ROGERS CITY — Rogers City officials said they would consider the construction of a new “comfort station” at the city’s marina if they are able to receive enough grant funding.

City Manager Joe Hefele told City Council members at a recent strategic planning meeting that the project could be 100%-funded through a combination of grants from the state’s Economic Development Corp. and Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The marina’s existing comfort station, essentially a welcome center, is small, according to Hefele. A laundry room takes up space in the harbormaster’s office and showers and toilets there are no longer used.

Hefele said state economic development officials told him a project at Tawas’ marina was paid for entirely by grants. Hefele said those officials encouraged him to “think bigger” and suggested adding a conference center, surrounded by glass windows, on the second story of the proposed building.

A conference room would allow corporations to hold meetings or retreats and could be used for get-togethers. The new facility could also include a combination of a welcome center and laundry room, as well as indoor and outdoor comfort areas.

“I understand this would never be a priority versus a lot of the other things we’re talking about, but, if there’s a way to get 100% grant (funding) to do some of these things, it would be a shame to miss out on that,” he said.

The old comfort station would be torn down. Hefele said city officials first thought about retrofitting the existing space, but that would be more costly than constructing a new building.

Hefele told the council that $10,000 had been budgeted for architectural rendering, but has never been spent. Since the architectural work hadn’t been completed, the money is still being held in the marina’s fund balance.

The project would be the latest addition to a number of improvements at the city’s marina. The city purchased a sling-load trailer last year, which is able to lift boats out of the water for repairs or winterization, with grants from the DNR and USDA.

The harbor also added 12 life ring flotation devices, with 100 feet of rope, to the dock through a grant from the Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan.

The city is currently in the process of installing a gin pole, used for raising and lowering sailboat masts and lifting engines off of boats.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.