Bill To Aid Park Commission Sale of Property
By Karen Gould

Legislation now before the Michigan Senate will allow the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to sell the reconstructed sloop Welcome to a Traverse City preservation group and sell Mackinaw City property on Central Avenue that once held park offices. SB 1044 will also allow the commission to accept gifts, grants, and donations, setting the stage for another tourist bicycle license fee to be charged through ferry boat companies. Boatlines, since 1998, have collected a 50 city bicycle license fee from tourists bringing their own bikes to the Mackinac Island.

The original sloop Welcome was used to move the British fort from the mainland to Mackinac Island during the American Revolution. The State Park Commission reconstructed the sloop in the 1970s as a tourist demonstration project, but when the boat began rotting, the commission leased it to a Traverse City historical group, the Maritime Heritage Alliance, for $1 a year. Maritime Heritage Alliance has restored the vessel, but current state law prohibits the Mackinac Island State Park Commission from selling the boat outright.

State Senator Jason Allen of the 37th District drafted the legislation, which will allow the commission to deduct the Alliance's time and materials in the restoration from the selling price.

The commission's Mackinaw City office has been moved from the Central Avenue location to the Petersen Center on Sinclair Street, across from Fort Michilimackinac and the Central Avenue property is no longer needed.

The legislation also addresses the commission's legal authority to receive revenue from outside sources. During their January meeting, commissioners approved accepting a donation of 50 for each bicycle transported to the Island.

The commission estimates the donation could generate revenue of around $35,000 and would assist in funding maintenance of park trails and land used by bicyclists.

Such a move was suggested last year when Governor Jennifer Granholm threatened to cut the annual state appropriation to the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. State funding was eventually restored, but Lansing continues to warn that the commission needs to become self-supporting by raising its user fees. The state is proposing a $200,000 budget cut for fiscal year 2006007, which begins in October.