A new seasonal page for your winter entertainment.
This page will cover Mullett Township Board's ongoing attempts to "close" the new Topinabee Beach Park to winter use.
The snow fence was installed the last week of November 2013 to stop ALL winter sports use of the park. Some local pundit advises this is to limit the liability of Mullett Township should someone go through the ice on a snowmobile. What is that expression? BS?
This snow fence has been installed for one reason only. The TDA and the previous Mullett Board ignored pleas from the public to accommodate ALL historic users of the park including snowmobiles and ice fishermen. They placed an urban park with faux finished sidewalks in a rural community where residents and visitors alike have used the park property year-round to freely access Mullett Lake.
Now, Topinabee's only lakeside park is closed for the winter. This not only involves fencing the trail side of the park, but a similar length of snow-fence along the shore. The Mullett Board has also spent taxpayer dollars to place an ad in the 2013-2014 Northern Lower Michigan Snowmobile/ATV Trail Map. Every other ad from private businesses or community groups embraces visitors.
Mullett Township's ad states:
December 4, 2013 Here is a series of 13 pictures showing what is left of the "snow-fence" taken on December 5, 2013.
This damage to a kiosk should be reported.
This snow fence has been installed for one reason only. The TDA and the previous Mullett Board ignored pleas from the public to accommodate ALL historic users of the park including snowmobiles and ice fishermen. They placed an urban park with faux finished sidewalks in a rural community where residents and visitors alike have used the park property year-round to freely access Mullett Lake.
Now, Topinabee's only lakeside park is closed for the winter. This not only involves fencing the trail side of the park, but a similar length of snow-fence along the shore. The Mullett Board has also spent taxpayer dollars to place an ad in the 2013-2014 Northern Lower Michigan Snowmobile/ATV Trail Map. Every other ad from private businesses or community groups embraces visitors.
Mullett Township's ad states:
Snowmobiling is
prohibited in the
Topinabee Park.
Day 2 of Fence Installation
December 4, 2013
December 4, 2013
December 4, 2013
December 4, 2013 Here is a series of 13 pictures showing what is left of the "snow-fence" taken on December 5, 2013.
This damage to a kiosk should be reported.
As forecast by this blog last week: "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."
I was simply too optimistic. The fence lasted less than a week before requiring ALL of the posts to be replaced. Here are some of the the new "T posts" awaiting the weekly installation. Let's hope the "crew" at about $31 an hour removes all of the nasty, broken off little stubs left from the first batch of broken fence posts. A real liability issue should someone trip or cut a bare foot next summer on a jagged, rusty remnant of another failed Mullett Board action.
Update: December 6, 2013
What God has torn asunder, a little wind storm, Supervisor MaryAnne Gale and her "crew" fix again. You must really hate snow-mobilers and ice fishermen and love the TDA to get hands on like this. Where are those community minded TDA volunteers when you need them??
Supervisor MaryAnne and her $18 an hour temp? employee, hired without Board motion or approval, re-installing the snow-fence on December 6, 2013.
Update: December 6, 2013
What God has torn asunder, a little wind storm, Supervisor MaryAnne Gale and her "crew" fix again. You must really hate snow-mobilers and ice fishermen and love the TDA to get hands on like this. Where are those community minded TDA volunteers when you need them??
Supervisor MaryAnne and her $18 an hour temp? employee, hired without Board motion or approval, re-installing the snow-fence on December 6, 2013.
December 7, 2013-Fix it again-continues......
December 7, 2013-"New" fence posts going to scrap
December 7, 2013-New bigger beach at park
December 10, 2013-Snow-Fence Down at Lake
December 10, 2013
Snow-Fence blown off posts and re-attached Tuesday morning-Fix it again, and again, and again.
December 10, 2013
Snow-Fence blown off posts and being re-attached Tuesday afternoon-Fix it again, and again, and again at $18 per hour.
December 19, 2013
Snow-Fence by lake being re-attached, fixed again, Thursday afternoon-Fix it again, and again, and again at $13 per hour PLUS an anonymous helper at an unknown compensation.
January 22, 2014
A new year and the same problems are apparent with the snow-fence down and evidence of, for shame, someone trudging through the snow to sit on a swing. Manufacturers of the plastic fencing recommend a post every 8-10 feet. Supervisor Gale ignores these recommendations, preferring to blame the broken fencing on vandals and pay over and over again to reinstall the fence. Good management at work with your tax dollars. 