“Boy did we have some wind last week,” Grand Marais Recreation Area Director Dave Tersteeg told the park board Tuesday, October 6, 2009. “The park almost blew off the shore.”
The September 28 windstorm took down about a dozen trees in the campground but hit the Sweetheart’s Bluff trails especially hard. Rec park personnel have been clearing some of the lower trails, but the upper loop is “impassable,” Tersteeg said. “It’s amazing the amount of destruction up there.” Whole swaths of trees were blown down, he said, and they will need outside help to get them cleared.
Fortunately, the storm brought no injuries and no damage to trailers, although one large spruce fell right between two trailers.
“Hats off to the crew,” Tersteeg said of the work that has been done clearing the trees so far. Theyare creating a brush pile that may be burned in a “big bonfire” in the winter, Tersteeg said.
De-icers for marina
The new docks in the marina helped bring $40,000 in revenue to the park, well over the $25,000 projected for 2009. Removing the docks for the winter would require a great deal more labor than when they had fewer docks, however, Tersteeg said, with hundreds more bolts and boards to remove. Because of that, Tersteeg recommended installing underwater fans to keep the water moving so it wouldn’t freeze, allowing the docks to remain in place over the winter. Other marinas have used them successfully, he said.
The cost of renting a crane to remove the docks is $2,000. Theseven fans proposed by Tersteeg – called flow developers — would cost just over $3,000. Some labor would be required to put the fans in and take them out each year, and Tersteeg estimated about $1,071 in annual electricity costs to run them.
Tersteeg said if the de-icers do the job, the marina could be rented out for boat storage in the winter. He expressed a concern that harbor ice could get blown into the marina, however, and said he is researching whether any dock damage would be covered by insurance.
”
The park board voted unanimously to allow Tersteeg to pursue purchase of the flow developers. Tersteeg said the final decision would be made once he finds out about the insurance.
Two new DNR-owned 30-foot rolling docks arrived September 16 in the southwest corner of the harbor. They have been planned for quite some time.
Season ends well
This September’s campground revenue was 32% higher than last September’s, with $115,000 brought in compared to $87,000 last September. This camping season’s overall campground revenue is up 10% over last year, Tersteeg reported.
TheWTIP music festival September 12 at the bottom of the sledding hill was “a huge success,” Tersteeg said, with an estimated 500-plus attendees.
The Lions Club golf tournament September 18 brought in $1,300 that wouldn’t have been generated otherwise, since the golfers were completely fogged in all day, reported course manager Mike Kunshier.
September’s golf course revenue was $20,830, up 60% over last September’s revenue. Overall annual revenue is down slightly from last year, although the unusually cold summer may have impacted attendance.
Kunshier said he would like to offer some free golf in May to get people interested in using the course.
“The pool had a good September,” Head Lifeguard Charles Christiansen reported. Usage was up by 400 over last September, mostly from campground guests, and daily cash receipts were $2,000 higher than last September’s.
The pool has taken in $56,269 in cash receipts for the year, up 9% over last year.
Twelve people have signed up for a parent-child swim class, Christiansen said. With more certified instructors available, the pool will be able to offer more classes, which Christiansen hopes will bring more revenue to the pool.
September was good at the pool for another reason, Christiansen said. “Nothing broke!”
Budget trimming
To comply with the city council’s directive to trim $70,000 from next year’s pool budget, Tersteeg left only $5,000 in the 2010 budget for pool repairs. “We’re in a risky position when it would come to serious maintenance that would be needed at the pool,” he said. Routine repairs and maintenance would normally run around $30,000.
Tersteeg also trimmed costs by pulling out most of his and assistant park director Amber Clay’s administrative assistance at the pool, although they will be available to consult with Christiansen. Pool hours have been scaled back by about 12%.
Thecity council approved a net loss of $229,000 at the pool for 2010.
With improvements such as the new climbing wall, Tersteeg said, “It’s a better pool than it was a year ago.”
2010 rates
The board began a discussion of how to tweak campground rates to generate more revenue. Tersteeg suggested that they give a 33% discount for monthly rentals rather than a 47% discount off the daily rate. Some monthly/ seasonal sites will become daily rentals once the current users no longer make reservations.
Tersteeg recommended that they reduce the fees for the primitive sites, currently at $27 a night, to be more in line with state and federal campground rates. Twenty-five to thirty percent of potential tent campers go away because they can camp elsewhere for less than $27 a night, Tersteeg said. Those sites are used only about 40% of the time.
Master Plan approved
City councilor and park board member Bill Lenz reported that the city council voted 3-2 to accept the park board’s Master Plan. Several of the board members agreed that while some people still were not happy with the plan, more time to consider the plan would not change anyone’s mind.
“I’m really glad with the outcome,” board chair Lindsay Mielke said.
“I am, too,” said Lenz.
Solar bathhouse grant denied
A grant written on behalf of the park by the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) to install solar hot water heat in one of the bathhouses was denied. Thatapplication had gone to the Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation, but CCLEP has applied to The Laura Jane Husser Fund for another grant.
Loading Comments