There was a lot of good news coming from the Grand Marais Park Board last Tuesday, July 2.
First, the park board received a new member, Rita Hinchman. Rita and her husband have lived in Grand Marais for the last four years, but as she noted, “I have been coming to the Rec Park my whole life.”
Rita’s husband is retired from the Coast Guard, and both were originally from the Twin Cities.
Next, Justin Bystrom came before the board with a proposal to offer a water-skipping event over two days of the Fisherman’s Picnic. He suggested Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. each day.
So far nine locals have signed up. Justin said the field would be capped at 20 snowmobilers who use their machines to skip over the water. “We would need 100 feet of the beach with a 15-foot runway up the beach so the machines can be safely stopped,” he said.
Each machine would travel about 100 feet out and circle back. The machines would have a rope attached to them in case they sank. Three boats would be stationed at the perimeter of the skipping area and several strong men would help pull the machines from the water if they did sink.
So far Justin has contacted the DNR, U.S. Coast Guard and the local police to secure needed permits. He even agreed to talk to local businesses that might be affected by the noise of the snowmobiles. When asked if this was a money-making venture Justin replied, “No. I’m doing this all on my own. It has nothing to do with making money.”
After discussing the potential noise and possible conflicts with watercraft the board agreed to allow Justin to have three hours either on Sunday or Saturday for his demonstration. Bystrom said he was fine with that and added he hoped to build it into something much bigger in the future.
Financial report
Grand Marais Park Manager Dave Tersteeg came before the board with June revenue numbers for the park and marina. At $229,838, this June is 18 percent ($35,000) higher over June of 2018. The year-to-date revenue stands at $499,897, up $26,788, or 5.6 percent over last June.
Next Tersteeg gave the golf report.
“This June generated $25,611 in total sales, compared to $20,057 for last June, a 27 percent increase,” noted Tersteeg.
The 2019 year-to-date revenue is $52,534, compared to $45,598 in 2018, an increase of 15 percent, he added.
One idea to increase attendance that has been kicked about is to have MnDOT install a sign, or signs, in the right of way that direct golfers to Gunflint Hills.
“We can purchase a sign for one or both directions on Highway 61 at the intersection—with the Gunflint Trail on the east side of town,” Tersteeg said.
One problem, he noted, was that the advertising budget for the golf course was thin, with fewer than $1,000 dedicated to the golf course for 2019. And that’s less than the city would have to pay MnDOT ($1,109.05) to fabricate and install the signs.
“How long would it take for MnDOT to make and install one sign?” asked Craig Schulte, the city council’s liaison to the golf course. “If it took less than a month and it could be up this summer, I would be for having them make and install one sign. If it’s going to take six weeks or longer then we’ve missed the summer and we might as well slate this in for next year.”
Tersteeg said he would find out how long it took for one sign to be made and installed and the park board agreed that if it could be done within one month, Dave could order one and then see if it has an effect on bringing people to the golf course.
Art in the parks
Wild land Caribou will be back in Grand Marais.
Not real ones, of course, but the park board approved Corrie Steckelberg’s public art proposal.
Steckelberg wants to install five life-sized caribou sculptures in different parks around Grand Marais.
“I’m making sculptures of caribou because it’s a beautiful animal that used to live in the area but was driven out after the ‘pineries’ of this region were fully capitalized upon. The work is about human impact, habitat loss, and the threat of a sixth extinction.”
The only caveat is that Corrie must receive funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board and she is also applying for a Forecast Grant. She won’t be notified until January 2020 about the grant, and if she doesn’t get it, she won’t be able to do the project as slated for 2020.
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