The Grand Marais Public Library expansion project is almost complete. The county board has awarded $3.1 million to the Cook County/Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) for renovations to Superior National at Lutsen Golf Course. The new community center is on ice pending word on whether the City of Grand Marais will contribute financially for its construction and operation. All of these projects—and several more—have been slated for the $20,000,000 in project costs that can be collected from the Cook County 1 Percent Recreation and Infrastructure Sales Tax. How will decisions be made on how big a slice of the pie future projects will get?
On November 22, 2011, County Commissioner Sue Hakes told fellow commissioners she thinks it’s time to sit down and make more of a plan for use of the remaining 1 percent money.
The county board may be feeling a squeeze from numerous directions, including the consultants it has hired to help it through the process of utilizing 1 percent revenue. Commissioner Jan Hall said she would like the board to talk about its use of the money without consultants being part of the discussion.
Last week John Wait, a consultant hired to analyze Superior National’s infrastructure and operations and to recommend a business plan, met with the board and presented his vision for bringing Superior National—and the county—financial success. The possibility of hiring his firm, Sirius Golf Advisors, to manage the course is under consideration by the EDA.
Board Chair Jim Johnson said he thought they should discuss the possibility of rehabbing the city’s municipal pool in the Grand Marais Recreation Area rather than including a pool in the proposed community center. Commissioner Hakes, the former mayor of Grand Marais, didn’t put much credence in that idea. She said she appreciated the efforts of people like Hal Greenwood and Gene Erickson who presented several contractor bids that appeared to indicate that the current pool could be revitalized for about half a million dollars, but she didn’t seem to believe the numbers. She said she believed this was “a false option. …If we could fix that pool for $400,000,” she said, “we would have done it a long time ago.”
Commissioner Bruce Martinson commended citizens like Greenwood and Erickson for coming forward with opinions and ideas.
County Attorney Tim Scannell said he doesn’t think the city is interested in operating a pool for another 20 years.
The board scheduled a work session for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 20 to further discuss how the 1 percent revenue will be allocated. It will be open to the public, but the board plans to focus on discussing its thoughts on the proposed projects rather than obtaining input from its consultants.
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