Search continues for Saxon Harbor solution

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley — While the numbers still aren’t solid enough to make any decisions, the uncertainty surrounding the campground at Saxon Harbor continued to be the primary topic of discussion at Monday’s Iron County Board of Supervisors meeting.

“We don’t have to make a decision on what we’re going to do tonight, because we all know we’re not going to build a campground this year anyway,” said Iron County Forestry and Parks Administrator Eric Peterson.

He explained there are still too many details that need to be finalized before the county board can decide the future of the campground destroyed in the July 2016 storm. However, while the exact figures need to be hashed out, two rough options are taking shape.

The first would have the county rebuild the campground at the harbor, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency informed the county last month would be considered an improved project.

The improved-project designation means FEMA caps the funding available to the project, leaving the county to pay for anything above the cap.

The most recent cost estimate for the campground project is $3.4 million, Peterson said.

While the project cap has yet to be determined, Peterson said it shouldn’t be less than a project cost of $1,074,267.

“How they’re determining that is, they are looking at the cost to rebuild the old campground on the old site and giving us credit for the cost it would take to raise it out of the flood plain,” Peterson said. “Legally, we can’t put it there. We don’t have that option. But that’s how they’re using … their project cap.”

Wisconsin prohibits campgrounds from being constructed in a flood plain without an advanced warning system — something that isn’t feasible given Saxon Harbor’s proximity to Oronto Creek.

If Iron County chooses to proceed with the campground at the harbor as an improved project, FEMA would reimburse 75 percent of the capped cost — $805,700 if the $1,074,267 figure is used — with Wisconsin Emergency Management and Iron County splitting the remaining $375,000. Any costs above that capped amount of $1,074,267 would also be Iron County’s responsibility.

“FEMA and (the state) do not chip in to any overage — that’s all us,” Peterson said.

Peterson said the county is working to get the estimated project cost as high as it can to maximize the amount of assistance available.

The other option would be to use the money from FEMA and the state on an alternative project elsewhere in the county.

“Funds contributed for alternate projects may be used to repair or expand other selected public facilities, to construct new facilities, or to fund hazard mitigation measures,” Peterson said, reading from a printout. “These funds may not be used to pay the non-federal share of any project, nor for any operating expense.”

If the county proceeded with an alternative project, Peterson said it would only receive 90 percent of the capped project cost — meaning FEMA would pay $725,130 of the $966,840 cap if the $1,074,267 cap is used. In this scenario, Iron County would pick up the additional 10 percent of the capped cost in its addition to its 12.5 percent of the project cost.

“The decision that needs to be made down the line is what direction do you want to go,” Peterson said. Along with finalizing the money available to the county, Peterson said work is being done to reduce the cost of the current design.

“We haven’t done any of that work yet, because I kind of want to get some direction from you guys where you want to spend this money,” he said. “I don’t want to spend any more money on it than we’ve already spent — until we get some direction on where you guys want to go.”

Neil Gilbertson, who lives at the harbor, encouraged the board to find a way to keep the campground at the harbor — arguing not only was it key to keeping the park self-sustaining and generating revenue to pay back the county’s costs for the project, but also that the campground’s price tag wasn’t necessarily as daunting as it seemed.

Gilbertson sketched out a series of rough costs to show the biggest obstacle was the cost of moving the dirt needed to build a campground on the current site.

Roughly $1.6 million of the campground’s $3.4 million price tag comes from the need to remove dirt from the campground’s proposed site across County A from the Harbor Lights bar.

“What this boils down to is, we have dirt problem — that’s what we have here,” Gilbertson said.

He proposed several ways the county could possibly reduce that cost — such as taking the dirt to a closer location off-site, reducing the grade of the site by using the excavated dirt to raise other parts of the site, and simply dumping the dirt on the other side of the raised land being excavated and paying for the necessary wetland mitigation.

In other action:

—The board passed a resolution supporting an increase in funding for county child support enforcement programs.

—The board passed a resolution requesting an increase in funding and oversight for the state’s child protective services system.

—The board also approved the county health department’s annual report.