Tribal officials have unveiled plans to build a 129 to 135-slip municipal marina in Peshawbestown that could be open for business as early as the 2008 boating season.

The Tribal Council of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians took actions last week that could pave the way for the dredging and construction project to begin before the end of this year.

As a sovereign nation, the tribe is not required to seek approval from Suttons Bay Township where its Peshawbestown reservation is located or from Leelanau County.

Last Wednesday, however, the Tribal Council adopted a resolution to work with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a series of studies that will help determine the exact size and configuration of the marina. A second resolution adopted by the Tribal Council last week calls on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to give the tribe up to $950,000 through the federal government’s Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG) program to help pay for the project.

Preliminary estimates put the project’s overall pricetag at somewhere between $5 million and $6 million.

The new marina would be located on West Grand Traverse Bay between Omena Bay and Suttons Bay. The upland portion of the marina would be located in what is now a parking lot directly across M-22 from the Tribal Administration building just north of the tribe’s Eagletown Market gas station and convenience store.

Most of the money for the marina project has yet to be appropriated, however, according to the tribe’s general counsel, John Petoskey. He explained that as planning moves forward, the Tribal Council will be required to consider expenditures in relation to the tribe’s Revenue Allocation Ordinance – a process that will require ongoing input from tribal members.

In addition, Petoskey said, the permitting process outlined by the state and federal governments could take around six months to complete. Within that process, members of the public – not just tribal members – will have the opportunity to provide comments in writing and in person at several public hearings required by state and federal law.

An agreement reached last month between several Michigan Indian tribes and the state of Michigan pertain to inland hunting and fishing rights and are unrelated to the marina proposal. A separate agreement based on the 1836 Treaty of Washington allows tribes to fish commercially in the Great Lakes, and years ago led to construction of a small marina in Peshawbestown that will continue to be used by tribal fishing tugs.

Those agreements have little to do with the proposed new marina, however.

Nonetheless, tribal officials say they recognize that the Lake Michigan bottomlands – unlike fish and game in the 1836 treaty area – are regulated by the State of Michigan and the U.S. government. The tribe will be required to lease the Lake Michigan bottomland from the state and seek approvals from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the new marina.

Petoskey said the marina project is seen by tribal officials as an opportunity to diversify the tribe’s economic base and as a complement to the tribe’s existing commercial enterprises.

Located within walking distance of a new tribal cultural museum now under construction in Peshawbestown – and within a stone’s throw of the Leelanau Sands Casino – the new marina could increase gaming revenue at the casino by $1.4 million annually, according to a preliminary estimate prepared for the Tribal Council. If occupancy at the marina averages 60-percent, the marina could add $1.2 million to GTB coffers every year through slip rentals – transient, seasonal and long-term.

Waiting lists at established marinas show a market exists for more boat slips locally.
At 130 slips, the Northport municipal marina is roughly the same size as the one envisioned for Peshawbestown.

“We have about 200 people on our waiting list for slips right now, and it takes years to get a slip,” said Northport harbormaster Marv Wittig. “People around here can and will use more slips no matter where they’re built.”

The waiting list is at least as long at the Suttons Bay Marina, which boasts more than 170 slips.

The new GTB marina will have some features the neighboring marinas do not have, however. Many of the slips will be designated for larger yachts, up to 80 feet in length. The maximum size in many other local marinas is 60 feet.

Current plans for the GTB Marina do not call for construction of a boat ramp, with emphasis mostly on accommodations for larger, “non-trailerable” boats.

The tribe also operates its own wastewater treatment plant serving the Peshawbestown community. Its proximity to the marina will allow the tribe to provide “state of the art” pumpout facilities for yachts. Also envisioned are on-site bathroom, shower and laundry facilities as well as a fuel station, convenience store – and shuttle service to the casino and surrounding community.

Neighbors just to the north of Peshawbestown in Leelanau Township have noted that tribal officials strenuously opposed construction of a marina at the proposed Timber Shores development. Input the tribe provided to state and federal agencies when the Timber Shores developer proposed a marina ended up scuttling that part of the project.

Tribal officials claimed that whitefish spawning beds in the area could be damaged if the Timber Shores marina was constructed.

Tribal officials note that no whitefish spawning beds are believed to be located near the proposed GTB Marina.

The developer of Timber Shores, Fred Gordon, told the Enterprise this week that he wishes the tribe well in developing its own marina.

“We had a very cordial negotiation with the tribe,” Gordon said. “Our project has been focused on developing a high quality second home community at Timber Shores – not a marina. The tribe’s plan to develop a marina is a great thing for us, and I imagine it will provide a place for some residents of Timber Shores to park their boats. So, we’re very supportive,” Gordon said.