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What's happening with Save Founders Landing Beach's (SFLB's) vetting of the Rowing Clubhouse Lease?

March 20, 2015—City of Marquette denies FOIA based on archaic, 1979 Attorney General Opinion: Appeal Filed

To help stop construction of the Rowing Club's private, member's-only, 0.6-million-dollar, 6,000-square-foot Clubhouse on our only downtown beach, do the following today, before it's too late:

  • submit a letter-to-the-editor via the Mining Journal's Web site—it's very quick and easy, and effective.
  • e-mail your thoughts to our City Commissioners. Ask them to move construction of the rower's Clubhouse from Founders Landing Beach—which is part of OUR park system (taxpayers spent $40,000 to rehab this beach just a few short years ago)—to the Lower Harbor Marina, which is crumbing and insolvent. It has plenty of parking and all necessary utilities are in place, and it's in desperate need of an infusion users and cash, having fewer members than the Rowing club.
    If you e-mail Commissioner Cambensy, let her know how much you appreciate her support for preserving Founders Landing Beach as we know it today as she was the ONLY commissioner to stand up to the Rowing Club and their cronies in City Hall and on the City Commission.

100 reasons to think long and hard before donating money to help the well-heeled—read: multimillionaire—members of the Rowing Club construct THEIR private clubhouse on OUR beach...

 

Read in-depth article here.

 

 

>> 03-04-15 How many millionaires are there in the Rowing Club?

 

>> 03-02-15 Is the Rowing Club's Bunker-on-the-Beach destined to become just another embarrassing, view-blocking "Toilet Tank" structure on our Lakeshore?

 

>> 01-28-15

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc 1 and Doc 2

>> 01-26-15

>> 01-25-15

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

>> 01-24-15

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

>> 01-22-15

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

>> 01-21-15

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

>> 01-20-15

 

>> 01-19-15

>> 01-15-15

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

 

>> 01-14-15

 

>> 01-13-15 Contact your City Commissioners today and tell them you want the Rowing Clubhouse built in the Lower Harbor Marina, not on Founders Landing Beach...

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

 

>> 01-12-15 Contact your City Commissioners today and tell them you want the Rowing Clubhouse built in the Lower Harbor Marina, not on Founders Landing Beach...

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

 

>> 01-11-15 Contact your City Commissioners today and tell them you want the Rowing Clubhouse built in the Lower Harbor Marina, not on Founders Landing Beach...

Read the digital e-mail trail at MarquetteWikiLeaks.com Doc

 

>> 01-09-15 BREAKING NEWS...

In the biggest FOIA document dump in the city clerk's tenure—and perhaps the city's history—Save Founders Landing Beach is now in possession of over 1,200 pages of rowing clubhouse-related e-mails and they paint a very, very disturbing picture of how our city government gave special consideration to the private, members-only rowing club, manipulating honorable, career city staff and bending city rules, regulations, and ordinances behind the scene, out of sight of reporters, cameras, and most importantly, every day city voters, so they could ram the rowing clubhouse project through.



These official, city e-mails, released in person by the city's own clerk, show deceit—and even intimidation—at the highest levels of city government. Some of the most troubling of all are e-mails from our city manager, whose wife is a member of the rowing club, and even our police chief.

Despite his public recusal, including regularly walking out of city commission meetings when the rowing clubhouse was up for discussion, the city manager apparently still remained involved, behind the scenes.

For example, one official e-mail shows the city manager still made himself available, in private, to members of the rowing club after his public recusal, researching and answering their requests, even one where the rowing club asked that he investigate our group—Save Founders Landing Beach! He fed the results of his investigation, and research on other rowing club requests, back to club members through whom else, but Commissioner Campana, who also has spousal ties to the top leadership of the rowing club.

What did the city manager do when someone opposed to the clubhouse project tried to contact him by e-mail, he or his staff advised them he was standing recused.

These 8 pounds of e-mails reveal a stunning, never-before-seen insider's look at how the rowing club and their cronies on the city commission and in city administration pulled off this sweetheart deal, despite widespread opposition among city voters, and even those living outside the city who value our public lakeshore.

As I comb through the 100s of e-mails, look for the most revealing ones to be shared for your review, without the spin of the rowing club's gifted leadership, or their cronies in city government. Also, earlier today, staff at the "Mining Journal" reached out to me, asking if I would sit down with them so they could review the trove of e-mails…STAY TUNED!.

 

>> Received another alarming call from a citizen of Marquette, this one on December 29, 2014...

 

>> And the Rowing Club's reason for fencing-off the paltry 15 percent public space in our Community Boathouse with chain-link fencing: they were just trying to protect our stuff from members of the Rowing Club and NMU's rowing crew...too bad we won't have access to the locker room, showers, or workout area in our Community Boathouse...

 

>> And more intimidation for those who dare to disagree with the Rowing Club...

And the intimidation escalates for those simply trying to preserve Founders Landing Beach, as we know it—and love it—today!!

I, Michael Neiger, founder of the Save Founders Landing Beach initiative, received the following letter (depicted—unaltered—below) on December 6, 2014...

Even though the rowing club clubhouse and clubhouse grounds drawings are public documents, and subject to release through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the structure will allegedly be a public building on OUR public beach, and owned by OUR City of Marquette, and allegedly open to the public, I was ordered, in writing, "to remove our drawings from your web site immediately."

Whatever...So much for democracy, and open and free discourse with regard to public policy matters in the City of Marquette.

I guess the rowing club is unhappy unless they and the city completely control the narrative with regard to the disposition of Founders Landing Beach.

And these are the people we are supposed to entrust with the preservation and welfare of Founders Landing Beach, and serve as 25-year gatekeepers for what is allegedly supposed to be a Community Boathouse.

I, for one, don't think so. What say you?

Write or e-mail your city commissioners today, and let them know what you think. Do it now, before it's too late, and the rowing club permanently occupies our downtown beach, controlling it for the next 25 years.

Download letter here.

(Shhhhhh...Secret Tip: Since we were forced to remove the public drawings [which were not altered in any way, shape, or form] from this Web site, you can view high-resolution imagery of the imposing 5,780-square-foot, members-only masonry clubhouse here and the complex grounds, which include another 10,000-square-feet of asphalt and concrete [yeah, I know, some of it is porous] and 7-car parking lot [100 club members, no problem] here.)

More SFLB news

  • 12-18-14: 4-8 PM petition-signing opportunity at Lakeview Arena's Citizens' Forum Room
  • 12-12-14: 4-8 PM petition-signing opportunity at Lakeview Arena's Citizens' Forum Room
  • 12-04-14: Awesome front-page Mining Journal article
  • 11-06-14: Awesome Mining Journal letter to the editor
  • 09-30-14: Awesome Mining Journal article

The 25-year lease...

On October 14, 2014 the Marquette City Commission voted 5 to 2 to grant the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club (UPCRC) a no-cost 25-year lease on a one-million-dollar piece of prime city-owned lakeshore—Founders Landing Beach—as well as permission to build a private, 0.6-million-dollar, member's-only clubhouse and boat-storage facility.

This beach—along with all the lakeshore adjacent to the Founders Landing parcel—was set aside as the People's Area when the Landing parcel was divvied up, years ago, during a lengthy and exhaustive planning process.

To give complete control of the Founders Landing Beach to a private, members-only club for 25 years without the consent of the people is a clear and unequivocal breach of the public trust.

If the people's beach is going to be given away, it should be by a vote of the people, not 5 commissioners—one of whom has direct spousal ties to the top leadership of the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club (UPCRC). And then there are the two other top city officials...

To view a high-resolution copy of the 25-year lease between the City of Marquette and the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club (UPCRC), click here.

 

If this lease goes unchallenged, Founders Landing Beach will no longer exist as we have come to know it and enjoy it. A majority of this beautiful, sloping-sand, pocket beach will forever disappear, replaced by an imposing 5,780-square-foot, members-only masonry clubhouse and another 10,000-square-feet of asphalt and concrete (yeah, I know, some of it is porous), and a 7-car parking lot (7 parking spots, 100 members, no problem).

 

The 5,780-square-foot, 0.6-million-dollar members-only clubhouse, surrounded by an additional 10,000 square feet of pavement and concrete

Oops. We can't show you the drawings any more.

We have been prohibited from showing you the detailed drawings of the clubhouse and clubhouse grounds (read: we were ordered in writing to delete them immediately from this Web site), but you get can get a peek at high-resolution imagery of the imposing 5,780-square-foot, members-only masonry clubhouse here and the complex grounds, which include another 10,000-square-feet of asphalt and concrete, including a 7-car parking lot, here (but don't tell anyone I told you).

Why doesn't the rowing club want you to see these drawings, which are clearly public documents, and subject to release through the Freedom of Information Act, and depict a structure that will allegedly be a public building on OUR public beach, and owned by our City of Marquette, and allegedly open to the public?

I guess the rowing club just wants to control the narrative, just like they want to control our beach.

This is just one more example of what things will be like at Founders Landing Beach if we allow the the rowing club to permanently occupy it...

 

How can you help save Founders Landing Beach?

To help preserve Founders Landing Beach as it is for generations of citizens and visitors alike to enjoy, please sign a petition to allow this no-cost 25-year lease to be voted on and decided by ALL the citizens of Marquette, not just 5 commissioners.

According to Section 10-3 [entitled: Powers to lease city property], Chapter 10 [entitled: Purchasing; Contracts; Leases] of the Charter of the City of Marquette, Michigan, citizens can petition for a referendum on leases of greater than 3 years in duration.

And this is what Save Founders Landing Beach is doing.

The screen-shot illustrated below is from page 44 of the Charter of the City of Marquette, Michigan.

To help circulate a referendum petition, which would put this issue in front of voters in the next election—we need to collect about 1,400 signatures (10 percent of registered city voters)—contact Michael Neiger of Marquette and he will hand-deliver petitions to your doorstep for circulation:

The referendum petition language...

 

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