Elmwood Township Not Likely To Expand or Sell Marina, Will Instead Focus On Community Integration

Elmwood Township is unlikely to expand or sell its large marina anytime soon.

Both options (at least conceptually) were on the table recently as township officials discussed the future of the roughly 200-slip marina, one of the largest on all of Grand Traverse Bay.

Because there is significant demand – nearly 300 people are on the waiting list, as is the case with many marinas in the region – Harbormaster Dan Jenuwine suggested that the marina could be expanded.

Such an undertaking, Jenuwine acknowledged, would require tens of millions of dollars and clearing various associated obstacles like expanding an already limited parking area.

The funding would rely largely on increasingly unreliable state and federal sources, and the parking problem alone is a massive hurdle that could only be solved with a variety of undesirable solutions, Supervisor Jeff Shaw tells The Ticker, including construction of a parking deck that would obscure views of the bay or cannibalizing parking at the township park to the south.

Expanding the marina to the south (the most viable direction to expand) could also harm more than just parking at the township park, which has become a particularly popular gathering space since it was greatly improved several years ago.  

“That's a big open space that people enjoy. They sit on the hill and can see the bay, and township residents (use and enjoy the park and playground),” Shaw says. “And it was mentioned at the board meeting: Do we want to interfere with that?”

Jenuwine, who provided expansion as just one possible option, isn't offended if that option isn't pursued.

“This is not about what Dan Jenuwine wants,” he tells The Ticker. “This is about what Elmwood Township wants.”

The idea of selling the marina stems largely from the fact that the vast majority of slip holders aren’t township residents, leading some in the community to question why the township even goes through the trouble of maintaining a marina in the first place.

Elmwood’s marina, the first elements of which date to the 1950s, is a self-funded entity that derives the lion’s share of its revenue from slip holders and boat launch fees. While it doesn’t operate on Elmwood taxpayer dollars (even though plenty of people incorrectly assume it does, Shaw says) it also doesn’t regularly contribute funding to other township operations, another talking point of the “sell the marina” crowd.

Shaw says the board considers the marina a key part of the community’s character and something that should very much be retained by the township, but board members are receptive to concerns that the marina is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the Elmwood community.

“We take a lot of pride in (the marina). It’s part of our identity,” Shaw says. “So in essence the conversation kind of turned to: how can we utilize the marina for more? How can we make it integrated into our community and have our taxpayers enjoy it, even if they're not slip holders?”

The solution may lie in – or at least start with – giving township residents more reason to come down to the marina, Shaw says.

“We’re going to do a 250th celebration (for the nation) there. Maybe we'll try to start doing some farmers markets. Maybe we could have an ice skating rink next year, or set up the new boater’s lounge as Santa’s workshop or something like that. (There are many opportunities) to do more with that property for our taxpayers so they can get more enjoyment out of it.”

Photo inset: Shaw and Jenuwine at the marina.