As it turns out, the Village has a new-found opportunity to provide a kayak launch ramp this summer, but funding and approval will likely be a challenge.

Parks & Recreation Commission Chairman Dianne Richter recently discovered that our own Michigan Lake Products sells a bolt-on kayak launch ramp that would fit our existing floating dock in the Upper Harbor. It costs $7,500.

Would be great to have it in place this summer. Can it happen?

The Township Board will hold its regular meeting — June 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the original location, the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall. Be there to see history in the making as the Township returns to its roots. 

And, as a bonus, you’ll likely view the premiere showing of the new HERTHA video – Elk Rapids Story: Past, Present and Future of the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall.

Excerpt:

SHIP HUMAN WASTE AWAY  FROM THE LAKES

ER Village Sewage Plant Project Plan:  TNN analyzed the 100 page plan and has filed a ‘Public Comment’.

 The Plan requires 40 times more frequent human waste removal from the ER Waste Water Treatment Plant 2 times yearly in the Plan. Versus 1 time in 20 years currently. 

 TNN opposes land disposing this waste in local townships.  Population year-round is 4X higher than the Village; TNN estimates over 15,000* total residents seasonally in 3 local townships 10X Village. 

 COTorch Lake – Milton Township are not the proper location for land disposal. Neither is Elk Rapids Twp. where septic tank waste is land disposed.

 There is evidence that Village human waste disposal sites in Milton and Torch Lake Townships ran-off to ditches, streams, the Bay and down-hill residents along Creswell Lane, Birch View Rd, Joe Marks Trail, Juniper Drive; McKenzie Drive is at risk.

Crisis low Bay water levels trap this run-off from upland farm fields near shore where children play on beaches.

* NWMCOG Northwest Michigan Seasonal Population Model updated to 2010 U.S. Census

Entire Newslater

As part of Green Elk Rapids Days:

Special Village Council meeting, 6 p.m. at HERTHA Hall, 401 River Street. Announcements, essay winners, Trashformation winners.  Guest speaker Pat Lindemann, Ingham County Drain Commissioner, on innovative water projects. – Record-Eagle

Elk Rapids is prominently located on the national Bike Route 35. And now we have the signs to prove it.

Elk Rapids is fast becoming a non-motorized transportation hub. This is good.

Today 100 new chairs arrived at the Town Hall. Chair wranglers were Tom Bowes, Howard Richter, Tom Vranich, Jerry DeGrazia and Terry Miller. Now the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall Association needs more donations to pay for these chairs and purchase 50 more. Please go to the incredible HERTHA Web site to give a chair. Or you can give whatever amount you wish.

And please check out HERTHA’s whimsical Chairity blog.

Excerpt:

VILLAGE SEWAGE PLANT – “SHIP HUMAN WASTE AWAY FROM LAKES”

A Sewage Plant Project Plan will have a first reading by ER Village Council April 29. This begins a 30 day public comment period with Project Plan approval to be considered in early June. Sources say the Village will keep land disposing human waste in Torch Lake & Milton Townships on the table. Instead TNN urges Council to direct Gosling-Czubak to develop proposals to ship human waste solids away from the lakes.  Experience shows disposal on upland farms runs-off to beaches.

The project Plan is the next step to bring the Village Sewage Treatment Plant up to standards. Council has already chosen the lowest life cycle cost option to use existing lagoons.  But 4 million gallons of human waste will have to be removed.

Complete NewsletterM

DDA Officers    
     Chair – Jan Bassett
     Vice Chair – Andy LaPointe
     Secretary – Mary Beth Vandenberg
     Treasurer – Mike Spence

Also note meetings for July and August will be at 7:30 a.m., rather than p.m., due to Evenings on River Street.

Here are the results. Click on the headings to view the actual documents.

ResidentialParkingSurveyAndAvailabilityAssessment
From the document introduction: “The Elk Rapids Village Council is considering a proposal to eliminate portions of the residential parking requirements in the Central Business District (CBD) in the Zoning and Unified Development Code. A survey of the CBD property owners and an associated informal parking analysis were created to aide the Council in a more informed decision.

The data collected in this assessment provides both a qualitative and quantitative perspective on the previously undocumented parking activity associated with the residential land use in the district and the variables that impact this activity. Additionally, data was compiled on parking availability and  prioritization of space within the district that can be utilized to inform future commercial and residential land use planning and the associated decision making process.”

B2ParcelOwnerInformation
This document contains parcel by parcel raw data on owners and number of rental units that was used to prepare the assessment.

Dredging has been in the news a lot lately.

Four years ago, funding topped $60 million. This year, it was expected to be about half that and could be slashed further by cuts to the federal budget resulting from the sequester. The total price tag to cover all the commercial dredging needs on the lakes is about $100 million, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the harbors and channels.

To hold even, the lakes need about $40 million in dredging a year, said Jim Weakley, president of the Lake Carriers Association, an Ohio-based trade group representing companies that move 115 million tons of cargo across the Great Lakes every year. Without that, the backlog keeps growing. Committing $60 million a year could clear the backlog in a decade, he said, but that depends on whether water levels continue to drop.    Freep

The List