The Elmwood Township Board raised wages for its marina and building and grounds employees Monday, as they try to secure their portion of the limited number of workers in the area.
Harbormaster Dan Jenuwine recommended raising marina employees’ wages so the township can compete with other employers in the hospitality industry. According to Jenuwine, employees at marinas with fuel docks make more than $25 per hour through wages and tips, and servers at restaurants can make more than $30 per hour.
“The competition for part-time and full-time seasonal employees in the Traverse City area is tremendous and is only going to get worse,” Jenuwine wrote in a presentation to the board. “With the limited employee pool, the marina must establish itself as the highest paying employer of seasonal employees in the area to attract the best of the best employees.”
The township board previously raised the starting hourly wage for marina employees from $14 to $16 in March 2024, but this “was not nearly enough to remain competitive for the available workforce,” Jenuwine said.
At this Monday’s meeting, Trustee Dave Darga said that he thought the marina wage increase was a good idea, but he also suggested that the board should not consider further adjustments for employees for at least another year, with affirmative responses from some other board members.
With the new wage scale, dock hands will start at $18 per hour up to a maximum of $24 per hour. Janitorial, maintenance, and repair staff will receive $20 to $26 per hour. The assistant deputy harbormaster will receive $23 to $30 per hour and the deputy harbormaster themselves will receive $28 to $35 per hour.
Marina employees can also receive a retention bonus of $2 per hour worked if they stay until the departure date they agreed upon at the time of their hiring. It also has a new tip policy where tips are pooled for distribution based on hours worked by each employee, not kept by the employee who rendered the service.
Jenuwine hopes to avoid the headache of filling vacancies and training new staff after the marina opens in April. Jenuwine said three experienced employees left the marina mid-season last year. He also mentioned that Deputy Harbormaster Clem Thompson is not returning for personal reasons.
Recent improvements at the marina are expected to increase revenue and cover higher wages. Jenuwine anticipates over $110,000 in revenue increases this year. About half of this amount comes from increased rates for transient and seasonal slips, which were raised last year based on rates established by Michigan State Waterways Commission to keep up with inflation.
Also at it regular monthly meeting, the township board:
• Heard that the township’s municipal lawyers, Young, Graham, and Wendling Attorneys, are transferring the practice to Bauckham, Thall, Seeber, Kaufman & Koches. Township attorney Bryan Graham is retiring after 40 years of practicing law but will be assisting two attorneys — Catherine Kaufman and Michael Bila — with the transition.
• Renewed their contract with Mobile Medical Release (MMR) in Traverse City to provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) transport. Fire Chief Keith Tampa said MMR will continue to provide ALS transport at their current rate, which is $250 per interception. Elmwood Township officials are still exploring ways for their department to provide ALS services without contracting a third party.
• Renewed an antenna lease agreement with AT&T at equal rent.
• Supported the Fire and Rescue Department’s application for a Michigan Township Participating Plan grant, which would be used to install light curtains for their fire trucks.
