The Leland Township board approved a long-term lease with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to operate and maintain the Carp River boating access site on Carp River for public use and enjoyment at its regular meeting on April 14. The initial lease term for 25 years begins March 17 and ends at midnight on Nov. 30, 2049, but there are options for renewal and it can be extended.
The lease agreement will allow for a dock to be re-installed on the river at a future time after the former decrepit 96-foot dock was first removed over a year ago by DNR staff. The state-owned boat launch located between the Bluebird and Riverside restaurants was a popular stop for boaters, however, it had to be removed as it became dangerous and was in need of repair. The Carp Lake launch has 312 feet of frontage on the Leland River and parking for only five vehicles with trailers.
Leland Township Supervisor Clint Mitchell said they previously had a maintenance agreement with the DNR, in which the DNR operated the park and dock area, while the township was responsible for mowing the grass and placing the picnic tables and trash bins outside. With the new lease agreement, the township is now the lessee for the entire .45 acres of land owned by the state, including the parking lot and grounds. In lieu of payment, the lessee is responsible for all costs associated with operation and maintenance of the premises.
“So what this does is give us that long-term lease, it’s no rental cost, but the important thing is it allows us to reinstall a dock in the property for day-time docking,” Mitchell said. “This is something we pursued just in an effort to get a dock back on that property… if one were going to be rebuilt, it was going to have to be by the township, and to do that, the township was going to have to pursue a lease for the property, which they (DNR) were agreeable to.”
Mitchell said the township has about $7,000 budgeted this year for designs and permits to start the process of reinstalling a permanent dock. It would be a lengthy process that involves getting a design and then having that reviewed and approved by the DNR, finding the funds for it, and finally the build. The other option would be to install a dock in sections that can be taken out in the fall and put back in the spring.
“We’re essentially leasing the property from the DNR, so any improvements we make also need to be approved by them,” he said. “Everything that is added to that property will have to go through some kind of process… The cost of the dock is something I think will come from fundraising and some outside sources, it’s not something that would be in our general budget.
