Cheboygan County's Only Public Park Is A Yacht Harbor

County governments in Michigan provide many essential services mandated by the state that are part of our expectation of the role of government. I would hope most would agree that the Sherriff’s Department, County Jail, and the District and Circuit Courts are jobs we probably do not want to turn over to privately held run for profit enterprises. The County Equalization Department, County Treasurer, and Clerk’s Office have a multitude of tasks including but not limited to maintaining fair property tax valuations, collecting and disbursing taxes, and recording innumerable legal and property records. The private sector could not provide many of these services as efficiently, hence, the use of governments’ ability to tax and provide for the public good. I am sure the majority of visitors to the County Building who empty their pockets and successfully traverse the security doors to do business with these and other unnamed departments find the vast majority of Cheboygan County employees take pride in serving their fellow County residents. Most of the hourly or salaried employees are our neighbors, friends, or even relatives and they know in Cheboygan County our boats all rise or fall on the same tide.

On the subject of boats and the approach of the boating season, have you gotten your yacht out of storage? The Cheboygan County Commissioners seem to think the true measure of a man is the length of his boat and they plan to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to maintain the promise: “the Cheboygan County Marina will continue to provide state-of-the-art facilities, world-class service and family-friendly services to the boating public.”

Many Cheboygan County taxpayers can't afford a row boat

The Cheboygan County Marina? Do our County Commissioners really think a marina for yachts is an essential government service? Well, maybe it is. Let’s be fiscally smart and run the numbers. How many Cheboygan County taxpayers docked seasonally at this facility last year? Records supplied by County Administrator Jeff Lawson showed out of 45 seasonal slips rented last summer, 7 boats had owners in Cheboygan County. With about 25,000 county residents or 10,000 households in Cheboygan County, only seven parties used this County recreational facility. That is less than three local users per ten thousand residents. Does that sound like an essential service?

Wait; there are always the immeasurable tourism benefits according to Mr Lawson. Here are the numbers I see. An iconic northern Michigan family owned marina sits on the opposite side of the Cheboygan River providing sales and service jobs with a real payroll. That for profit marina also paid more than $53,000 in property taxes last year. The Duncan Bay Boat Club, competing for the same boaters and dollars, offers over 260 slips with both condominium ownership and transient or seasonal slips. Mr Lawson’s taxpayer subsidized slip rental rate undercuts a competitor who pays more than $90,000 in property taxes every year. The taxpayer owned Cheboygan County Marina we all subsidize paid zero property taxes.

Lawson’s yacht basin now requires $800,000 in capital infusion. The Cheboygan taxpayers, usually paying the highest gasoline prices in the state offers any yacht cruising by a bargain on refueling. Lawson’s business model almost breaks even every year by paying no property taxes, and never setting aside any money for needed repairs. A study done more than 8 years ago, paid for by us, identified $3.5 million dollars in needed and future capital costs. Now Lawson wants $400,000 in Cheboygan taxpayer money plus another $400,000 DNR grant to replace the fuel tanks. The County ignored or forgot that report and nothing ever fixes itself. That $800,000 will be the first of several million dollars paid by county taxpayers over the next decade. 

...and The Cheboygan County Taxpayers

My modest boats have always proven the adage that a boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into.  Captain Jeff Lawson wants to play Harbor Master with your money and pour tax dollars into the Cheboygan County Marina’s bottomless hole. Net jobs he created last year-3 seasonal. A $600,000 water line to Meijer would bring 250-300 year round full and part-time jobs. Cheboygan County says “not our job”. 

The Cheboygan County Commissioners all need to hear that paying for the Cheboygan County Marina is not our job. Their names, districts, and telephone numbers are to the right.