"You guys have to decide as a board if this is a resort town or a retirement town," said Kim Bushey, owner of Kim's Tally Ho bar in Curtis, regarding a debate over a prospective noise ordinance discussed at the Portage Township meeting Tuesday, August 15.

The board authorized Supervisor Donald Ferris to work with the township attorney to investigate noise ordinances in other communities so the board can deliberate what kind of noise ordinance, if any, would be appropriate for Curtis.

Much of the discussion about the issue centered around weekend activity at Kim's Tally Ho bar. Mr. Ferris said he has received complaints about noise on Friday nights, when musical entertainment is provided at the bar. He added that he must respond to these requests and that the matter is not a personal issue.

Ms. Bushey suggested that overly restricting establishments like hers could hurt the local economy.

"You have to give people who come to this town on vacation an outlet," she said. "We promote people to come to this town. Now we're saying, 'Come here, but we're going to have the cops here, so if you drink too much, you're going to jail.'" Restricting music could deter visitors, she also suggested.

Treasurer Nancy Kister questioned the value of creating an ordinance every time a complaint is made in the township, particularly in this case, because the debate seems to focus on only one establishment. Therefore, the matter begs for another solution, she said.

Creating a noise ordinance in Curtis is "a dead horse that has been beaten many times," she said, adding that the township has turned down noise ordinances on several occasions.

One township resident insisted that noise is a problem elsewhere in the township, and that the problem is not restricted to the Tally Ho bar.

Trustee Mark Devereaux said most other municipalities have noise ordinances and that implementing one in Curtis would be good for businesses.

"We're a growing community," he said. "We will have a noise ordinance, someday, I am confident of that."

Mr. Devereaux suggested that noise hurts businesses such as motels, and a local resort owner added that not all visitors participate in the bar scene. He said residents need a mechanism to curb high noise levels, and a simple ordinance would give the public the right to call the police.

Without an established ordinance, there is no way to prosecute anyone for making excessive noise, Mrs. McDonald noted.

Both Ms. Bushey and Mrs. McDonald acknowledged the changing nature of Curtis regarding such matters.

Ms. Bushey said not nearly as many parties take place in Curtis as in years past, bolstering her position that her business is being unfairly targeted. Mrs. McDonald suggested that part of the reason complaints could be increasing could be because people that once came to Curtis on vacation are now living in the area. Living in the area versus vacationing could be leading to changing ideas about what to expect from the community, but compromises could be made to allow Curtis to be both a retirement and a resort community, she said.

A second zoning issue drew heated debate at the meeting, this one regarding the use of travel trailers in residential areas.

The board tabled action to enforce an existing ordinance requiring that travel trailers in residential areas be in "stored condition" for the majority of the year.

The motion followed a heated discussion based on contentions that Ms. Bushey has had someone living in a trailer in her yard for much of the summer.

Storing travel trailers is allowed in residential areas, but local rules state that using them or living in them is limited to 21 days a year, said township zoning administrator and assessor Richard Oliver, who responds to written complaints about such matters.

The discussion sparked concern by local firefighter Jeff Burton, who questioned whether visitors and residents would be harmed by the enforcement of the ordinance. Some people enjoy the summers in their travel trailers in the Curtis area, he said.

Mr. Oliver later told the St. Ignace News that people living in travel trailers in wooded lots by South Manistique Lake would be in violation of the ordinance, after 21 days, unless they owned the land in question, had obtained building permits, and were in the process of building.

"We're not out there looking for violations, though," he said, "and we've never had a complaint there."

As zoning administrator, one of Mr. Oliver's jobs is to identify zoning problems and work on

solutions. The issue of how residents and visitors can use travel trailers on wooded lots "will be looked at" after the township's master plan is completed, he said.

Portage Township's new master plan, which will define how township residents want it to be developed, will be finished by the end of the year, he said. Once finished, the township will be able to update its zoning ordinances, keeping issues such as the use of travel trailers on wooded lots in mind.

Yet another zoning-based controversy arose at the meeting, this one regarding a fence on Smith Avenue beside the Tally Ho bar, which is adjacent to a public easement to South Manistique Lake.

The fence could create a liability issue for the township, said Mr. Ferris. Owing to the fact that the bar is licensed to serve alcohol outside, no part of the fence can be on or even encroach upon public property, he said.

Exactly where the bar's property meets township property is unclear, but the matter should be resolved by the next meeting, said Township Clerk Marcia McDonald.

Mrs. Bushey said that if the fence is, in fact, on public property, she would be glad to move it.

Curtis resident Sue Petrie said several public easements are being used, even blocked, by local businesses, citing, in particular, easements on Straw Road and Smith Road, but charged that Ms. Bushey's bar is the only easement being targeted by the board.

Public easements to the lake were surveyed in 2001, Mr. Ferris said, and he believes none are being restricted.

"The law continually changes regarding public use of access sites," Mrs. McDonald said, adding that the objects Mrs. Petrie mentioned were placed there long before the current board took office. Mrs. Petrie is partially correct, though, she added, in that a portion of an old septic tank could be on part of a public easement beside The Whitefish Inn, and a dumpster may also be on the easement.

The public is allowed to use these sites for a variety of purposes, excluding the building of permanent structures or engaging in any activity which would create liability issues for the township, Mr. Ferris said.

"The easements are public property," Mrs. McDonald told The St. Ignace News. People can use them, but the township cannot alter them in any way, including placing picnic tables, trash cans, or building public boat launches there.