Millions of dollars are going to be spent in the city of Ludington over this next year, but for some reason the news behind this public/private improvement has been suppressed for half a year, at least by local sources.  Let's look at what's going to happen, then review some history to perhaps explain why this hasn't been a bigger deal.

Back on August 2, 2017, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced the awarding of FASTLANE (Fostering Advancement in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies) grants for 2017, among these were part of the Lake Michigan Crossing Dock Facility Improvements project.  The City of Ludington would be awarded $5,000,000 to update 70-year-old docking facilities in both Ludington and Manitowoc. The Ludington work will include the installation of a 260-foot timber fender wall system, along with renovation of existing mooring wall dolphins. In Manitowoc, a 420-foot timber fender system will be installed, as well as a sheet pile dock wall. 

In the first call for FASTLANE grants, the USDOT received 212 applications requesting nearly $9.8 billion for grants, 13 times more funding than was available.  In the end, the grant award for the SS Badger was the only non-rail project approved of the ten projects selected.

At the time, Manitowoc's Herald Times Reporter announced that this grant, in part, and the $2 million awarded from the Wisconsin Harbor Assistance Program will be used for the replacement of the seawall for the ferry dock in Manitowoc.  Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels said the replacement will begin in Manitowoc after the 2017 sailing season ends in October.

On the Ludington side, the existing timber fender system was installed in 1930 and then renovated in 1946. Not surprisingly, the current structure was recently determined to be in advanced stage of failure with fender walls severely out of plumb and bulging landward. The proposed work will include an approximately 260’ long timber fender wall system, renovation or replacement of existing mooring dolphins, and sheet pile encasement of existing apron counter-weight foundation, as reported in a recent marinelink.com article.

Back in November 2016 when the City of Ludington applied for the grant on behalf of Lake Michigan Carferry (LMC) the owners and operators of the SS Badger, it was noted that the grant was for $5 million with a $3.3 million match (of which only the $2 million from WHAP is presently accounted for):

And by the next August, the City of Ludington should have gotten the news, and happily broadcasted that $5 million was gotten for the improvements, beating out 95% of the competition.  Yet in six months, they have said nothing, nor has the LMC who is the beneficiary of the confirmed $7 million so far in federal and state subsidies.  Why would that be the case?

Perhaps it's because the SS Badger since the beginning of the millennium has prided itself on its core free market values as being a privately ran business that supported itself and its property with its own profits.  They boldly stated this when the Lake Express venture out of Muskegon/Milwaukee was being created with the assistance of guaranteed loans from the federal government in the amount of $17.5 million.  At the time, Bob Manglitz, owner of LMC said:  

“I don’t think they were concerned with what happened to us, and I don’t mean to sound like sour grapes.  Their mission is to build ships and create shipyard jobs. We just think it is extremely unfair."  Manglitz viewed the loan guarantee as a government subsidy to a competing business.  “We don’t believe that we should be forced to compete with the U.S. taxpayer,” Manglitz moaned in a May 23, 2003, Journal Sentinel story.

The head of the Mason County Economic Development Commission said:  “I guess it goes against our position we’ve taken as a community that we didn’t want the federal taxpayers to finance a new, unproven business at the expense of a privately-financed, unsubsidized existing business.”

Variations on that theme echoed around Ludington as the Lake Express became a reality and a competitor for cross-lake traffic for those wanting a fast trip or not wanting to go as far north as Ludington.  It is widely speculated, and mostly confirmed by 2013, that the Lubar's who ran Lake Express were instrumental in getting the EPA to utilize the Clean Water Act in late 2008 to force LMC to quit dumping coal ash.   

In order to meet that goal, in 2010 LMC applied for a $14 million stimulus funding grant to convert from coal to diesel power.  Lake Express shot back that such a gift would give the SS Badger an unfair advantage on a lake that now supports two passenger/car ferries, and similar variations on that theme.  They could have mimicked Manglitz:  “We don’t believe that we should be forced to compete with the U.S. taxpayer.”   The grant application failed.  In the end of that battle, LMC financed and designed a coal ash retention system on board the boat that cost $2 million of their own funds.  

Thus, it is likely that the City of Ludington and Lake Michigan Carferry have a couple of reasons for keeping this $5 million grant award as low key as possible.  The first is that the more it is heralded, the more likely that the Lake Express partisans will paint LMC as a hypocritical business that sought millions of dollars of government subsidization for their private business once again, and was successful this time in wresting public funds for their private company's benefit.

The second is that SS Badger partisans and others will develop the same line of reasoning.  Why exactly does $5 million of public monies need to be earmarked to a private company that is the sole user of the facilities that they are repairing?   Maybe Bob "Free Market" Manglitz can explain this.

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Excellent article X. I have not heard a word about this until now. I was proud of LMC when they stood up and independently corrected the idiotic Government mandate to contain the coal ash while LE fed off the tax payers in order to do business. Now it seems that the once proud tradition LMC established of being independent has been kicked to the curb. It is very puzzling why this news has been suppressed by Ludington's ruling class and the media. This is just another example of how those in charge of Ludington and news agencies conspire against the public to sneak behind the our back. No wonder we are so deep in debt but if the money is going to go somewhere wny not here. At least we're getting some of our tax money back even tho it exposes how hypocritical LMC is.

A closer look at the situation reveals a major flaw in how local Government is being run. When presented with problems it's interesting to note how local politicians act. This is how they think "Let's see, on one hand we have an aging water front dock, which is  privately owned and that still functions and would probably hold up for many more years. On the other hand we have the highest lead levels in children in the State of Michigan. What to do"?" Of course, we'll do as we always do. To hell with the kids. And while were at it let's continue to ignore the fact the children are forced to walk in the streets on the way to school because there are no sidewalks". Business as usual.

To my knowledge, there has been nothing shared about LMC getting this grant in the Michigan media; this isn't true of Wisconsin, perhaps because the State of Wisconsin gave that $2 million and according to this source:   "...in summer of 2016 a grant in the amount of $2,000,000 was awarded. LMC applied for and was awarded an additional $1,000,000 of Harbor Assistance Program funds... the FASTLANE grant could be used to cover the City [of Manitowoc] and LMC’s 20% share of the Harbor Assistance Grant in addition to reconstructing the docking facility in Ludington. P. Braun stated that the FASTLANE grant was awarded and that the reconstruction of the car ferry dock wall would begin after the end of the 2018 sailing season."

With that additional million [note the FASTLANE grant money could be used as a local match], the $8.3 million project will require only $300,000 funds from the LMC-- if they get zero money from the State of Michigan.  

I suspect there may be even more covert funding of these projects undertaken just because the LMC and COL have been silent for six months.  It's very suspicious.  I love the Badger, but I hate to see them go this way; it's like the hypocrisy I noticed when the Ludington Jaycees asked for and received a MI DNR Trust Fund grant for redoing their mini-golf course.  

I decided to check out the LMC docks where the Badger is moored. The pilings do need to be straightend and braced but I see no deterioration of the poles. I can't see where millions of dollars need to be spent on this project. Again we have a City Council that has put and is intending to put large amounts of money towards a maritime museum, Ludington Ave west end project and now the privately owned LMC company. All these projects have one thing in common. They are intended for the tourist trade. In the meantime locals have to deal with lead poisoning, contaminated bayous, deteriorated roads, an aging infrustructure, etc. The fudgies are being looked after while locals and their needs are ignored. The photos below are of the LMC dock where the Badger calls home. As I stated the pilings need to be straightened and braced not completely replaced as the millions of dollars suggest.

Willy,did they paint the Badger blue?   The blue looks a lot better than black

stump

It does look blue but is still black. I think the reflection off the water gave it a blue tint which my camera amplified. I should have adjusted the color in photoshop but just got lazy.

Willy, for some reason the second  picture  which shows the black  paint didn't come up on my computor before I did my post. I do like the blue, maybe they should paint it.The blue looks more tourist friendly than the industrial black 

Instead of just a plain color I thought a complete remake of the Badger's outside would make for a more public appeal. I photoshopped this image years ago and just found it on the internet. Can you spot any other changes?

Changes? you made the light house round, and and now standing straight upright. On the Badger paint, that would take some time to do that. 

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