Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Renovations to the shower and restroom facilities at the Houghton County Marina are progressing, but contractors encountered some snags along the way, including delays to roof installation due to a late season snow storm Sunday. The marina is scheduled to open to the public on May 1.

HOUGHTON – Renovations to the shower and bathroom facilities at the Houghton County Marina encountered some unforeseen circumstances that required the County Board of Commissioners to adopt a change order for the project. Change orders are necessary when unforeseen issues, design modifications, or other factors require alterations to the project’s original scope. The motion to adopt the change order was unanimously approved.

County Building Inspector Todd LaRoux told the board at Tuesday’s special meeting that he is in the process of preparing the concrete floor for an epoxy floor system, as ceramic tiles began falling from one of the interior walls.

One of the main support walls, LaRoux said, became a problem when it was opened, necessitating a new header system installation to bear the weight of the roof.

“That being said, we had to put a support post in one of the double doors, so that ended up changing the arrangement of the doors.”

“The solution arrived at was to eliminate one of the doors with a panel, which reduced the entrance to one door.”

On a positive note, the building had concrete floors poured in the new bathrooms, and all the framing is complete. Contractors were scheduled to begin constructing the new roof on Tuesday, but have been delayed due to the recent snow storm.

Last summer, the county received a Department of Natural Resources grant through its DNR Parks and Recreation Division’s waterways grant program. The grant totaled $176,000, with a community share of $44,000. The county is using the funds to address the aging and leaking roof and eaves, in addition to redesigning and constructing two new ADA-compliant showers and restrooms. A pier will also be outfitted with a mechanism to safely raise handicapped boaters and guests onto the pier and to the sidewalk/street level. The wifi signal will also be boosted to cover both of the far ends of the property.