The county asking the Grand Marais Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to waive the standard $1,000 hookup fee for a water fountain to be installed outside the Cook County tennis courts by the new Cook County Community YMCA seemed like a simple request. But a visit by County Commissioners Garry Gamble and Heidi Doo-Kirk to the August 21, 2013 PUC meeting did not result in an answer.
The PUC dealt with the issue back in June 2010 when then- County Commissioner Fritz Sobanja asked for a waiver of the fee. The property was formerly owned by the school, but after a land trade that left the courts in county hands, the school refused to remain involved in supplying the water for the fountain that had been there.
“I don’t advocate giving it away,” Water/Wastewater Superintendent Tom Nelson had said. He said even the Grand Marais Recreation Area is charged for its water use.
“We’ve been trying to get everybody to pay for what they use,” said then-PUC Commissioner Bob Spry, “whether they’re a private entity or a public entity.”
Commissioner Sobanja had asked why it costs $1,300 to hook up the water—$1,000 for the hookup and $300 for labor and parts. Nelson replied that it pays for water supply infrastructure. “I don’t think we need Mrs. Joe Elderly to subsidize the county,” Nelson said. “We’re a revenue-generating entity.”
This time around, Gene Glader of the Cook County Tennis Association and the Cook County Community Center Steering Committee pointed out that the fountain would be used by people doing all sorts of things up there—kids at the skate park, families at the Community Center playground, baseball, soccer, and tennis players. He advocated waiving the fee, saying, “I think it would be a good political move for you guys.”
Commissioner Gamble asked for the waiver in the spirit of partnership with the city.
City Administrator Mike Roth said the old fountain had leaked. “The grass was beautiful around it but no one was taking care of it.”
The old fountain was vandalized and it froze in the wintertime, Water/ Wastewater Supervisor Nelson said. He recommended installing the fountain onto the outside of the new Cook County Community YMCA, which would not require a separate meter. He said taxpayers should not have to pay twice for a water hookup or ongoing water service.
Commissioner Gamble thought maybe the users of the fountain would want it closer to where their activities were, however.
“Another 20 or 30 feet isn’t that much farther to fill your water bottle or get a drink,” said Nelson.
Who will be responsible for maintenance of the fountain needs to be decided, said Commissioner Gamble. He said maybe they should talk to Cook County Maintenance Director Brian Silence.
Nelson said Silence was dissatisfied with operation and maintenance of the fountain. Glader said the county has never been in charge of maintaining the fountain.
“We’re down the road quite a ways on this project,” Glader said. The fountain was purchased some time ago and installation of a sidewalk outside the tennis courts has been delayed until a decision is made on the fountain.
Commissioner Gamble said he did not like making decisions out of a sense of urgency.
The placement of the fountain affects the city’s water system, Nelson said. The fountain cannot be installed as close to the hydrant as the plan he had been told about called for, but no one had officially asked for his opinion.
Administrator Roth said he had not seen a proposal for placement of the fountain or the water meter. The county has retained Edwin E. Thoreson Inc. to install the fountain. He said he was sure there was “an engineering solution” to the problems brought up by Nelson.
The county needs to know what the city’s guidelines are, Commissioner Gamble said.
Gene Glader said he assumed the fountain and the hydrant would be put in the proper location. Where it goes is a different issue from waiving the fee, which is what the county was requesting, he said.
PUC Chair Karl Hansen said he was not comfortable approving the request if city staff did not think it was a good plan or if it had caused problems in the past.
They need some concrete plans from the county, said PUC Commissioner Tim Kennedy—“a design that is acceptable to our water department.”
“I don’t think anyone is disagreeing that we want a water fountain up there,” said PUC Commissioner Adam Harju.
Commissioner Gamble will work on coming up with more specific and workable plans to bring back to the PUC. Explosion
Electric Superintendent Mike Taylor reported that the loud explosion early the previous morning near Eighth Avenue West was caused by a squirrel. The unfortunate creature did not survive its contact with a transformer.
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