Following a thorough line of questioning, the Mackinaw City Village Council tabled a request to hold a political Tea Party rally at the Mackinaw Bay Trading Company on South Huron and requested the applicant, Patti Vincent, provide more information about the event. The village also will apply for a permit to groom two Lake Michigan beaches past the high-water mark and held its first reading of the ferry boat company parking lot ordinance during its meeting Thursday, April 1.

Mrs. Vincent submitted a special event application to hold a political rally Sunday, September 5, the day before Labor Day. She said the rally would be advertised as a Tea Party event with guest speakers, entertainment, and programs to encourage children to be more engaged in politics. The rally, she said, is in response to many people in the area, including Democrats and Republicans, who are dissatisfied with government and that it would offer “a forum for them to share their feelings.”

Tea Party Patriots is a political movement promoting fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free market .

Council members asked a battery of questions about the event. Some trustees were concerned that the rally is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, when thousands of visitors are in town for the annual Mackinac Bridge walk and streets already are congested. Trustee Paul Michalak asked if there was some way Mrs. Vincent could confirm the number of people attending the rally. She replied that she did not know, but would keep the village updated as plans for the event unfold.

Mrs. Vincent said organizers have secured insurance and have extra EMS and security available and, whatever the village tells her to do, she will do to make the program work. The event would be held on private property, she said. She said such rallies are peaceful and that she hoped that some national speakers would attend. Some planning, she said, depends on whether the village will issue a special event permit for the rally.

Attracting additional people for a political rally that weekend would be difficult for the village for several reasons, village officers noted. Hotels would likely be filled with walkers, and security would be strained in preparation for the walk, which is led by the governor. Mrs. Vincent said she is not interested in holding the rally another day.

Her application was tabled until the next meeting, Thursday, April 15. Council members requested a more detailed plan on the number of people expected to attend the rally and how it will be staffed and managed.

Village To Pursue Permit

for Beach Cleaning

Turning over and cleaning the sand and mowing plants on two beaches will be pursued through a Department of Natural Resources and Environment permit, Village Manager Jeff Lawson said. The village can legally clean and mow above the high-water mark, but is not allowed to go past that point, he explained. The application was spurred by the desires of visitors and residents to sit as close to the water as they can, but they are unable to because of vegetation.

Mr. Lawson explained the village cleaned past the high water mark in the past, but was notified in 2000 they needed a permit. Since then, the village has applied for the permit but has been denied each time.

Mr. Michalak asked if anything different could be done with the application to increase the chances of approval. No additional information can be added to the form, Mr. Lawson said, although public support could help. In 2005, village citizens circulated a petition that garnered about 50 signatures. The village itself cannot circulate a petition.

Grooming beaches has been found to change the water ecology at the shoreline, disrupting fish and invertebrate reproduction, and to change the sand above the water by replacing native beach plants that stabilize beach sand with invasive plants that don't. A 2006 report released by the state, the cover of which shows a marsh with the Mackinac Bridge in the background, details the study and its findings. It can be found by searching for “beach grooming report” on the state's Web site, www.michigan.gov .

Mackinaw City has been turned down for the grooming, Mr. Lawson said, because the DNRE feels there is not enough use on the beaches to take them out of their natural state.

Council members, however, feel the village should have nice public sand beaches just as private property owners enjoy.

Zoning Ordinance Amendment

Council held the first of two readings of the zoning ordinance amendment for seasonal overflow parking . Mr. Michalak and President Pro Tem Janelle Bancroft asked for clarification on why boat lines would be granted up to nine years to use unpaved lots for overflow parking without a requirement that they pave them.

Mr. Lawson explained giving the companies that long without paving would enable the lots ultimately to be developed for something other than parking, without having to remove the asphalt paving. Because the lots are used only for overflow parking during designated busy summer months, dust and other problems associated with unpaved lots would be minimal.

The amendment would apply to a number of parcels in the community under special use permit. Mr. Lawson said the village anticipates a special use permit request from Shepler's for the lot across from the Up North restaurant. Such a permit would require a three-foot berm with plantings on top to screen the parking area from the road.

The second reading of the amendment will be at the next village council meeting Thursday, April 15. The amendment may also be approved at that time.

Taxi Service

Council approved Straits Taxi's application to operate a taxi service in the village. The renewal will permit the St. Ignace-based service to operate a taxi around the clock with a local driver during the summers. Winter service will be served from St. Ignace, according to Michael Gustafson, in his application.