’s why there probably weren’t any other bids. Plus, he said, Lester has a “proprietary” on the roof that would have to be placed on the cold storage building, which means all of the other companies would have to use a Lester designed roof, which probably also kept other companies from bidding.
STAR Grant application
Councilor Tim Kennedy, subbing for Mayor Jay Arrowsmith Decoux who was out of town, brought forth a request for the city of Grand Marais to pay half of the matching grant application for the Sawtooth Bluff Vision and Master Plan.
The request came from Lisa Kerr, Cook County Land Commissioner/ Parks & Trails director, who said after talking with several county department heads that because this will be a joint city/county project, each should be requested to pay $3,750. Kerr went before the county board on July 19 to make the same request.
Cook County will contract with the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) who will complete the master plan for a multi-use primary trail hub at Sawtooth Bluff. Because the trail will run through state, federal, county and city of Grand Marais land and be used by motorized and non-motorized trail clubs, each will be a stakeholder in the project.
The project has been recommended for funding by the Governor’s Council on Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program (MLSCP).
Next in the process is to create a project summary that will be submitted for NOAA for approval. NOAA may take up to 60 days to review the request. Upon approval, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will begin to execute the grant agreements for a Sept. 1, 2017 project start.
The process will bring together groups of diverse stakeholders who will create a vision for this site and enable the county and city of Grand Marais to identify and prioritize development directions and make long-term plans. By February 2018, the master plan should be completed and put online.
Water Conservation Plan
Council approved a water emergency and conservation plan as a condition of the city’s permits to take water from Lake Superior. Tom Nelson, Water/Wastewater superintendent, prepared the plan.
As part of the plan, the Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Water Association, and the Metropolitan Council “encourage the city to educate its customers on how they can reduce household water use. As mentioned at the Water Supply Planning Workshops, the DNR will be contacting you periodically about progress the city has made on their water conservation goals. We encourage you to keep records of your success,” wrote Greg Root, regional appropriations hydrologist.
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