Cawthorne's Tenure as Chairman Longest in MISPC History
By Karen Gould

Frank Kelley (right) takes over chairmanship of Mackinac Island State Park Commission July 20, following his law partner Dennis Cawthorne's tenure. Mr. Cawthorne now serves as vice chair.

After more than 16 years of leading the Mackinac Island State Park Commission through challenges that sometimes were politically charged and controversial, Dennis Cawthorne, the commission's longest serving chairman, handed over the chairmanship this summer to his friend, law partner, and fellow commissioner, Frank Kelley.

His greatest achievement as chairman, he believes, has been to lead commission efforts to preserve property adjacent to the state park from private development, and to create a number of scenic easements to preserve the pristine views of the water. During his tenure as chairman, nearly a mile of shoreline has been protected from development, and the park has acquired land around Brown's Brook, sections of the Stonebrook area, and Sunset Rock.

State land now comprises about 83% of the island.

Of his 16 years at the helm, Mr. Cawthorne said, "It's been challenging, fun, and I hope I have been able to accomplish some genuine good for the Island, its people, and the entire state."

As a college student, he began working here for Mackinac Island Carriage Tours. In 1962, while on summer break from law school, he served as the executive director of the Mackinac Island Chamber of Commerce.

Now a Mackinac Island resident and businessman, Mr. Cawthorne said it never occurred to him to ask for a position on the commission after John Engler was elected governor in 1990, although he later became one of the governor's first appointments when he took office in January 1991.

"A couple of weeks after the election, I happened to be in his transition office. This was the period after he was elected, but before he was sworn in," remembers Mr. Cawthorne. "He entered the room, saw me, and announced to several people standing around, 'Well, there's our new Mackinac Island State Park commissioner.'"

One month later, Mr. Cawthorne was appointed to the post and a month after that, he was elected chairman.

"We had significant challenges early on," he said, "in my tenure as chairman."

Shortly after he became chairman, Mr. Cawthorne had a list of goals that included redesigning the lease structure for land the commission leases to cottage owners on the bluffs and near the marina. In those areas, the land is owned by the state while the cottages are built and owned by the residents.

Such leases for land usually are granted for 20 years and had not been seriously adjusted since being lowered during the Depression.

Unfortunately, he said, before he had a chance to review them, a Detroit newspaper wrote a story about the rates. The article, "which claimed to be exposing the scandalously low lease rates," recalled Mr. Cawthorne, drew statewide attention.

While state residents thought the leaseholders were favored, the leaseholders thought the rate was fair.

"A lot of leaseholders were extremely unhappy," he said, "because they had become accustomed to paying as low as $50 a year and were outraged that either I or the commission would even think about raising those rates."

Concerned about potential legislation mandating a very high rate structure, the commission took quick action. At Mr. Cawthorne's suggestion, a panel of citizens was established to hold public meetings and to research, discuss the rate structure, and make recommendations, which eventually were adopted by the commission.

"It was my belief we were doing the right thing, and in reality, doing the leaseholders a favor," he said, "even though it may not have been apparent to them at the time that the move was saving them from higher, legislatively set rates."

A second major issue, a proposed expansion of the Island airport, created "a summer of great controversy," said Mr. Cawthorne. The idea to enlarge the Island's airstrip came from the State Aeronautics Commission chairperson, also a gubernatorial appointee, and it drew statewide attention.

"Both I and the entire commission were opposed to that from the very beginning," said Mr. Cawthorne.

Rather than make an enemy of the aeronautics board, which is responsible for airport funding, Mr. Cawthorne set about a more effective way to demonstrate that the commission and public were opposed to the expansion. He called for public hearings on the issue. Some people, he said, then assumed that because of the public hearings, the commission favored the airport expansion, but, "In reality, we never were in favor of it."

By summer's end, the proposed project was dropped after public sentiment strongly opposed the expansion plan.

"We were able, however, to turn the controversy to the Island's benefit," said Mr. Cawthorne, "because we then got Aeronautics to spend additional money on a whole host of Island airport safety and facility improvements."

Mr. Cawthorne remembers one public leader who frequently crusaded against the commissions Type 1 status in the Department of Natural Resources, which gave it independence in its operations. He said a former director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the late Tom Washington, who also sat on the Natural Resources Commission and the Land Trust Fund board, tried to get the Type 1 status revoked.

This would not be Mr. Cawthorne's first clash with Mr. Washington.

"He didn't like Mackinac Island, or anything about it," said Mr. Cawthorne.

The alternative to Type 1 would mean the DNR would run the Mackinac State Historic Parks, and he said, "I can assure you that local input would be reduced to practically nothing."

In the early 1980s, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that, through adverse possession, 38 acres in the Stonecliffe area was owned privately, not by the commission, leading to the development of the subdivisions and golf course in that area now.

"No one has ever explained to me how, contrary to all Anglo-American legal precedent, adverse possession can successfully be claimed against the state," said Mr. Cawthorne.

At that time, although he was not a member of the commission, he encouraged it to buy the property for $200,000, but the commission was not interested.

By the time he was appointed to the commission, the land was valued in the millions, he said. As one of his goals as commission chairman, he sought to purchase as much of the land as possible and he asked the Land Trust Fund board for help. Mr. Washington, he said, would not cooperate.

Eventually, Mr. Cawthorne was able to convince the majority of Land Trust Fund members to allocate money to acquire "bits and pieces" of the Stonebrook property. Through his efforts, the park commission was able to purchase land around Brown's Brook.

"I fought Tom Washington all the way on that," he said. "Convincing the majority of the Land Trust Fund board to give us these million took a lot of effort. Fortunately, we were successful."

In another land issue, Mr. Cawthorne, concerned that another piece of land, which is owned by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), would be lost, advocated the creation of a shoreline trail. The trail runs near the beach in front of Mission Point Resort.

"That proposal met with considerable opposition," he said, "which always astounded me."

Nevertheless, the trail was developed, with a number of aesthetic improvements to the original plan, and, he said, it clearly identifies the state as the owner.

Two years ago, he led the commission on plans to make the land a part of the park. While the DNR was unwilling to convey the land to park ownership, it granted the park a 50- year lease to the parcel in July 2006.

"The net effect still is that the trail is a part of Mackinac Island State Park," he said.

The eight-mile state road, M-185, which traces the Island's shoreline, was falling apart in the 1990s. Mr. Cawthorne convinced MDOT to spend about $1 million to rebuild the entire roadway, which was narrow in some places, had dips in others, and had a crumbling roadbed.

"It is the only state highway that does not permit motor vehicles," he said.

An ongoing battle for the commission has been to keep the state appropriation at least at a "reasonable" level, he noted. Two years ago, the governor and the head of the DNR proposed the elimination of funding. After a summer of public meetings, garnering support from state legislators, and presenting findings from a committee that showed the money could not be replaced, the funds were returned to the park budget, however, the appropriation now is $500,000 less than it was five years ago, he said.

"Our challenge now, is to make do with less money," said Mr. Cawthorne. "We've tightened our belt and we are administratively more efficient than ever before, so we're surviving. Also, we've been successful in some years in identifying and securing various other state and federal money pots outside of the state general fund, and this has helped us meet some of our special needs."

Mr. Cawthorne has leveraged his position on the commission to help in other areas, including to convince the Michigan Public Service Commission to drop the long distance toll charge between Mackinac Island and St. Ignace. He also convinced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to recognize the Mackinac Island Medical Center as having emergency room status, which allows the billing of third party payers based on that status. Since the distinction, the center collects more than $250,000 annually than it had in the past.

Mr. Cawthorne's successor as commission chairman is his law partner, Mr. Kelley, the former Attorney General of Michigan.

Their bipartisan working relationship is reflected in the park commission's makeup and decision-making policy. The seven-person board consists of four Democrats, two independents, and Mr. Cawthorne as the only Republican.

Mr. Cawthorne said he "admires" his eight-year law partner, who has served on the commission since 1999.

"I know he will do an outstanding job as chairman," said Mr. Cawthorne.

Reflecting on past commission chairmen, Mr. Kelley said to his friend, "They all delivered a lot of time and effort, but nobody delivered as much time as you did. I hope the history of the Island will reflect that."

Fellow commissioner Father Jim Williams added, "I have been utterly impressed by Mr. Cawthorne and the work that he's done. He has done wonderful things for this park and this island."

"Through his leadership, support, and advocacy, Mackinac State Historic Parks has excelled in achieving its mission of protecting, preserving, and presenting the rich historical and natural wonders of Mackinac," Phil Porter, director of Mackinac State Historic Parks, said. "The impact of his efforts and successes will be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike for many generations to come."

Mr. Cawthorne was reappointed to the commission for a fourth six-year term by Governor Jennifer Granholm July 16.