We’ve already shared news for the first six months of 2023. The remaining front page news of the Enterprise is below.
JULY 6, 2023
A new housing initiative led by local business owners in Northport, currently in the conceptual design phase, is well on its way to progressing into potential reality. The current plan would include three buildings across 5.9 undeveloped acres on North Warren Street between W 6th and 7th Street. A total of 48 units would make up the design, and would stay within the prevailing height restrictions while combining multiple dwellings into “highly efficient” 16-unit buildings. There would be approximately 81 feet of eastfacing frontage on Warren Street, which is anticipated to be used for only pedestrians and drive access in the proposed development area. In addition, the parcel has 667 feet of westfacing frontage along the Northport Creek Golf Course. Public feedback for the proposed development called “Fairway Residences” has so far been positive and welcoming, with a goal to help bring affordable housing to the Northport area. *** At a time when much of the recent news surrounding Leelanau’s biggest fruit crop has been negative, local cherry farmers Phil and Sarah Hallstedt are getting a little love from outside the “Cherry Capital of the World.” The New York Times (NYT) will be at Hallstedt Homestead in Leelanau Township, Saturday, July 15, for a free cherry picking experience and food demonstration that puts cherries front and center. *** If you live in Glen Lake Community School District, or near it, somebody will be giving you a call to gather intelligence about how the community feels about a potential millage increase for projects to modernize the school. How they got your number? Well, that’s a different story. Mouthpiece Communications, a public research firm based out of Lansing, has been hired by the school to survey the roughly 2,700 voting households in Glen Lake School District to probe if it’s the right time for a millage raise, and if so, how much?
JULY 13, 2023
While not cast as tight as a college halftime show, there was a certain sense of rhythm to the work of a group of roughly 20 volunteers who showed up Tuesday morning with little notice to help wrestle 1,200 feet of burlap to the bottom of Lake Leelanau in the fight against Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM). *** - Four potential candidates are in the running to fill the Northport Village manager position, with interviews scheduled as soon as Monday at 10 a.m. Kristi Fischer, Trudy Galla, James Dyer, and Elizabeth Sweeney submitted their letters of interest for the new open position that was announced by the village of Northport in June. Chet Janik, former Leelanau County administrator, was hired in the meantime as interim manager in April to help in the search process for a permanent manager candidate. Janik is a consultant for the Michigan Leadership Institute, a service organization that does much of its work with school districts, superintendent searches, strategic planning, governance, and local bodies of government. *** Growers in northwest Michigan have started the process of delivering a tart cherry harvest that adds up to about half the weight of the 2022 crop, but no one in the industry is worried about a fruit shortage. Despite an unexpected federal government purchase last month of the equivalent of 26 million pounds of tart cherries — which represents nearly 15% of the estimated poundage of the crop now being harvested — commercial freezer space remains filled with cherries from 2022. *** Suttons Bay Township staff were on the receiving end of some criticism last week. The group that led crowdfunding for a new dog park in Herman Park expressed their distrust in the individual assigned to the project and announced they will “put pressure on” the township board to replace him. In social media posts and a letter to the editor of the Leelanau Enterprise, Liz Mahaney of the Suttons Bay Dog Park Ambassadors said that the dog park project was delegated to the township’s parks supervisor, who is former township trustee Bill Drozdalski.
Drozdalski, who is only referenced as the parks supervisor and never identified by name by Mahaney, is alleged to have “incompetence and lack of integrity.”
JULY 20, 2023
Interviews with the first two candidates for the Northport manager position commenced Monday morning, starting with James Dyer and Trudy Galla. Last week, the four candidates for the manager position, open since June, were announced, following the release of interview times set for this week. On Wednesday, the Northport Village Council will wrap up the remainder of interviews with Kristi Fischer and Elizabeth Sweeney. After council members have talked to all four candidates, the board will come back at another date for a second round of interviews to narrow down the final choice. *** The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) will distribute a total of $163,177, which is about 27% of its video gaming revenue known as 2% funds, to Leelanau County organizations and agencies. Suttons Bay Public Schools is receiving the highest amount among distributions in the county, with $109,000 going to funding to support the Title VI Indigenous Education Program that focuses on supporting students culturally and to focus on reading comprehension, study skills, and graduation. *** Jon Smith’s life and obituary were put on canvas 18 years ago. In a Rockwellian setting captured by famed Leelanau portrait artist Fred Petroskey, Smith’s arms rest on the back of his barber chair, razor in one hand and scissors in the other.
Tonsorial tools of the trade fill the back of his workbench playing second fiddle to a shaving brush at the ready. Smith is flanked to his right by an antelope mount, fishing poles and semi-auto shotgun; to his left are dusty photos and documents with meaning to anyone who knows anything about Leelanau County. And there’s Smith, who passed last week, front and center bearing a boyish grin framed by his signature handlebar mustache. *** The Leelanau Enterprise has earned 26 awards in the National Newspaper Association’s Editorial and Advertising Contest. Perhaps the most meaningful was a third place in general excellence among nondaily papers with circulation of 6,000 to 9,999.
JULY 27, 2023
After talking with four candidates and wrapping up the final two interviews this week, the Northport Village Council narrowed down its selection on Tuesday and chose to offer the job to James Dyer, who comes with more than 30 years of experience as a municipal management professional. Dyer is currently a seasonal resident looking to relocate to the area from his home downstate in Marshall, where he’s been a practicing attorney and has spent much of his career advising local governments. *** Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a record-setting, bipartisan $24.3 billion education budget at Suttons Bay Public School Thursday. The largest school aid budget in Michigan’s history aims to make historic investments for kids and their families in the 2024 fiscal year, including ensuring that 1.4 million students get free breakfast and lunch at school and an early childhood education with steps towards pre-K for all. *** After 51 years of art, love, life, and business, Tamarack Gallery owner Sally Viskochil announced Tuesday the gallery will close for good on Tuesday, October 31. *** The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners usually approves county employees’ requests to purchase service credits, but a recent request was met with some controversy at the July regular meeting because of the recent results of the county’s financial audit. The county board narrowly passed a resolution allowing a county employee, Sergeant Jennifer Hull of the Leelanau County Sheriff ’s Office, to purchase service credit through the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS), by a 4-3 vote.
AUGUST 3, 2023
Although the season is fading, there’s hope that ferry service to North Manitou Island will begin sometime this month following a dredging project. But the timing won’t help turn a profit for Manitou Island Transit, the fourth generation company that has been ferrying people and goods to the Manitous for more than 100 years. Co-owner Jim Munoz said he’ll fire up the Mishe Mokwa ferry to make North Manitou trips although the company has already lost 40% of its revenue for most of the tourist season. *** The short-term rental market is always a topic of heated debate on the peninsula, depending on whom you ask. After consecutive years of record-breaking revenue, how is the short-term rental market performing through July 2023? Simply put, the market has returned to a more typical level. Almost a year after local Leelanau Vacation Rentals (LVR) sold to national behemoth Vacasa Rental Management, Kailey Dykstra, the owner relations manager, says the short-term rental market has remained steady. *** Leland harbor master Jeremy Anderson has watched county deputies leave protected water for the swells of the Manitou Passage, exchanging safety for a call to duty that comes with a badge. He’s hopeful that everyone will be safer, from lifesavers to boaters in distress, with the purchase of a 31-foot patrol boat built to handle the waters of the Great Lakes.
*** A Lake Leelanau woman already facing criminal charges in connection with an accident that killed a pedestrian, now faces a wrongful death lawsuit. Christen Landry is the defendant in a five-page complaint filed in 13th Circuit Court on behalf of the estate of Evelyn E. Kellogg, who died Dec. 9 of last year. Kellogg was walking her dog northbound on the shoulder of Lake Shore Drive when she was struck by a northbound vehicle driven by Landry, whose blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was .084, according to the criminal complaint. Landry has been charged with operating while intoxicated causing death — a 15-year felony.
AUGUST 10, 2023
As summer peaks and gives way to autumn, local restaurants and wineries anxiously assess their performance in 2023. Jody Hayden, owner of Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate and a new gelato shop, reports it’s been their busiest July ever. *** Permits are being sought to build the first three-story building in downtown Leland, which is drawing a rebuke from critics who don’t like its looks. A citizens meeting has been scheduled for next Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Leland Library Munnecke Room by former Leland Township Planning Commission chairman Keith Ashley. He’s hoping to organize opposition to an 11,590 square foot commercial and residential structure occupying adjacent 50-foot lots at the southwestern intersection of William and Main streets, which happens to be the corporate name of the builder. The commercial property, which is 100 feet square, is located across from the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Building. Homes occupy lots to either side and to the rear. *** The Glen Lake Board of Education’s meeting Monday promises to be the most crucial in recent years, as members may decide on ballot language for a bond proposal set for November 7. During a special meeting the board debated details about a proposed 1.75 millage rate increase spanning 20 years. This increase would generate approximately $36.5 million for various renovations. *** Several people have reported that a third party fraudulently attempted to sell their property in Leelanau County without their knowledge, the county register of deeds says. In each case, the real estate scams targeted vacant land owned by people who primarily live out of town.
AUGUST 17, 2023
Voters in the Glen Lake School District will decide the fate of a $36 million bond proposal in November. The school board voted unanimously Monday to place the proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot that would fund district wide facility upgrades. *** Point Broadband is expected to start offering high-speed internet through their partially completed fiber-optic cable network to homeowners in Elmwood and Solon townships by the end of the month, according to a Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation update last week. The broadband network will eventually reach over 3,500 “unserved” addresses throughout Leelanau County, but possibly later than expected, as the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners approved an amendment to the construction agreement Tuesday that pushes back the project deadline by six months, from the end of this year to June 30, 2024. *** Despite all odds and only having a few days to work with a new bird, 17-year-old JC Oosse took fourth place in showmanship at the annual Northwestern Michigan Fair. He also took third place in market with his production panel of Rhode Island Reds, earning $21 a pound at auction for his chickens totaling 24 pounds. *** Temperatures of critics opposed to the look of a proposed three-story mixed use building in downtown Leland were expected to moderate at a citizens meeting scheduled for yesterday and called by the former head of the Leland Township Planning Commission. Keith Ashley, who voiced concerns over architectural drawings of an 11,590 square foot commercial and residential building proposed on adjacent lots at the southwestern intersection of Main and Williams streets, said he had a “good conversation” with developer Joel Peterson during the past week. Peterson concurred.
AUGUST 24, 2023
Summer 2023 has been a mixed bag. However, you couldn’t tell that by looking at the year-to-date attendance figures from the National Park Service. According to Tom Ulrich, assistant superintendent at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the park has recorded just over 900,000 visitors through July 31. Figures for August won’t be available until the first week of September. *** County residents who regularly pass through Glen Arbor may want to adjust their schedules to accommodate detours, as the road along the north and east of Glen Lake — County Road 675, also known as South Dunns Farm Road — will be closed for a stream crossing improvement starting Sept. 5 and finishing by Dec. 1. According to a press release from the Leelanau County Road Commission, traffic will be rerouted around Glen Lake for the duration of the project. The other main route around the lake is M-109, as well as M-22 via Glen Lake Narrows. *** The Golden Rule Peace Boat is sailing into the Great Lakes region for the first time this week with hopes to achieve its latest mission: to raise awareness for an end to nuclear weapons use and warfare in the world. It’s been a long journey so far for the 34-foot wooden ketch boat, as Northport and Traverse City are one of many stops on its 13-month voyage around the “Great Loop” of the central, southern, and eastern U.S., with stops in Ontario, Canada. *** The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners amended their meeting procedure so presenters from agencies, governmental units, and contractors will have the chance to speak prior to public comment. In same amendment, the first public comment period will be limited to items on the meeting agenda, but only at the board’s executive sessions. Board chairman Ty Wessell stated that the first half of this amendment is meant to give guest speakers the opportunity to make their communications, proclamations, or presentations early in the meeting, rather than having to wait in the audience for extended periods.
AUGUST 31, 2023
A new decree governing fishery resources for much of the Great Lakes was quietly given life Thursday through an 139page opinion issued by federal District Judge Paul L. Maloney. The court order has its critics in the form of a coalition of sport fishing organizations and one of the participating tribes, neither of which has decided whether to appeal the decision. Each has 60 days to do so. *** Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced several new road repair projects Monday as part of fulfilling her campaign promise to “fix the damn roads” by the end of her term. Among these efforts are plans to resurface stretches of M-109 and M-22 west of Glen Lake, resulting in daytime lane closures starting Tuesday. *** The age of technology is ever changing as Leelanau students are front and center heading into the 2023-24 school year marked by technology distractions. After implementing a new cell phone policy last year, Glen Lake Community Schools will be rocking with that same philosophy this year. *** Summer’s swan song is here as Labor Day descends upon Leelanau County. Communities across the county are preparing to bid farewell to summer with Labor Day Bridge Walks scheduled in Lake Leelanau, Leland, and Glen Lake at their respective narrow bridges. While these bridges might not rival the grandeur of Mackinac, they resonate deeply with the spirit of Leelanau. Leland’s 24th annual bridge walk is set for Monday at 10 a.m. Participants will gather in the parking lot behind the Blue Bird.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2023
With more than 1,000 attending Leelanau based schools. Glen Lake welcomed 751 students prekindergarten through grade 12 — by far the largest student body in the county. This includes 323 in grades K through fifth grade; 176 in sixth, seventh and eighth grade; 211 in high school and 41 in preschool. *** The Leelanau Sheriff ’s Office is investigating a two-car crash Monday that resulted in one fatality. Deputies along with multiple fire and rescue agencies were dispatched to the 11000 block of S. Bugai Rd., in Elmwood Township for a report of a two-car personal injury accident. *** Leelanau County Road Commission engineer Craig Brown announced at the road commission regular meeting Tuesday morning that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will start work on M-72, or East Traverse Highway, on Sept. 18.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
The Centerville Township Board was scheduled to act last night on a mediated settlement with Northgate Leelanau Pines Inc. which earlier this year filed a lawsuit against the township after they denied the company’s permit request to expand the campground on the southwest shore of Lake Leelanau. *** There is strength in numbers. And strong opposition to a proposed mixed retail/residential building in Leland continued Wednesday night. All 100 seats in the Munnecke Room of the Leland Library were filled and an estimated 40 to 50 people spilled onto the lawn, umbrellas in hand, as the Leland Township Planning Commission worked to slog through the 26-page finding of fact for Planned Unit Development at the corner of William and Main streets. *** The County Board of Commissioners will vote next week on a $359,000 bid to renovate the lower level of the government center. The space would be occupied by certain offices of the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2023
As Leelanau County faced what the National Weather Service called a “200- year rain event” last week, Leland Dam operators had to make some diffi cult decisions to prevent flooding on the Leland River and south Lake Leelanau. According to dam authority chairman Steve Christensen, the dam authority called for maintenance director Jerry Culman to keep the water levels at the Lake Leelanau Narrows at 9’2”, which is the level ordered by the 13th Circuit Court, at the dam authority’s regular session in June. *** Walkouts against the “Big Three” domestic auto companies seem remote and seem to have little immediate effect on the local economy, but they have gained the attention — and memories of retired workers and executives in Leelanau County. *** The median price of homes sold in Leelanau has taken another substantial hike this year, with new construction so far unable to relieve pressure on the county housing market.
Given the cost to build a home from scratch, help may not arrive in the future, either.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2023
Leelanau County’s fifth finance director, Sean Cowan, may be leaving the department after less than four months in his position, as he submitted his letter of resignation along with his 90-day assessment to county administrator Deb Allen last week.
*** Centerville Township’s Planning Commission has begun its second review of controversial plans to expand and improve Leelanau Pines Campground. Planners during a special meeting Monday night began looking at plans revised as part of a settlement between the township and Leelanau Pines Northgate. The federal lawsuit was filed by Northgate earlier this year after the township denied the company’s permit request to expand the campground on the southwest shore of Lake Leelanau. Initially Northgate applied for a permit to expand the site from 170 to 342 lots; construction of a waterfront pavilion, marina store, boathouse, swimming pools, a splash pad, mini golf, jump pillow, sports court, walking trails and boardwalks. However, the revised plan includes 150 sites. *** The skyline of Lake Leelanau is getting a little bigger as popular distillery Northern Latitudes broke ground on a new tasting room and production facility that is projected to be operating come summer 2024. The site is just west of the Enterprise on M-204.
OCTOBER 5, 2023
Although he seemed ready to walk out the doors of the government center for good after submitting his letter of resignation two weeks ago, Leelanau County’s finance department head Sean Cowan seems to have decided to stick around after all. Cowan will remain head of the department but starting next week he will work in a slightly different capacity under the new job title of chief financial officer (CFO). *** When the Leelanau Enterprise heard that the county finance director Sean Cowan submitted a letter of resignation last week, the newspaper submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all correspondence to and from Cowan from the last seven days. Although Cowan has since changed his mind and decided to stay on board in a new capacity as chief financial officer (CFO), the document does reveal some of the internal problems that have plagued the finance department since it was established in January 2022.
OCTOBER 12, 2023
Leelanau County government and the county Road Commission have been doing good jobs of keeping down their pension liabilities. Perhaps too good. A list of recipients in a program created to shore up pension liability excludes four Leelanau governments enrolled in the Michigan Employee’s Retirement System from the 126 approved applications whose accounts collectively received $750 million. Leelanau’s two county-wide governments were not deemed eligible because they are properly funded. *** The Leland Township Planning Commission took no action Oct. 5 on a finding of fact for a proposed development at 211 Main St. in Leland. The meeting was a continuation of a Sept. 6 public hearing attended by more than 150 persons on a mixed use Planned Unit Development on the north end of the commercial district. *** The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners’ newly established finance committee held its first meetingon Monday. The committee —which consists of county board chairman Ty Wessell, vice chairman Douglas Rexroat, and commissioner Melinda Lautner — will provide guidance, support, and engagement to former finance director Sean Cowan in his new capacity as chief financial officer (CFO).
OCTOBER 19, 2023
As the world watches horrific events unfold in the Middle East over the past weeks, all corners of the world, including northern Michigan, do not remain untouched by war. Residents alike have a keen eye on the Israel-Hamas conflict that has killed at least a combined 5,000, and sparked a humanitarian crisis for over 2.5 million Palestinians on the Gaza Strip. Hamas crossed over the Israeli border on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret leading to the slaughter of well over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, women, and children. *** Two changes — one massive and coming into focus, the other minor and yet to be finalized — should help, according to James Lake, North Region Media Representative for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Lake said that the question mark can come off the roundabout that has been eyed to improve the intersection of M-22 and M-72, by far the biggest traffic snare in the county. The rebuilding of the intersection is part of a $13 million project to reinvent the section of state highway that runs along West Grand Traverse Bay from Division Street west and north to Cherry Bend Road. *** Suttons Bay Township supervisor Tom Nixon waited until the end of the township board’s monthly meeting Oct. 11 to drop a bombshell: he’s resigning from his position effective Oct. 31. He didn’t mince words, citing frequent “petty and inane personality conflicts” that pull him away from his preferred duties as township supervisor.
OCTOBER 25, 2023
When the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners created the chief financial officer (CFO) position on Oct. 2, the board seemed hopeful that the county would retain the services of its latest finance department head, Sean Cowan. Their hopes were dashed, however, when Cowan resigned as CFO on Friday evening – just over four weeks after submitting his resignation as finance director on Sept. 21. *** Glen Lake area residents will be heading to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 7 to vote on a bond proposal that would generate at least $35 million in property tax revenue to improve school facilities and grounds. *** For over 35 years, Suttons Bay Galleries has been a pillar of the fine art community in northern Michigan. Harry and Piper Goldson have shared a passion for bringing fine art, and placing fine art in the hands of individual purchasers, corporations, and collectors for more than three decades since Memorial weekend 1989. The business will close its doors at the end of the calendar year.
NOVEMBER 2, 2023
Manitou Island Transit (MIT) must be compensated by the federal government for the financial loss of its 2020 season, but the amount has not been determined and the stoppage of ferry service to North Manitou Island for most of this summer was not included in a judge’s order. The family-owned transit company, which shuttles visitors to North and South Manitou islands aboard the Mishe Mokwa ferry docked in the Leland Harbor, was left high and dry after access problems prevented passengers from safely unloading at docks owned by the National Park Service in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. *** The old Leelanau Memorial Hospital in Northport is that much closer to being demolished after a blight grant was approved to address the property’s current vacant state.
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Planning and Community Development Director Trudy Galla said the State Land Bank Authority (SLBA) has already gone through three rounds of grants so far this year, with a fourth round coming up. In the second round, the Leelanau County Land Bank Authority (LCLBA) approved a request submitted earlier this year from High Street Holdings for a demolition grant of the former Leelanau Memorial Hospital. *** A discussion about paid overtime during preparation of the 2024 fiscal year budget at the county government center on Oct. 25 spilled over into questioning whether employees should be allowed to attend Leelanau County Board of Commissioners meetings while on the clock. This conversation started as the county board went line item by line item through the draft budget and reached a proposal to move the executive assistant to a salaried position and increase the wages for that position from $53,000 to $62,523 annually, effective Jan. 1, 2024.
NOVEMBER 9, 2023
Christen Landry was handed a one year sentence, and 36 months probation in connection with an accident on Dec. 8, 2022, which claimed the life of Evelyn “Evie” Kellogg, and her dog. It was standing room only at the Leelanau County Courthouse Monday, as Landry, and Kellogg family made victim impact statements during sentencing of the emotional case that has gripped the community for nearly a year. “Your Honor, the community, Evie’s family, I think of the accident and loss of Evie’s life every single day. I know how much she is loved by her family and cherished by so many in the community,” Landry said in a statement to the court. “To Evie’s family, I want you to know, and I have wanted you to know, I would never harm or hurt anyone. I would never want to cause anyone pain. ... I am consumed with agony and the fear that the accident happened. I am griefstricken and deeply sorry that the family is suffering.” *** It was the only item on the ballot Tuesday, but it meant a lot for the Glen Lake School community. Voters in the Glen Lake School District voted 1,119 to 963 to turn down a $35 million bond proposal to improve facilities and grounds. “We’re proud of the folks running the election,” Superintendent Jason Misner said. “We already have our board retreat planned for Saturday. And this will likely be discussed.”
NOVEMBER 16, 2023
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners approved by 6-1 vote an “employee climate/ culture survey” at a special session on Nov. 9, which will be conducted by the Michigan Leadership Institute (MLI) on county employees. Employees called for this survey when then-finance director Sean Cowan submitted his first letter of resignation in late September after just four months with the county *** The number of car-deer accidents reported in the county had already hit 347 as of last week, surpassing year-round totals for three out of the past four years. Three-hundred, sixty- three accidents were reported in all of 2022, according to Lt. Duane Wright of the county Sheriff ’s Office. Last year’s total was likely surpassed before this story was published. It’s been a banner year for deer deaths on Leelanau roads. *** The statutory role of the supervisor as legal agent was questioned Monday night at the Leland Township Board meeting.
Trustee Clint Mitchell, in a memo sent to board members earlier in the day, questioned the authority of Supervisor Susan Och.
“There seems to be some disagreement as to the specific duties involved with the supervisor’s statutory role as legal agent.
NOVEMBER 23, 2023
A local vineyard has plans to develop a 75-tent “glamping”site as an agricultural tourism destination in Centerville Township. Amoritas Holdings, LLC and Under Canvas, a Montana company, are requesting a special use permit to establish a luxury camping location on a portion of 148 acres owned by Amoritas on the south side of Amore Road. *** Palmer Woods, a Leelanau Conservancy property, has rubbed neighbors the wrong way with the construction of a second parking lot on Wheeler Road. The Enterprise has received numerous letters displaying dissatisfaction with the new parking lot. *** The resignation of Leelanau County’s fifth finance department head, Sean Cowan, on Oct. 23 left the county with an incomplete 2024 fiscal year budget and less than a month before they planned to approve it. The county had established a finance committee to support Cowan earlier that month, and with him gone, they have occupied themselves instead with forming a plan to create a sustainable office for managing the county’s financial accounts.
NOVEMBER 30, 2023
Leelanau County commissioner Melinda Lautner revealed that she is going through the county prosecutor’s office to request all correspondence between fellow commissioner Kama Ross and county employees. Lautner told the newspaper she is concerned that these comments are influencing a third party workplace climate/culture survey, despite assurances from the firm that they come up with their own survey questions internally. *** Leelanau County’s annual budgeting process was difficult this year, as finance department head Sean Cowan unexpectedly resigned before the 2024 fiscal year budget was completed, but staff and elected officials nonetheless rallied. Commissioners were able to approve the budget as scheduled following a public hearing at their Nov. 21 regular meeting. Board members credited commissioner Doug Rexroat, who stepped up to chair the finance committee established on Oct. 2, and Cowan’s former assistant finance director Catherine Hartesvelt, who is back in an interim finance director role as the county searches for a fulltime replacement. *** An appeal has been filed seeking to overturn parts of a new Tribal fishing decree that detractors say would negatively impact fish populations in the parts of lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior that fall within the jurisdiction of 19th century treaties. The new fishing order, which regulates the catches of commercial fishing operations belonging to members of five Native American tribes including the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, remains in effect for now. Its impacts, should there be any, won’t be felt locally until spring with the expansion of gill netting into Grand Traverse Bay and an extra month of commercial fishing west of Leland prior to Memorial Day weekend.
DECEMBER 7, 2023
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for all records relating to a survey of employees about the climate of the workplace in the county building will be costly to produce. Commissioner Melinda Lautner last month requested the county prosecutor provide all records of county employees’ correspondence with personnel committee chair and fellow commissioner Kama Ross. Lautner has expressed concern that these records could influence board decisions addressing workplace climate/culture. The initial estimate to process the request is $5,000. *** Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is bursting at its seams following its latest acquisition, two Miller Hill parcels that would have been seen for miles had they been developed. The Lakeshore purchased the properties, which total 8.66 acres and required what is termed a “minor boundary adjustment,” for $685,000 from the Leelanau Conservancy. *** Centerville Township planners voted to turn down an updated proposal from Northgate-Leelanau Pines to expand the longtime business along the shore of Lake Leelanau. They are asking the township board to enact a sixmonth moratorium on zoning site plan reviews after receipt of a zoning request for approval of a 75-site glamping plan on Amore Road.
DECEMBER 14, 2023
A new mixed-use building proposed for Leland is not in keeping with the “character” of the village. Leland Township Planning Commission members voted during its Dec. 6 meeting to deny a special use permit for an 11,590 square-foot commercial and residential structure located on Main Street. The property is across from the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Building. *** People utilizing the municipal sewer system in the village of Northport and Leelanau Township will most likely see an 8% annual increase in operations and maintenance fees over the next four years. Northport Village Council trustees unanimously approved the Northport-Leelanau Township Utility Authority (NLTUA) annual rate increase as well as an additional loan request at its regular board meeting. After the NLTUA conducted a comprehensive utility rate study with the assistance of Utility Financial Solutions (UFS) under the guidance of Dawn Lund, it approved “scenario one” of three options of the study, which proposed the 8% annual increase. The report concluded that the NLTUA system is “currently cash critical,” and that “inflation and capital costs are increasing at unprecedented rates and the projection should be updated every year with the budget process to ensure the findings in this report are on track.” *** Greilickville neighborhood residents came out in force at the Elmwood Township board meeting Monday to support a two-year-old motion calling for the removal of short-term rentals (STRs) in their neighborhood’s subdivisions. The board approved sending this request to the planning commission by a 4-3 vote.
DECEMBER 21, 2023
A workplace climate/culture survey at the county government center is under fire from commissioner Melinda Lautner, who feels that the consultant contracted to perform the survey may be influenced by correspondence between the county’s personnel committee and employees. Lautner requested the correspondence from the county via the Freedom of Information Act. The estimated cost to complete the task is estimated at $5,000. *** Construction is complete on Vineyard View Apartments, an affordable housing complex on Marek Road in Suttons Bay Township. All eight housing units are expected to be occupied by the new year.
*** People interested in tuning in online to Leelanau Township Board meetings will have to watch via You Tube starting in January. The three month “trial” will give board trustees a chance to gauge how well streaming meetings via You Tube works versus Zoom, a video conferencing platform continuously used by the township since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.
DECEMBER, 28, 2023
Leelanau County government is taking a blow as another department head has submitted her letter of resignation. This time around, it was Darcy Weaver, who will be leaving on Jan. 5. The resignation comes at an unfortunate time as replacements for several positions — including the county finance and planning and community development directors — have still not been hired.
