MORE GREAT THINGS FOR THE LOCALS, NOW THAT TOURIST SEASON IS OVER....LOL.

[AQUAMAN]

Yes, it's that time of year again, the beauty of fall is here, changing temperatures accompanying fall colors and more ease in traffic around our local area, now that the tourists are leaving daily in big numbers. So, now, finally, we can go enjoy some things we were not able to this summer because of all the crowds and traffic, right? NO, not entirely. One of the biggest gripes I have is the Stearns Beach area, exactly 8 days after Labor Day the COL started erecting the "snow fence", thus blocking the view of Lake Michigan with orange crud attached to steel posts in the sand. Many locals also like to look at the petunias down Ludington Avenue, but alas, they too have been yanked out, just as they come into full bloom and beauty, but alas, this is for our visitors, not us, right? You might also want to rent a boat on Hamlin or elsewhere to go fishing or pleasure boating. These too will shortly be in drydock for the winter, usually by October 1st or so. Some of the local parks will also close their bathrooms and picnic areas early too, afterall, it's not intended for us local taxpayers that pay for it all either. Well, while I love the fall, it is hard to have the full enjoyment of it with all these quicky activities by officials that think they need to be closed up right away, and while we're at it, just roll up the sidewalks too till next May 2013.

[CLFD]

I appreciate the snow fences at Stearns Beach. If you've ever lived on Lakeshore directly across from Lake Michigan then you would appreciate them too. Sometimes mid-September might seem too early to put them up but when would you suggest they go up? A couple days too late can result in a lot of wind-blown sand into the front yards of homes along that area as we have experienced several times in the past. There are literally miles upon miles of beach available to locals throughout the entire year.

It may even save the taxpayers a lot of money in the long run to put the snow-fencing up in mid-September and not have to pay for the huge expense of cleaning excess sand out of Stearns Park later on.

 

I uproot all of my own Petunia's and several other annual flowers from mid-to-late September and have them all uprooted before October 1st. The Petunias along Ludington Avenue do need to be uprooted at some point in September because the beautiful blooms do start to deteriorate rapidly this time of year. They cannot tolerate frost either and it is not unusual to have a frost at some point in September.

I do not wait until after the tourists leave to enjoy the beauty of Ludington Michigan. I enjoy the Petunias all summer long. I derive pleasure in looking at them and in taking care of them. I volunteer in the planting and the upkeep of an entire block of Petunias during the growing season. 

Do you volunteer any of your own time with the planting and upkeep of Ludington's Petunias? When would you say would be the optimal time to uproot the Petunias? Would you wait until late-September, or early October?

[XLFD]

I would suggest leaving the petunias in the ground until the first frost, because they bloom from spring until first frost.  Why not enjoy them for as long as possible. 

If our local tourism industry says to put the snow fences up just after Labor Day, they are sadly mistaken about the impact it has on tourists coming to this area during this time of year.  I don't get around a lot, but I heard a few people commenting negatively on the fences when I was down there earlier this week.  I wasn't even soliciting such testimonials, but I did take a couple pictures of the fences, including this one, below. 

Even with the nasty wind storms we had a couple of years ago, atypical of September, the actual cost of cleaning it up was small.  And the DPW was still able to divert a lot of manpower over in Cartier Park at around the same time to put in a dog park.  In fact, this took precedence over the Stearn's cleanup. 

I would suggest having the DPW install a snow fence temporarily like it has right now if there is a heavy wind storm coming up to about mid-October.  And to take it down afterwards.  Extending the tourist season will pay off a lot more in the long run.

    

[AQUAMAN]

Instead of concentrating on such things as "extending the tourist season", why don't local officials concentrate on pleasing the locals for a change, like the old days, when these speedy projects were kept on the back burner until mid-October? Yes, we do have an indian summer too, and we also like to enjoy our Stearns Park right downtown every chance we get down there. As for drifting sand, does anyone remember the big storm we had about 2 years ago in mid-late September? It drifted sand across Stearns and Lakeshore in big piles and scattered all over too, the COL spent about 3 days to clean it up, and that was with already installed snow fences, so, who's jumping the gun and wasting taxpayers time? Many fences had to be removed, so they could push the many truckloads of sand back on the beach, stupid could be fixed, but it simply won't by the officials running things now. Of note is the overwhelming number of people you can talk to at this time of year, yes locals, that do and have felt the same way for several years, and I'm also not soliciting those comments when they are offered, they voice them in earnest and with sincerity.

[XLFD]

Tourists and locals alike are pretty much unanimous in their feelings about the early arrival of the snow fence.  If one of the pale-skinned troglodytes of City Hall ever decide to go to the beach and do an informal poll at this time of year, they will get a result which might surprise them-- but nobody else.  Thanks for reminding me that they had those fences up already that year, Aquaman. 

[CLFD]

XLFD

The Petunia season is nearly complete for our area of Michigan. I grant you that the blooms could be enjoyed for a couple more weeks barring any frost between now and then. But is it really that important to everybody to save the fading Petunias for an extra 10 to 14 days? Seriously?

[CLFD]

The fences are a no-win situation.

It is just another thing for people to complain about.

There are probably people who complain they do not go up soon enough.

And there would probably be people who would complain that mid-October is too soon.

I believe mid-September is a good enough time to start putting them up.

[AQUAMAN]

There are many many times in the summer you can't see the beach for all the traffic parked in Stearns. You can also get hung up in there for about a 15-20 minute stretch with cars coming and going in line. Now, at last, that traffic has finally gone, and this is when locals can finally enjoy the view to their liking, and have a quiet picnic too, and walk that beautiful beach without 500 people dashing about. Snow fences are for snow drifts specifically, not sand drifting in mother natures wind storms that can come and go all year around. I say erect the fences for what they are intended, in due course, like Halloween time, and not before. I can't remember any September that produced snow, can you all? Nor many Octobers either.

[CLFD]

Having lived in the immediate vicinity for many years, Stearns Beach is not constantly crowded to capacity throughout the summer. It is mainly crowded during hot sunny weekends and July 4th Holiday. During the week throughout late July and all of August there are normally 3 times more empty parking spaces than there are occupied spaces. Some exceptions to that are during extreme heat waves and during beautiful evening sunsets.

When the weather cooperates, people who are willing to put forth the effort are able enjoy the Ludington area beach resources no matter what time of year it is. People can still walk the beach if they want to, can enjoy splashing and swimming in the water if they want to, and there is always plenty of room from the western most fence line right up to the water's edge to enjoy beach activities like kite flying, frisbee, and relaxing. For those who prefer an unobstructed view of the beach and lake, there are several miles of unfenced beaches out M116 way on the drive towards the Ludington State Park for those who wish to view beaches without fences.

The way a person views the fences could be narrowed down to the old silly sayings "Glass half full" or "Glass half empty".

[XLFD]

I view it more as a "tail wagging the dog" situation, where the City executives are the tail.  Or "putting the cart before the horse".  Visitors or locals, with few exceptions, would rather enjoy the beauty of the beach rather than some abused red fences. 

But then again, most would rather have the cheaper protection (and employ some of our young swimmers) of 3 lifeguards for the full summer rather than some more expensive code enforcers shooting up and down the beach and all over town on an ORV. 

Let us also not forget that former LPD officer Warmuskerken, who is alleged to have used his taser repeatedly on innocent native Joseph McAdam was a member of the night beach patrol-- and will cost us Ludington taxpayers plenty by his actions in 2009. 

[Willy]

I have to agree with the City on the issue of "sand fences". I remember when the fences did not go up until the weather started to turn cold but because of the wind storm of 2010 the fences have been going up earlier. That storm was around this time of year. What would be the City's excuse if the fences were not up and we had another wind storm like the one in 2010. One of the problems with sand blowing across the street is that it causes a traffic hazard to motor vehicles as well as bikes. The fences were not in place during the storm of 2010. The cost of clean up for that storm was not cheap. I think the equipment worked on it for at least a week. Below are a few photos of Stearns Park and Lake Shore Drive during and after the wind storm

[XLFD]

I checked the archives to refresh my memory, and I think you guys are both right in that the fences didn't go up before some damage was done.  But I can't remember any similar sandstorm to the one in September 2010 in this millenium, just like I can't remember any heavy rains that rival the ones of June 2008. 

Do we put up these sand fences within a week after Labor Day just because we have had one September windstorm of note in the recent past?  Would sand fences deployed at the right time in 2010 have obliviated the need for some massive clean up around Stearn's Beach, after all the Skate Park was deluged inside with sand and that's raised at a high level above the sand fences.  The amount of sand that moved upbeach in 2010 would have quickly made the fences effectively useless.

I don't think it would have saved any of the cleanup money or have made it significantly safer if we had the sand fences up like we have it now back in 2010, just like my basement would still probably flood as it did in 2008 given the same rainfall even though I now have a high speed pump and have taken other precautions. 

[Willy]

For the City it was a political decision. A better safe than sorry situation. If this storm happened 20 or even 10 years ago it might not still be in peoples minds but it happened just 2 short years ago. Also the "what if" factor comes into play. "What if" it happens again and the fences are not installed. What excuse could the City possibly use to justify spending all that money on clean up again when it could have been avoided by installing fences earlier in the season. It's an easy decision for the City.