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Last year was a banner year at the Grand Marais Rec Park but so far revenues are 10 percent higher this year than last June, reported Grand Marais Parks Director Dave Tersteeg, who added, “Year-to-date revenue is trending up about 12 percent over 2022.”
Tersteeg was addressing the Grand Marais Park Board on Tuesday, July 11.
Rick Crawford Excavating completed the 8th Avenue stormwater project in June, with seeding and erosion control blankets installed just before rain fell. Tersteeg said the area was greening up nicely and he gave a big shout out to Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District for funding and leading the project.
The new Parkside public water access is complete, but some warranty work needs to be done re-seeding some small areas along with fixing small cracks on concrete curbs and the concrete boat ramp as well as replacing some trees that died. KJM Contractors will do the work.
Tersteeg said the 30- and 50-foot roll-in docks were in and the city and DNR were working to purchase an ADA compliant, non-motorized dock. The DNR is also working on making a Welcome sign acknowledging all of the partners who helped complete the two-year Parkside project.
Staining and roofing was completed on the pavilion in the marina in June and the new facility looks and functions great, noted Tersteeg.
Global Specialties, the contractor building the Overlook Landing project, are making good headway. So far footings and walls have been poured and backfill added. Several more weeks of concrete work will take place before another subcontractor takes over in August and will finish the arbor and art paneling on top of the deck.
The Creative Economy Collaborative put together a memo supporting paying an honorarium to the George Morrison family for use of the late Grand Portage artist’s imagery in the mosaic metal panels of the Overlook Landing. Morrison, who was also a college professor had his works displayed in the White House and last year the United State Post Office issued commemorative stamps featuring his paintings.
The CEC supported paying the Morrison family an honorarium fee of two percent for the use of artistic elements used in the Overlook Landing at the Community Connection which has been calculated at approximately $7,500 which the park board unanimously approved.
Grand Marais Recreation Area Master Plan update
In an effort to update the 2009 Grand Marais Recreation Area Master Plan the Park Board spent about two hours meeting online with Gabrielle Grinde, the master plan project lead from HKGI, on ZOOM to talk about the online survey and information gained in stakeholder meetings.
A total of 414 online responses were received during the month of June, including six paper copies. When asked about their relationship to Grand Marais 37 percent identified themselves as visitors while 36 percent said they were permanent Grand Marais residents, 17 percent Cook County residents and nine percent identified as seasonal residents of Grand Marais.
For years there has been a community conversation about moving the softball field in the Rec Park. When asked, 37 percent said they had no opinion about the ballpark, 28 percent want to keep it where it is, 26 percent want it removed and nine percent asked for the ball field to be improved.
According to the survey results, 63 percent of respondents would like to see a pedestrian walkway along the shoreline as well as see improvements to the circulation and water quality in the marina.
In 2009 there wasn’t much in the plan about the marina, so this year there is a major focus on the waterfront.
Among the marina improvements people would like to see are: retain and improve the shoreline in the northwest corner of the marina; put marina parking elsewhere, not on the waterfront; realign the inner breakwall and open it up to improve water circulation; improve dock fuel access, increase dock availability and add slips and improve the depth of the marina to allow access for larger boats.
As for the campground, folks called for more trees to be planted, more benches, overlooks, signage, upgrade campsite utilities (water and electric) add more community fire rings, add more campsites, add a park-wide wifi, improve and expand the playground.
Gabrielle said there was 215 open-ended comments received. In these responses some called for more “signage, information, and communication regarding amenities and facilities” while others “indicated a desire not to add any more signs or amenities to the park.”
Some wanted more “campsites where possible, including more flexibility for overnight use of best campsites, while there were other comments that wanted campsites removed and says there is too much emphasis on camping in the park.”
Gabrielle added, “More comments asked for sustainability and natural resource improvements, including EV charging stations, restricting fires/smoke in the campground, and adding negative vegetation/ restoration areas.”
Gabrielle discussed taking away 30 or so campsites— about 18 high value sites—near the water that would be turned into greenspace for the public to use. Craig Schulte said he wasn’t in favor of losing revenue that helps keep taxes down for the citizens of the community. Councilor Matthew Brown asked Tersteeg to bring back numbers that would accurately reflect how much money the city would lose if those sites were removed and Tersteeg said he would do that for the next meeting.
Council asked Gabrielle to come back with a low impact plan—new bathhouse, better signage in the park, new picnic shelters, trailheads Etc. and plan that included moving campsites and expanding the marina and moving the inner break wall to create better water flows, among other things.
It’s against this backdrop that the park board will work toward making decisions about a final Draft Master Plan that will be made in the fall. There will be a public meeting held sometime in September with more information gathered before a final recommendation is sent to the Grand Marais City council who will vote to make any changes in the plan.
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