A NEW page has been added on the right to document the "fence"-The Ongoing Saga of the Sagging Snow Fence.
The Mullett Township Board and the Topinabee Development Association reached consensus earlier this year to seasonally close the park to preserve the faux finished sidewalks and save the "landscaping" from destruction by snowmobiles.
This attractive plastic "snow fencing" meets the aesthetic theme of the park: Industrial waste site reclamation.
Bring your binoculars with you and you may be able to read the newly installed informational kiosks.
Topinabee will surely become a destination resort with this attractive snow fence closing the park for winter. The beautiful industrial/construction site appearance will compete with Mackinaw's bridge and Mackinaw Island's Grand Hotel for winter visitor's attention.
Supervisor Mary Anne Gale's newly hired employee at an hourly rate of $18 per, plus the township employee at $13 an hour installing plastic snow fence. Just to clarify, if Clerk Rachel Osborn wants to hire a temporary employee, it requires Board approval. Listen to this message from Supervisor Gale clarifying who can hire employees.
That "rule" only applies to Board members. Supervisor Gale can hire, fire, and lend Mullett Township assets as she desires.
Before the "crew" can even finish the trail side of the fence, those pesky Topinabee vandals, actually a slight breeze off the lake, has already toppled some of the fence.
This should be another constant waste of taxpayer funds. Install the snow fence. Fix it. Fix it. Fix it. Fix it again. Take the fence down in the spring. Next fall, buy new fence and posts to replace the damaged, install the snow fence, and fix it again.
Several thousand additional taxpayer dollars spent each year to prevent snowmobilers and ice fishermen from using "their" public park.
Weekend Update: November 30, 2013
Pesky "posts"
Some wits think a post is what you write on a wordpress blog. A post is also required to hold up a snow-fence. Standard practice is every 8 feet. At least $5 per post if you are doing your calculations correctly. Too much wind, too much spacing between posts, posts not driven deep enough, too light of posts or using U posts instead of T posts; down it all comes. US Fence recommends T posts spaced at 8 feet with 1/3 of post length driven in ground. These light U posts appear to be driven in less than 1 foot. After all, snow fence is a misnomer. Snow fences are designed to slow the wind and cause the snow to drop or drift where you want it to.
Here
is the first fix-it. Fence installed November 29, 2013. Two
sections falling over in the breeze as of Noon, November 30th. As is typical of Mullett Township, do it again.
What liability will be incurred when a snowmobile traveling at the posted 30 MPH runs over and becomes entangled in a section of snow fence lying across the trail buried under a fresh snowfall.
Access to Mullett Lake during winter of 2012/2013 and UTV vehicles parked and unloaded at Library lot used for ice-fishing.
No access to Mullett Lake for ice fishing for winter 2013/2014. It's for your own protection. You might fall through the ice and then, according to a local idiotic online pundit, Mullett Township would be liable. I can't make this stuff up.
