Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
SAXON HARBOR'S campground is beginning to take shape as construction equipment is staged on site and structures are taking shape, as seen here Friday. Iron County officials said they expect to open the harbor's marina in mid-May and hope to complete construction by June 30 with an opening planned later this summer.
By RICHARD JENKINS
SAXON, Wis. - With the arrival of warmer weather and the beginning of the construction season, work is under way to complete the rebuilding of Saxon Harbor after flood waters destroyed it in the July 2016 storm.
Saxon Harbor's marina was completed last summer, therefore the focus is now on completing the harbor's campground.
"(Snow Country Contracting) has ... started working again for the spring, they spotted a bunch of equipment and materials (at the harbor) before road restrictions came on that would allow them to get started working when the weather permitted - which is now," said Eric Peterson, Iron County's forestry and parks administrator. "They're currently working on completing the bathroom shower building, and they're beginning to do some more site work on the campground."
Peterson said work on the campground - which will consist of six tent sites and 26 new RV sites located across County A from the Harbor Lights tavern - remains on schedule to be substantially completed by June 30, which would allow the campground to open several weeks later.
"We are anticipating the campground being able to be open probably some time in the later part of summer," he said, explaining planting grass and other finishing work on the campground will need to be completed after the target date. "We're shooting for like late July, some time in August, to be able to open the campground."
Although the campground isn't expected to be open until later this summer, Peterson said the boat launches are currently open and the plan is to open the marina for the season sometime in mid-May when road restrictions are lifted and docks can be installed.
The rebuilt marina has 81 slips, and is about 70% full. The number of slips is down from the previous figure of 91, but Peterson explained the smaller number was a reaction to people buying larger boats now than when the marina was originally designed.
The county plans to staff the marina seven days a week once it opens, according to Peterson. People could contact the forestry department for information on renting slips for the season or other Saxon Harbor questions.
Along with the construction effort, Peterson continues to work on the process of getting the county reimbursed for the Saxon Harbor project.
Iron County is expected to have 87.5% of all eligible costs for the Saxon Harbor project reimbursed, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency providing 75% of the reimbursement and the state of Wisconsin providing an additional 12.5%
The Iron County Board of Supervisors heard Tuesday that an agreement had been reached with FEMA on the eligible costs for dredging work at the harbor and Iron County was expected to get the final check closing that project in the coming months.
"We've come to an agreement with FEMA on the reimbursement amounts, there were a few things that were under appeal - those have been resolved - and then there were a few items we needed to move into the marina project for FEMA. But, we've got FEMA's questions answered," Peterson told the Daily Globe, saying the county will receive 87.5% of the dredging project's total $1,514,977 cost.
Although work on the marina is completed, Peterson said the reimbursement process remains ongoing as the county is sorting out who is responsible for what part of the over $6 million cost.
The amount will be paid through a combination of funds from FEMA, the state of Wisconsin, Iron County, the county's insurance agency and various grants Iron County has received for the project.
If all goes well, Peterson said he hopes the marina reimbursement process will be completed in early 2021.
He also said he expects the campground reimbursement process to be easier, as FEMA determined it was an improvement project - meaning the amount of funding available is capped and much of the process of determining what's eligible for reimbursement has already been determined. He said the county expects to receive roughly $1.52 million in funds towards the campground project.
Unlike previous years when Iron County officials encouraged residents to avoid the harbor to allow work to continue, Peterson said residents were welcome to come and use the marina and day areas and asked they respect the construction workers and work on the campground.
Although Peterson said marinas were deemed essential under Gov. Tony Evers' orders designed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the harbor's pavilions, playground equipment and fish-cleaning station remain closed.
Peterson asked those using the marina and day use areas to practice proper social distancing techniques as required so the facilities that are open can remain usable.
"I would like to be able to keep things open, if at all possible, for people to be able to use." Peterson said. "They've got to help us help them keep (those areas) open."
