March 7, 2012 Public Hearing Date Set For Marina Expansion Permit Request

glenlake — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:59:15 +0000

GLA President Andy Dupont went to the MDEQ website this morning and found that they have set the date for a Public Hearing on Wednesday, March 7, 2010, at 7 p.m. at the Glen Arbor Township Hall, 6394 W. Western Avenue, Glen Arbor, Michigan to consider the views of interested persons concerning the On The Narrows Marina expansion permit request.

To view the Notice of Public Hearing, click Marina Public Hearing.

Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Response to Marina Expansion Permit & Parking

glenlake — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:38:31 +0000

The Glen Lake Association has been provided with a copy of a letter written by Mary Lajko, MDOT, to the MDEQ concerning the Marina expansion plans (click on permit application below to view). The letter states that MDOT will not allow an angle parking lot to be constructed within right-of-way under the jurisdiction of MDOT and that MDOT will require the approach providing access to the marina be upgraded to commercial specification.

To see the entire letter, Click MDOT Letter – Marina Expansion.

Public Hearing Will Be Held on Request for Marina Expansion

glenlake — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:12:55 +0000

Robyn Schmidt of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) office in Cadillace has confirmed that the agency will be holding a public hearing on the request from Michigan Fun Ventures Inc. to expand On the Narrows Marina (details provided below).

The GLA requested a public hearing and delay to hold the public hearing until spring when a greater number of residents will be available to comment. Ms. Schmidt has indicated that a delay is not possible because state law requires the public hearing to be held within 60 days of the application request. We will post news about the hearing date as soon as we are informed of it.

The GLA Water Quality Committee sent a letter to the DEQ on January 27, 2012 expressing concerns about the expansion.

We encourage you to comment on the DEQ’s website here.

Bird’s Eye View

glenlake — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:16:00 +0000

Thanks to Martha and Peter Dugsdale for sharing some of the photos they took when flying over the Narrows Bridge area in July 1997 and 1998. What a view!

Open Letter from the On The Narrows Marina Owner, Tom McCahill, to the Glen Lake Community

glenlake — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:10:06 +0000

A special meeting was held by the Glen Arbor Township Board today to discuss the expansion permit request submitted by the owners of the On The Narrows Marina.

The following letter was read at the meeting today and is now a matter of public record.

Open_letter_to_the_Glen_Lake_Community

Home Page Now Features Crystal River Flow Rate

glenlake — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:21:25 +0000

The Glen Lake level and the Crystal river flow rate shown on the GLA web site are now updated continuously as is the Glen Lake water temperature at the Narrows thanks to the efforts of the Water Level Committee and the Auto-Gage Instrumentation that has been installed.

The GLA Water Level Committee has been monitoring the Glen Lake level at the narrows bridge with a remote sensor (auto- gauge) that is tied into our web site with wireless telemetry for more than a year. This continuous lake level read out is more accurate than the manually read gauge, does not expose our volunteers to hazardous conditions during the winter, is available at all times and is the basis for our day to day lake level management decisions. We read and report the manual gauge fixed to the bridge twice a week weather and conditions permitting as this is still the official gauge.

With this success behind us, we installed a second auto-gauge upstream of the Crystal River dam to measure the river flow. The river flow has been estimated with an USGS algorithm that uses the river level downstream of the dam and a flow table provided by the USGS. The flow table is updated about six times a year to account for changes in the river bed. This measurement continues as the “official” river flow measurement.

The new auto-gauge lets us measure the Crystal River flow continuously. No corrections or adjustments are necessary other than the dam gate positions. This flow measurement uses the water upstream level and the dam gate positions and is based on the classic weir equation. This auto-gauge was activated this past fall.

To Read More, click Auto Gauge Info for website

Public Notice – On The Narrows Marina Permit Request for Expansion

glenlake — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:05:22 +0000

The Glen Lake Association has been made aware of a permit request filed by the On The Narrows Marina on Glen Lake to expand their boat slip and mooring offerings.

A copy of the permit request can be viewed here: public_notice-application

Written comments must be received by the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality no later than January 31, 2012. Unless a written request is filed with the department by the specified date, the department may make a decision on the application without a public hearing.

A Fond Retirement Farewell to Steve Yancho

glenlake — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:03:56 +0000

The Glen Lake Association is sad to learn that Steve Yancho has announced his plans to retire from the National Park Service. His expertise and willingness to work with GLA to achieve its goals has been invaluable and we all wish him well.

Testing the Waters

glenlake — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:01:33 +0000

In case you were wondering if the Glen Lake Fire Department’s new fire boat would have any problem negotiating the narrow and shallow channel between Big Glen and Fisher lakes….wonder no more. It was a smooth and quick trip through the channel, giving a great opportunity for catching this photo.

After making a quick sprint down the shore to get the photo, the crew kindly offered to give a show of the reach of the spray. Pretty impressive, that’s for sure!

The water is nice and calm in Big Fisher, but a wind advisory warned of high wind gusts on the return trip and the crew was challenged with negotiating the waves on Big Glen. That could have been fun. I guess you will just have to ask the crew! It’s nice to know we now have this added layer of fire protection.

Glen Lake Fire Department Boat Takes Maiden Voyage Today

glenlake — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:40:09 +0000

Just as I was listening to Channel 9 & 10 News report on the launching of the Glen Lake Fire Department’s new fire boat, I saw it approaching our shoreline & got a few shots before it powered out of sight. Talk about serendipity.

From Channel 9 & 10 news report: Fire crews in Glen Arbor have waited many years for this day, because a new rescue boat will make their job a lot easier. This isn’t just any boat, it was designed by a naval architect, and built by a custom builder in New Hampshire who hand-delivered the boat.

For more news and video, click here.

The entire $265,000 cost of the 28-foot fire boat was raised by community members in three months. Fire Chief, John Dodson, says the boat adds new capability for fighting fires on boats, wildfires near the water, as well as homes along the waterfront. Nearly 75% of the homes in the Glen Lake area are within 1000 feet of a body of water.

The fire boat will be used on Lake Michigan and Glen Lake. Fire fighters have been receiving U.S. Coast Guard training on boat piloting and operation, as well as marine firefighting techniques.