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Grand Maras Parks and Rec Director Dave Tersteeg addressed the Rec Park board on Tuesday, November 1, and suggested the board add modest rental increases to daily and monthly rates for both the park and marina for 2023.
Before getting into the proposed increases, Tersteeg briefly discussed the recent history of park and marina operations. “Our strategy has been marginal increases yearly in the range of 2-5 percent. Most years, the board applied increases across the board, but some years we have been more targeted based upon site types to collect more from high-demand sites.”
With Board Chair Stephen Aldrich not in attendance, Kay Costello headed up the meeting. Unfortunately, Bob Neishem was also gone, so Kay, Craig Schulte and Matthew Brown were left to set the 2023 and marina rates.
Some examples Tersteeg used to illustrate his point were in 2016 when the board created a “standard” size increase of 1.9 percent and a “prime” site monthly hike of 9.2 percent. Marina rates have increased 2-5 percent over the past few years, and last fall, 2022 camping rates increased 3 percent across the board.
Tersteeg went over different scenarios for nightly, seasonal, and monthly rates. He said he felt more pressure for the park to make money in 2023 because the city council set $1.5 million for 2023 park revenues. After answering a bevy of questions, the board agreed to raise the rate by three percent. They also bumped the off-season storage rate from $77 per month to $80 per month.
So, someone with the 12-month “standard” plan will pay $123 more next year, and the 12-month “prime” plan will increase by $141 more annually. Someone with the electric/ water/sewer (EWS) three-month plan, which is $844 per month, will pay an additional $25 per month. The prime EWS monthly rate of $931 will increase by $27 more each month.
Tersteeg explained that the prime sites have lake views while the standard sites are in the back of the park or near the office.
“The municipal campground and marina collect user fees from campers, boaters, and tourists,” Tersteeg said, adding, “The net revenue from these user fees goes into the city’s general fund for budgeting by the city council. So the number one use of our revenue is citizen property tax relief.”
In other park board news:
A special event application to hold the “Oh Ole Night Parade and Fireworks” was granted. The permit was issued to Visit Cook County. The parade will take place on November 25 at 5:30 p.m. After the parade, there will be the annual lighting of the Christmas tree, some singing, and then the fireworks will light up the Grand Marais Harbor.
Tersteeg told the board he is looking for a 20-foot Christmas tree for the harbor park. Anyone with a tree that would look great in the park should contact the Rec Park office.
Revenue up from 2021
The last day for full service in the Rec Park was October 23, although the park is open for “rustic” camping. From January to the end of October, revenue totaled $1.565 million, or 2.9 percent more than last year.
Tersteeg said the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources informed him that the city couldn’t allow boats to be over-wintered on the new public water access parking lot because federal funding partners don’t allow it. So instead, Tersteeg said there was still some room for boats to be stored near the ballfield in the Rec Park.
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