Emmet County will no longer take reservations for the Headlands Beach House in Mackinaw City after the end of 2012 and will likely demolish the building as early as 2013. Emmet County made several decisions last week that will impact its Headlands property in Mackinaw City. The county will no longer take reservations for the Headlands Beach House after the end of 2012 and will likely demolish the building as early as 2013.

That decision was established at a joint meeting Friday, January 20, among the Emmet County Historical Commission and Parks and Recreation and Building and Grounds committees at Pellston Regional Airport.

At their Thursday, January 26 meeting, the Emmet County Board of Commissioners approved expanding the Dark Sky Park designation at the Headlands to include 22,500 acres in Wilderness State Park, surrounding state forest land, and other county properties. The combined area would be designated as a Dark Sky Coast.

The move is a joint endeavor between Emmet County and the Little Traverse Conservancy. Both parties believe it will bring more tourists to the area. The creation of the coast would involve making a request to include Emmet County state land in a current state statute regarding light pollution. The designation will then require the state to only use lighting that is directed downward on its land.

Companion legislation is set to be introduced by State Representative Frank Foster of Pellston to require the state property to avoid ambient light in more populated areas. Rep. Foster said his bill will require state parks and forests to avoid using any unnecessary lighting and require new lights be as unobtrusive as possible.

With the demolition of the Beach House seemingly imminent, community members and interested groups have stepped forward with ideas and concerns for what should be constructed at the location, if anything.

“Most people agreed it should be torn down,” said Jim Tamlyn, chair of the Emmet County board of commissioners, although he did say there were some at the meeting who would have liked to see the building preserved. “It’s a very interesting building, but has limited function.”

According to Mr. Tamlyn, it would cost about $1 million to complete needed renovations. And right now, the county can only make use of the building six months out of the year because bad insulation makes operating costs too high in cold months.

“We could build a more functional building at a lower cost,” he noted.

The building accommodates about 60 people and Mr. Tamlyn said the county would like to construct something that would accommodate 200 to 250 people. They want to use it for conferences, meetings, wedding receptions, and other public uses.

Commissioners are not expected to reach a final decision on whether to demolish the building until the end of this year, Mr. Tamlyn said. They are talking to an engineer now about the options for a new structure.

Mary Stewart Adams is the director of the International Dark Sky Park at the Headlands. She agrees that the current structure is expensive to maintain and does not oppose its demolition. But, she says she does not want a structure built in its place that will emit more light.

She said the current structure doesn’t in any way inhibit the park’s dark sky designation. As long as the windows are shielded, it doesn’t create any significant light.

It would be nice, she said, to have a reliable facility to use for some of the dark sky park programs, “but it’s not absolutely necessary.” She added what she needs for her programming is minimal.

“Keeping it dark in the park is the first and most important step in choosing what should be placed there.”

Ms. Stewart Adams has been speaking with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians about offering educational programming about the tribe at the park, but doesn’t have any firm dates to start yet. She believes it is a strong possibly programs would begin next year.

“I’m thrilled about it,” she said. “The Odawa have a very rich history and we would all benefit from learning more about it.”

Eric Hemenway, a representative of the tribe, said he would like to see preservation of the natural environment and habitat at the Headlands paramount in moving forward with any project. Coupled with cultural and historical preservation, he believes that would bring more visitors to the Headlands.

Several other groups in the area, he said, are also interested in the preservation of the land, such as the Audubon Society. It is a rare property, he said, with old growth trees and endangered bird species.

“It’s remained almost the same for hundreds of years. There are few places in the country that can boast that,” he said. He wants to see it preserved as much as possible and at the same time allow the stories about it to be told.

Mr. Hemenway called the Headlands “a cross-cultural piece of property.” He would like to see the history of the area told through programming at the park.

“The whole straits area has huge cultural significance for the Anishnaabeg.”

The Odawa expelled another tribe from the Headlands area hundreds of years before European contact. He likens the property to an original landing point for the tribe. Before the Odawa, other Anishnaabeg tribes lived there for thousands of years.

Mr. Hemenway believes education on the Odawa and Anishnaabeg will allow people to see the value and uniqueness of the property. He hopes it can bring greater awareness of what it means to the Odawa.