This time there are pictures. The more than 50-year saga of building a safe harbor marina on Agate Bay in Two Harbors added a chapter this week with the unveiling of detailed illustrations of proposed administration and public buildings.
The two-story main building would offer toilets and showers and other amenities such as a laundry room, a concession area, a meeting room and a ramp to get from one level to another. The building would face the marina west of the current boat launch area. Its main power supply would be solar panels pointed to the south.
"This is just what's been floated out," said Cheryl Erickson, a DNR consultant on the marina and boat launch project. "It's probably way closer to what you will see on the ground."
There also will be a large and small boat service area at the site that goes with a storage mezzanine. A fish-cleaning house could go along with the project.
The DNR will be refurbishing the boat landing on the bay next spring with a temporary landing installed at Burlington Bay. The bulk of the project will be in reconfiguring the landing's parking areas and installing permanent restrooms. The parking lot probably will be closed all year.
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Bids have come in for the project from four contractors, all about $400,000 over projections.
Larry Killien, the harbor program coordinator with the DNR, said an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers for the entire marina project could come by the end of the year, which could lead to help getting federal money for the project. It allows the Corps to work on the project.
Once work begins on the marina -- no start date has been set -- it's likely to take two years to finish.
Two Harbors Mayor Randy Bolen said there are plans to meet with legislators in Washington on the future of the project.
