The Public Marina that Acts Like a Private Yacht Club

[XLFD]

I've already explained the origin of the latest civil rights crisis to hit Ludington in Civil Disobedience, in Swimming Trunks, so if you don't have the energy to review that article, it effectively tells of the City of Ludington's (COL) efforts to keep the fully-public facility called Harbor View Marina (HVM) closed off to the general public and leaves off with me testing the waters of their swimming pool on the day before Independence Day, despite the opinions of two DNR bureaucrats.

In the follow up article, Public Pizza with Marina Sauce, we looked at some of the economics of the HVM acquisition by the COL, in that they are exempt from taxes and the prior tenant wasn't, resulting in a net loss to the COL of about $80,000, which is about 2% of the property tax revenue of the City.  We also saw the legal implications of creating 'user' classifications, where those in one residence paid naught, those in another residence paid $1000/mo. cumulatively, and those in any other residence could not use the supposedly fully-public accommodations at all.

This article will relate the stories of this humble reporter's second and third visit to the HVM pool and clubhouse area, and my subsequent visits to HVM over this weekend.  These aren't nearly as refreshing and relaxing as my first visit was.

On July 6th, a Monday, I decided to take another visit to the swimming pool at HVM in the afternoon, it was a good day for it.  Since I had been made aware that the City knew of my first visit (silly me, I wrote about it, and they apparently read it), I decided to take a shower at home before heading out, figuring they would be monitoring the area fairly closely, and have the shower room locked.  I entered the pool area which only had a mother and her three children there at the time, dropped my shirt, shoes, book, and towel beside a chair and went in the pool on the deep side.

Less than a couple minutes in, Marina Manager Jim Christensen enters the gate with one of his assistant managers and approaches me.  I am asked politely to leave the pool area.  I ask for his authority to do so, and he points to the signs (the two that call the pool 'private') and adds that the City of Ludington also says I must.  I inquire who within the COL requires this and he won't tell me.  Yet, I agree to leave anyway and exit the pool. 

They exit the area, I go back to the chair and recline back.  Less than a minute later they come back and ask me why I am not leaving.  I inform them I would like to dry my shorts first before I walk home so that I wouldn't chafe.  They would have none of it, but I did ask them again about the person kicking me out, getting the COL as my answer again.  I leave, wet shorts and all.

Despite the retreat, I used the incident to describe the iniquity to each city councilor in an E-mail later that day:

 

Councilors,

On Monday afternoon (July 6th), a very odd thing occurred.  I was minding my own business in the public swimming pool at Harbor View Marina (HVM), when Marina Manager Jim Christensen and an unidentified goon (who I suspect was an assistant) approached me and said I had to leave.  I questioned his move, being that you as the city council, approved the leasing agreement of  HVM from the state back on November 25, 2019.  

I was told repeatedly that the "City of Ludington" said that I could not be in the pool, but you know how I attend all council meetings (except for that meeting at the splash pad on July 2nd that I missed due to not being notified) and look at all council packets, and know that the agreement states clearly that the use of HVM by the COL is maintained open to the general public, or the lease is broken (section 24).  

This makes total sense because HVM is a fully public facility, owned by the state and leased to the COL, restricting the public from a common area of public accommodation would be unlawful and against the covenants of the lease and the 14th Amendment.  As I explained the equal protections clause to the city manager, HVM management and city management have effectively created three classes of people as regards public facility usage.  One that can use the pool and clubhouse freely, one that has to pay $1000 per month for those facilities, and one that is expressly prohibited from using these public accommodations because management has said so and put on signs without your approval (that's assuming you didn't take that action at your meeting on July 2nd at the splash pad). 

These signs quite clearly say that HVM is private, and the swimming area is private.  This is not what you as the decision makers of the COL have determined, since the only amendment to the agreement has been the one with condo owners, which should be null and void since you voted on it when the state hadn't given you permission at the last meeting.  This created one of the classes that the 14th Amendment disallows for state-ran facilities (including political subdivisions of the states). 

But back to today: Jim kept telling me the "City of Ludington" was the person who determined that I wasn't able to be on the property, at least the property within the fenced swimming pool, since he would not even allow me time to dry my shorts so I wouldn't chafe myself on the walk home.  He would not specify a person when prompted just the COL, so I have to presume that it was the city council who voted at some point to make the swimming area private-- because that's what the signs say, but that's not what the agreement you passed says.   

It was so mortifying having to be visited by Jim and his goon and being told that I wasn't allowed to be there and having the women and children present witness this violation of my civil rights.  But apparently it was because you as the decision-making body of the COL told him that you wanted to break the lease by not allowing the general public to use this public facility.  Was he lying?  

I guess I'll just have to keep going back to find out unless you show me a resolution you have made since November saying that "the public cannot use HVM on equal and reasonable terms".  Thanks for listening.  Oh, and the bathrooms/showers at the City Marina need to be accessible to the public also. [END]

I received no reply from any of the councilors, so figuring they were fine with me using the facilities, I lived up to my word and revisited the area on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 8th, ready to call the police if somebody came around again and wanted to throw me out of a public facility. I entered the clubhouse and noticed three things: 1) the shower room was closed and locked, 2) the pool was fairly crowded, and 3) there was nobody around but a help desk number to call.

I decided to call the help desk to get a number for the lock, the girl on the other end of the line told me the code should have been in my paperwork (it wasn't, since I had no paperwork), but I was fairly sure that after that call I would see a marina manager soon. Rather than go in the pool and cause a scene, I decided to wait in the clubhouse that time and go no further.

There was no signage up anywhere saying that the inside of the clubhouse was private, so it's unclear why they would throw me out of that, plus I began to chat with a couple that had entered just after me, and about a minute into that conversation, Manager Christensen arrived with a new assistant goon, the former LPD officer Tony Kuster. I disengaged myself from the chat to go over and talk with them since they motioned me over.

             Assistant Marina Manager Tony Kuster and Marina Manager Jim Christensen waiting on the police I called

Before I could ask them whether they knew the combination to the bathroom, they informed me I had to leave in whispered tones.  I reminded them that the City of Ludington said that I could not be denied access to HVM, they didn't care, they wanted me out of the clubhouse.  I informed them I needed to call 9-1-1 first to inform them and document the fact that I was once again being thrown out of a public facility just because of the marina manager's arbitrary rules.  

Rather than go through the details, I will let the following police report and my statement explain the rest [LPD 20-2958.pdf].  I will note that just after I took the above picture, Christensen got all up in arms about having his picture taken.  Imagine that; a public official in a public building with cameras all around catching his image all day is camera shy when he's instituting an unlawful public policy.  I will add that Captain Steve Wietrzykowski of the LPD handled things professionally, and admitted his inability to fully decipher whether I was allowed there or not, while working out a compromise that we agreed to.   

Still the week was not over, it was learned that City and State officials were working hand in hand to try and 'remedy' the public out of the marina by amending their lease agreement to effectively make the public marina, for all intents and purposes, a private marina and this was put in Friday's packet (see p. 26-30), to be decided on Monday.  I decided to upset some of the elite elements at HVM by protesting over the weekend with a lot more to come, especially if they do go above and beyond in privatizing the public marina that every Ludington taxpayer subsidizes. 

With a fluorescent green sign with black lettering saying "Public Marina = Public Access" on one side and "This is not a private yacht club", I was tickled by the reception I got both weekend days with two sweeps across.  The people who engaged me were either angry and quick to infer things about me and call me those things (many were just cursing, but some really hurt, like the guy who called me an Obama supporter with an Obama phone). 

These guys and gals were the ones with a hefty dose of entitlement mentality, believing the public had no right to be there unless they have a slip, and nobody in a crowd of three dozen adults had any idea of what the Fourteenth Amendment was, despite some using patriotism, their military service, their enlightened views, etc. as badges to claim they were better than I, and diminish my wish to make the public marina an actual public marina.

[Freedom Seeker]

Thanks for suffering such insults, X, to try to get definition to the Harbor View Marina Lease and use of "public facilities." The addendum seems to simply clarify that non-paying public is not allowed. Whether the State has to abide by the 14th Amendment is another question.can you guesstimate how much income HVM is expected to net for the city? It seems unlikely that $80,000 will be made after salaries, supplies and maintenance are made. Especially if the Harbor Front condos is a "condomium" fee of $1000 a month for all units. That then would be only $6000 income? That seems like it would barely cover one month salaries for two bouncers.

[XLFD]

The lame defenses and ignorance of the HVM boaters makes me wonder why they don't seem to attract any lawyers to their facilities. 

Isn't 'condomium' the element they use for making rubbers?  Harbor Front residents must be getting awfully lucky if they need to spend all that money on condomium fees.

I would like to see the COL's business models for these 'enterprise zone' marinas, have them honestly account for all the gifts and grants from the state, and now the general public, that go into these marinas just to sustain them at their current level.  The municipal marina would be millions of dollars in debt if they didn't always get help from the state, money denied to all private marinas-- with good reason.  The public should not be subsidizing marinas when and where there is plenty of opportunity for private marina investment to meet the demand.  Redoing HVM will be costing us millions, yet the state never considered trying to sell the money pit.

[Freedom Seeker]

Funnies aside, X, why does Harbor Front get the privilege of using the pool and weight room, and not any other condominium group or homeowners?  Maybe a group of 200 homeowners should gang up and buy a pass for $50 bucks a year rights.  That's a deal!  Nice weight room, clubhouse. Showers and swimming pool.  I think that right should be afforded to all taxpayers, equally.

[XLFD]

FS, the HF condo deal was reportedly made in order to extend the courtesy given to HF condos by the previous owner, Harbor View LLC, probably for about the same rate.  That deal, as you note, actually emphasized the City's unequal access issues by creating that third class of people, private associations that pay a fee to use the facilities.  With it now being public, the contract seems to me to be extorting money, since another class is using it free, and everybody else is summarily banned.

[Freedom Seeker]

Wow, unbelievable!  Thanks for the info, X.  It would be nice to see the various contracts for the various entitie, HF and HVM.

[XLFD]

I actually have a FOIA pending for slip-holder contracts for the three classes of vessels (seasonal rec, transient rec, and charter boats) for both marinas, so you may see those soon, Freedom.  Previous agreements between HF condos and Harbor View LLC may not be available since both entities are private.

[shinblind]

FREE X or FREE ROTTA 

Which sign do you prefer?

If I go with FREE X maybe some of the BLM protestors will mistake you as a brother and really bring some heat to the Harbor View Marina facilities.

Whereas FREE ROTTA has a nice balance to it signage-wise.
Thanks for keeping it real in Ludville.

[XLFD]

Get those signs ready just in case I need to push the antelope due to the city council going even further in privatizing this public facility tonight-- because the citizens who subsidize the 'public' marina, especially the city's private marina owners, shouldn't dare think they have any right to be there or question their policies.

[shinblind]

Hmmm, was the position of ''Marina Goon'' posted where ever the city posts the job openings? Or was it instead filled by the ''Good Old Boys'' club?  And how long would the Marina Goon have to be employed before he is able to collect a second pension from the city? And what if any current benefits go with the job?

[XLFD]

The marina goon jobs were posted and advertised in the local paper, however, it was quite a coincidence that the positions were filled by an ex-HVM manager and the City of Ludington's own Toni Kuster over other qualified individuals.  How coincidental too that Toni's kid works there.

[stump]

You just be the wrong color. I bet if you were BLACK they would be offering you a towel and drying your back, can we get you anything ? This brings back memories of the Biloxi beach wade in back in the late 50's , early 60's where a certain group of people weren't allowed to use the beach on the Gulf Coast. Imagine that, a public beach , miles and miles of sand. nope can't do it. As of now this really seams absurd but it took a large group of people to change things and it didn't happen overnight. Probably the only people who know about Ludingtons Public Marina Pool are the same people that get updated on the City of Ludingtons misgivings from you on the torch. You sure won't read it in the Daily News until theres a law suit and even then the spin is truly out of whack.

[XLFD]

I heard from some slip holders over on our Facebook portal, the Ludington Pitchfork, and I recently made a similar argument by changing the racial makeup of Ludington:

"You pay for your boat slip; exclusive use of the now-public swimming pool and clubhouse is not part of your contract. Read it.

Let's make a stark case, and imagine Ludington is 95% poor, people of color, and these people would now be paying the $80K in taxes/reduced services lost when the private entity vacated HVM. These poor people would be paying for your swimming pool and clubhouse, and those private signs.  The marina managers, and city hall would be expending more resources making sure that they would be kept from using the white folks' toys. Does that seem fair to you?