One Person's Vision of What GM Can Be/What's Yours?

Dear True,

Since we know change is inevitable, isn't it best if we, the fans of Grand Marais, formulate what that change should be rather than letting the current "powers that be" stumble along in what has already been proven to be mis-guided thinking?

For instance, it is probably accurate to say that the harbor does need some tweaking since last summer it smelled of sewage for three days, but does it need a complete facelift and breast augmentation? I don't think so. Harbor Friends had a plan for a reasonable retooling, didn't they? Why do we have to sacrifice the Dragon Boat Races to the choked motor boat traffic the mayor seems to think we need? Why not add a few more (quiet) sailboat moorings and one or two more motor boat slips and call it a day? Wouldn't that be more cost effective, too? We could take the saved money and build a better library.

Instead of relying on the crass and vulgarly wealthy to keep our economy afloat, why can't we attract the type of individual we'd like to attract to the area, namely, craftsmen, artists, writers, and nature lovers? North House School is already well on the way by attracting a large number individuals who are interested in preserving historic skills like boat building, woven furniture, identifying medicinal herbs, etc. I'd like to see the Art Colony flourish as well with visiting artists who could conduct seminars for reasonable fees in exchange for a short vacation (room and board) in beautiful Grand Marais -- they could paint for themselves as well. I'd like to see more writing seminars held, possibly with famous authors. We're already the focal point of people who love nature -- let's just keep it that way by not attracting yuppies with Hummers to ruin the town.

I like it that Grand Marais has an old-fashioned feel. I think we shouldn't have any buildings taller than 30 ft. I think there should be an open airway of ten feet between buildings and no one building should have a continuous frontage of more than "x" number of feet. This would prevent any further mistakes (like Cobblestone Cove) from blotting out the views. I think all buildings should look old even if they are new. They should look like 1955 or earlier and we should have a planning commission that has an aesthetic branch to make sure no more Cobblestone Cove-type blunders get passed.

I think we should confine all fast food franchises to Highway 61 from the top of the hill west to the Howling Wolf and none of these franchises should be allowed to build modern frontages but should instead be saloons, art deco diners, or 1950's drive-ins. No golden arches, Burger King or Culver signs.

We should keep ourselves a town of small businesses and steady employment by refusing to let mass merchandisers build anywhere near us. All car lots, appliance stores, grocery stores, strip malls, etc. should have a maximum square footage limit and be confined to the east end of town. All strip malls must have each unit wear a different old-fashioned facade so they don't look so uniform and dull.

Anyway, those are a few of my thoughts. Thanks. A Fan of Grand Marais