The Northport Sportsman’s Club use agreement with Leelanau Township is currently under revisions as the township board and the club’s legal counsel work through the language to make it something both parties can agree on.
Since the agreement was first brought to the township board’s attention in August, the document and the actions of the club have been called into question by several trustees, other township staff, and members of the public.
At the township’s Aug. 13 regular meeting, the club agreement was brought to the board’s attention by supervisor Mike McMillan. McMillan said during the meeting that the paperwork that should include the club’s signed agreement to use and maintain the 37 acres of township property is missing and cannot be found by either party.
However, an unsigned copy was found and a modern-day lease agreement was written up by the club’s legal counsel. According to township board meeting minutes from Aug. 13, it was also noted that a document would be ready for agreement in the September township meeting. The township did not take action on the agreement in September though.
At the township’s Oct. 8 regular meeting, the sportsman’s club agreement was under potential action items for the trustees to review until it was moved to a discussion item once again.
About a week later, the agreement was again brought up on Oct. 16 at the township’s parks and recreation committee meeting, where members like secretary Kristi Holstrom voiced much of her concern over the club’s transparency and oversight of the property. The issue regarding soil testing not being completed yet at the shooting range was another big concern for Holstrom and a member of the public that was present at the committee meeting.
“This is very concerning. It’s disturbing and it does not feel good for us to be treated like this dishonestly…” Holstrom said during the parks and rec meeting. “...When there is an agreement proposed, the public should be brought in on this.”
Holtstrom said ultimately everyone “really failed to do all of the right things” in this situation, including the parks and rec committee. However, following the October committee meeting, Holstrom said she’s now seeing “most parties trying to make things right.”
“Right now, I’m feeling positive about the steps that the sportsman’s club is taking to get the soil testing scheduled. So we actually have at least a date set for a site analysis and several of us are going to be there, so I feel good about that step that’s been taken,” Holstrom said. “And they (the club) acknowledged that they should have had this done sooner and been forthcoming about why there was a delay.”
Holstrom said the club originally told her committee last year that they would have soil testing done in the spring of 2024 working with Gosling Czubak Engineering. The committee did not start contacting the sportsman’s club regarding their follow up with the engineer until at least April, Holstrom explained, where they were told that the club was still waiting on the company to get it (the soil) scheduled. She said she was recently told though that the club’s attorney suggested that they go with another engineer instead to do the testing and were waiting on that person to become available.
Additionally, Holstrom said the club also moved the soil on the property recently to improve the berms, adding that while it may have needed to be done, it was in “poor judgment to have earth moved when there was a soil test expected to happen.”
Northport Sportsman’s Club President Tom Gremel said no soil was removed and would not comment further on the matter at this time. Gremel was not at the parks and rec meeting where much of the conversation surrounding the agreement recently took place, and said at this point, as far the agreement is concerned, it will be going forward as attorneys on both sides continue to work out the language.
“It was an unfortunate thing to have happened (the discussion at the parks and rec meeting), it wasn’t on the agenda, and what was said was very erroneous,” Gremel said. “Its a communication problem and some of the information didn’t get that far… but that’s all straightened out right now… Kristi and I had a nice conversation, the two of us and worked it all through.”
USE AGREEMENT ADDITIONS AND REVISIONS
In the agreement provided in August to the board, it explains how a portion of the township property has long been used by area residents for a recreational shooting site. It continues, stating that in 1993, the club made substantial improvements to the shooting range, including but not limited to, “the installation of signage outlining rules of use and hours of operation; earthen banks for safety; addition of target banks; construction and fencing of a parking lot, re-routing of the access road; construction of approximately 20 shooting stations in the archery course/range; installation of fencing; construction of restrooms and construction of a small storage building.” It is also noted that the township gave their approval for all of these improvements.
Another concern within the agreement was the terms of use length, which outlined a period of 99 years in the first version submitted to the board. Township trustee Gina Harder voiced her concern about the agreement length at both the regular board meeting on Oct. 8 and at the Oct. 16 parks and recreation committee meeting.
“As a steward of the taxpayers’ dollars and assets, I don’t think we should tie anything up for 25 years,” Harder said during the township’s Oct. 8 meeting. “... And at the same time, we recently put in pickleball courts in that area that used to belong to the tennis club. If we had an agreement with that tennis club, we wouldn’t have pickleball courts.”
In one of the versions of the agreement provided to the board, the club states that one of its improvements would be to construct a 20 feet by 24 feet building on the property and a rustic camp facility. Despite the language about constructing two buildings being included in the agreement, Holstrom said Gremel and the club were unaware that it was inserted and that none of them requested it.
“There were appropriate changes to the document, like they proposed a different term length (25 years) and they also included an indemnity clause… but also there was this improvement of two very specific structures inserted into paragraph six (of the agreement). That’s been a mystery,” she said.
Gremel said the insertion of the campground and the new building was from the original 1993 agreement, and that it was supposed to have been taken out in the revised version proposed to the board.
“I don’t know who did it, whether it was their attorney or our attorney, but then somebody somewhere slid that whole paragraph into the new one (agreement) without realizing what they were doing, but obviously we don’t need a new building and as I’ve said, we don’t have room for a campground,” Gremel said. “It’s been (the language) stricken already as far as I know.”
LOOKING FORWARD
The good news is that any agreement going forward is going to be looked at with a great deal of scrutiny and careful eyes, Holstrom said, adding that she supports the sportsman’s club and what they do for outdoor recreation.
“Any agreement for renewing a lease will have contingencies in it that will reflect the best national practices and standards for maintaining a gun range, and I think that will be satisfactory to everybody,” she said. “I’m on this committee where we’re trying to create a master plan for that whole park — that park includes a skate park, pickleball courts, a sledding hill — it’s a great property for families and people to enjoy. I think it makes sense for us to really examine how things are done there and let’s do it in a way that keeps everyone safe and the land safe…” McMillan said they’re working towards a new agreement with the club while considering all of the concerns brought to the township’s attention such as its length and doing a renewable 10-25 year agreement. In the new agreement, he said there will be safe guards for both parties, including an indemnity clause for the township.
“We’re working towards an agreement that will supersede the old agreement and we’ll make it a more reasonable timespan as well as putting in the proper safe guards for both sides,” McMillan said. “I’m fully supportive of the sportsman’s club and how they’ve operated over the years and we fully expect to have an agreement in the near future that’s an improved agreement between both parties.”
