A Quick Tour Of Mullett Township

Mullett Township News & Views-Promoting Open Government in Mullett Township

There is also the Mullett Township Party Line or you make drink the Kool-Aid from the Topinabee Development Association "Artesian" Well

Mullett Township is a general law township in Cheboygan County, Michigan. The population was 1312 in the 2010 US census. The township and Mullett Lake are named for John Mullett, who with William Burt, surveyed much of the area between 1840 and 1843.

The commercial center of the Township is the quiet unincorporated Village of Topinabee located on the west shore of Mullett Lake on M27 highway. The village is a trailhead for the DNR Trail with off-street parking and restrooms.

The village has a Post Office, Convenience Store with gas pumps, Public Library with 24 hour outdoor WiFi, an artisan-owned woodwork shop, a breakfast cafe and a bar and grille. Township owned buildings include the Library, Township Hall and Fire Hall, and an unused former school building on Lea St.

Recreation needs are served with a beachfront park and covered picnic area, free public boat launch at the north end of the village, a small public access to Mullett Lake across from the Nokia Cafe and tennis court, ball-field, and playground equipment at a public park located up the hill on Lea St.

The east side of Mullett Township is largely rural, with no commercial development. Township services include a Fire Hall and volunteer East Mullett Lake Fire Department.


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Your Mullett Township Board Working For You?

Mullett Township Capital Works Projects-2014

After years in the procrastination and planning process, here finally are two almost completed recreational facility projects that will benefit both residents and visitors to Mullett Township. 

Boy Scout Park Restroom
Contrary to the beliefs of the Topinabee Development Association, there is another half of Mullett Township over there on the other side of Mullett Lake. While those east side residents and taxpayers pay the same millage and taxes as Topinabee, they receive almost nothing for their money. 

Years ago, in 2009, Cheboygan County sold this 40 acre parcel to Mullett Township for $1 to allegedly facilitate Mullett Township's desires to seek grants to develop a township park for the under-served east side residents. How has that worked out??

The pavilion, extensive engineering costs and plans, improved drive and ADA paved parking area, new restrooms and approved defined swim area with buoys were all done with direct expenditures from the General Revenue Fund. No grant applications. No leveraging of local taxpayer funds. While the TDA seeks grants for this, that, and the other thing in Topinabee; by Tom O'Hare's own admission more than a dozen grant applications for the TDA streetscape, Boy Scout Park gets scant attention.

Boy Scout Park Restroom-Project Engineer-Wade Trim
Despite Supervisor MaryAnne Gale's best efforts to thwart every step in the design process, change room versus no change room, storage versus no storage versus storage shed, the building is done.  Although generally positive, some first comments from the public that has actually viewed the restrooms are "why are the doors on the eave side of building where snow will slide off roof" and "why is the restroom canted to the sidewalk approach, making the privacy screens useless?" Those are questions you will have to ask Paul Repaskey of Wade-Trim and the Mullett Board. The public is never allowed to comment in the design process and like the TDA Park in Topinabee after all the trees were cut, it's too late now to do anything about it.
 
A Restroom Designed for Winter Access

Woodruff Street Boat Launch

Boat Launch Ready For Pavement
The previous Mullett Board started the process to replace the badly deteriorated boat launch ramp at the Woodruff St road end in Topinabee.  There were delays as the previous Board unsuccessfully attempted to secure safe parking for vehicles and trailers with no cooperation from MDOT or the DNR. The present Board ignored the safety issues and proceeded to let the contract with the Cheboygan County Road Commission to design and have the ramp installed. Because this is Cheboygan County, the road commission drew up plans and advertised for bids without a survey to determine the actual boundary of the road end.

This caused  lakeshore property owners, including Thomas and Mary O'Hare and other Topinabee Development Association members including some like Paul Chapoton, more than 3/4 mile away from the ramp, to circle their wagons and petition the Board to protect any possible infringement upon their lake property or enjoyment.  Woodruff St is supposedly 37 feet wide at Mullett Lake, but these petitioners are questioning why the public should be able to use more than 18 feet. It would seem even a total width of 22 feet would allow more than 7 feet of untouched land owned by the public on each side of the ramp.




This is quite a different attitude than that shown by lakeshore property owners adjacent to the contested Sutherland Road end at the south end of Topinabee. There a road end, 47 feet wide, was publicly argued previously by Paul Chapoton as a  "parcel of land" and not a road end at all. On Sutherland, with it's status in flux, Brian and Pat Callaghan still maintain they have squatters rights and want 12.5 feet for their private use. Under Michigan Law, Public property may not be gained by adverse possession or  squatters. The Callaghans, as shown on this survey, want to use over 1/4 of the public access to the lake while using almost none of their own lakeshore property. I cannot find this "all for me, none for you" attitude supported in law or Christian values. Must be a Mullett Lake thing.

Thou shall not covet unless its on Mullett Lake.


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Any legitimate issues with the new ramp could be addressed by installing a DNR style skid-pier dock, constructed of steel and timber, sitting on the ramp. This photo, the DNR Jewell Rd launch, shows how simply this problem can be addressed with a substantial and maintenance free dock correctly installed on the correct side of the ramp. This proposal, sent to all of the Mullett Board members and Mr Bob Snyder elicited zero replies. Too simple of a solution?
New Woodruff Street Boat Ramp
Thirty Seven Feet Without Boat House On It
Or, is it 37 feet? After Mullett Township and Bob Snyder had a survey done, Mr Snyder apparently had less land than he thought. Supervisor MaryAnne Gale publicly stated she has directed the Cheboygan County Road Commission to see if they can "give" some of the public property to Bob Snyder because the corner of his house is almost on the road. 
 Who does the Mullett Township Board work for?

Is it You??

It depends on who "you" is?