An addendum to my earlier report about the Long Lake Township Trustees meeting June 11, 2024::
The litigation concerning Twin Lakes Park was mentioned only to the extent that the GTBOC had at their meeting last Wednesday June 5, 2024 rejected the settlement offer by plaintiff attorney Brace Kern, as did the Long Lake Township Board at their last meeting. This showed a real lack of insight into the high cost of the litigation for all county and township taxpayers. Long Lake alone has hired two of the most expensive attorneys in the state to represent them in this illegal municipal park transfer folly. Since both boards declined to accept the simple settlement remedy without attorneys costs and damages to simply return Twin Lakes Park to Grand Traverse County, it is likely that the multiple lawyers for the county, township and plaintiffs ring up far higher costs for litigation than it would cost Grand Traverse Parks and Recreation to due the delayed maintenance needed at Twin Lakes Park.
As a former litigation paralegal for a corporate law firm, I have never seen such a reasonable, clean offer to settle a legal dispute. The plaintiffs have a very strong case and are eventually likely to prevail, meaning it is likely a judge will order Twin Lakes Park back to Grand Traverse County, but not before the attorneys involved ring up huge profits from the cost of fragging out the litigation. Attorneys love taxpayer funded lawsuits and are likely to string out the bills as long as possible, until eventually millions of dollars have moved from taxpayer coffers into their coroporate bank accounts. Wit( a case as clear as this one, in which the deed was so flagrantly violated, there is also the possibility, as plaintiffs’ attorney Brace Kern pointed out in his excellent interview with Traverse Talks Jim Horn, a judge could also find that Grand Traverse County violated the terms of the deed, and return the park to the unnamed heirs of Judge Gilbert, the deceased Grand Traverse County Judge who very clearly designated Grand Traverse County rather than Long Lake Township as the recipient and caretaker for the park. Despite one heir having come to last week’s County Commission meeting to claim that as an heir she was happy that Long Lake has take over care of the park, one person by no means has the legal authority to speak for all the living heirs of Judge Gilbert, who by law must be notified of the change in status of the park. There remains, as plaintiffs’ attorney Kern pointed out, the very real danger that the judge declares the county in default of the deed, meaning that the heirs could make a bundle of cash by selling Twin Lakes Park to developers.
That way, neither Long Lake Township nor Grand Traverse County will have ownership or maintenance responsibilities for Twin Lakes Park, which as Brace Kern pointed out, will become a community of luxury vacation rentals with waterfront access via trails that Long Lake Township is promising to build from four different access points including from the present entrance. Was this part of a plan or “gentlemen’s agreement” between the municipalities and developers all along? Developers are salivating for waterfront access and wooded lots in Long Lake Township. There are believed to be developers waiting in the wings hoping for a default on the deed so they can purchase and develop pricey homes and luxury vacation housing in Long Lake Township connected to the Tin Lakes Park shoreline. The public will lose Twin Lakes Park public access if the Township and County boards do not wake up to the reality that they have placed a valuable public resource at risk by violating the terms of the deed.
To preserve Twin Lakes as a public park, the defendants including elected officials of Long Lake Township and Grand Traverse County should protect the interest of the public that they are sworn by oath to serve and accept the plaintiffs’ settlement offer sooner rather than later. That Grand Traverse County counsel admitted at the June 5th meeting that he had not even shared the settlement offer with The Grand Traverse County Commissioners shows us that lawyers are happy to make money based on poor decisions by elected officials. Imagine if you will legal bills so steep that neither the county or township can afford, and that Twin Lakes Park gets returned to the heirs and ceases to exist for public enjoyment. That would be a lose-lose for all the residents of Grand Traverse County.
Another question Long Lake voters have every right to ask is why did Long Lake Commissioner Penny Morris not recuse herself from voting on the giveaway of Twin Lakes Park as she had promised abutters she would due to having a conflict of interest or having run a dance studio as a business there? Since Commissioner Morris of Long Lake did not recuse herself from voting to give away Twin Parks, she is due to be deposed by the plaintiffs attorney for not declarimg a conflict of interest in regard to Twin Lakes Park.
Another question Long Lake voters have every right to ask is why did Long Lake Commissioner Penny Morris not recuse herself from voting on the giveaway of Twin Lakes Park as she had promised abutters she would due to having a conflict of interest or having run a dance studio as a business there? Since Commissioner Morris of Long Lake did not recuse herself from voting to give away Twin Parks, she is due to be deposed by the plaintiffs attorney for not declarimg a conflict of interest in regard to Twin Lakes Park.
These are a few of are many expensive legal questions on the table that Long Lake and Grand Traverse County voters will want to ask as they cast their votes for County Commission and Township Representatives during primaries on the Tuesday August 6 Primary and November 6th General Election. Why did our County and Township elected representatives violate Due process to increase our taxes and out Twin Lakes Park in danger of reverting to private property rather than remain a county park as per the deed? Why did the Long Lake commissioner vote against her committee as a meme her of Parks and Recreation to dispose of Long Lake Park when the other commitee members vote to keep it in the county parks system?
Looking around at the numerous wooden buildings that comprise Twin Lakes Park, one is stuck by the huge amount of obviously deferred maintenance required. All of the wooden clad buildings clearly require exterior painting. Since the buildings include a former camp dormitory, one has to wonder where the money to maintain them is going to come from. Park fees can’t come close covering the cost.
Due to a strong odor of gas in Gilbert Lodge, perhaps coming from the large gas powered stoves in the kitchen, 911 was called as per advice of the Long Lake Fire Department at the end of meeting of the Activities Center Steering Committee last Thursday. While the fire department did not find levels to be dangerous, the strong odor of gas continues to permeate the building. I went to the podium and requested that the township contact the gas company to locate the source of the odor, which makes some people feel ill. The indoor air quality is so poor as to be a safety concern, since Gilbert Lodge is rented out most weekends for events and family reunions.
Since the Long Lake Board and County Commissioners avoid talking about the Twin Lakes Park litigation, it is vitally important for members of the public to attend public meetings and keep talking about the weighty issue of how an expnsive County Park was disposed of and “gifted” to much smaller Long Lake Township against the express intentions Judge Gilbert as specified on the deed.
As I looked around at tonight’s lightly attended meeting and the poor conditions of the many wooden park buildings, I wondered how the residents of Long Lake Township are going to be able to afford maintaining all the municipal buildings now requiring maintenance on our township’s budget. Twin Lakes Park with multiple structures and a lot of land really is beyond our residents’ ability to afford the maintenance required. The township’s proposed plan to add three new park entrances, corresponding parking g areas, toilets and trails is obviously designed to increase the value of land development around the park by offering waterfront access. While the best possible outcome is for a judge to order Grand Traverse County to take back Twin Lakes Park as part of the Park’s and Recreation Department as Judge Gilbert intended, public pressure on our elected boards remains necessary.
Few people realize that Long Lake Township is using Twin Lakes Park for public meetings while the current township offices and former fire department are being remodeled. Keep in mind that we Long Lakers are paying for all of this without having been invited to provide public comment or to vote on these expensive budget outlays. Perhaps Long Lake Township will be willing to give up Twin Lakes Park once the remodeled township offices are opened. Perhaps it will require a judge’s order. In any event, the officials we elect will determine the policies that Grand Traverse County and Long Lake Township officials adopt. Please encourage your friends and family members to register to vote one and to request ballots for early voting by mail. Who we elect to public office will set policies that we have to live with and pay for.
Thanks for reading and for staying informed on life in our townships and Grand Traverse County. Please share these updates with people who care!
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Kaiser
Candidate for Grand Traverse County Commission for Long Lake Township
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Pamela Harris Kaiser
Helping people & communities identify & achieve goals
Long Lake Township
Traverse City, MI 49685
Home 231-421-1447
Mobile 603-571-5240
Tuesday, June 11, 2024 12:00 AM
Long Lake Township Meeting Notes Tuesday June 11, 2024 6:00 p.m.
I attended the Long Lake Township meeting this evening, June 11, 2024 in Gilbert Lodge at Twin Lakes Park. It was recorded for the township by a videographer, so it was not necessary for me to record it. The meeting, which had few members of the public in attendance, in comparison to the large number of nearly 100 attendees at the annual Long Lake Association Meeting at Boone’s Long Lake Inn last week, lasted a mere 49 minutes.
Long Lake Township Manager Ron Lemcool updated the community about various issues including progress on remodeling of the township offices without any opposition or questions from the board. He reported that a fireworks permit has been issued for July 5 or 6th as it is every year with safety backup provided by members of the Long Lake Township Fire Department. It is not clear who pays for the safety services for what is considered a private event with commercial grade fireworks to celebrate the birthday every first weekend in July of Bob Barnes (owner of the fireworks company, as well as Belle Tire and Lume Cannabis) rather than a public event.
Ron seems to be on good working terms with the Barnes family as to continuing to support the large, long fireworks show which many lake residents are concerned threatens the fragile ecosystem and wildlife such as birds and aquatic animals and dogs living in, on and around the lake, for whom the noise, explosions, light, and chemical smells can be dangerous and frightening. To the best of our knowledge, no studies on the impact of the fireworks on the lake and its inhabitants has ever been undertaken, but the chemical impact alone cannot be ignored. Linda Wheelock pointed out that the township or state does not allow fireworks between January 2nd and June 29, due to the nesting loons. However, since Memorial Day occurs in late May, that interpretation does not appear wholly accurate. Loon chicks recently hatched are being taught to dive and swim from the backs of their parents. Long Lake residents love and are protective of our loons and want public policy on Long Lake to preserve them.
Penny Morris made comments during her report as Long Lake’s County Commissioner, announcing that she has been newly elected as assistant chair of Northern Lakes Mental Health Board. In this role, she made special mention of and offered thanks for the outstanding service of Long Lake resident Kate Dahlstrom for her ongoing advocacy for improvements in mental health care.
Although Kate was not in attendance at the meeting, Penny said she hoped Kate would hear of the good work she is doing for the region. I heartily concur.
The odd thing about this laudatory comment is that Penny failed to support Kate’s reappointment to the NLCMH board when her term was up for reappointment last month. Several members of the community, including me, had written letters of support this winter asking that Kate be reappointed to the board, but the acting chair of NLCMH, Brian McManus, had written a letter criticizing Kate’s advocacy, which he seemed to have found as critical of his leadership, which in fact was lacking. Many of us saw it as a travesty that Kate was not reappointed to NLCMH, which is in near complete chaos with more clinicians leaving than being hired. Kate continues to be a strong advocate for mental health care improvement in our region, and in fact her advocacy may be more effective than ever without the restraints, litigation and infighting that have continued to arise under past and current NLCMH leadership. Thanks to Kate Dahlstrom for being our region’s strongest voice for increased beds and desperately needed improvement in mental health services in Grand Traverse County and beyond.
The other issue of note was brought forth by Long Lake resident and candidate for township board Chris Crewe who said that Dollar General has applied for a liquor license, which is opposed by many due to the sensitive location along a winding two-lane rural road between the two public boat launches on Long Lake. The license apparently is under consideration in Lansing.
The very emergence of Dollar General on a remote, previously heavily wooded pine forest (now clearcut) corner in Long Lake Township recently owned by the Wheelock family of Long Lake upset residents who are concerned that the natural environment of our township will become full of commercial franchises that are not in keeping with the rural and agrarian atmosphere of Long Lake Township that forms the watershed for several lakes, rivers, and streams. A liquor license issued to Dollar General will compete with the existing liquor licenses held by nearby Long Lake Grocery, a small locally owned business lacking the large parking lot recently paved by Dollar General, and Fresh Coast Market. Public opinion is that another liquor license so close to the lake will contribute to drinking by day boaters whose beer cans and bottles are often found on the shores of the islands where partying tends to occur on summer weekends and holidays. Public safety and water purity is an ongoing concern of lake residents who see drinking as a danger to safe boating, litter in the lake, and to waterfowl such as loons.
Due to Dollar General having a history of accumulating clusters of real estate (they are in fact the largest real estate holder in the United States), a 90 day moratorium was extended on building permits in the so-called “hamlet activity zone” because the Long Lake Township Activity Center Steering Committee (of which I am a member) has not yet concluded our study or submitted a report, but which does include the suggestion that commercial sales not be allowed on boats, beaches and docks to protect the waters and wildlife of Long Lake. .
Respectfully Submitted,
Pamela Harris Kaiser
Helping people & communities identify & achieve goals
Long Lake Township
Traverse City, MI 49685