Parks are not all faux-rock walls and textured concrete. They also need to be practical and accommodate people's needs. Topinabee has suffered the loss of a recreational asset enjoyed for years; not just majestic, mature trees, but virtually any public access for a very, very long winter. Remember this while MaryAnne's fence waves in the breeze.
The Planning Commission meeting was held on April 2, 2014. Supervisor Gale blessed the meeting with her attendance at no charge, and with that P & Z approval the project can now move ahead.
The Mullett Board planning and development process for this simple pit or vault toilet followed a long and tortuous road. Three or four years ago, while Bill Morgan was still Supervisor, the need to replace the aging toilets was agreed on. The Mullett Board all too often discusses and then forgets agenda items from one month, or year to the next.
Trustee Dombroski initially suggested a zero-maintenance, molded unit as used at MDOT rest areas in the UP. Another suggestion from a meeting attendee was a pre-cast concrete vault toilet. The units used at Emmet County's Resort Township West Park, similar to this unit, are virtually indestructible concrete while retaining the rustic wood look.
The Resort Township Clerk advised despite the higher initial cost they had been extremely satisfied with the units. He said that soiled interiors and exteriors could be hosed down with a firehose. That was why they had chosen a pre-cast vandal and fire-proof unit for their West Park.
This photo below is of another pre-cast unit, styled to look like T-111 siding. It shows what Mullett Township could have had as a stick-built unit. Two stalls with a very practical center change room/storage unit to store dock stanchions and swim buoys. Supervisor MaryAnne Gale "killed" this center storage style allegedly to save money.
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| Doesn't this look nicer than... .....this?? |
Will she play another Mulligan? She has already decided rather than recant her decision and allow a few square feet for storage , she would instead install another building, a portable shed for storage. How foolish is that? And have a Mullett Trustee build it. What happened to that promise to avoid cronyism? The Mullett Supervisor has already forgotten her platform.
Last year with the cost-cutter Supervisor Mary Anne Gale at the helm, it was voted and approved by the Board to use a FREE DNR plan to build a two-holer. No need for an engineering firm. FREE DNR plans, in-house uber employee/facilities manager to build the restroom and hire a local contractor to excavate and do concrete. Then, Mulligan time. The Board later decides they have to expend thousands of dollars to have an engineer tell them where to put a toilet. I can't write fiction. Unfortunately, the truth is often stranger than fiction in Mullett Township.
After years of dithering, the Mullett Board now spends as much or more than any of these options would have cost.
The military and $12,000 toilet seats has nothing on the Mullett Board. As usual, the solution seems to be ignore it or do nothing as long as possible, then "throw lots of money" at the problem. That fixes everything. Throwing money.
Wiki defines a plan as typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective. What the heck happened to the Mullett Township 5 year recreation plan? This "public" document, my personal copy cost $6.75 to acquire by FOIA request several years ago, cost you as a taxpayer several thousand dollars.
Twenty six pages into the "plan", we find the "Capital Improvement Schedule".
Fantasy versus Fact
Fantasy: Improvements to Topinabee Beach Park. Estimated cost: $270,000 in 2011.
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| This is East Resort Township Park at Bay Harbor. A reclaimed industrial waste site and the apparent model for the TDA Park. |
Fact: Stripped down "improvements" of Tom O'Hare's TDA Park in 2013 add up to what? $450,000?? $500,000 ?? The Board has not yet answered the question. How much?
Fantasy: Construct play equipment at school house park in 2012 at cost of $35,000.
Fact: In 2013, Supervisor Mary Anne Gale's Township Facilities Manager paints some of the existing play equipment including basketball backboard. Unknown cost.
Fantasy: Construct Phase 1 at South Gateway Park in 2013 at a cost of $225,000.
Fact: The Mullett Board has attempted several times to move ahead with the township owned Block 5 Park/Parking lot. The last attempt was dropped after Paul Chapoton and some unidentified nearby boathouse lot owners protested any development. Mr Chapoton, like many of us has now voted with his feet, acquiring another lot north of Topinabee for his lake access. Perhaps this bodes well for the possibility of now developing this untended community asset. Amount spent: Unknown amount for preliminary site plan engineering.
Fantasy: Construct picnic shelter at Schoolhouse Park at cost of $25,000 in 2014.
Fact: NOT on 2014/2015 capital outlay budget.
Fantasy: Phase 1 construction of parking lot, walks, restrooms and other site improvements for Boy Scout Park in 2015 for $275,000.
Fact: The previous Board in 2012 actually moved faster on this plan possibly to assure an "invited general contractor" was awarded the driveway/parking lot contract. Some prominent local general contractors missed an invite to bid and the winning "bid" was $39,246. The engineering fee? $5,900 won by Wade-Trim. Now in 2014, after reluctance to spend any amount on the restrooms, with an initial payment of $4,600 to Wade-Trim for a "concept plan", the Board sits poised to give final approval to remove the old toilets and install new restrooms at a cost of $85,000.
Engineering costs to date for Boy Scout Park: $10,500 ??
The 5 year plan has proven to be more fantasy than fact. Here is page 16 with another fantasy.
What a tremendous opportunity for Tom O'Hare, the Topinabee Development Association and their entire crew to "adopt a park" as part of their stated mission to "preserve and enhance" Topinabee. The TDA never misses an opportunity to ignore the facts and instead fantasizes that the community at large embraces the TDA Park with all the obvious design flaws and safety issues requiring a complete closure in the winter.
The TDA might actually gain some rank and file support if they picked up the ongoing maintenance costs in perpetuity. Too big a job for one man, but Tom O'Hare is not one man.
Now, Supervisor Mary Anne Gale is going to propose adding 24/7 video surveillance to the TDA Park. There is no proven justification for the need. She'll be lucky if the only response she receives is the sentiment expressed here by this anonymous critic.
Her oft-quoted go-to expert on Township practices, Tuscarora Supervisor Mike Ridley is facing a possible recall. Be careful of who you emulate.
