I remember a conversation from the
movie Fight Club when Brad Pitt says to Edward Norton, “Oh, I get it. It’s very
clever” Norton’s character replies “Thank you”. Pitt then asks, “How’s that working
out for you? Norton asks “What?” Pitt replies, “Being clever.” Norton says,
“Great “and Pitt shrugs, “Keep it up then.”
If you are clever, and it is working
for you, keep it up. The failure comes when any of us individually, as a group,
community, or as a society think we are clever and we are not. A few weeks ago,
everyone who reads Speaking Freely got advance notice that our Board of County
Commissioners planned to spend at least $400,000 of our tax dollars to match a
$400,000 DNR Waterways Grant to replace aged fuel tanks at the Cheboygan County
Marina. That expenditure will be the first of $3.5 million dollars of neglected
maintenance indentified over 8 years ago. The marina cannot support itself
without using your tax dollars and the $3.5 million of neglect has assuredly
grown larger.
Did you not know you are partial owner
of a marina? It is your only county owned and developed recreational area. It
is your Cheboygan County Park. It is open for all of to use and can accommodate
your 50-foot yacht. You say you do not
have a yacht. Nah.., I can’t believe that. You and every other Cheboygan County
taxpayer must have a nice boat because the Commissioners voted unanimously to
start down the road spending millions of dollars more on the marina. Commissioners
Brown and Sangster said they had heard many comments supporting the taxpayer-funded
marina despite only seven county residents using it seasonally last year. There
was only one protester as these clever County Commissioners started a new round
of Waterways Grants that will saddle your children, and grandchildren, with another
20-year commitment for a park they will never use unless they inherit your
yacht. The few raves for the marina found on-line described the cheapest marine
fuel on the Straits. One Captain said the savings on just the fuel compared to
Mackinaw paid for the entire stay.
Commissioner Brown commented that the Cheboygan
County Marina is an essential part of the local transportation infrastructure,
the same as roads or the airport. Sorry Mr Brown, a yacht harbor is a recreational
facility that serves a very small demographic. The need for a safe harbor
refuge on the Straits with more than a half-dozen similar sheltered dockages
for recreational boaters is a foolish argument. When several tugs sought safe
refuge and sank more than six years ago, Duncan Bay was the harbor of choice.
The 270 residents of Beaugrand Township and their inability to fund needed road
repairs is a real infrastructure problem. Chris Brown often laments about that real
need but spends money on the marina.
Commissioner Sangster gave the tired argument
that people, please do not ask how many, just people, had first docked at the
marina and subsequently settled here buying houses or second homes. He even
offered an anecdotal story, admittedly unsubstantiated, that someone might have
invested up $10 million dollars in the area after docking at the Cheboygan
County Marina. What a magical place. Rich Sangster is dipping from the same
well drawn dry by visionaries like Tom O’Hare and other current and former Cheboygan
Economic Development Group (CEDG) members. Those clever people have espoused for
years that tourism and ideally, taxpayer subsidized tourism advertising, encourages
and entices people to settle here, start new businesses, and create jobs. That sounds
clever. How is it working for us? Should the millions of tourists who visit Mackinaw
City each year create a handful of visitors smitten with the Straits to take
root and add to those 800 permanent Mackinaw residents?
Most people never pay attention to their
local government until it directly impacts them. The hurt might be a vehicle
destroying pothole or a tax bill that slams their pocketbook. If they receive any
redress for their grievance, like an Ostrich they then stick their head back in the
sand. All too often, if their grievance is unresolved, they go back home and still
stick their head in the sand. How’s that working for you Cheboygan County?
