Garfield Township has hired Dale Nelson as its new assessor and has agreed to retain former assessor Dawn Nelson as the data processor. The two will split the salary budgeted for the assessor, the board decided during a regular meeting January 16.

Dawn Nelson resigned as the assessor because of a state law that says a local assessor cannot serve as a county commissioner because the commission approves the township assessment roles. Mrs. Nelson was elected to the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners in 2004 and is serving her second term as chairperson.

The new assessor, Dale Nelson, is her husband and also the supervisor of St. Ignace Township.

“Dale worked right alongside Dawn when we first hired her and did our re-appraisel of the township,” said Township Clerk Linda Bennett. “Dale had such close familiarity with the township that we didn’t want to waste taxpayer’s money by advertising for another assessor.”

Also at the meeting, the Garfield Township board discussed beautification efforts in Naubinway and vandalism in remote areas of the township. New planning commission appointments and road improvements rounded out the agenda.

Visitors to Naubinway this year will be greeted with 14 bright blue banners lining each side of the street. Each banner will be adorned with a yellow sun, a green tree, and the silhouette of a fishing boat on the water, said Marcia Waters of the Beautification Committee, who solicited donations to pay for the banners.

The board will discuss at this month’s meeting continued vandalism of a street light at the corner of H-40 and Naubinway Road. The light, according to Cloverland Electric, has been shot out six times in the past year, and the electric company has been replacing it until now.

The township board is asking anyone with information about the vandalism to call Mrs. Bennett at (906) 477-6481.

“If this continues to happen,” she said, “the cost of replacing the light is going to add up for township residents.”

The township board appointed Paul Fillman of Engadine and Brent Geske of Naubinway to the township planning commission. They will serve two-year terms.

“Paul’s been very active in the community,” Mrs. Bennett said. “He has a good head on his shoulders and he’ll be learning the job as he goes along. He is currently on our zoning board of appeals.

“Brent is also very community oriented,” she added, “and he is currently on the township road commission.”

Trustees also reappointed Steve Lane to the ambulance corps and approved the purchase of 10 radios and batteries, at about $400 for each radio, requested by Sue Taylor, who chairs the Fire and Ambulance Committee.

The radios will be paid for out of the township’s general fund.

The ambulance corps also received a $100 donation from the Big Mack Pack Snowmobile Club.

Fire Chief Dave Frazier received permission to apply for a free Department of Natural Resources truck. The pickup truck is 1980s vintage and could be used to carry extra hoses and other gear for the fire department.

Extended preparation time, high fuel costs, and rainstorms last summer caused the paving of Pleasant Avenue to cost $5,291 more than expected, Mrs. Bennett said, and will be paid out of the township’s road fund, which is supported by a special millage.

Mackinac County Road Commission Manager Craig Kelso and Commissioner Lester Livermore presented the board with the bill and explained the overages.

Pleasant Avenue is a dirt road on the outskirts of Engadine that has problems in the spring, Mrs. Bennett said.

The DNR has turned down the board’s request to reduce the cost of moorage at the Naubinway Marina, although it will allow the township to charge patrons who use the marina for seven days to be charged only for five. The marina is currently designated as a District 3 marina.

According to Trustee Duncan MacArthur, the charge for a standard 30-foot slip in a District 3 marina is excessive for the Naubinway facility, considering it only offers rustic facilities. It costs $1,205 a season for a 30-foot slip, Mr. MacArthur said, and the township fears boaters will pass by Naubinway and stay at another marina with better facilities for the same price.

The township board would like to get Naubinway’s marina into District 4, which includes facilities along Lake Superior, from DeTour to Ontonagon. District 4 marinas charge only $990 per season for a 30-foot slip.

Michigan public marinas are grouped into four districts, Mr. MacArthur said, with Naubinway in District 3, along with other marinas on the north shore of Lake Michigan. Some facilities, such as the marina in Menominee, have better facilities than those found in Naubinway.

Public facilities in District 4 are more comparable to Naubinway’s rustic facilities, Mr. MacArthur said.

“We have been working steadily to fix up the Naubinway marina,” Mr. MacArthur said, “but the price dissuades people from coming here, and we need revenue to build up the facilities.”

The Naubinway marina provides a safe harbor, a bathroom, and showers, but no fuel.