Silver Anniversary Gus Macker Slightly Tarnished by Public Logistics

[XLFD]

The 2016 edition of the Gus Macker Three-on-Three Basketball tournament in Ludington was the 25th annual affair, and went off very smoothly thanks to the fine weekend weather and the cadre of seasoned volunteers.  Area media outlets were searching for new superlatives to add to all they used for the previous weekend's world record attempt, but mostly settled on recanting them.

In Rob Alway's reckoning, the House of Flavor's event last week was the big time; in his eyes what they did on June 11th, making and eating the world's longest (potentially) sundae, was real Michigan and something to be very proud of. 

I can't see that.  I see a business and city advocates investing in a marketing gimmick, and smartly doing so.  They can be proud if the attempt is found to be successful (even if it isn't), but over ninety percent of the participants were just engaged in eating a melting ice cream treat for their part in the record books.  A whimsical one-time event that brought people together for a chance of shared fame, but little more than that. 

One of the unpleasant realities of the event was that many public resources were used to put it on.  We may soon find out how much DDA funds were used for this attempt, until then you can imagine the DDA's public pocketbook could have supplied most or even all of the costs involved that people assume were paid by the House of Flavors.  But there is also all of that extra police presence, all of those city workers setting it up and tearing it down on the weekend were not non-union folks volunteering their time and efforts.  That dollar of ice cream you ate may have cost you plenty more if you are a Ludington taxpayer.

You may have noted that after the Saturday event, the tables used (supplied by the city) were put to the roadside along the downtown route and left there until Monday.  This wasn't too appealing to look at.  You may not have noticed that some of those tables and the truck that picked them up were left behind the fire station blocking the alley at the end of that Monday. 

It seemed an odd place to block an alley that firefighters will use to get to the fire station.  If there was a fire call that night and someone coming down Robert Street wanted to get to the station's parking area, they might have turned into that blind alley and had their own 'big time' emergency with a trailer full of tables.  As with this weekend's Macker Tournament, the logistic problems were not created by the private sponsor(s) but by the lack of diligence by public officers.

With that being said, the Gus Buster volunteers had much more experience this last weekend with the Macker and they put up and took down the event with no problems noted.  This year for the first time, the golf carts were Ludington street legal, so my only problems with logistical issues are two other ones I have harped on for years, but to no avail, to our so-called public safety officers.

First, the detour once again featured the dangerous intersection of Tinkham and Lakeshore Drive.  Why make a route that cuts across an area where loads of visiting pedestrians must travel on the side of the road and cross to get to where their cars are parked?  Every year I see so many close calls and impeded traffic around this area, where the lack of sidewalks and fences pushing people away from front lawns combine to make it a major hazard. 

The second problem is those fences put up by the DPW mentioned along Lakeshore and other side streets blocking off pedestrians from traveling on their right of way or the sidewalks.  Put them about ten feet off the curb (or on the other side of the sidewalk to provide the public the right to pass by. 

The main problem noticed, however, dealt with the parking at the Loomis Street Boat Launch area.   As in 2014 and last year, the entrance to that lot had a small print piece of copy paper propped at the gate with some obtuse instructions to pay $10 to park at a kiosk (that's located near the docks).  If they were able to find the kiosk, they could get a day pass and park in the lot.   But at the meeting of March 7th and later in the March 21st meeting and especially in the grant application for the West End Project, City Manager John Shay told us:

It's even more clearer in the recording of that meeting at the 24:00 mark:  

March 21, 2016 Ludington City Council from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

" For those people that go in [the Loomis Boat Launch Parking Lot] you can see there are parking passes; those only apply to vehicles that are pulling trailers.  If anyone is just driving a regular vehicle there's no fee at all to park there."

Plenty of Macker aficionados drove by the small sheet of copier paper at the entrance of the lot without seeing it or figuring out its cryptic meaning, and plenty of people without passes for parking their trailers were given $30 tickets.  I saw a long line of cars on the north end of this lot with them, I grabbed one left on the ground apparently by a disgruntled parker.  A handwritten "No Permit" is written as the offense. 

Yet our chief officer, the city manager, is on record at two meetings and in a grant application as saying that the parking is always free at the Loomis Street lot-- as long as you're not hauling a boat trailer.  No permit is required; yet even Section 66-101 of the city code seems to require one for any vehicle using that lot.   

I've seen other vehicles without trailers get the same treatment at this lot on other weekends and weekdays, so the city manager is once again deliberately lying to us and state officials over this issue.  Don't believe it?  Park there without a permit with your Yugo and you'll receive a ticket by our zealous beach police most assuredly. 

To summarize, both of these events had parts that were ran smoothly safely, and efficiently; these parts corresponded with the private and volunteer sectors of operations.  Yet they both had their problems, and each of those were contributed to the main by the public sector.  I was keeping score of the records.

[AQUAMAN]

Thanks for the pics. and comments Willy, great work again. The COL will gladly get grants and our money to make it nice for tourists into the $500,000 figure. But won't spend a dime or even 5%, $25,000 to make it really nice for locals, BS! 

[Willy]

Thanks Aquaman. Your right. It would take very little money to make the west end look nice, after all it's a beach and that's probably the most important aspect about the changes proposed by Shay and his cronies. IT'S A BEACH and most importantly it's a beach that usually has calm waters when the main beach is being pounded by surf. Besides being a beautiful spot to swim, families feel safer there and they don't have to worry about being knocked down by the waves or being subjected to an undertow. Installing the so called improvements will take much of that away especially if the walkway is installed and we all know it will eventuality be built if the grant is approved. It's hard to believe there are people who want to change this.

[AQUAMAN]

You make a lot of common sense there Willy, it's like a protected private beach for the locals that don't want to necessarily mix with the high traffic and high waves that exist at North Stearns. Went down there again yesterday, not a parking spot to be had, very busy, unlike what Shay tells the St. of Mi.. And of course I had to turn around at the end, subjecting my vehicle to a 8" drop in the hole, not good! I haven't talked to ANY people that want that closed for the tourists, the only few online that support it either are city cronies, or haven't the foggiest of the nature of the experience there. These pics. of recent need to go to Tamara, of the grants review at DNR.