Here are the Topinabee sights the DNR Trail users on June 21, 2014 had of the TDA Park
Fast food trash from the market piled on top of the trash receptacle and untouched after two days.
The feet seen entering the TDA restroom in the above photo are attached to people who saw this sight inside the restroom. How bad do you have to go?
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| I don't hear any TDA spokespeople complaining about the unkempt condition of the public areas in Topinabee. Is the silence on these issues a quiet endorsement by the TDA of these filthy conditions? |
ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA
The
annual meeting of the TDA will be held June 28, 2014. The meeting will
take place at the Mullett Township Hall at 10:00. The meeting agenda
is below:
6/20/2014 Breaking NEWS
TDA Park-Toilet crapped on again!!
We interrupt this Public Service Announcement for the TDA Annual meeting to advise Supervisor MaryAnne Gale that she should review her potty cam and make a determination of who, when, and why there is again feces, AKA: poo, poop, number two, deuce, doodoo, dookie, or doody all over the floor.
Back to the real world and the TDA agenda
Agenda
II. Nominations and Elections of Board of Directors
III. Minutes from the 2013 Annual Meeting
IV. Treasurer’s Report
V. President’s Report
VI. Streetscape Progress
VII. Recreation Committee
VIII. Closing Remarks
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| Topinabee Beach Park 2012 |
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| Topinabee Beach Park 2012 |
PRESIDENT’S LETTER 2014
The past year has been eventful in many ways.
The grand opening of the Topinabee Beach Park was the highlight of the year with a ribbon cutting ceremony this past July. It was wonderful to see the sand filled beach with numerous sunbathers on the hot summer days, children playing on the new playground equipment and people resting on the benches enjoying the beauty of Mullett Lake.
As a result of his volunteer effort for the Topinabee Beach park Dave Ogg was named Member of the Year by the Indian River Chamber of Commerce and presented with an award at their annual dinner in the Fall.
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| Topinabee Beach Park 2012 |
This was a record year for the Topinabee Development Association with over 110 paid memberships. Memberships are couples, families and individuals and therefore represents well over 200+ people. We are grateful for the support from all of you and hope it will continue.
We had two fundraisers this past year. The rummage sale was chaired by JoAnn Baker in May and was co-hosted by Northern Michigan Animal Rescue Network. Thank you for your donation of goods and services to this effort. The semi-annual Holiday Home Tour chaired by Julie Gariepy was a fun day for guests and volunteers. The five homes on the tour were beautifully decorated for Christmas and were a delight for all to see.
Brian Callaghan has been “introducing” people from the community in a feature on the topinabee.org web page. It is ongoing and he is always open to new ideas and the introduction of new people. It is a great way to connect a face with a name. Don’t forget to check it out. We are extremely grateful to Brian for his ongoing maintenance and management of this important communication tool.
Rachel Osborn, Mullett Township Clerk, is the project manager for the Street scape Project. Kim Wilkins, longtime TDA board member, has volunteered to assist Rachel and help to facilitate this development.
More on that in our report.
On a disappointing note the “simplified” blight ordinance developed by the township board was ultimately not passed. Because it was identified in the town hall meetings held last year as a much needed ordinance we hope it will be re-considered by the township board in the near future.
Please join us for the annual meeting which will be on Saturday, June 28 at 10 AM in the Mullett Township Hall. The year in review and street scape plans will be covered.
Sincerely,
Mary O’Hare, President
Topinabee Development Association
Topinabee Development Association
2013 Annual Report
Clearly the highlight of another busy year was the completion of the Topinabee Beachfront Park Project. Working with the Mullett Township Board, Dave Ogg, Project Manager led the work to transform the park into a multifunctional area for residents of all ages to enjoy. The TDA volunteers were also busy raising money to fund projects, helping to beautify Topinabee, and looking for other grant application opportunities. The Street Scape project is now the primary focus and is proceeding under the thoughtful guidance of the Mullett Township Board.
BEACH FRONT PARK PROJECT
After several years of study, planning, and grant application preparation, the Mullett Lake park project in Topinabee finally became a reality. Spring 2013 came late to northern Michigan, but it came to our park with bulldozers, back-hoes, and men with hard hats. Within a few days the landscape was transformed following a plan that would stabilize the hillside and provide increased accessibility for all to enjoy for generations to come.
Next to arrive were the storm drain pipes and prefabricated ledge stone rocks for the new retaining wall.
A stairway to the beach was added and terraced rock walls were built that would enlarge the sandy beach, the playground area, and the ADA accessible pathway to the beach.
Additionally, thanks to the generosity of many project supporters, nearly $30,000 was donated to purchase park benches and other amenities.
Finally came the planting of the grass and wild flowers.
The official dedication was held in July.
GRANT APPLICATIONS
Real progress is being made on the Street Scape project with Rachel Osborn leading the project for the Mullett Township Board. Much effort is needed to coordinate all the government agencies and consultants involved. This is a far-reaching project that will address and help resolve various concerns identified several years ago.
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| Before TDA |
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| After TDA |
Some of the major issues to be addressed include storm water runoff (including residual gas and oil) into Mullett Lake, providing additional parking in the downtown area of Topinabee and the installation of safe cross walks and sidewalks for pedestrians. Three conceptual options to accomplish this have been reviewed with the principal parties involved. Meetings were held with stakeholders (MDOT, NLEA, Architects, Mullett Township Board Members and residents) in August to review the three conceptual options. Agreement on the best option was reached.
The Cheboygan County Road Commission will now become involved. There are many steps involved in the process including architectural estimates, engineering drawings for the actual roadway, resolving environmental issues regarding storm water runoff, decisions on additional parking spaces, and others. After several years of planning, this project is finally moving forward due to the involvement and leadership of the Mullett Township Board.
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| Ready For TDA Streetscape Parking Lot |
We continue to look for grants to support other projects in the town. We pursued an opportunity that was brought to our attention to help with the trail head work. An application was submitted for a Trail Town Service Grant to assist with trail head planning. While successful with the process, we discovered that all of the community and Township Board’s efforts over the past several years actually put us far ahead of where many other communities are in planning for the needs of trail users. We expect future applications may provide funding to take further advantage of Topinabee’s proximity to the North Central Michigan Trail. Topinabee remains a vital link in the trail system and we can enhance that position with more and better parking especially for vehicles with trailers.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
TDA members were busy again this year supporting various projects to raise funds to be used to promote Topinabee and its unique location on Mullett Lake. TDA volunteers worked with Northern Michigan Animal Rescue league on the Annual rummage sale, continued to sell cook books, tee shirts and hats, and organized the third holiday home tour. All of this money goes back into the town to support grant applications and various projects in Topinabee. We support the www.Topinabee.org web site, monitor its usage, and make periodic updates to the content. From time to time, the TDA also provides flowers to decorate the Topinabee Post Office and support the maintenance of the flower beds around the town.
Support was also provided to the Great Up North (GUN) marketing campaign. A video promoting tourism in the Cheboygan County area was completed by this group and will be used at various conventions as well as on cable spots. The video highlights the six communities in Cheboygan County with a segment on each depicting what they have to offer vacationers looking for the “up north” experience. Going forward, the project will be implemented with matching money from the states “Pure Michigan” campaign.
