Lake Margrethe News

Meeting at Township Hall

3/10/2018

The Lake Margrethe Property Owners Association would like all property owners and friends of the lake to be informed about Grayling Township's plans to hold a public hearing to hear comments and respond to questions regarding the proposed marina to be constructed in North Bay adjacent to M-72. As you may know, the subject marina project has now been approved by both MDEQ and MDOT.

Information as to the subject meeting follows:

Date: Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Grayling Township Hall, West M-72

6 Comments

David & Anne Noland

3/13/2018 04:36:53 pm

As a little background on our connection with Lake Margarethe and the Grayling area....my husband's grandfather owned property for many, many years right next to Camp Grayling that is actually currently owned by John Alef. My husband's grandfather was also responsible for cutting in some of the original roads early on in this area as they owned a large construction company back in Monroe. My husband spent the majority of his summers at this cabin while growing up and basically knew every inch of the lake. We became property owners on the opposite side of the lake right on M-72 in 1976, and enjoyed 21 years there until we tragically lost our home to a fire. During the early years of home ownership on Lake Margarethe (we were members of the LMPOA), we had the pleasure of enjoying the lake in front of our home. When my daughter was little we purchased a pedal boat for her and her friends to enjoy and would pull it up on the shore when she was not using it and bring it in every evening. The same occurred with our fishing boat. We would also routinely go down to the area where people from town would come to enjoy the small access and put in their boats and have campfires occasionally. Some of the locals were not always good about picking up their trash and we made a point of picking up the trash, bottles, cans, and dirty diapers whenever we were at our cabin. We wanted to keep that view and that area of the lake clean and beautiful. This system worked and our relationship with Dr. Rottermund worked very well as he was always welcoming to people using that stretch of his property that circled the lake at the M-72 curve. Unfortunately he passed away and his property eventually sold to the Lapworths and that is where our problems began. Mrs. Lapworth had a vendetta for anyone that wanted to use that portion of the lake. She made it her personal mission to drive up and down M-72 and yell at the locals that tried to use the small access. She constantly put up "No Trespassing" signs on trees that the MDOT would come by and tear down, telling us that she was not allowed to do that. My most vivid memory was the time that my daughter, her Godfather and his son and daughters were down wading and playing directly across from our property, in the water, and not hurting a soul. She drove by in her usual style yelling at the adult involved and the children and telling them that they were not allowed to be in the lake at this point, stating her "Riparian Rights". When my friend refused to leave the water (not the shore, mind you), she called the Sheriff's Dept. A very kind deputy came out to our house (by this time the children were out of the water) and explained to us that she did own the property and that she was also not very well liked by the locals for her attitude toward this property. He suggested that I go and try to work things out with her and maybe come to an amicable agreement that we could both abide with, even if it involved drawing up a legal document which I was in favor of. The only problem with that solution was that Mrs. Lapworth refused to meet with me and would not answer her door when I walked down to speak with her on three different occasions. This was a very sad and upsetting situation for our family as we had many wonderful memories of that lake with our family and friends. We did not launch our boat at the access, but rather always used the DNR access. Sadly it was only three months after this situation that our home burned to the ground and because of the Lapworth's actions and a few other reasons, we decided to sell the property and not rebuild. I do want to tell you that we still vacation in Grayling. on Lake Margarethe, every year with our friends and family as we rent cabins on the lake and will always enjoy that beautiful pristine Lake Margarethe. We still subscribe to the Avalanche and that is how we learned of this proposed project. We also still have many friends in the Grayling area that we keep in touch with. I find it very odd that now when the Lapworth's can "cash in" and make some money off of this project that it is now "ok" to deface the view on that side and also allow boats to dock for their financial gain. Her constant previous spew of "Riparian Rights" that she yelled at us all the time has taken a turn.

I will be greatly disappointed if there is a decision to approve this so-called mini marina as it will take away the beauty and the view of the lake at that point. I do not have much say in the matter as I am no longer a property owner in Crawford County. No matter what you decide, I want this not to be an issue that I was disgruntled with the Lapworths, but rather the problems that I see arising from allowing this marina project. Where will these people park their vehicles to access their boats? Will the state or the Lapworth's be paying for a third lane on M-72 for people to turn off to park their vehicles and or boat trailers, like there is

Dave and Anne Noland

3/13/2018 04:53:16 pm

(It appears that my first comment was not listed completely). Here is the finishing comments.

up by McIntyre's Landing Road. The lake in this area is usually rather shallow. How will the leaving and returning of the boats affect the lake bottom? There were many accidents while we owned our property down in the area of the small lake access. Won't this just compound that problem? Years ago there was a developer that wanted to put a restaurant in this area, but that was denied due to spot zoning. Doesn't this fall under that same category if this will be for commercial use?

In closing, should you decide to let this project move forward, I would hope that you will change the taxation of this property that circles Lake Margarethe on M-72 for the betterment of the tax base in Crawford County. Years ago, while trying to research the restaurant issue, I found that this property was not being taxed because it was considered unusable. We hope that you will begin to tax this property accordingly.

I hope that you will consider our comments even though we are no longer property owners. We love Lake Margarethe and would like it to stay the untouched beauty that it has always been.

Regards,
Dave and Anne Noland

Marshall Roe

3/17/2018 11:41:38 am

Thank you for your concern and very relavent comments in this deeply troubling matter to property owners and friends of Lake Margrethe.

Marianne Hoffman

3/26/2018 09:29:17 am

Hello - I hope that the proposed marina does not pass. A major concern are the traffic problems on M-72. This will increase the risk of accidents with cars turning in and out of this facility. M-72 is already a very busy road especially on weekends related to traffic that goes to and from Traverse City. I am not totally against a marina on Lake Margrethe, but could there not be another area for this one with more property and one that will not cause a dangerous hazard with traffic. Another concern is that if Lapworth's can open up a Marina then this will open up others to do the same. How many marina's can Lake Margrethe afford? I see this as a way to profit on a small portion of lake property. I do hope that if this goes through, which I hope it does not, they are taxed as a business and keep the area clean of trash and maintain the outhouse. I also hope that there is a plan for it to be aesthetically pleasing.

Timothy Swope

3/26/2018 04:24:30 pm

This proposal concerns me for many reasons, most of which have already been addressed, of which I'm in complete agreement. An additional concern I have is the absence of a professionally prepared proposal. All of the documents that I've reviewed, that were submitted by Mr Lapworth have been hand drawn and hand written. If this is any indication in the manner in which he would manage and maintain his proposed marina, then how are we to expect his marina will be operated in a manner that is in the best interest of one our counties most precious gems. There are many, well justified reasons to disapprove this proposal, and few if any, that would warrant approval.

Dale d Mortenson

3/26/2018 05:41:24 pm

I am a property owner on the lake and I am totally against adding this marina to the shores of Lake Margrethe. There are many concerns regarding this project that have been mentioned before that are against and I agree with them. One question I would like have answered is how this property now zoned. If it's is residential will it be required to rezone the property to commercial for a commercial business for profit to be established on it.

The thoughts of a Porta John in plain view on the shores of the Lake are quite disgusting.

Backing boats in off M-72 which is 55 mph will add to the danger factor for all drivers.

Boats that leak fuel or oil will not be beneficial to the pristine nature of the Lake.

All in all its just a really bad idea for one residential property owner to gain profit from a public lake we all own.

I'm totally against this marina.

Meeting at Township Hall

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