City and North House Folk School continue lease discussion

A year ago there was significant discussion of the North House Folk School’s lease with the city of Grand Marais. That discussion continued at the most recent meeting of the Grand Marais City Council.

Back in August 2017, Greg Wright of North House Folk School appeared before the city council to answer questions about a folk school request to extend its lease for use the waterfront property.

The city of Grand Marais owns the property on which the North House Folk School is located. The city leases the harbor side property to the school for approximately $7,000 annually.

North House’s current is lease for 25 years, of which 11 years now remain.

The lease agreement also outlines performance criteria for North House, in areas such as enrollment, campus management and financial strength. Under the agreement, if North House meets or exceeds these performance criteria by 2029 when the lease period ends, North House has the option to renew the lease for another 25 years.

However, in the meantime, North House has made a request to change the lease time frame by either:

1. Extending the term of the existing lease to 50 years
2. Extending the term of the existing lease to 50 years with an automatic renewal option, provided the folk school meet agreed upon performance criteria OR
3. Extending the term of the existing lease to 99 years.

North House listed ways that the school and its mission match the city’s strategic planning efforts and value statements, such as providing jobs, ways to get people moving and opportunities to be outdoors.

No decision was made back in August 2017 and City Administrator Mike Roth told WTIP it is a good time to review the list and restart the discussion, as the city has a new attorney and there are two new councilors on board.

Rhonda Silence shares more on the city discussion of the North House Folk School lease with the city.