Design firm hired to determine scope of work.

There's an old Carpenters' song called We've Only Just Begun, and indeed the carpenters might be called in during the next phase of a non-profit group’s work in preserving and sharing Fishtown.

The Fishtown Preservation Society announced it has hired a design company in Ann Arbor owned by a Leelanau County native to determine how much work is needed to shore up the piers and buildings that collectively have been referred to for decades as Fishtown.

But don’t worry, said Craig Miller, a retired labor attorney who has been instrumental in forming a non-profit group to purchase most of the north side of the Leland River below the dam. The goal is to keep Fishtown as, well, Fishtown.

“We want to (maintain Fishtown) by keeping it as a real-life place in history,” said Miller, who added that the Fishtown Preservation Society has no desire to create a “Disneyland” attraction.

But first things first. A design company is being hired partially through a state Coastal Management Zone grant to evaluate the substructure of Fishtown, and make suggestions for the future. Hired was the design firm of JJR, L.L.C, which is owned by county-born Douglas Denison who grew up fishing in the Leland River. The company has gained a reputation in such projects, having also worked on the Navy Pier in Chicago.

The grant will provide $45,000 for design work — meaning the Fishtown Preservation Society has to also come up with $45,000. While the non-profit group was successful in raising $2.6 million in cash and pledges toward the purchase of Fishtown from the Carlson family, it still has a mortgage to pay along with maintenance and program costs. The deal closed on Feb. 7, 2007, following more than a year of fund raising. The society is now hoping to raise $2 million over the next five years.

“We own it with a substantial mortgage,” said Miller. “We own it like everybody owns their home.”

The group has a steady flow of rental income to help, as all four charter boats and 12 retail businesses renting space in Fishtown stayed on after the sale. All have located in Fishtown for at least five years.

“I feel in talking with the tenants how invested they are in that place,” said Miller.

But the society wants to be more than a landlord. One priority: to keep commercial fishing.

Quotas in catches set by court decrees have placed the limit for whitefish harvested out of Leland at 56,000 pounds — not enough to keep a fishing business viable. However, the 90,000-pound quota in chubs comes closer to meeting expenses, Miller said.

The society has hired commercial fisherman Alan Priest to skipper the Janice Sue fishing tug, which is celebrating its 50th birthday. A second tug, the Joy, may be incorporated into fishing plans in the future.

The tugs and commercial fishing licenses came with the sale of Fishtown. The Carlson family is maintaining Carlson Fishery, a retail outlet in Fishtown that is expected to become a primary buyer of chubs harvested with trap nets out of Leland.

“We plan to pull both boats out in late October, and give them an overall, cosmetically as well as mechanically and structurally,” said Miller.

Throughout changes that may come to Fishtown, Miller said the society would invite — and listen to — input from local governments and community members.

“People are going to have an opportunity to come in and talk,” he said.

Meanwhile, the society has hired Omena resident Amanda Holmes to oversee operations. She has a doctoral degree in folk lore, and authored the history book for Omena. Born in Lake City, Holmes became enamored with Leelanau County while attending Interlochen Academy for the Arts. Eventually, her parents moved to Omena.