Mulling the Homeland issue from many views in Grand Marais

Dear True,

Those who are concerned about the proposed development should take the opportunity described by Tom Resek to meet with Matt Geretschlaeger. Matt is forthright and honest and has the best interest of the community as a whole at heart. His position of working with developers often requires that he keeps information that he gets from them confidential. This is so the developer’s idea, which is essentially the developer’s intellectual property, is safeguarded out of fairness early on in the process to protect the developer in a competitive environment. There is a time and a place where all the information about a development and a developer can and should be made public. That place and time is not at the start of the process.

As for what is now known about the proposal for a Homeland Security facility, it is an idea worthy of serious consideration and probably deserves the full support of the community. While no one likes the leadership of the Homeland Security Department; or for that mater even the name of the department, the agencies under it are necessary parts of our government and a facility to house them is in order, and locating that facility in Cedar Grove Business Park in Grand Marais is a lot better than most other places in the county; if, for no other reason, in the business park, some influence and control can be exercised by the community, especially since it will be a private developer building and owning it rather than the federal government. If the federal government were the builder and owner it could be extremely difficult to influence either the process or the outcome.

That being said it is still important to approach this from fact, not emotion.

As presented so far the building is to primarily serve the border patrol’s needs. It will have indoor garage space for vehicles, office space for up to 50 people, a space for holding seized materiel, holding cells for prisoners, and outdoor space for parking and a for helicopter pad. All of these seem eminently reasonable and necessary and it is hard to see that objections to any one of them will be sustainable. The most problematic in terms of impact on the community is the helicopter pad where as most concerns so far relate to the size of the building and to the need for cells for prisoners. 34,000 square feet is large in the context of most structures in Grand Marais, but it is really not a very big building. It is the size of about 2 Walgreen drugstores, which are in the range of 16,000 to 19,000 feet, but have no indoor parking and don’t office 50 people.

The border patrol is a necessary part of our government and the work they do requires arrest and the detention of those arrested. The detainees have to be kept somewhere while they await transport or deportation. At present they are held in other facilities, some no doubt at the Cook County jail from time to time. What is wrong with housing them in this facility in Grand Marais? Nothing based on the information we have! Contrary to what some fear mongers have been saying, this is not a federal prison being proposed and it is not Guantanamo Bay.

What is wrong with adding a facility that will employ up to 50 people in fulltime, high wage by local standards jobs, with excellent benefits? That is not 50 prison guards, but 50 professionals whose wages we are already paying.

Those who work for the several agencies that come under Homeland Security are the Border Patrol, the Coast Guard, Immigration and Naturalization, FEMA, etc. While Homeland Security is a disaster at the top, these are essential units of our government, the people who work there are our friends and neighbors, and it is in our own best interest individually and as a community to find a way to accommodate this facility.

What is wrong with a local business that does not pollute?

What should the community’s concerns be?

There should be concern about openness. There needs to be an opportunity for a reasoned discussion. If it is to be accepted it cannot be jammed down our throats as if the DNR’s Let’s Build a Huge Marina Department and the present city administration would do. The public should have as much information about this facility as do the local officials. The EDA needs to respect the confidentiality of the developers, but it should not accept any suggestion of withholding any information based on security. Those concerned should make every effort and use every legal tool should to get as much information as possible into the public domain. The Minnesota Data Practices Act and the national Freedom of Information Act should be used as necessary to get information from all levels of government.

There also should be concern about process. The EDA under Matt Geretschlaeger has a reputation for integrity and in the community’s experience in dealing with Matt, that reputation is very well deserved. However, more information is need regarding whether or not the project was properly posted as an agenda item. If it wasn’t, the EDA needs to be taken to task with a complaint to the Department of Administration.

Unfortunately, the city is also involved, and the present administration’s reputation and history is the exact opposite of integrity. There have to be serious questions asked about conflicts of interest, openness of discussion and self-dealing on the part of officials. At present the mayor and others are reportedly under investigation by the Minnesota State Auditor for past actions. The planning commission, under Hal Greenwood, is shown to be pro development at any cost and has a reputation for favoritism. All of these points need to be factored in to dealing with this project and the public should insist on open and well publicized agendas and meetings, on written, rather than verbal documentation of discussion, communications, and actions, and on transparency regarding conflicts coupled with officials stepping away where any conflict exists.

Beyond that, there are serious questions regarding the location relative to residential development, particularly as it relates to the operation of a helicopter. They are a noisy nuisance and it can be expected that they would operate at all hours which would impact not only the proposed site, but the entire city.

The size of the proposed building is not too large, but something a bit bigger could be, though perhaps not in this type of facility. This project does, however, raise the question of what is too big for Grand Marais and Cook County. This should be taken as an opportunity for a community discussion on whether a Wal-Mart or Home Depot size big box retail operation is acceptable to the area? If the answer is no, that needs to be worked into local planning and zoning ordinances now.

What will the building look like and what do we want future buildings in the area – throughout the city and county – to look like? This is the time to have that discussion and incorporate some design values into local ordinances.

How will it impact adjacent residential areas and adjacent residential development plans? This needs to be understood and dealt with now, rather than after the project is built and helicopters buzz the city at 3 AM.

How many local, permanent jobs will result and who will get them?

There are likely just as many other questions that need to be answered, but the issue needs to be dealt with calmly and optimistically and the EDA is professionally run and has earned and deserves the community’s trust. The city, unfortunately, is a poster child for ineptitude and dishonesty. Trust the EDA, but verify. Do not trust the present city administration under any circumstances.

This rant is from a friend on the far left side of Grand Marais’ common sense divide.