2021- 2025 Recreation Plan Resort Township Emmet County Adopted: December 8, 2020 Prepared by: Resort Township Recreation Committee With the assistance of: Richard L. Deuell, Planning Consultant RESORT TOWNSHIP RECREATION PLAN 2021-2025 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ............................................................................................................... i Table of Contents .................................................................................................. ii Section 1. Introduction and History ................................................................................... 1-1 2. Community Description ..................................................................................... 2-1 3. Administrative Structure .................................................................................... 3-1 4. Recreation and Resource Inventories ............................................................... 4-1 5. Description of the Planning and Public Input Process ....................................... 5-1 6. Goal and Objectives .......................................................................................... 6-1 7. Action Program ................................................................................................. 7-1 8. Plan Adoption .................................................................................................... 8-1 Appendix A: Survey Findings ...................................................................................... A-1 Appendix B: Supporting meeting minutes ................................................................... B-1 Appendix C: DNR required documentation .................................................................. C-1 Chapter 1 Introduction and History Purpose of Recreation Plan This Recreation Plan provides citizens of Resort Township a resource to define opportunities for enhancing recreational activities, and to ensure the existing infrastructure provides access and opportunities available to residents and visitors of the Township today. Since many of the recreational opportunities are directly related to the Township’s natural resources, the importance of ensuring public access to these assets is central to the plan’s purpose. The primary intent of the Recreation Plan is to create a comprehensive, formalized strategic planning document in order to guide the work of its boards and committees for the next five years. A secondary, but equally vital intent is to increase the two-way communication between township officials and township residents in order to create a recreation plan that addresses residents’ pressing concerns. A third intent is to create a plan that conforms to the guidelines established by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The approval of this plan by the DNR maintains Resort Township’s qualification for recreation grants administered by the DNR’s Recreation Grants Section. The grant eligibility period is set for five years from the acceptance date by the Department. Location and Regional Context Resort Township is located in the southwest corner of Emmet County, which is situated in the northwest region of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Resort Township comprised 21 square miles of the County’s 468 square miles. The Township’s irregular size and shape is due to the shorelines of Lake Michigan and Walloon Lake. The distance from the north boundary to the south boundary is approximately six and one half miles, with the east to west distance at approximately six miles, see figure 1-1. Resort Township is bounded on the north by Little Traverse Bay, on the east by Bear Creek Township and the north arm of Walloon Lake, on the south and west by Walloon Lake and Charlevoix County. The City of Petoskey borders the northeast corner of Resort Township. The City of Charlevoix and Traverse City are approximately 10 miles west and 62 miles southwest of the Township, respectively. US-31 traverses the north section of the Township and is classified as an arterial, state highway connecting Petoskey and Charlevoix. The remainder of the Township is accessible via the county road network which connects several times with US-31. Resort Township Recreation Plan 2021-25 1-1 Review Draft Introduction and History Resort Township Recreation Plan 2021-25 1-2 Review Draft Introduction and History History The area now known as Resort Township was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Ottawa Tribe (today known as Odawa). Most of these Native Americans spent the winter months farther south, but returned year after year to their settlements along the Bay and Walloon Lake. Access to Walloon Lake was not easy; it required a one mile land portage from Little Traverse Bay to the head of the Lake. The Native Americans, however, liked to camp near Walloon Lake because of the good fishing and hunting opportunities. After the arrival of the white settlers, the Native Americans stayed throughout the winter months and helped in the lumber camps. For many years white settlers and Native Americans were friendly neighbors. The boundaries of the area now known as Resort Township changed several times between 1853 and 1897. In 1853 this area was included in the newly organized Emmet County. In 1869 this area became part of Charlevoix County. The Charlevoix County Board of Supervisors organized Resort Township in 1880. In 1896, however, Resort Township was attached again to Emmet County by an act of the legislature. In 1897 the Emmet County Board of Supervisors altered the boundaries once again which created Resort Township as it is known today. The major activities carried out by the first Township officials and settlers included building new roads and maintaining the schools. Included among the list of Township founders are the names: Bacon, Botsford, Couch, Conn, Cole, Davis, Depew, Ernot, Eppler, Genshaw, Grimes, Henderson, Light, March, Miller, McConnell, Nadolsky, Nickles, Piehl, Ranall, Ramsby, Rehkopf, Reise, Rebery, Kalbfleisch, Shepard, Stark, Storck, Tubbs, Williams, Wright, Woode and Zirk. Several descendants of these early settlers live in Resort Township today. The early Township settlers were primarily involved in lumbering, farming and the lime and cement production industries. Much of the lumbering was done during the winter by farmers with their teams of horses. In the early days, Resort was primarily forested, and the early settlers cleared the land in order to farm and produce the food needed to support their families. Agriculture expanded early to play a significant role in the history of Resort Township. Early farmers in the Township raised a variety of crops, including corn, beans, potatoes, sugar beets, radishes, strawberries and certified seed potatoes. Dairy cows were also raised in the Township. Much of the Township still remains in agricultural use today, with a few centennial farms located in Resort Township. Lime and cement also played an important role in the industrial history of Resort Township. The first lime was shipped from the kilns on Resort in 1885. The lime industry employed many residents directly or indirectly, as coopers, blacksmiths or in the sawmills. In 1920 the lime kilns were abandoned due to a lack of demand. The Petoskey Portland Cement Company began production of cement in 1921. The operation grew to employ 375 people in 1952 and was sold to Penn Dixie Corporation in 1955. The corporation filed for bankruptcy in 1979 and closed the 1,200 acre operation in 1980. The closing of the cement company had a severe impact on the lives of many Township residents, leaving many people unemployed. The conversion of the Penn Dixie (former Dundee) property to luxury residential and recreational use is a contributing factor to the community growth and the changing character of the Lake Michigan shoreline in the Township. For an additional in-depth reference concerning the history of Resort Township, including discussions about its formation, early settlers, industries, cottage and hotel development, see Resort Township Remembers, published in 1992 by a committee headed by Mildred Eppler Rehkopf. Resort Township Recreation Plan 2021-25 1-3 Review Draft Introduction and History Chapter 2 Community Description Recreation Plan Jurisdiction and Focus This Recreation Plan is prepared solely for Resort Township and its residents, and is intended to provide information, goals and direction useful to the maintenance, future development and expansion of recreational activities and facilities in the Township, over the course of the next five years. Social and Physical Characteristics Situated between two large bodies of freshwater, Resort Township is a unique community, blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. In its past, it was home to Native Americans, immigrant farmers, lumbermen and limestone miners. Increasingly, it is a community of changing demographics, home to retirees, resorters and families who work and seek services in neighboring communities. A review of recent census figures reveals that Resort Township has grown in population by 167% since 1970, with 8.8% of this growth occurring between 2000 and 2010 as the year round population increased from 2,479 to 2,697. During these same four decades, Emmet County’s population grew at a rate of 78% with a 4% increase since 2000. The US Census Bureau, 2018 American Community Survey 5-year Estimate the year round population in Resort Township is 2,716. The median age of Resort Township’s current residents is 43.9 years old. Youth