MORAN TOWNSHIP
Board Considers Purchase of Marquette Park
By Paul Gingras

The former site of Father Marquette National Memorial museum may receive a new owner, owing to a proposal by the Moran Township Board of Trustees to buy the land from the state and develop it into a township park. The board is responding to a proposal by Daryl Brown of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Cheryl Schlehuber, who addressed the board on behalf of the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce. They would like to build a cultural heritage center on the site to increase tourism, increase the number of local jobs, and celebrate the history of the St. Ignace area.

The property borders I-75 near the Mackinac Bridge, with access from Boulevard Drive.

At the township's July 5 meeting, board members directed Township Supervisor Jim Durm to write a letter to State Senator Jason Allen requesting his input on the idea.

"We are seeking Mr. Allen's recommendation," Mr. Durm explained, noting that the senator is chairman of the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee. The board hopes he can provide legislative support and direct the board to proper officials with the request to buy the land.

Local officials competed for the national recognition of Father Jacques Marquette, who established a mission here in 1671, against other communities along his exploration routes, including cities like St. Louis, Missouri. When the national memorial was established here, the federal money was funneled through the state park system.

Once an area showpiece, the museum and resource center at the site was struck by lightning and burned in 2000. The state had not insured the facility and it has not been redeveloped, nor does there appear to be any initiative at the state level to do so, Mr. Durm and Mr. Brown noted.

The idea is in the early planning phase. The township does not know the price of the land, and the purchase would be a multi-year endeavor involving grants, matching funds, and tribal assistance, Mr. Durm told The St. Ignace News.

"The use of tax dollars is one of the things we have to consider," he added.

Mr. Brown explained that, ultimately, it does not matter who owns the property, but that township ownership is one way to enable multiple entities to use it, which he cited as a goal. Mr. Brown added that a feasibility study is in order to determine what can be done there.

"The idea is not small," he said. "It is big."

In his letter to Mr. Allen, Mr. Durm said the township and the tribe would like to develop a cultural heritage center that would highlight early American Indian and European cultures that inhabited the area.

The idea has evolved from an earlier plan to develop a facility called Turtle's Back at the site, Mr. Brown said, but there have been changes to the concept. In addition to a cultural center, he envisions a high-end restaurant and a transportation museum, which would focus on historical changes to transit on the Great Lakes, from canoes to freighters. Tapping into Great Lakes lore would be an exciting development, he added.

"A lot of things would go into it, to make people want to come to an exciting, modern, facility," Mr. Brown said. "Hopefully, we can get enough people interested to form a larger committee" to work on the project, he told The St. Ignace News.

Since the state appears to have no interest in rebuilding the museum, it is clear that more local control is in order to redevelop the site, officials note. A new facility would make St. Ignace more competitive for tourism, Mr. Brown said.

The township's lawyer, Tom Evashevski, told the board that buying the land would be a legitimate use of township funds, owing to its potential to benefit area residents.

In other business, the township moved $8,000 from its general fund to its fire fund, $5,000 of which will be donated to the Hendricks Township Fire Department to augment its fire service and make coverage in Moran Township more equitable, Mr. Durm said. Another $3,000 will be donated to Brevort Township to augment its fire department, following a request by that township, he added.

The decision was made in response to residents who have complained that money from the general fund is being used to pay for fire hydrants, which increase fire protection on the eastern end of Moran Township but do not benefit the rest of the municipality, which stretches as far as Ozark to the north and Brevort Village to the west. Since the general fund draws on money from all township residents, the board seeks to ensure that their tax revenue provides equal fire protection to all areas of the municipality, Mr. Durm explained.

Moran Township does not have its own fire department. It relies on a contract with the St. Ignace Fire Department for primary coverage and Hendricks and Brevort townships for back-up support.

In a related issue, the municipality will not reduce the amount it pays to the City of St. Ignace for fire protection, Mr. Durm said. The idea of doing so was brought up by residents in recent meetings.

Owing to the availability of highly developed 9-1-1 maps, the township board considered making Hendricks and Brevort township fire departments primary responders in specific areas of Moran Township, reducing primary coverage by St. Ignace in those areas and reducing expenditures to St. Ignace for protection. After an informal meeting involving Mr. Durm, Trustee Mark Spencer, and city officials Thursday, July 19, the board decided against the idea.

"Reducing [the value] of the contract is really not an option," Mr. Durm said, citing services that only St. Ignace can provide, such as the Jaws of Life rescue tool and other devices that Brevort and Hendricks townships do not possess.

The Moran Township fire department budget has reached $53,000.

Donating money to augment neighboring fire departments, without reducing expenditures to St. Ignace "does place a burden on our budget," Mr. Durm told The St. Ignace News, "but we do have adequate [funds] to move ahead."

An old farm house on the east side of Schoolhouse Road, formerly Old Ozark Road, burned down Friday, July 13. A passing resident saw the fire and called 9-1-1 about midnight, Mr. Durm said.

The building contained windows and doors owned by Mark Spencer. Gary Revord, the owner, also used the building for storage.

Mr. Revord described the building as a "log structure" dating to about 1840. The building was a total loss, he said.

The fire is under investigation by the St. Ignace Fire Department.